Given the ratio of "professional users" to "toy users" of any technology (from cars to hammers), I'd say that the 7.6% figure is about right. The professional users don't want a toy OS like Windows.
Look, Ballmer, I get that you don't like Android. So let's hear what's so awesome about Windows Phone.
There may be a reason why Android represented 46% of market share for 2011Q2 (according to Gartner). That many people can't find it that hard to use, otherwise it wouldn't be selling.
Point by point, you realize, every argument you bring up is a red herring.
Backing them up to different medium? A lot easier than making a photocopy of a magazine. I have EVERY DAMN TEXT FILE I'VE EVER WRITTEN dating back to the Commodore 64 days. Why? Because "backing up" is a simple process that's highly automate-able.
Converting from PDF? See above: I have every damn text file I've ever written dating back to the Commodore 64 days. And I can read them all, too. Because (surprise!) there are emulators for running C-64 software, so I can fire up my old C-64 BBS any time I want. PDF compatibility is likely to be a non-issue, especially given that there are open-source PDF viewers even today, and given the quantity of stuff in that format it isn't going anywhere. I have early PDFs I created going back at least 10 years, all load up fine in modern PDF viewers, both open-source and Adobe's plugins and Apple's Preview.
Digital copies are more survivable precisely because the ease and cost of copying is near zero. Copying and storing paper copies doesn't scale, and is costly.
I'm reminded of the "Real Names" policies on many of the BBSes (especially the early IBM PC-based ones) of the pre-Internet era. It wasn't about any real advantage, percieved or not, with using real names in online discorse.
It was solely about a petty dictator and his fiefdom, and maintaining some sense of "control."
I now view Facebook and Google with the same pity and indignation as I viewed the dickish SysOps of the pre-Internet era, who were more worried about somebody stepping on their dick than building a community. Congratulations.
For the record, I don't even use Firefox. But I am a "web developer."
If your mission-critical web app is not standards-compliant, it's not a "web app." If your mission-critical web app has not been adequately tested to be standards-compliant, you need to rethink the words "mission-critical" and apply either the right resources or rethink whether or not the app is truly "mission criticial."
And your argument is a straw man. USBank, the bank I use, has a web banking service that works in any browser I've ever used it in. Yes, even Opera Mini and the browser on my Android phone. So it can be done.
Is there anybody who is actually selling pets in San Francisco? Hell, I had a hard enough time finding a place to reliably buy the cat food I feed my cat. And while I'm sure there's a couple of backyard breeders of birds, reptiles, and maybe even small dogs that might be hurt by this, I can't think of anywhere in the city limits of San Francisco where a breeding operation is a "good idea."
Hey, San Francisco: does everybody in the city have food, housing, and most importantly does MUNI still have buses that leak in the rain? Sounds like you've got misplaced priorities.
The fact you can "factory reset" the box and the GPLv3 binary is still present implies that they are still distributing GPLv3 code (it would be interesting to get a recently made Boxee box and see if they are still distributing this obsolete firmware version). Even if it was "removed" by a firmware update, that does not change their responsibilities for "correcting" the license violations of the past: further, the fact that the binaries are still present and able to be restored by a simple factory reset means there is an actionable license controversy that they may not be able to cure without releasing the keys required to make the gpgv2 binary "work".
Being as they distributed gpgv2, which is licensed under the GPLv3, means that somebody can make a claim for the cryptographic keys required to make gpgv2 run on the target hardware. The fact they removed it in a software upgrade doesn't change the fact that a GPLv3-licensed binary was distributed: the fact that the binary is still on the machine (and able to be restored by a factory reset) actually proves that GPLv3 code is likely STILL being distributed.
It's a lot more than a technicality. A common-sense interpretation of both the GPLv3 and case law says that there is an actionable claim here for a license violation.
Relevance of the operating system as a discrete, identifiable component: 1% of the users.
To that end, Linux has won, and I think that's the greater point. Microsoft's castle is in applications software, surrounded by the moat of the Windows operating system. They can no longer guarantee their monoculture, because at the end of the day people are going to want their data on their smartphone (which Microsoft has a single-digit market share), on their TV (of which Microsoft only has market share via XBOX), and/or on whatever other gadget people come up with (say, like the iPod: which Microsoft's failure is stuff of legend).
99% of all users out there don't care about the OS. They just want to use the shiny box they bought, whether it's a phone, a more generic entertainment or information appliance, or to file their recipes in an electronic cardfile. Microsoft is being removed from that equation more every day.
Take a real hard look at exactly where you drive. It is almost impossible to drive anywhere and not encounter a Federally-funded road. Almost every town has at least an old "US" Federal route. Even if all you do is cross it, technically that 100 feet of pavement was paid for by Federal monies, and would throw your 10th Amendment argument out the window.
In most states it is possible to purchase untaxed fuel for such things. In fact, "ag-gas" (as it's called around these parts) and "off-road diesel" are commonly sold at the farm supply store's gas station around the corner from where I live.
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Given the ratio of "professional users" to "toy users" of any technology (from cars to hammers), I'd say that the 7.6% figure is about right. The professional users don't want a toy OS like Windows.
.. when you're a distant fifth place.
Look, Ballmer, I get that you don't like Android. So let's hear what's so awesome about Windows Phone.
There may be a reason why Android represented 46% of market share for 2011Q2 (according to Gartner). That many people can't find it that hard to use, otherwise it wouldn't be selling.
Any design that held all the keys in a central database that was not changeable by the end-user organization was defective-as-designed, IMHO.
Except there are states that don't. We like our "no sales tax" in Oregon. Screw you, Tennessee.
I think you mean "distant fifth place and falling."
Point by point, you realize, every argument you bring up is a red herring.
Backing them up to different medium? A lot easier than making a photocopy of a magazine. I have EVERY DAMN TEXT FILE I'VE EVER WRITTEN dating back to the Commodore 64 days. Why? Because "backing up" is a simple process that's highly automate-able.
Converting from PDF? See above: I have every damn text file I've ever written dating back to the Commodore 64 days. And I can read them all, too. Because (surprise!) there are emulators for running C-64 software, so I can fire up my old C-64 BBS any time I want. PDF compatibility is likely to be a non-issue, especially given that there are open-source PDF viewers even today, and given the quantity of stuff in that format it isn't going anywhere. I have early PDFs I created going back at least 10 years, all load up fine in modern PDF viewers, both open-source and Adobe's plugins and Apple's Preview.
Digital copies are more survivable precisely because the ease and cost of copying is near zero. Copying and storing paper copies doesn't scale, and is costly.
I don't know if it can be fitted with an NVIDIA GPU board or not, but if it can...
CUDA.
Imagine a BitCoin mining rig with a few of these, and there's your application.
I'm reminded of the "Real Names" policies on many of the BBSes (especially the early IBM PC-based ones) of the pre-Internet era. It wasn't about any real advantage, percieved or not, with using real names in online discorse.
It was solely about a petty dictator and his fiefdom, and maintaining some sense of "control."
I now view Facebook and Google with the same pity and indignation as I viewed the dickish SysOps of the pre-Internet era, who were more worried about somebody stepping on their dick than building a community. Congratulations.
While I'm wont to agree with you, the argument can be made that if the government were upholding the other 9, the Second wouldn't be necessary.
Yes. And what do you think investigating the safety of unlicensed aircraft falls under?
The battle will be won once all computer hardware sold has a free device driver available.
Fixed it for you.
So, it's just a coincidence that this price jump happens right around the time that they've effectively put the competition out of business?
So ends America's wasteful spending on a program that didn't live up to what was promised.
I didn't hear the news.. we're pulling our troops from the Middle East conflicts?
I think it is you that misses the point.
The CEO wants to play Angry Birds, so everybody gets iPhones. I've actually seen this happen at a few companies.
For the record, I don't even use Firefox. But I am a "web developer."
If your mission-critical web app is not standards-compliant, it's not a "web app."
If your mission-critical web app has not been adequately tested to be standards-compliant, you need to rethink the words "mission-critical" and apply either the right resources or rethink whether or not the app is truly "mission criticial."
And your argument is a straw man. USBank, the bank I use, has a web banking service that works in any browser I've ever used it in. Yes, even Opera Mini and the browser on my Android phone. So it can be done.
It seems to be largely meaningless.
Is there anybody who is actually selling pets in San Francisco? Hell, I had a hard enough time finding a place to reliably buy the cat food I feed my cat. And while I'm sure there's a couple of backyard breeders of birds, reptiles, and maybe even small dogs that might be hurt by this, I can't think of anywhere in the city limits of San Francisco where a breeding operation is a "good idea."
Hey, San Francisco: does everybody in the city have food, housing, and most importantly does MUNI still have buses that leak in the rain? Sounds like you've got misplaced priorities.
If a web-browser change causes a "mission-critical web app" to break, one of the words in "mission-critical web app" is a lie.
In other words, Google's algorithm is working.
Except they are still distributing GPLv3 code.
The fact you can "factory reset" the box and the GPLv3 binary is still present implies that they are still distributing GPLv3 code (it would be interesting to get a recently made Boxee box and see if they are still distributing this obsolete firmware version). Even if it was "removed" by a firmware update, that does not change their responsibilities for "correcting" the license violations of the past: further, the fact that the binaries are still present and able to be restored by a simple factory reset means there is an actionable license controversy that they may not be able to cure without releasing the keys required to make the gpgv2 binary "work".
Not as weak as it may seem.
Being as they distributed gpgv2, which is licensed under the GPLv3, means that somebody can make a claim for the cryptographic keys required to make gpgv2 run on the target hardware. The fact they removed it in a software upgrade doesn't change the fact that a GPLv3-licensed binary was distributed: the fact that the binary is still on the machine (and able to be restored by a factory reset) actually proves that GPLv3 code is likely STILL being distributed.
It's a lot more than a technicality. A common-sense interpretation of both the GPLv3 and case law says that there is an actionable claim here for a license violation.
How about we start with the 112th Congress?
Relevance of the operating system as a discrete, identifiable component: 1% of the users.
To that end, Linux has won, and I think that's the greater point. Microsoft's castle is in applications software, surrounded by the moat of the Windows operating system. They can no longer guarantee their monoculture, because at the end of the day people are going to want their data on their smartphone (which Microsoft has a single-digit market share), on their TV (of which Microsoft only has market share via XBOX), and/or on whatever other gadget people come up with (say, like the iPod: which Microsoft's failure is stuff of legend).
99% of all users out there don't care about the OS. They just want to use the shiny box they bought, whether it's a phone, a more generic entertainment or information appliance, or to file their recipes in an electronic cardfile. Microsoft is being removed from that equation more every day.
Are you sure you drive on "local roads?"
Take a real hard look at exactly where you drive. It is almost impossible to drive anywhere and not encounter a Federally-funded road. Almost every town has at least an old "US" Federal route. Even if all you do is cross it, technically that 100 feet of pavement was paid for by Federal monies, and would throw your 10th Amendment argument out the window.
Yes, but the trucking industry (between the Teamsters' Union and the industry itself) has one hell of a good lobby.
In most states it is possible to purchase untaxed fuel for such things. In fact, "ag-gas" (as it's called around these parts) and "off-road diesel" are commonly sold at the farm supply store's gas station around the corner from where I live.