I'm not convinced that virtualisation is going to be that much of a Big Thing(tm).
Allow me to introduce you to the world of Big Business: upper management want the Big Business pay check but, post dot-bomb bubble, they want none of the penalties associated with taking a risk. So you have the "one application per box" mentality. All of a sudden, you've got 20 boxes running at 5 percent utilization.
Can you see where virtualization would provide "virtually" the same thing with better cost efficiency?
Make no mistake, virtualization is just as much about pleasing management as it is about making sense.
A new technology comes along that threatens their iron grip on said media's distribution.
I'm pretty sure that most of them realize that DRM is the Dark Horse in this situation. With DRM, then can add IP distribution to their cable boxes and DVD players in order to distribute their content in high-quality *before* it is slated to be viewed. That is, they can buffer the content while you sleep and work. It will be ready for you to watch when *they* want you to watch it - all on their terms.
IMHO, DRM is going to be bitter sweet for the OSS community. Nobody seems to want it, yet, without it, there is no incentive for "the little guy" to make any real content. Sure, a few Honest Joes will pony up the cash for their content, but, in my experience, the rest of them will simply steal it.
If OSS would consider DRM, then we could come up with a grass roots effort to displace Big Media (e.g. - pay the Little Guy for good content). The thing is, the sheer size of the viewership would make content *nearly* free (e.g. - 30 million viewers pay you 10 cents per episode and you are rich).
The knife cuts both ways but we need to be pragmatic.
OSS+DRM+cheap hardware & grassroots distribution and support = end of Big Business
My primary concern is how it will begin talking from the other side of the table. Case in point, intellectual property. Now, I'm no fan of the state of our patent system but this discussion was interesting because not a single person brought up the issue of legality. Now, Ballmer recently hinted that Microsoft are putting together an IP war against Linux.
I work for a pretty large company so management is very conservative (side note, I do realize that those aren't mutual - its just the norm). One of the big items on the agenda is the outcome of the SCO/IBM litigation. Simply, management have pinned their decision to implement Linux *bigtime* on the outcome of this case. If SCO loses, then Linux gets a big customer. If SCO wins, then Microsoft maintains their existing customer. I would imagine that many other large businesses fall into this same boat.
If SCO loses, I'll bet that Microsoft will unleash a war on Linux. If this happens, I would like to see the ducks in a row. How much would it cost me to *buy* a version of Ubuntu with complete support for MP3, video, flash and all that other crap? The only reason that I use Linux at all is because EasyUbuntu makes it painless. Yes - I realize that I could go buy Mandrake or Suse but neither of those appeals to me like Ubuntu.
Yes - it seems easy enough to uncomment a few lines and claim that I'm a local resident of Catalunya, but it would be nice to see someone putting money into this side of the equation.
I'd rather spend the extra $750 on flash cache memory for the hard drive. Or, just replace the hard drive altogether. I gurantee either of these would win the average Business Joe's pick in triple blind taste test.
But they're [Blu-Ray] coming out later and at double the price of HD-DVD.
One thing that I noticed at the Toshiba demos was the recognition that the term "HD DVD" was getting. Consumers know both HD and DVD separately so this is a huge advantage over "Blu Ray".
The demo was a split screen comparison of SDTV compared to HD DVD. On a big TV, that made HD DVD look real impressive and most onlookers were eating it up. When I suggested that the rep compare DVD with HD DVD, he just shrugged and said that they didn't have such a demo.
How convenient. It looks like the bad guys will win again.
I was just driving around in the metro Detroit area only to notice that Toshiba is going promos for HD DVD at most of the electronics joints. They are spewing this stuff over the local radio stations so I stopped in.
Most consumers seem to be blown away. I think that being first to market ("later this month") will be a big win for HD DVD.
Please note the "stupid" keyword that was added to the story.
Gasp!
This means that you might be able to eliminate stupid articles from your view in the future (perhaps now - I haven't checked yet). I can wait for the keyword "dupe".
Progress is nice but slashdot has sucked for so long that I'm beginning to need it (if only for nothing more than something to bitch about). Venting is fun!
The funny thing is that google video made this a cult classic and NBC made them take it down. I don't understand how they can shoot themselves in the foot like this.
I want to register a domain name which was used by a business that went under. The whois data points to a nonexistant business. I called several registrars and explained the situation and they all told me that I will have to wait until the name expires (which is years from now).
On a similar note, I've always wondered why some bright spark doesn't do a tiny linux distro that simply boots up X with bare networking and remote desktop services (like RDP, VNC, X, et cetera). With this in mind, you could get the distro down to a few megs.
The 18 months is to string along all those who had OpenOffice.org migrations in the works. This way, they will sell more copies of next year's version of MS Office because those OpenOffice migrations will be cancelled.
I think that a better question leaves the whole Linux vs. Windows argument out of the question:
i.e. - Any idiot knows that a study becomes worthless when independent funding is lost (even if the results are truthful). Exactly how much did Microsoft pay you in order for you to submit to such a fiasco and lose your credibility for life?
To someone like me (who believes that Windows is much cheaper than Linux in many cases), this is something that I'd like answered.
Slashdot Mirror
Great post. Great insight. Thanks.
I vote for the two chicks at the same time icon that we've all come to know and love.
I'm not convinced that virtualisation is going to be that much of a Big Thing(tm).
Allow me to introduce you to the world of Big Business: upper management want the Big Business pay check but, post dot-bomb bubble, they want none of the penalties associated with taking a risk. So you have the "one application per box" mentality. All of a sudden, you've got 20 boxes running at 5 percent utilization.
Can you see where virtualization would provide "virtually" the same thing with better cost efficiency?
Make no mistake, virtualization is just as much about pleasing management as it is about making sense.
A new technology comes along that threatens their iron grip on said media's distribution.
I'm pretty sure that most of them realize that DRM is the Dark Horse in this situation. With DRM, then can add IP distribution to their cable boxes and DVD players in order to distribute their content in high-quality *before* it is slated to be viewed. That is, they can buffer the content while you sleep and work. It will be ready for you to watch when *they* want you to watch it - all on their terms.
IMHO, DRM is going to be bitter sweet for the OSS community. Nobody seems to want it, yet, without it, there is no incentive for "the little guy" to make any real content. Sure, a few Honest Joes will pony up the cash for their content, but, in my experience, the rest of them will simply steal it.
If OSS would consider DRM, then we could come up with a grass roots effort to displace Big Media (e.g. - pay the Little Guy for good content). The thing is, the sheer size of the viewership would make content *nearly* free (e.g. - 30 million viewers pay you 10 cents per episode and you are rich).
The knife cuts both ways but we need to be pragmatic.
OSS+DRM+cheap hardware & grassroots distribution and support = end of Big Business
Money talks indeed.
My primary concern is how it will begin talking from the other side of the table. Case in point, intellectual property. Now, I'm no fan of the state of our patent system but this discussion was interesting because not a single person brought up the issue of legality. Now, Ballmer recently hinted that Microsoft are putting together an IP war against Linux.
I work for a pretty large company so management is very conservative (side note, I do realize that those aren't mutual - its just the norm). One of the big items on the agenda is the outcome of the SCO/IBM litigation. Simply, management have pinned their decision to implement Linux *bigtime* on the outcome of this case. If SCO loses, then Linux gets a big customer. If SCO wins, then Microsoft maintains their existing customer. I would imagine that many other large businesses fall into this same boat.
If SCO loses, I'll bet that Microsoft will unleash a war on Linux. If this happens, I would like to see the ducks in a row. How much would it cost me to *buy* a version of Ubuntu with complete support for MP3, video, flash and all that other crap? The only reason that I use Linux at all is because EasyUbuntu makes it painless. Yes - I realize that I could go buy Mandrake or Suse but neither of those appeals to me like Ubuntu.
Yes - it seems easy enough to uncomment a few lines and claim that I'm a local resident of Catalunya, but it would be nice to see someone putting money into this side of the equation.
Is this going directly to OpenSSH efforts, or to OpenBSD in general?
This is going directly to Theo's "free as in beer" fund.
I'd rather spend the extra $750 on flash cache memory for the hard drive. Or, just replace the hard drive altogether. I gurantee either of these would win the average Business Joe's pick in triple blind taste test.
I'm running the latest and greatest kernel and it is sta$#&*(
@$(*&))@#(
@#)(@$)()@#&(*!*@(!
NO CARRIER
http://www.myspace.com/comeoncolleen
Do a find for "weed" and judge for yourself...
But they're [Blu-Ray] coming out later and at double the price of HD-DVD.
One thing that I noticed at the Toshiba demos was the recognition that the term "HD DVD" was getting. Consumers know both HD and DVD separately so this is a huge advantage over "Blu Ray".
The demo was a split screen comparison of SDTV compared to HD DVD. On a big TV, that made HD DVD look real impressive and most onlookers were eating it up. When I suggested that the rep compare DVD with HD DVD, he just shrugged and said that they didn't have such a demo.
How convenient. It looks like the bad guys will win again.
I was just driving around in the metro Detroit area only to notice that Toshiba is going promos for HD DVD at most of the electronics joints. They are spewing this stuff over the local radio stations so I stopped in.
Most consumers seem to be blown away. I think that being first to market ("later this month") will be a big win for HD DVD.
OS independant device drivers sounds like a big plus to me.
Precisely the reason that you will never see Microsoft supporting it. Hardware support is their *only* real advantage anymore.
Unfortunately, eating the styrofoam causes the bacteria to shit lead. Give a penny, take a penny.
What is this doing on the front page of slashdot?
Please note the "stupid" keyword that was added to the story.
Gasp!
This means that you might be able to eliminate stupid articles from your view in the future (perhaps now - I haven't checked yet). I can wait for the keyword "dupe".
Progress is nice but slashdot has sucked for so long that I'm beginning to need it (if only for nothing more than something to bitch about). Venting is fun!
The funny thing is that google video made this a cult classic and NBC made them take it down. I don't understand how they can shoot themselves in the foot like this.
MCE $130 OEM.
Note that you "must purchase with a piece of hardware" to get around Microsoft's "must be sold with hardware" legalese.
These cuts are so that Larry can maintain his 450 foot personal cruise ship.
Because it is disrespecful to dirt!
Can't you see that it is serious?
In the immortal words of Bruce Cambell (Ash):
Its a trick. Get an Axe!
While we're at it, we should all convert to a more sensible language like Spanish. English is just too difficult to master.
Here's my situation:
I want to register a domain name which was used by a business that went under. The whois data points to a nonexistant business. I called several registrars and explained the situation and they all told me that I will have to wait until the name expires (which is years from now).
Can someone help me out here?
Read the bottom of the page. The article is a spoof.
On a similar note, I've always wondered why some bright spark doesn't do a tiny linux distro that simply boots up X with bare networking and remote desktop services (like RDP, VNC, X, et cetera). With this in mind, you could get the distro down to a few megs.
The 18 months is to string along all those who had OpenOffice.org migrations in the works. This way, they will sell more copies of next year's version of MS Office because those OpenOffice migrations will be cancelled.
Did you expect any less?
I think that a better question leaves the whole Linux vs. Windows argument out of the question:
i.e. - Any idiot knows that a study becomes worthless when independent funding is lost (even if the results are truthful). Exactly how much did Microsoft pay you in order for you to submit to such a fiasco and lose your credibility for life?
To someone like me (who believes that Windows is much cheaper than Linux in many cases), this is something that I'd like answered.