Microsoft is Install-driven - they know that however bad the product is, if they can get it installed they will always win, later. Look at how easily they got rid of Netscape !
A product like Linux is much more dangerous to them, because it fights back at install time, eg. Linspire or Linux server platforms.
The fact that cars can be legally driven below 300Mph does not reduce accident rates - the fact that this is mandatory on public roads in most countries does (presumably).
Opens Source was designed, like the internet protocols, for people who trust each other - the developers of shrink-wrap executables need to learn to think paranoid when they deal in user binaries.
Don't make the same errors again - if the designers of SMTP had thought about the users rather than the implementers, they woudl have built signature/encryption/sender authentication straight into the protocol and prevented the spam issue from ever arising.
But I think Mr. Stross is going to have a short career; M$ once got 16 pages of ads pulled form a magazine in which I had published a story critical of them and got me fired. Of course, I hadn't commissionned the story, the editor in chief had - but by firing me he demonstrated that he would toe the line in future.
You don't yell at the person next to you because you can *see* she hears you, you do yell at the person on the other end of the transmission chain because you *feel* he can't hear you. Most people don't say they want 3G phones, but many would like decent voice phones.
Joseph, Apple only brought out the original portable after a couple of firms made a decent living selling re-cased Mac SEs with LCD screens for a year or so. At which point those companies disappeared. I would see this as an ideal situation for a modder,but not for a *real* company like Wacom who have a real cashflow.
One thing that might be interesting, strangely enough, might be a PC design that would provide a beefed-up tablet with interchangeable pieces for photographers in the field. You might take this up with the nice people in Taiwan, they seem to find it easier to manufacture than to design.
I don't think that your mod is ncessarily the *right* one for a larger audience - but you could certainly use it to launch yourself.
To me it remains a mystery why the tablet space remains so empty - are people afraid that M$ will Penpoint them, or what ?
A lot of digital photographers could afford to test something like this in their workflow - why not have trolltech or another modder sell it and see what happens ?
Anyway, I think the comment applies to servers. With IBM selling its PC division, the company will be heavily committed to Unix-likes for survival - M$ may be the 300 pound gorilla, Sun sees itself as a raptor, but IBM is a tyranosaurus - no speed but lots of weight and sizable claws. It's a dangerous mistake to count out the animal that is too big to see:)
1. Yes, most pros use Photoshop and not the GIMP, and all of us hate the cost of Photoshop. Proof is obvious, anyone hates paying $$$$ 2. We use PS because it does what we need, not because we are fenced in to specific Windows formats. Proof is that PS on Macs is used a lot in the graphics industry. 3. Gimp is able to deal with the formats, but does not have the required functionality. Proof is that GIMP does not handle print and printing, CMYK and ICC workflows well.
It seems that if it dealt with point 3, GIMP would instantly garner the support of zillions of photographers out there.
Sure, SOny will have a linux port. They need one for research anyway. Sony have had PS2 processor grids internally for years for experimental purposes, playing with parallelizing graphics stuff like rendering. But their Linux *release* sucked. Why should we expect better ?
A decent release would be a declaration of war against MS and even DELL, besides can you imagine admins of PS2 firewalls, routers, viruswalls, spamfilters or print drivers using joypads instead of a mouse ?
When PS2 was launched, incredible specs were also touted; on delivery it ended up cheaper but not more powerful than a high-spec PC with a good video card one year later. I am afraid we might end up with another mediocre product at a reasonable price point. Sony should concentrate on portable systems integration which is where its real expertise lies.
Sun's software was originally Stanford's and the various utilities were deveoped by whoever was hanging round the computer rooms - it might be better if ESR etc stopped trying to teach the Unix pioneers what Unix is.
Doesnt work with Safari - nothing on computers ever works properly and its always my fault - it's because you dont have Windows, it's because you do have Windows etc etc.
Could we have some engineering please, you know, the art of making things that actually work reliably and predictably? Your car doesnt tell you that its being fed the wrong brand of petrol.
Unfortunately, the whole set of insightful comments modded to 0 below this confirms the absurdity of the modding system. Was a time when people realised that offtopic is actually the whole point of slashdot.
An interesting variation would be some country deciding that *all* copyright lasts for 90 years, and allowing publishers *there* to sue the US and rest of the world for infrigement everytime a public domain text is posted elsewhere. This the exact symmetry of the US vs rest of world situation.
To Southpaw and the ACs, yes, my room had stuff on display. The only problem we had at Cambridge, then, was with tourists who would disregard the "Private" signs and walk into the dorm rooms. No incidents of tourist theft were reported, we let them go back home:)
The point of the post is that our doors and locks served as *symbols* when we we were away, with a locked double door usually conveying extended absence or a wish for privacy.
If Wep or other measures just convey a wish for privacy, I am all for them; as hard security measures, they are -just as our locks in Cambridge- laughable.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft is Install-driven - they know that however bad the product is, if they can get it installed they will always win, later. Look at how easily they got rid of Netscape !
A product like Linux is much more dangerous to them, because it fights back at install time, eg. Linspire or Linux server platforms.
Edmund
The fact that cars can be legally driven below 300Mph does not reduce accident rates - the fact that this is mandatory on public roads in most countries does (presumably).
Opens Source was designed, like the internet protocols, for people who trust each other - the developers of shrink-wrap executables need to learn to think paranoid when they deal in user binaries.
Don't make the same errors again - if the designers of SMTP had thought about the users rather than the implementers, they woudl have built signature/encryption/sender authentication straight into the protocol and prevented the spam issue from ever arising.
Don't need the Internet for that - just put a camera in those little cubicles :)
But I think Mr. Stross is going to have a short career; M$ once got 16 pages of ads pulled form a magazine in which I had published a story critical of them and got me fired. Of course, I hadn't commissionned the story, the editor in chief had - but by firing me he demonstrated that he would toe the line in future.
You don't yell at the person next to you because you can *see* she hears you, you do yell at the person on the other end of the transmission chain because you *feel* he can't hear you. Most people don't say they want 3G phones, but many would like decent voice phones.
Joseph, Apple only brought out the original portable after a couple of firms made a decent living selling re-cased Mac SEs with LCD screens for a year or so. At which point those companies disappeared. I would see this as an ideal situation for a modder,but not for a *real* company like Wacom who have a real cashflow.
One thing that might be interesting, strangely enough, might be a PC design that would provide a beefed-up tablet with interchangeable pieces for photographers in the field. You might take this up with the nice people in Taiwan, they seem to find it easier to manufacture than to design.
I don't think that your mod is ncessarily the *right* one for a larger audience - but you could certainly use it to launch yourself.
To me it remains a mystery why the tablet space remains so empty - are people afraid that M$ will Penpoint them, or what ?
A lot of digital photographers could afford to test something like this in their workflow - why not have trolltech or another modder sell it and see what happens ?
when the chinese move to their own processor design - which they can do anytime if they decide to run Linux .
I forgot to compare Linux developers to a swarm of fireants - ah, now the mixed metaphor is complete !
Anyway, I think the comment applies to servers. With IBM selling its PC division, the company will be heavily committed to Unix-likes for survival - M$ may be the 300 pound gorilla, Sun sees itself as a raptor, but IBM is a tyranosaurus - no speed but lots of weight and sizable claws. It's a dangerous mistake to count out the animal that is too big to see :)
I agree fully with your analysis- there is a lack of qualified first-rank implementors here. I have had an idea. I am going to do something about it.
And some of us get to use Windows for free, but are smart enough NOT to use it:)
1. Yes, most pros use Photoshop and not the GIMP, and all of us hate the cost of Photoshop. Proof is obvious, anyone hates paying $$$$
2. We use PS because it does what we need, not because we are fenced in to specific Windows formats. Proof is that PS on Macs is used a lot in the graphics industry.
3. Gimp is able to deal with the formats, but does not have the required functionality. Proof is that GIMP does not handle print and printing, CMYK and ICC workflows well.
It seems that if it dealt with point 3, GIMP would instantly garner the support of zillions of photographers out there.
Sure, SOny will have a linux port. They need one for research anyway. Sony have had PS2 processor grids internally for years for experimental purposes, playing with parallelizing graphics stuff like rendering. But their Linux *release* sucked. Why should we expect better ?
A decent release would be a declaration of war against MS and even DELL, besides can you imagine admins of PS2 firewalls, routers, viruswalls, spamfilters or print drivers using joypads instead of a mouse ?
When PS2 was launched, incredible specs were also touted; on delivery it ended up cheaper but not more powerful than a high-spec PC with a good video card one year later. I am afraid we might end up with another mediocre product at a reasonable price point. Sony should concentrate on portable systems integration which is where its real expertise lies.
Sun's software was originally Stanford's and the various utilities were deveoped by whoever was hanging round the computer rooms - it might be better if ESR etc stopped trying to teach the Unix pioneers what Unix is.
Can I selectiveley deny the M$ search engine the entry to my site ?
Edmund
Doesnt work with Safari - nothing on computers ever works properly and its always my fault - it's because you dont have Windows, it's because you do have Windows etc etc.
Could we have some engineering please, you know, the art of making things that actually work reliably and predictably? Your car doesnt tell you that its being fed the wrong brand of petrol.
Unfortunately, the whole set of insightful comments modded to 0 below this confirms the absurdity of the modding system. Was a time when people realised that offtopic is actually the whole point of slashdot.
An interesting variation would be some country deciding that *all* copyright lasts for 90 years, and allowing publishers *there* to sue the US and rest of the world for infrigement everytime a public domain text is posted elsewhere. This the exact symmetry of the US vs rest of world situation.
a nice study in rumor propagation
If it exists it's amazing - if it's a hoax it has certainly sucked a lot olf you guys in. So which is it ?
The moms love the SUVs coz they feel safe - problem is, when they hit a Smart even slighly, they kill the occupant. Then they get a fine :)
To Southpaw and the ACs, yes, my room had stuff on display. The only problem we had at Cambridge, then, was with tourists who would disregard the "Private" signs and walk into the dorm rooms. No incidents of tourist theft were reported, we let them go back home :)
The point of the post is that our doors and locks served as *symbols* when we we were away, with a locked double door usually conveying extended absence or a wish for privacy.
If Wep or other measures just convey a wish for privacy, I am all for them; as hard security measures, they are -just as our locks in Cambridge- laughable.