I'm sorry, you've just dialed the wrong universe. Please try again. Thank you.
No, eBay does not use Rules and Procedures...
on
Ebay vs. Musician
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
... they simply use an search engine to scowr the ads and ban those that appear to sell something they shouldn't be selling.
The problem here is, of course, that they have no respect for the customer (yes, because he is a customer, and as the saying goes, the customer is always right. And he is not such a little customer as that). Canceling ads is a serious action, especially if you're canceling something without any proof, based solely on the say of the search engine (which is just a program).
They have the obligation to check those ads selected for termination *before* being terminated. And if they say "we don't have the manpower for that", well, then they shouldn't be in this business, now should they?
.. unable to access their site. I'm in Lisbon, and I can't access it either... Very strange. I can only guess that our ISPs are using spanish nodes to serve the pages, and getting blocked in the process. Does that mean that the spanish government effectively controls what we see or don't see?
Great. And here I was thinking we were only being invaded phisically...
"1) XML and serialization
Why should the serialization format be XML?
When I serialize an object I only open a file and use an formatter(ObjectOutputWriter) to write an object into that file.
When I deserialize an object I open a file and use an ObjectInputReader to read it back."
It should be wise to consider that Java wants to be a big player in the web services field, and just for that reason, it is imperative that the file and serialization formats in any program should be the same as when you're passing web service messages to and fro. And why do you care if the serialization of an object is binary or xml? You're still just calling a method, and as you say, don't care what the actual format is, right?
"5. Eliminate primitive data types."
Have you ever programmed in C#? You should give it a try, just so you have a feel for what the author is trying to say here. In Java, everytime you want to do something to any primitive datatype, there you go converting the thing explicitely. A big waste of time, and a serious discouragement factor to people trying to learn the thing.
In C# (essentially java, in the end), it doesn't matter whether you declared a string or a String. You need the functionality of the later, the compiler is clever enough to know how to swap types. You wouldn't believe the ease that it gives you. You just don't think about it.
You may think it's a minor detail, but it's a huge thing in the end, it leaves your mind free for other, more important things. And with the size and complexity of today's projects, every little bit helps.
Pushing a Windows to the max means doing development with all the latest M$ tools that are out only or especifically for XP, like DevStudio.NET, BizTalk 2002, SQL Server, blah, blah, blah. But really, it's not that hard to push XP down on the ground.
I can say that my w2k system, with gigabytes of applications installed for everything but making coffee (but not outlook... i'm not that sadistic), with DB2, mysql, apache, iis, plus email, devtools, browsers and the likes, all running simultaneously, being an AMD 500, beats the hell out of this f***ing XP I've been working with, which has better specs and is only running devstudio, sqlserver, ie and biztalk.
It's slow. Bloated. Even the Start Menu is slow to refresh when I start working it hard. And I've taken out all that stylish colors and stuff, so it almost looks like w2k.
So if you have to work with it, my condolences. I'm just glad this is temporary.
It's pretty obvious you don't push your windows to the max... not unless we're counting changing themes...
XP is stable allright, but that's because it's so f***ing slow and heavy with all the flashy colors that it can't even do a decent BSOD (which it does, by the way, and pretty often).
XP stopped impressing me about five minutes after I started using it. The stupidity of the system is unbeliveable! Switched back to my old NT4/w2k combo in a jippy.
I don't see how anyone could rate this as a commercial enterprise...
Looking at it from a logical standpoint, you have one guy who is absolutely loaded with money, and chooses to spend 10 (ten) years of his lifetime working at night, on a book, writing as much as one page per night (if that much). What came out is a book with no less than 15000 index entries.
Now, seriously, do you think this is a work made purely for commercial gain? What a waste, don't you think?
He could have had lots of reasons for writing that thing, but don't tell me that it was for money. Besides, if you read the wired report, you'll know that Wolfram thinks that *everybody*, specially his peers, are intellectually inferior beings, and he doesn't give a damn about the world's opinion, much less his peers' opinions, so why should he ask them?
No, he did this for himself, for his science, which by and by is the only real reason anyone should have to make things.
Sure you can get any crappy card for 2 cents, but then you'll get the quality of a 2 cent card. I've tried Realteks and the likes, and in a 100Mbit network I'd get the performance of a 10, sometimes worse. It took ages to do anything! So no thank you, I'd rather stick with my $20 card.
Floppy drives used? Unless it's more than 5 years old (when they used to make them good), it'll last you through two or three bad diskettes, it'll read half of the good ones, and it'll smash the rest. Another good use for your money, I'd say...
By the way, I can sell you a really good used HD, cheap. If you don't mind a few bad blocks here and there, that is...
there is one ATM network for all banks, managed by an independent group. They are all in color, and some talk and everything. They all used to run OS/2, and there was never a problem, but now they've switched to NT.
Boy, you wouldn't believe the things I've seen popping up on the screen. Everything from "driver failed to load" from "multimedia is on, press ok to continue"! hehehehehe! (how do you press ok on an ATM?)
Oh, and, of course, blue-screens galore!
Next thing you know, the money comes out before you even put in the card...
That is really, really interesting!
Tracking is a piece of cake, like a giant trackball, and this would allow for all kinds of movement and speed with little restriction.
Now, to build such a thing, what would one need? mmm....
All they wanted was to create a war in which U.S. ally states (e.g. Saudi Arabia) would feel compelled on religous grounds to at least limit U.S. access to their countries, while nations hostile with the U.S. (e.g. Iran, Sudan, etc) would take a more active role in attacking U.S. targets. Also, if the U.S. attacks Afghanistan, there's a good chance the Saudi people will become discontent enough with King Fhad to finally succede in one of thier attempts to remove him from power.
I believe that was the exact goal of this attack. I don't think the terrorists want the US to back out now... No, the Americans are a very valuable asset to play in the terrorists' quest to control the region. It was no simple-minded attack, and they have been playing this game for too long to jeopardize their operations with this kind of action without having a very strong strategy behind it.
It's Divide and Conquer, it's a game of chess, and the US is about to jump in with the King in front...
"The Taliban are a bunch of psychopathic nuts, hated by the majority population."
This kind of thinking is very, very wrong. A movement does not conquer a country and control 90% of it in a year without support from the population. In fact, the Taliban have so much support that if the US continues to pressure Pakistan and attacks Afganisthan, there is the risk of the Pakistani government being overthrown. If that happens, the Taliban will have won another government.
Think on this a little: if the muslim population, not great admirors of the US right now, becomes inflamed because of US attacks, they very well might revolt against their US-friendly rulers. This is not an unthinkable proposition, as the fanaticism is growing among the muslim population, and it could be that the Taliban will gain immense power and influence from all of this...
If someone wanted to start a war in the region and inflame the population against the US, they couldn't have done a better job...
I'm european, specifically Portuguese. I've had very mixed feelings about all of this, and about what is to come. Because I'm not american, I've hesitated in venting my thoughts, because I know how americans are right now. Now I've found this article by Michael Moore, which sums up pretty well my ideas on the attacks and America's responsability.
America is responsible for arming and training terrorist groups, for supporting them and help killing thousands of people, for fueling tyranies, profiting from murders, etc, etc. Is it any wonder you got it back in full force?
As much as I hate terrorism and the loss of lives, I must agree with you. NOTHING can begin to explain or excuse loss of lives, but the truth is that the US were attacked for a reason. An insane reason, but a reason nonetheless.
As much as it sounds good, it was not because the US are "the land of freedom". It's because the US government cannot stop messing about in other country's affairs and cannot stop trying to be the "World Police". If this is right or wrong, I'm not the one to answer that, but it makes the US a prime target for those who don't want some country telling them what to do. Would you?
Take note that I wrote "The us gov.". Civilian casualties are inexcusable, people are not to blame for the gov.'s actions, but still, the people put the gov. in place and give it power and support. When the us gov. wanted to take Milosevic down, what were the US's targets? The people, civilians.
So now we're seeing the media instigating a blind war. But you don't see them reporting Israeli moves on the palestinians yesterday. You don't see them monitoring Asia's military reactions to this. It seems everything around the world ceased to exist but for the US and the Arabs.
I just hope you stop and think a bit before coming out guns a'blazing. Because like a 47-yeard old guy who watched it all from a building in front said: "I just hope that a 47-year old afghan man doesn't look out his window one of these days and see what I've just seen."
"After making the change to Microsoft development tools why did you stick with Win32?"
The reason is obvious: when a client wants a software done, many times his machines are not replaced. It's the client who buys the machines and the client's employees who will use the machines.
Just because you want X software, does it mean you have to switch systems? Spending money and resources training people, and of course switching all the other software that runs on those machines, if that is at all possible... It doesn't make business sense, and the company next door which doesn't force the customer to switch systems will get the contract.
"My other question is why did the developers make this decision?"
Developers are not drones. Their expertise is important in technical decisions as well as business decisions, especially in companies that base their business on development. Of course this should be a developer decision! Do you really think that management people have the basis to make such a decision on their own? Many a project and company has sunk because of that assumption.
Management and Development are different areas, and a good company knows that they must work together. Management tells development what the company and the client needs. Development tells management how to achieve that. After all, they're the ones developing!
Management can't and does not have an idea of the efficiency or performance or anything of a technical tool. It's just not their area of competence. They can have an idea *if* the developers are consulted. These two areas must work together on equal ground if a company is to succeed, and this was what happened in this company.
... the harder the keyboard, the better it is. Do you see pianist with RSI? No? Don't you wonder why? After all, they spend as much time playing we we do typing...
The problem is that our keyboards are too soft, not too hard!! And a pianist always chooses a hard keyboard. Our wrists, arms, hands are not supposed to be jiggling about, not using any strength. A hard keyboard improves your wrists, makes them less susceptible. This I know from experience.
Another thing which leads to RSI (which I read somewhere it's just a fabrication, and doesn't really exist?) is the position of the arms. Again, has every piano player has learned, the arm should be bent at a 90 degree angle.
So, as much as that keyboard is fun to use, I guess it's completely off-course as far as RSI is concerned...
------------------------------------
Gone Crazy, Back Soon, Leave Message
Man, that's stupid! You wouldn't say anything if the write-up said "... would enable him...". So where's the sexism coming from? From the one that wrote, or from the one that jumped up and down pointing and shouting "THEY WROTE 'SHE'!!!!!".
Here in Portugal the communications infrastructure is owned by one company, Portugal Telecom, which is, of course, a monopoly, and a state-owned one at that (it's been privatized, but that didn't change much). Private companies have been piggy-backing on regional and national calls for about two years, but local calls are just now opening up (still piggy-backing, and are still ina transitional phase).
So, we pay ISP's for our connection, and we pay for the calls.
We now have free internet access, but it sucks. You really have to pay if you want to have something passable. Cable is also pratically a monopoly, and is now just starting to offer net access, but there are few people who have it 'cause it's very expensive to set up (and they force you to use their cable modems, even if you have one. Oh, yes, and according to them, it only works on windows and you have to have a cable modem per computer... can you believe that?!?)
Censorship is non-existing (at least that). I really doubt anyone in our gov. can use a computer... Most teens think Internet is IRC and ICQ... and netiquette is a weird word for mushrooms. 90% of the 5% of the population that knows anything about computers think that Windows is the greatest thing since codfish with garlick (favorite local dish...:-) )
Microsoft has spread FUD tacticts in the industry for a very long time... and always has gotten away with it, that is, until now. When someone starts talking about defending the so-called "American Way" (as if there are no other countries... but that's another story), even people not clued-in on the story start smelling bullshit. Protecting "innovation" by being patriotic is the best way of showing just how scared they really are. Go for it, Microsoft, keep at it! %-)
Lots of people say "bad idea, junk, we don't need no stinkin' gui!". But you're forgetting that with time there willl be more and more command-line-untrained people who want to use linux but don't want to spend the extra time learning stuff that has nothing to do with their work.
Imagine a designer switching from Windoze of Mac to Linux. A guy who wants a sound studio to edit music. Many people out there use computers for completely command-line unrelated work. And Unix has to cater for these people if it wants to become a standard.
Imagine, years from now, that we go into outer space in our little spaceships. The pilot can't be concerned with typing the right command. There's an emergency, aliens flying around, asteroids bumping against the hull, the captain screaming "Turn left 20 degrees! Now right! Up, up, up!!!", and the pilot is writing 'trun left' "no, sh**, that's not right!", 'turn lef', "damn, damn!!!!!"
--insert explosion--
Oh well, maybe a little drastic, but you get my drift. We are just at the begginning of the information age. There's no way we'll be writing and rewriting the OS forever. There will be a time when all we do is add layers and layers, most of it below the GUI that will eventually become the standard. Might as well do the GUI right, now.
I can imagine a load of reasons that this would would not stand up in court, and the fact that the clause refers to things that are completely unrelated to the service the ISP provides is just one.
Again, I would love to see how this would work out in court... Imagine all those little AOL users wondering why their computers decide to connect to the internet all on their own... (then again, they probably wouldn't notice it...)
Ah, well, only in america! Really, if you didn't exist, you'd just have to be invented!:))
Now this is really something! My jaw absolutely dropped as I was reading that piece of lawyerise crap!
So a person has to have the computer on 24/7, pay for any technical problems that might arise from this (and we all know how Windoze keeps getting better the more time it's working...), pay for telephone connections Juno makes, can't switch to any other OS, can't even *use* anything else!...
They have really got to be joking. It would be easier if they just said "well, for you to subscribe you have to leave your computer with us, see. You'll pay for everything it does, phone calls, electricity and the works, but we won't buy it from you. You have to *pay* for us to take it from your hands."
*gasp*
I'd love to see this one in court! They're crazy if they think they can get away with something like that! Hey, Juno, not everything that's written down is permissible, see!
Slashdot Mirror
What? Does that exist?
I'm sorry, you've just dialed the wrong universe. Please try again. Thank you.
... they simply use an search engine to scowr the ads and ban those that appear to sell something they shouldn't be selling.
The problem here is, of course, that they have no respect for the customer (yes, because he is a customer, and as the saying goes, the customer is always right. And he is not such a little customer as that). Canceling ads is a serious action, especially if you're canceling something without any proof, based solely on the say of the search engine (which is just a program).
They have the obligation to check those ads selected for termination *before* being terminated. And if they say "we don't have the manpower for that", well, then they shouldn't be in this business, now should they?
How exactly would I go about re-tysetting it?
.. unable to access their site. I'm in Lisbon, and I can't access it either... Very strange. I can only guess that our ISPs are using spanish nodes to serve the pages, and getting blocked in the process. Does that mean that the spanish government effectively controls what we see or don't see?
Great. And here I was thinking we were only being invaded phisically...
It should be wise to consider that Java wants to be a big player in the web services field, and just for that reason, it is imperative that the file and serialization formats in any program should be the same as when you're passing web service messages to and fro. And why do you care if the serialization of an object is binary or xml? You're still just calling a method, and as you say, don't care what the actual format is, right?
"5. Eliminate primitive data types."
Have you ever programmed in C#? You should give it a try, just so you have a feel for what the author is trying to say here. In Java, everytime you want to do something to any primitive datatype, there you go converting the thing explicitely. A big waste of time, and a serious discouragement factor to people trying to learn the thing.In C# (essentially java, in the end), it doesn't matter whether you declared a string or a String. You need the functionality of the later, the compiler is clever enough to know how to swap types. You wouldn't believe the ease that it gives you. You just don't think about it.
You may think it's a minor detail, but it's a huge thing in the end, it leaves your mind free for other, more important things. And with the size and complexity of today's projects, every little bit helps.
Pushing a Windows to the max means doing development with all the latest M$ tools that are out only or especifically for XP, like DevStudio .NET, BizTalk 2002, SQL Server, blah, blah, blah. But really, it's not that hard to push XP down on the ground.
I can say that my w2k system, with gigabytes of applications installed for everything but making coffee (but not outlook... i'm not that sadistic), with DB2, mysql, apache, iis, plus email, devtools, browsers and the likes, all running simultaneously, being an AMD 500, beats the hell out of this f***ing XP I've been working with, which has better specs and is only running devstudio, sqlserver, ie and biztalk.
It's slow. Bloated. Even the Start Menu is slow to refresh when I start working it hard. And I've taken out all that stylish colors and stuff, so it almost looks like w2k.
So if you have to work with it, my condolences. I'm just glad this is temporary.
It's pretty obvious you don't push your windows to the max... not unless we're counting changing themes...
XP is stable allright, but that's because it's so f***ing slow and heavy with all the flashy colors that it can't even do a decent BSOD (which it does, by the way, and pretty often).
XP stopped impressing me about five minutes after I started using it. The stupidity of the system is unbeliveable! Switched back to my old NT4/w2k combo in a jippy.
Shana
I don't see how anyone could rate this as a commercial enterprise...
Looking at it from a logical standpoint, you have one guy who is absolutely loaded with money, and chooses to spend 10 (ten) years of his lifetime working at night, on a book, writing as much as one page per night (if that much). What came out is a book with no less than 15000 index entries.
Now, seriously, do you think this is a work made purely for commercial gain? What a waste, don't you think?
He could have had lots of reasons for writing that thing, but don't tell me that it was for money. Besides, if you read the wired report, you'll know that Wolfram thinks that *everybody*, specially his peers, are intellectually inferior beings, and he doesn't give a damn about the world's opinion, much less his peers' opinions, so why should he ask them?
No, he did this for himself, for his science, which by and by is the only real reason anyone should have to make things.
Sure you can get any crappy card for 2 cents, but then you'll get the quality of a 2 cent card. I've tried Realteks and the likes, and in a 100Mbit network I'd get the performance of a 10, sometimes worse. It took ages to do anything! So no thank you, I'd rather stick with my $20 card.
Floppy drives used? Unless it's more than 5 years old (when they used to make them good), it'll last you through two or three bad diskettes, it'll read half of the good ones, and it'll smash the rest. Another good use for your money, I'd say...
By the way, I can sell you a really good used HD, cheap. If you don't mind a few bad blocks here and there, that is...
You know, sometimes you get what you pay for.
there is one ATM network for all banks, managed by an independent group. They are all in color, and some talk and everything. They all used to run OS/2, and there was never a problem, but now they've switched to NT.
Boy, you wouldn't believe the things I've seen popping up on the screen. Everything from "driver failed to load" from "multimedia is on, press ok to continue"! hehehehehe! (how do you press ok on an ATM?)
Oh, and, of course, blue-screens galore!
Next thing you know, the money comes out before you even put in the card...
That is really, really interesting!
Tracking is a piece of cake, like a giant trackball, and this would allow for all kinds of movement and speed with little restriction.
Now, to build such a thing, what would one need? mmm....
;Shana; Gone Crazy, Back Soon, Leave Message...
All they wanted was to create a war in which U.S. ally states (e.g. Saudi Arabia) would feel compelled on religous grounds to at least limit U.S. access to their countries, while nations hostile with the U.S. (e.g. Iran, Sudan, etc) would take a more active role in attacking U.S. targets. Also, if the U.S. attacks Afghanistan, there's a good chance the Saudi people will become discontent enough with King Fhad to finally succede in one of thier attempts to remove him from power.
I believe that was the exact goal of this attack. I don't think the terrorists want the US to back out now... No, the Americans are a very valuable asset to play in the terrorists' quest to control the region. It was no simple-minded attack, and they have been playing this game for too long to jeopardize their operations with this kind of action without having a very strong strategy behind it.
It's Divide and Conquer, it's a game of chess, and the US is about to jump in with the King in front...
"The Taliban are a bunch of psychopathic nuts, hated by the majority population."
This kind of thinking is very, very wrong. A movement does not conquer a country and control 90% of it in a year without support from the population. In fact, the Taliban have so much support that if the US continues to pressure Pakistan and attacks Afganisthan, there is the risk of the Pakistani government being overthrown. If that happens, the Taliban will have won another government.
Think on this a little: if the muslim population, not great admirors of the US right now, becomes inflamed because of US attacks, they very well might revolt against their US-friendly rulers. This is not an unthinkable proposition, as the fanaticism is growing among the muslim population, and it could be that the Taliban will gain immense power and influence from all of this...
If someone wanted to start a war in the region and inflame the population against the US, they couldn't have done a better job...
Shana
-----> Gone Crazy, Back Soon, Leave Message
I'm european, specifically Portuguese. I've had very mixed feelings about all of this, and about what is to come. Because I'm not american, I've hesitated in venting my thoughts, because I know how americans are right now. Now I've found this article by Michael Moore, which sums up pretty well my ideas on the attacks and America's responsability.
America is responsible for arming and training terrorist groups, for supporting them and help killing thousands of people, for fueling tyranies, profiting from murders, etc, etc. Is it any wonder you got it back in full force?
As much as I hate terrorism and the loss of lives, I must agree with you. NOTHING can begin to explain or excuse loss of lives, but the truth is that the US were attacked for a reason. An insane reason, but a reason nonetheless.
As much as it sounds good, it was not because the US are "the land of freedom". It's because the US government cannot stop messing about in other country's affairs and cannot stop trying to be the "World Police". If this is right or wrong, I'm not the one to answer that, but it makes the US a prime target for those who don't want some country telling them what to do. Would you?
Take note that I wrote "The us gov.". Civilian casualties are inexcusable, people are not to blame for the gov.'s actions, but still, the people put the gov. in place and give it power and support. When the us gov. wanted to take Milosevic down, what were the US's targets? The people, civilians.
So now we're seeing the media instigating a blind war. But you don't see them reporting Israeli moves on the palestinians yesterday. You don't see them monitoring Asia's military reactions to this. It seems everything around the world ceased to exist but for the US and the Arabs.
I just hope you stop and think a bit before coming out guns a'blazing. Because like a 47-yeard old guy who watched it all from a building in front said: "I just hope that a 47-year old afghan man doesn't look out his window one of these days and see what I've just seen."
Shana
---> Gone Crazy, Back Soon, Leave Message
"After making the change to Microsoft development tools why did you stick with Win32?"
The reason is obvious: when a client wants a software done, many times his machines are not replaced. It's the client who buys the machines and the client's employees who will use the machines.
Just because you want X software, does it mean you have to switch systems? Spending money and resources training people, and of course switching all the other software that runs on those machines, if that is at all possible... It doesn't make business sense, and the company next door which doesn't force the customer to switch systems will get the contract.
"My other question is why did the developers make this decision?"
Developers are not drones. Their expertise is important in technical decisions as well as business decisions, especially in companies that base their business on development. Of course this should be a developer decision! Do you really think that management people have the basis to make such a decision on their own? Many a project and company has sunk because of that assumption.
Management and Development are different areas, and a good company knows that they must work together. Management tells development what the company and the client needs. Development tells management how to achieve that. After all, they're the ones developing!
Management can't and does not have an idea of the efficiency or performance or anything of a technical tool. It's just not their area of competence. They can have an idea *if* the developers are consulted. These two areas must work together on equal ground if a company is to succeed, and this was what happened in this company.
Shana
----> Gone Crazy, Back Soon, Leave Message
... the harder the keyboard, the better it is. Do you see pianist with RSI? No? Don't you wonder why? After all, they spend as much time playing we we do typing...
The problem is that our keyboards are too soft, not too hard!! And a pianist always chooses a hard keyboard. Our wrists, arms, hands are not supposed to be jiggling about, not using any strength. A hard keyboard improves your wrists, makes them less susceptible. This I know from experience.
Another thing which leads to RSI (which I read somewhere it's just a fabrication, and doesn't really exist?) is the position of the arms. Again, has every piano player has learned, the arm should be bent at a 90 degree angle.
So, as much as that keyboard is fun to use, I guess it's completely off-course as far as RSI is concerned...
------------------------------------ Gone Crazy, Back Soon, Leave Message
Man, that's stupid! You wouldn't say anything if the write-up said "... would enable him ...".
So where's the sexism coming from? From the one that wrote, or from the one that jumped up and down pointing and shouting "THEY WROTE 'SHE'!!!!!".
DUH!
Here in Portugal the communications infrastructure is owned by one company, Portugal Telecom, which is, of course, a monopoly, and a state-owned one at that (it's been privatized, but that didn't change much). Private companies have been piggy-backing on regional and national calls for about two years, but local calls are just now opening up (still piggy-backing, and are still ina transitional phase).
:-) )
So, we pay ISP's for our connection, and we pay for the calls.
We now have free internet access, but it sucks. You really have to pay if you want to have something passable.
Cable is also pratically a monopoly, and is now just starting to offer net access, but there are few people who have it 'cause it's very expensive to set up (and they force you to use their cable modems, even if you have one. Oh, yes, and according to them, it only works on windows and you have to have a cable modem per computer... can you believe that?!?)
Censorship is non-existing (at least that). I really doubt anyone in our gov. can use a computer...
Most teens think Internet is IRC and ICQ... and netiquette is a weird word for mushrooms.
90% of the 5% of the population that knows anything about computers think that Windows is the greatest thing since codfish with garlick (favorite local dish...
Well, at least it's unexplored territory.
Microsoft has spread FUD tacticts in the industry for a very long time... and always has gotten away with it, that is, until now. When someone starts talking about defending the so-called "American Way" (as if there are no other countries... but that's another story), even people not clued-in on the story start smelling bullshit.
Protecting "innovation" by being patriotic is the best way of showing just how scared they really are. Go for it, Microsoft, keep at it! %-)
Lots of people say "bad idea, junk, we don't need no stinkin' gui!". But you're forgetting that with time there willl be more and more command-line-untrained people who want to use linux but don't want to spend the extra time learning stuff that has nothing to do with their work.
Imagine a designer switching from Windoze of Mac to Linux. A guy who wants a sound studio to edit music. Many people out there use computers for completely command-line unrelated work. And Unix has to cater for these people if it wants to become a standard.
Imagine, years from now, that we go into outer space in our little spaceships. The pilot can't be concerned with typing the right command. There's an emergency, aliens flying around, asteroids bumping against the hull, the captain screaming "Turn left 20 degrees! Now right! Up, up, up!!!", and the pilot is writing 'trun left' "no, sh**, that's not right!", 'turn lef', "damn, damn!!!!!"
--insert explosion--
Oh well, maybe a little drastic, but you get my drift. We are just at the begginning of the information age. There's no way we'll be writing and rewriting the OS forever. There will be a time when all we do is add layers and layers, most of it below the GUI that will eventually become the standard.
Might as well do the GUI right, now.
I can imagine a load of reasons that this would would not stand up in court, and the fact that the clause refers to things that are completely unrelated to the service the ISP provides is just one.
:))
Again, I would love to see how this would work out in court... Imagine all those little AOL users wondering why their computers decide to connect to the internet all on their own... (then again, they probably wouldn't notice it...)
Ah, well, only in america! Really, if you didn't exist, you'd just have to be invented!
Now this is really something! My jaw absolutely dropped as I was reading that piece of lawyerise crap!
So a person has to have the computer on 24/7, pay for any technical problems that might arise from this (and we all know how Windoze keeps getting better the more time it's working...), pay for telephone connections Juno makes, can't switch to any other OS, can't even *use* anything else!...
They have really got to be joking. It would be easier if they just said "well, for you to subscribe you have to leave your computer with us, see. You'll pay for everything it does, phone calls, electricity and the works, but we won't buy it from you. You have to *pay* for us to take it from your hands."
*gasp*
I'd love to see this one in court! They're crazy if they think they can get away with something like that! Hey, Juno, not everything that's written down is permissible, see!