As I said, lead paint has nothing to do with, well, anything. That's a product safety issue.
The free market should reign supreme (more or less) unless there's a public safety risk. Not sure what's so hard to understand about that or why you'd keep bringing up product safety issues.
So companies are NOT allowed to put anything in their products. So glad we agree. But if you prefer non life threatening examples.. Do you know what the difference is between strawberry flavoured yoghurt and strawberry yoghurt?
Wow, that's some sophist tap dancing right there. Rat tat, ta ta, tat tat ta!
What in God's name does it not interacting with anything outside the computer (which it of course does - you do know tons of software interacts with the desktop right?) have to do with anything?
Not at all. You asked me to justify explorer being included in a Windows install, as opposed to internet explorer, and I gave you my opinion. It isn't my fault you dare not acknowledge the reasoning.
Certainly, lots of things interact with the desktop. But that isn't the point either and you know it.
I could sit around and claim that if it weren't for evil old MS giving away explorer.exe we could all have super-advanced desktops with Internet browsing built in, all kinds of advanced stuff because evil old MS is holding back the industry.
Yes. You could, but you would still be blowing smoke out your arse. Because desktop advancement is not the topic here. Microsoft is perfectly entitled to provide tools to make it's OS more useful. It is not entitled however, to include tools to make the internet less useful to those of us with different OSs. Using one's monopoly influence to gain undue influence in a different market.. Text book anti competitive behaviour. Thing is.. If you want to talk about innovation, IE isn't really a good case study. Wasn't there quite a big gap between IE6 and 7? a five year gap according to Wikipedia, but they can often be wrong. I seem to remember reading that they even disbanded the IE team at one point. Only reforming it when Firefox became noticeable. Nothing like being on the cutting edge of rapid development eh?
OK, I'll say it in public. MS bundles their browser with every copy of Windows because an OS without a built in browser is a laughable proposition. It's silly. All semi-mainstream OS's include a browser. The user needs one, and there is a lot of current and legacy software that expects one to be present on the OS.
Wow, you got me! I admitted it! I'm just shamefaced now!
No.. You avoided it again. Bravo. How many more excuses can you come up with do you think?
What functional advantage does a web browser have when it is built in rather than an optional extra program? Do you also object to Vista and 7 enforcing layered privileges even if it breaks legacy apps? How about if you are using IE8, and the app is expecting IE6?
No browser installed and you have a point, although there are many ways to get a browser installed. A choice of browsers, no problem. Pick one and away you go. That one can even be IE if you like.
Competition is possible. There are alternative browsers, quite good ones. There are countless operating system choices. It's simply a lie, and an easily disproved one, to say there is not rich competition in any segment of the software industry.
Certainly. Competition is possible. Personally, I'd say the others are far better if anything, but that is a subjective thing. The problem is that they got where they are now in spite of Microsoft's little games, not because of them. Once Firefox got enough users to be too expensive to ignore, it was pretty much the thin end of the wedge for IE. And Mozilla didn't have to play reverse engineer the new incompatibility introduced by Microsoft all the time.
Now most, if not all non IE browsers can render the va
Boring, couldn't read all your blathering. Ignored non sequitur about lead paint, read a few more sentences, got bored.
Suffice it to say your argument is nonsensical. A producer of a product should be able to provide whatever features they want. So your overall outlook is stupid.
So you are in favour of toxic paint not being a barrier to toy sales then. Fair enough. After all the free market must reign supreme. And child safe paint is more expensive.
My point being that no producer of any product is free to put anything they like in their products. Every industry has regulations that are observed or they get legal problems.
And how did you manage to ascertain that my argument was invalid if you didn't read it? Slight problem with logic there..
As for your long, rambling blather about "special features", there are none. To turn your questions around, why should MS be allowed to bundle explorer.exe with Windows?
Simple enough. It doesn't interact with anything outside the computer it is installed on. I do not experience any benefits or problems using my choice of OS due to explorer. Which is what makes it different to IE. So no problem.
Now let me ask you a question.
Why is it so vital that Microsoft bundles their browser with every copy of Windows? I know the answer, so I'm just trying to get you to say it in public. Not much hope I know, but I'm an optimist some times.
I mean shit, there could be a wonderful ecosystem of Windows Desktop Experience vendors selling alternatives, right? I'm not fond of the taskbar either, MS is abusing their monopoly preventing other vendors from entering the vibrant "taskbar application" market! And god damn it, don't get me started on cmd.exe. If those dirty fuckers didn't give it away for free more people would use lovely third party console apps and we'd all be better off.
Nope.. Misdirection again. Sorry. It isn't about money. It isn't about customising the OS either. It's about competition being possible. You are still trying so hard to steer the conversation away from the real problem. Try harder.
And so you are killing ONE monopoly(IE) and strengthening another (Google). Does that make any sense? And it wasn't like it was hard to toss IE before. hell every new PC build I do here in the shop composes three steps when I have the desktop up. 1-plug in flash. 2-Install Firefox 3- Toss IE Icon in the trash and replace with Firefox Icon, which i load with ABP and Forecast Fox, which my customers really love.
Two things...
1) No law against being a monopoly. Only against abusing your monopoly status to gain undue influence in other markets.
So Microsoft, Intel, Google or anybody else is not now and never has been punished for being a monopoly. Google is close, but not yet a monopoly, and they have been given a few warnings from the EU and other organisations already to play nice or else, and have unlike MS, chosen to avoid the "or else" bit.
2) If that is your idea of "tossing" IE, then Please let me know where you work, so I can avoid getting a computer that you built. You do not fill me with confidence about the quality of your work.
To me this is just the EU being really fucking dumb, yet again. Anybody remember XP-N? For those that hadn't heard of it, the EU forced MSFT to make an sell a version of XP with no media player called XP-N. I'm sure there is a landfill in Eastern Europe filled with XP-N discs because the retailers said they couldn't give them away and it was more worthless than an AOL CD.
The dumb bit was letting MS sell Windows in something other than the N version. It was pointless then, and it is pointless now. They have however learned from this mistake, and are not being so gullible when dealing with MS these days.
And what if you don't have the Internet up yet,hmmm? Most routers require a browser to do the initial config. So if i am in the EU I have the choice of plugging my Windows machine straight into the net(and get boned) or not having the net at all because I can't set my router until i download a browser, which i can't do without setting my router. Gee, I wonder how many other ways this can go wrong? Dumb EU, just dumb.
If most routers require a browser for config, they can use the browser that the user installed during configuration of the PC, the browser that comes on the hard disk or on a CD with a selection of others from the OEM, or use any of a selection of browsers on the router CD, or a magazine cover disk. Not too hard is it? And as all PC browsers are freeware, no problem distributing them on the disk. Or are you worried about the fraction of a penny that it will add to the cost of the router to redo the master disk? And before you mention it, Joe Average doesn't set up a router himself.
In the instruction manual of the router..
Step 1) insert the router installation CD. Step 2) choose the preferred browser from this list. Check can be made to bring up the default browser if present. and press install. Step 3) Type (supplied ip address for router in the address box of your chosen browser) Step 4) Enter user name and password in the Router start page (default user name and password usually written on base of router or the box) Step others.. ) do what you need to to get it working, varies according to router.
Pretty simple hmmmm? Works just like it used to a few years ago.
My first router even came with a browser free install app. Although the instruction pamphlet did detail the manual configuration method too.
Not so long ago, a browser was an optional app. Not installed in every copy of Windows. Scary I know, but back in those days, when you inserted the ISP setup disk or an disk from a magazine cover, there was the option to install the browser of your choice. Back then, it was IE 3/4/Netscape. There even used to be Windows update patches and demo virus scanners before the net connection was pretty much assumed. That was where I got most of my software in those days.
Why should Microsoft have to install anyone else's browser on their operating system? It's not like they prevent you from downloading and installing third party browsers. Matter of fact - I'm using one right now!
Why should Chinese toy manufacturers use child safe paint on their toys. It isn't their kids getting poisoned is it?
Lets turn the argument on it's head and see what falls out.
Why should Microsoft supply a browser?
Do they provide a CAD app? A spreadsheet? A fully functional word processor with spell checker? How about a music sequencer? Or an animation app? Even a virus scanner is a third party app, and one that is pretty crucial to safe operation of the computer on the internet. But Microsoft don't supply it.
On 7, they don't even supply an email app? (I just checked) Pretty crucial app, but not installed by default.
If you click on a mailto link in 7, unless you have downloaded or otherwise installed an email app already, nothing happens on some browsers, and IE only pops up a window saying that the email app has not been configured. How is that for confusing for a poor uninformed user?
So why is Microsoft being so stubborn about a browser? You are already using their OS, so it isn't for branding. The company logo is down there in the bottom left corner all the time you are using it. So why not use someone else's browser for free?
If IE is no better or no worse than any of the others, then why do they make and maintain an extra app that they don't even charge for? Nobody is suggesting that Windows 7 be cheaper for the version with a browser choice, so what is the big deal?
They could re allocate the developers from the IE team to other parts of the company, and save all that money they spend supporting IE in all it's flavours. Accountants are happy, Share holders are happy, and the EU is happy. So why not just do that?
Here they are being handed a get out option on a silver plate. Free browser, no cost to MS beyond a few meg on the install disk and a link to each browser, or even a link to a couple of files on their servers, and in return they get something that would have required them to buy out the company years ago. Doesn't make sense if IE is just a browser does it?
I wouldn't say I necessarily believe it. The majority of users probably have no idea what DRM is and are thus unaffected. Those that do know what DRM is will either buy the software anyway and deal with it, buy the software then download a cracked version, or forego paying entirely and just download the cracked version.
Don't be so sure. The general public is not nearly as stupid as is often made out here. And people who find out the hard way that they have rented instead of buying the media are angry. People who are aware of DRM are increasing.
As much as I despise Scientology, I don't see why their cult should be singled out for direct criticisms in the opening paragraphs of the article, (e.g "cult that financially defrauds and abuses its members").
Ok.. How about "A bunch of cults who financially defraud and abuse their members"
Here, I fixed that for you. But the UK does have a spectacular example of such a disaster: Iplayer. The Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iplayer is enlightening on how exactly to screw up a major technology project with bad "initiatives". Of particular foolishness was the Windows-only DRM preventing it from working with anything but Windows Media Player, and it sucking your bandwidth even after you turned it off to effectively bittorrent the material while refusing to admit that it was bittorrent.
I think you may be a bit behind the times. iPlayer has been multi platform for quite a while now. the streaming service runs on flash, and even does HD, and the downloader is now available for both Linux and Mac as well as Windows via AIR. Works just fine on Fedora 10. Not open source, but at least platform neutral.
I agree that they made a mess of it when they went the Microsoft route. It was at best, used by a few people. The Flash site however has been very successful.
That works for every other business except monopolies. The RIAA thinks like this, low sales + increased internet usage by the masses + the fact the internet can be used to download music illegally = increased piracy! They have been a virtual monopoly for so long that they don't understand market forces that every other business does. For every CD you don't buy, the RIAA believes that it is one more CD downloaded off of TPB.
One little thing.. The RIAA is made up of the top few major labels. Not all music labels. Thus not a monopoly, just a vocal minority.
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the RIAA members made up something like 20% of the entire music business. Which if true, would make them a powerful lobbying group, but not by any stretch a monopoly, or make it so that the only way you can avoid them is by never buying music again.
So by using sites like RIAA radar, member profits go down, indie labels go up, and the message is sent. Use RIAA Radar and you can buy RIAA non member music new, and RIAA member music second hand. Pretty simple. Totally legal, and nobody can touch you. YOu even save a little money this way.
Do humans eat chimps or gorillas? Or is the similarity too much for us to stomach (pun partially intended)?
Yes. Do a search on bush meat. Not so common outside the areas where the other primates are not indigenous. But meat is meat. Just about any animal that lives near humans and isn't toxic has been eaten at some point, and often comes to be a regular item on the menu.
Cannibalism has never been a nutritional thing though. Usually last ditch attempt for survival in extreme conditions or ceremonial. This finding just suggests it went on earlier than previously thought
So it really shouldn't be hard for you to recommend one.
OK. I'd recommend the Cybook Gen3. It's the one I bought. Cost me about £170 or so last October. It's up to the £190 mark now. It supports Mobi DRM, Mobi DRM free, txt, HTML and PDF. Although the PDF is a bit rubbish as you can't really change the font size, just zoom the whole page and hope for the best. And as most PDF files are really formatted for A4, not really suited for viewing on a 6" screen that doesn;t pan well. Nice light weight, good screen size, great battery life. About the same size as a DVD case when in it's cover, so very good size for carrying around.
Truth is.. there isn't really that much to choose between them hardware wise, so it is more down to what yo want to read, and what is available locally.
For PDF reading.. Forget it. More trouble than it is worth right now. So no downloaded manuals, no text books etc. Check back in a few years.
For fiction, any of them. Check around to see what is supported in your region and go for a reader that supports the most popular format.
You mean like how the US Music industry is posting profit growth of 4% annually over the last three years? Or perhaps you meant the Movie industry with its 3rd year of growth?
Or perhaps the OP meant that the publishing industry will, like the music industry, go through a few years of opposing digital media (which it has done) and predicting doom and destruction from piracy (which it is about to) , followed by willing publication of all their output in digital form, but with daft DRM (which in some cases, it is now doing). Before finally understanding the reality of the new market and dropping DRM so everybody who wants a copy can buy their product and use it on the device of their choice from as many outlets as possible.
This is the outcome I'm hoping for. Not the death of the publishing industry.
Publishers don't need to die out. At least, not for a long time yet. They can still find new authors, charge for creation of the books, and get them on the virtual shelves. They still have a purpose. Eventually, they will come to the same conclusion as the music industry. That it is better to sell a few copies than no copies. And the more devices the book can be read on, the more likely that someone will buy it.
You're wrong. Non-genuine versions of Windows will still receive critical updates (including security updates).
However: Only through Auto-Update - you will not be able to access the Windows Update website and select the fixes you want to install.
So basically.. If you want the security updates, you have to switch on a clear unrestricted path to Microsoft, on a known illegal copy of Windows, and give them system wide access to install anything they like on the targeted machine. Security updates, browsers, new WGA rules, some kind of IP address tracking software?
No thanks. If I had a dodgy copy, I know I would not be doing that. Especially with Microsoft's reputation for disguising little surprises as critical updates.
It's hard enough to get people to keep their legit windows boxes up to date as it is. Asking a pirate to trust the people they copied from to not do something nasty at some stage... Pull the other one. It's got a parrot perched on it.
how exactly do you switch out a software agreement? even if there was a clause in there stating "we can change this at anytime" if they tried changing it to greating disadvantage you, i'm no lawyer, but i suspect you'd have a great get out of jail free card right there. the other option is to simply stop using it so they can't sue.
They do. They can, and you don't.
If the license is too unbalanced, then you take them to court. You do not have the option of ignoring the license and doing your own thing.
ISP brings a cap into your unlimited broad band.. No problem. They only have to let you know they changed the terms. Not what they changed.
WGA? Change in the behaviour of the software after you bought it. Don't like it, don't use it.
Common practice among fraudsters on eBay and all auction sites is to never outright say it's a reproduction, since that flags the item as a counterfeit and is almost certainly to be removed for that word alone.
Ebay's search function would seem to disagree with you.
There are 58,491 Auctions with the word Reproduction at Ebay.com when I checked just now. There is even an Original/Reproduction field in the description block where people are allowed to explicitly tag their item as a reproduction so they can stay legal, and demonstrate that even if the buyer missed the indication, that they did not at any point try to pass off the reproduction as the real thing.
A reproduction is not a fake. It's a copy. Sell it as such, and no fraud charge is possible. The real thing can be expensive, the copy, no matter how good, is not the real thing. But so long as that is known up front, it's fine.
A counterfeit is a fake. Something that is being sold as an item made by a specific maker at a specific time, that was made by someone else. This is fraud. And is illegal. The buyer thinks they are getting one thing, but they are actually getting something else.
Where you are perhaps getting confused is with modern counterfeit goods. It is only legal to offer a reproduction if there are no limits on the copying of that item. So a reproduction of Charles Babbage's mechanical calculator would be fine. A reproduction of a play station would not.
But when that ticket is 1/3 of their yearly profit I would think they would comply or risk losing 2/3 of their profit the next year
Only if you can show how 5% of the daily turnover for the previous financial year = 1/3 of their yearly turnover. The fine that can be imposed is capped. So unless Microsoft have a fantastic year, followed immediately by the worst year ever, I think that is unlikely.
Plus, What happens in Europe has an influence on the rest of the world too. The EU countries make up a hell of a big market. Europe turning Linux.. Not something that Microsoft dare consider. Imagine if the MS lock in so carefully crafted over the decades turned into massive liability for it's users?
The point of the EU courts is not to "punish" Microsoft, but to remove barriers to entry for competitors. Once the last barrier falls, the case is over. This does not have to mean the end of Microsoft, unless you think that Microsoft's products are so bad, they can't stand up to competition without sneaky tactics.
It's a matter of national security y'know.. The kind of bath plug a minister chooses, or the type of porn her hubby/advisor prefers on their pay per view is vital information that could be of use to terrorists!!!!
You really think so? The EU will probably slap them with a hefty fine yet again. This is just another example of Microsoft being deliberately anti-competitive.
Except if you look a little closer, the EU doesn't just fine them. The fine is trivial, and does nothing but make the news in the computer press. Just money. A fine is like a parking ticket. And if you are rich enough, you can theoretically see a parking ticket as a parking fee.
Forcing them to correct the problem to the satisfaction of a neutral third party acting as a technical "expert witness" however, is a worthwhile activity. And this can really sting. This is more like taking away their car, or revoking their license. Way more than a slap on the wrist and a stern look.
The bit missing from the summary (I wont bother reading the article, it wont say it there either - this happens on EVERY Windows release) is that just like Windows Vista Starter Edition and Windows XP Starter Edition before it, which have the same limitation, you cannot buy this. It is ONLY for sale in developing countries. Dell couldn't put it on an Inspiron for sale in Milwaukee if they wanted to.
I know there is always a heavily hobbled Windows version for developing markets, the question is, can they afford to keep it exclusive to developing nations..
Microsoft have not had to deal with hardware from a generation or two older than the current base spec before.
They have not had to deal with a market where they have to provide an ultra cheap version to run on ultra cheap PCs before.
And if they don't use a special cheap netbook license, then Microsoft can't tell OEMs what hardware spec they are allowed to have in a netbook.
Netbooks really caught Microsoft on the wrong foot with Vista. Microsoft has for years set the pace for hardware refreshes. New version of Windows comes out and it runs like an arthritic dog on existing hardware. Upgrade the hardware to run it well, and you raise the minimum spec. But with netbooks, people actually wanted the year before last base spec. Totally upset the whole system. Vista didn't work right on netbooks, which were selling like there was no tomorrow, and selling with a rival OS, so they were forced to allow XP to keep selling long after it was supposed to be retired, or concede the market segment to Linux.
If they could have relied on people using pirated copies of Windows on them, it wouldn't have mattered, but it seems enough were sticking with Linux on the first Eee to be seen as a risk. We may be perfectly capable of ditching the pre installed OS, and putting on our choice, but the average punter is not. Joe Average doesn't install operating systems.. as has been brought up here so often. And the average punter was the main customer for these little gadgets. The average punter also doesn't give a damn what their computer is running, which is something that Microsoft has relied on for years to shift their OS. And as a netbook isn't much more than a glorified PDA. If you don't see your netbook as a "real PC" then you don't expect it to work like a real PC. And you put up with a few niggles.
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As I said, lead paint has nothing to do with, well, anything. That's a product safety issue.
The free market should reign supreme (more or less) unless there's a public safety risk. Not sure what's so hard to understand about that or why you'd keep bringing up product safety issues.
So companies are NOT allowed to put anything in their products. So glad we agree. But if you prefer non life threatening examples.. Do you know what the difference is between strawberry flavoured yoghurt and strawberry yoghurt?
Wow, that's some sophist tap dancing right there. Rat tat, ta ta, tat tat ta!
What in God's name does it not interacting with anything outside the computer (which it of course does - you do know tons of software interacts with the desktop right?) have to do with anything?
Not at all. You asked me to justify explorer being included in a Windows install, as opposed to internet explorer, and I gave you my opinion. It isn't my fault you dare not acknowledge the reasoning.
Certainly, lots of things interact with the desktop. But that isn't the point either and you know it.
I could sit around and claim that if it weren't for evil old MS giving away explorer.exe we could all have super-advanced desktops with Internet browsing built in, all kinds of advanced stuff because evil old MS is holding back the industry.
Yes. You could, but you would still be blowing smoke out your arse. Because desktop advancement is not the topic here. Microsoft is perfectly entitled to provide tools to make it's OS more useful. It is not entitled however, to include tools to make the internet less useful to those of us with different OSs. Using one's monopoly influence to gain undue influence in a different market.. Text book anti competitive behaviour.
Thing is.. If you want to talk about innovation, IE isn't really a good case study. Wasn't there quite a big gap between IE6 and 7? a five year gap according to Wikipedia, but they can often be wrong. I seem to remember reading that they even disbanded the IE team at one point. Only reforming it when Firefox became noticeable. Nothing like being on the cutting edge of rapid development eh?
OK, I'll say it in public. MS bundles their browser with every copy of Windows because an OS without a built in browser is a laughable proposition. It's silly. All semi-mainstream OS's include a browser. The user needs one, and there is a lot of current and legacy software that expects one to be present on the OS.
Wow, you got me! I admitted it! I'm just shamefaced now!
No.. You avoided it again. Bravo. How many more excuses can you come up with do you think?
What functional advantage does a web browser have when it is built in rather than an optional extra program?
Do you also object to Vista and 7 enforcing layered privileges even if it breaks legacy apps? How about if you are using IE8, and the app is expecting IE6?
No browser installed and you have a point, although there are many ways to get a browser installed. A choice of browsers, no problem. Pick one and away you go. That one can even be IE if you like.
Competition is possible. There are alternative browsers, quite good ones. There are countless operating system choices. It's simply a lie, and an easily disproved one, to say there is not rich competition in any segment of the software industry.
Certainly. Competition is possible. Personally, I'd say the others are far better if anything, but that is a subjective thing. The problem is that they got where they are now in spite of Microsoft's little games, not because of them.
Once Firefox got enough users to be too expensive to ignore, it was pretty much the thin end of the wedge for IE. And Mozilla didn't have to play reverse engineer the new incompatibility introduced by Microsoft all the time.
Now most, if not all non IE browsers can render the va
Boring, couldn't read all your blathering. Ignored non sequitur about lead paint, read a few more sentences, got bored.
Suffice it to say your argument is nonsensical. A producer of a product should be able to provide whatever features they want. So your overall outlook is stupid.
So you are in favour of toxic paint not being a barrier to toy sales then. Fair enough. After all the free market must reign supreme. And child safe paint is more expensive.
My point being that no producer of any product is free to put anything they like in their products. Every industry has regulations that are observed or they get legal problems.
And how did you manage to ascertain that my argument was invalid if you didn't read it? Slight problem with logic there..
As for your long, rambling blather about "special features", there are none. To turn your questions around, why should MS be allowed to bundle explorer.exe with Windows?
Simple enough. It doesn't interact with anything outside the computer it is installed on. I do not experience any benefits or problems using my choice of OS due to explorer. Which is what makes it different to IE. So no problem.
Now let me ask you a question.
Why is it so vital that Microsoft bundles their browser with every copy of Windows? I know the answer, so I'm just trying to get you to say it in public. Not much hope I know, but I'm an optimist some times.
I mean shit, there could be a wonderful ecosystem of Windows Desktop Experience vendors selling alternatives, right? I'm not fond of the taskbar either, MS is abusing their monopoly preventing other vendors from entering the vibrant "taskbar application" market! And god damn it, don't get me started on cmd.exe. If those dirty fuckers didn't give it away for free more people would use lovely third party console apps and we'd all be better off.
Nope.. Misdirection again. Sorry. It isn't about money. It isn't about customising the OS either. It's about competition being possible. You are still trying so hard to steer the conversation away from the real problem. Try harder.
And so you are killing ONE monopoly(IE) and strengthening another (Google). Does that make any sense? And it wasn't like it was hard to toss IE before. hell every new PC build I do here in the shop composes three steps when I have the desktop up. 1-plug in flash. 2-Install Firefox 3- Toss IE Icon in the trash and replace with Firefox Icon, which i load with ABP and Forecast Fox, which my customers really love.
Two things...
1) No law against being a monopoly. Only against abusing your monopoly status to gain undue influence in other markets.
So Microsoft, Intel, Google or anybody else is not now and never has been punished for being a monopoly. Google is close, but not yet a monopoly, and they have been given a few warnings from the EU and other organisations already to play nice or else, and have unlike MS, chosen to avoid the "or else" bit.
2) If that is your idea of "tossing" IE, then Please let me know where you work, so I can avoid getting a computer that you built. You do not fill me with confidence about the quality of your work.
To me this is just the EU being really fucking dumb, yet again. Anybody remember XP-N? For those that hadn't heard of it, the EU forced MSFT to make an sell a version of XP with no media player called XP-N. I'm sure there is a landfill in Eastern Europe filled with XP-N discs because the retailers said they couldn't give them away and it was more worthless than an AOL CD.
The dumb bit was letting MS sell Windows in something other than the N version. It was pointless then, and it is pointless now. They have however learned from this mistake, and are not being so gullible when dealing with MS these days.
And what if you don't have the Internet up yet,hmmm? Most routers require a browser to do the initial config. So if i am in the EU I have the choice of plugging my Windows machine straight into the net(and get boned) or not having the net at all because I can't set my router until i download a browser, which i can't do without setting my router. Gee, I wonder how many other ways this can go wrong? Dumb EU, just dumb.
If most routers require a browser for config, they can use the browser that the user installed during configuration of the PC, the browser that comes on the hard disk or on a CD with a selection of others from the OEM, or use any of a selection of browsers on the router CD, or a magazine cover disk. Not too hard is it? And as all PC browsers are freeware, no problem distributing them on the disk. Or are you worried about the fraction of a penny that it will add to the cost of the router to redo the master disk? And before you mention it, Joe Average doesn't set up a router himself.
In the instruction manual of the router..
Step 1) insert the router installation CD.
Step 2) choose the preferred browser from this list. Check can be made to bring up the default browser if present. and press install.
Step 3) Type (supplied ip address for router in the address box of your chosen browser)
Step 4) Enter user name and password in the Router start page (default user name and password usually written on base of router or the box)
Step others.. ) do what you need to to get it working, varies according to router.
Pretty simple hmmmm? Works just like it used to a few years ago.
My first router even came with a browser free install app. Although the instruction pamphlet did detail the manual configuration method too.
Not so long ago, a browser was an optional app. Not installed in every copy of Windows. Scary I know, but back in those days, when you inserted the ISP setup disk or an disk from a magazine cover, there was the option to install the browser of your choice. Back then, it was IE 3/4/Netscape. There even used to be Windows update patches and demo virus scanners before the net connection was pretty much assumed. That was where I got most of my software in those days.
Why should Microsoft have to install anyone else's browser on their operating system? It's not like they prevent you from downloading and installing third party browsers. Matter of fact - I'm using one right now!
Why should Chinese toy manufacturers use child safe paint on their toys. It isn't their kids getting poisoned is it?
Lets turn the argument on it's head and see what falls out.
Why should Microsoft supply a browser?
Do they provide a CAD app?
A spreadsheet?
A fully functional word processor with spell checker?
How about a music sequencer?
Or an animation app?
Even a virus scanner is a third party app, and one that is pretty crucial to safe operation of the computer on the internet. But Microsoft don't supply it.
On 7, they don't even supply an email app? (I just checked) Pretty crucial app, but not installed by default.
If you click on a mailto link in 7, unless you have downloaded or otherwise installed an email app already, nothing happens on some browsers, and IE only pops up a window saying that the email app has not been configured. How is that for confusing for a poor uninformed user?
So why is Microsoft being so stubborn about a browser? You are already using their OS, so it isn't for branding. The company logo is down there in the bottom left corner all the time you are using it. So why not use someone else's browser for free?
If IE is no better or no worse than any of the others, then why do they make and maintain an extra app that they don't even charge for? Nobody is suggesting that Windows 7 be cheaper for the version with a browser choice, so what is the big deal?
They could re allocate the developers from the IE team to other parts of the company, and save all that money they spend supporting IE in all it's flavours. Accountants are happy, Share holders are happy, and the EU is happy. So why not just do that?
Here they are being handed a get out option on a silver plate. Free browser, no cost to MS beyond a few meg on the install disk and a link to each browser, or even a link to a couple of files on their servers, and in return they get something that would have required them to buy out the company years ago. Doesn't make sense if IE is just a browser does it?
I wouldn't say I necessarily believe it. The majority of users probably have no idea what DRM is and are thus unaffected. Those that do know what DRM is will either buy the software anyway and deal with it, buy the software then download a cracked version, or forego paying entirely and just download the cracked version.
Don't be so sure. The general public is not nearly as stupid as is often made out here. And people who find out the hard way that they have rented instead of buying the media are angry. People who are aware of DRM are increasing.
As much as I despise Scientology, I don't see why their cult should be singled out for direct criticisms in the opening paragraphs of the article, (e.g "cult that financially defrauds and abuses its members").
Ok.. How about "A bunch of cults who financially defraud and abuse their members"
What if you have an unattended install, how hard is windows to install then?
About as hard as a custom spin of a Linux dostro on known compatible hardware.
Here, I fixed that for you. But the UK does have a spectacular example of such a disaster: Iplayer. The Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iplayer is enlightening on how exactly to screw up a major technology project with bad "initiatives". Of particular foolishness was the Windows-only DRM preventing it from working with anything but Windows Media Player, and it sucking your bandwidth even after you turned it off to effectively bittorrent the material while refusing to admit that it was bittorrent.
I think you may be a bit behind the times. iPlayer has been multi platform for quite a while now. the streaming service runs on flash, and even does HD, and the downloader is now available for both Linux and Mac as well as Windows via AIR. Works just fine on Fedora 10. Not open source, but at least platform neutral.
I agree that they made a mess of it when they went the Microsoft route. It was at best, used by a few people. The Flash site however has been very successful.
That works for every other business except monopolies. The RIAA thinks like this, low sales + increased internet usage by the masses + the fact the internet can be used to download music illegally = increased piracy! They have been a virtual monopoly for so long that they don't understand market forces that every other business does. For every CD you don't buy, the RIAA believes that it is one more CD downloaded off of TPB.
One little thing.. The RIAA is made up of the top few major labels. Not all music labels. Thus not a monopoly, just a vocal minority. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the RIAA members made up something like 20% of the entire music business. Which if true, would make them a powerful lobbying group, but not by any stretch a monopoly, or make it so that the only way you can avoid them is by never buying music again. So by using sites like RIAA radar, member profits go down, indie labels go up, and the message is sent. Use RIAA Radar and you can buy RIAA non member music new, and RIAA member music second hand. Pretty simple. Totally legal, and nobody can touch you. YOu even save a little money this way.
How about filling the moats of the MPs homes up with discarded punch cards?
Personally, I'd go for something more regularly discarded and far more fragrant. Not to mention fully biodegradable.
Any guesses to the amount of comments this thread will get once the cabal gets enough juice in their systems to read?
Which one?
Do humans eat chimps or gorillas? Or is the similarity too much for us to stomach (pun partially intended)?
Yes. Do a search on bush meat. Not so common outside the areas where the other primates are not indigenous. But meat is meat. Just about any animal that lives near humans and isn't toxic has been eaten at some point, and often comes to be a regular item on the menu.
Cannibalism has never been a nutritional thing though. Usually last ditch attempt for survival in extreme conditions or ceremonial. This finding just suggests it went on earlier than previously thought
So it really shouldn't be hard for you to recommend one.
OK. I'd recommend the Cybook Gen3. It's the one I bought. Cost me about £170 or so last October. It's up to the £190 mark now.
It supports Mobi DRM, Mobi DRM free, txt, HTML and PDF. Although the PDF is a bit rubbish as you can't really change the font size, just zoom the whole page and hope for the best. And as most PDF files are really formatted for A4, not really suited for viewing on a 6" screen that doesn;t pan well.
Nice light weight, good screen size, great battery life. About the same size as a DVD case when in it's cover, so very good size for carrying around.
Truth is.. there isn't really that much to choose between them hardware wise, so it is more down to what yo want to read, and what is available locally.
For PDF reading.. Forget it. More trouble than it is worth right now. So no downloaded manuals, no text books etc. Check back in a few years.
For fiction, any of them. Check around to see what is supported in your region and go for a reader that supports the most popular format.
Can you recommend one that doesn't cost more than 300 books?
Given an average 10$ per book.. all of them.
You mean like how the US Music industry is posting profit growth of 4% annually over the last three years? Or perhaps you meant the Movie industry with its 3rd year of growth?
Or perhaps the OP meant that the publishing industry will, like the music industry, go through a few years of opposing digital media (which it has done) and predicting doom and destruction from piracy (which it is about to) , followed by willing publication of all their output in digital form, but with daft DRM (which in some cases, it is now doing). Before finally understanding the reality of the new market and dropping DRM so everybody who wants a copy can buy their product and use it on the device of their choice from as many outlets as possible. This is the outcome I'm hoping for. Not the death of the publishing industry. Publishers don't need to die out. At least, not for a long time yet. They can still find new authors, charge for creation of the books, and get them on the virtual shelves. They still have a purpose. Eventually, they will come to the same conclusion as the music industry. That it is better to sell a few copies than no copies. And the more devices the book can be read on, the more likely that someone will buy it.
You're wrong. Non-genuine versions of Windows will still receive critical updates (including security updates).
However: Only through Auto-Update - you will not be able to access the Windows Update website and select the fixes you want to install.
So basically.. If you want the security updates, you have to switch on a clear unrestricted path to Microsoft, on a known illegal copy of Windows, and give them system wide access to install anything they like on the targeted machine. Security updates, browsers, new WGA rules, some kind of IP address tracking software?
No thanks. If I had a dodgy copy, I know I would not be doing that. Especially with Microsoft's reputation for disguising little surprises as critical updates.
It's hard enough to get people to keep their legit windows boxes up to date as it is. Asking a pirate to trust the people they copied from to not do something nasty at some stage... Pull the other one. It's got a parrot perched on it.
how exactly do you switch out a software agreement? even if there was a clause in there stating "we can change this at anytime" if they tried changing it to greating disadvantage you, i'm no lawyer, but i suspect you'd have a great get out of jail free card right there. the other option is to simply stop using it so they can't sue.
They do. They can, and you don't.
If the license is too unbalanced, then you take them to court. You do not have the option of ignoring the license and doing your own thing.
ISP brings a cap into your unlimited broad band.. No problem. They only have to let you know they changed the terms. Not what they changed.
WGA? Change in the behaviour of the software after you bought it. Don't like it, don't use it.
Common practice among fraudsters on eBay and all auction sites is to never outright say it's a reproduction, since that flags the item as a counterfeit and is almost certainly to be removed for that word alone.
Ebay's search function would seem to disagree with you. There are 58,491 Auctions with the word Reproduction at Ebay.com when I checked just now. There is even an Original/Reproduction field in the description block where people are allowed to explicitly tag their item as a reproduction so they can stay legal, and demonstrate that even if the buyer missed the indication, that they did not at any point try to pass off the reproduction as the real thing. A reproduction is not a fake. It's a copy. Sell it as such, and no fraud charge is possible. The real thing can be expensive, the copy, no matter how good, is not the real thing. But so long as that is known up front, it's fine. A counterfeit is a fake. Something that is being sold as an item made by a specific maker at a specific time, that was made by someone else. This is fraud. And is illegal. The buyer thinks they are getting one thing, but they are actually getting something else. Where you are perhaps getting confused is with modern counterfeit goods. It is only legal to offer a reproduction if there are no limits on the copying of that item. So a reproduction of Charles Babbage's mechanical calculator would be fine. A reproduction of a play station would not.
But when that ticket is 1/3 of their yearly profit I would think they would comply or risk losing 2/3 of their profit the next year
Only if you can show how 5% of the daily turnover for the previous financial year = 1/3 of their yearly turnover. The fine that can be imposed is capped. So unless Microsoft have a fantastic year, followed immediately by the worst year ever, I think that is unlikely. Plus, What happens in Europe has an influence on the rest of the world too. The EU countries make up a hell of a big market. Europe turning Linux.. Not something that Microsoft dare consider. Imagine if the MS lock in so carefully crafted over the decades turned into massive liability for it's users? The point of the EU courts is not to "punish" Microsoft, but to remove barriers to entry for competitors. Once the last barrier falls, the case is over. This does not have to mean the end of Microsoft, unless you think that Microsoft's products are so bad, they can't stand up to competition without sneaky tactics.
MP's expenses...
It's a matter of national security y'know.. The kind of bath plug a minister chooses, or the type of porn her hubby/advisor prefers on their pay per view is vital information that could be of use to terrorists!!!!
You really think so? The EU will probably slap them with a hefty fine yet again. This is just another example of Microsoft being deliberately anti-competitive.
Except if you look a little closer, the EU doesn't just fine them. The fine is trivial, and does nothing but make the news in the computer press. Just money. A fine is like a parking ticket. And if you are rich enough, you can theoretically see a parking ticket as a parking fee.
Forcing them to correct the problem to the satisfaction of a neutral third party acting as a technical "expert witness" however, is a worthwhile activity. And this can really sting. This is more like taking away their car, or revoking their license. Way more than a slap on the wrist and a stern look.
well, if DRM is one of those "features" it lacks, I'll consider it. Kindle 2 is nice, but its draconian DRM it is a big no no for me.
Most if not all support multiple formats. Usually only one DRM encumbered format.
You do realise only idiots and people with an agenda tend to call Windows 7 'Vista SP3', don't you?
Would you prefer ME2.1 or perhaps Vista SE?
The bit missing from the summary (I wont bother reading the article, it wont say it there either - this happens on EVERY Windows release) is that just like Windows Vista Starter Edition and Windows XP Starter Edition before it, which have the same limitation, you cannot buy this. It is ONLY for sale in developing countries. Dell couldn't put it on an Inspiron for sale in Milwaukee if they wanted to.
I know there is always a heavily hobbled Windows version for developing markets, the question is, can they afford to keep it exclusive to developing nations..
Microsoft have not had to deal with hardware from a generation or two older than the current base spec before.
They have not had to deal with a market where they have to provide an ultra cheap version to run on ultra cheap PCs before.
And if they don't use a special cheap netbook license, then Microsoft can't tell OEMs what hardware spec they are allowed to have in a netbook.
Netbooks really caught Microsoft on the wrong foot with Vista. Microsoft has for years set the pace for hardware refreshes. New version of Windows comes out and it runs like an arthritic dog on existing hardware. Upgrade the hardware to run it well, and you raise the minimum spec. But with netbooks, people actually wanted the year before last base spec. Totally upset the whole system.
Vista didn't work right on netbooks, which were selling like there was no tomorrow, and selling with a rival OS, so they were forced to allow XP to keep selling long after it was supposed to be retired, or concede the market segment to Linux.
If they could have relied on people using pirated copies of Windows on them, it wouldn't have mattered, but it seems enough were sticking with Linux on the first Eee to be seen as a risk. We may be perfectly capable of ditching the pre installed OS, and putting on our choice, but the average punter is not. Joe Average doesn't install operating systems.. as has been brought up here so often. And the average punter was the main customer for these little gadgets.
The average punter also doesn't give a damn what their computer is running, which is something that Microsoft has relied on for years to shift their OS. And as a netbook isn't much more than a glorified PDA. If you don't see your netbook as a "real PC" then you don't expect it to work like a real PC. And you put up with a few niggles.
When will they eventually get to the point of taxing what comes out of my butt?
Unless you have your own septic tank, they do.