Assuming the goal is to attract the average Windows user, distros need to get to the point where you run the setup program, select some groups of packages (internet browsing, office apps, games) and then setup does everything else. The next thing the user should see is a good old-fashioned desktop. The obvious problem is the X configuration, but until that becomes automatic--to steal a line--my mother won't use it.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotected sex.
I don't know what the youngest age of consent is, but it doesn't really matter. The point is that the U.S. lumps everyone under 18 together, and any law dealing with child porn will affect sites with pictures of people who are, in their country, of legal age.
This is an example of why we need a stronger UN which could start to make laws dealing with the world as a whole. That's the only way you could ever even try to police the interenet, otherwise you just move your server to South America. But if there was a universal law, there would be no need for extradition. Maybe they decide to classify 'child porn' as pictures of kids under 16. Then, (if you can track down the person posting the site) they get tried in their own country under the world law.
Of course, the reason this won't work is that the US doesn't listen to or support the UN, (acronym envy?) so they would pretty much undermine anything that was decided. Look at the landmine fiasco. Every nation in the world agreed to the ban, but the US says "we'll agree to it, unless there's a war".
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Games. In order to have games on a platform, you need to have a lot of people using that platform. Look at the iMac. Only the most popular games get ported there because there aren't enough users for the risk to be worthwhile otherwise. Until Command & Conquer 2 is released for Linux, I will have to continue to dual-boot. Half a drive for the real OS, and half a drive for the toy OS.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Do you really think the people who would use MS Linux would compile a program from source? Ever?
No hacker would willingly use a Microsoft corrupted distribution, so the people who would use it are the glassy-eyed Windows converts who don't know what the word 'compile' means.
They would install their MS Linux and expect it to work. Then they would install Office for MS Linux and expect that to work. The distribution wouldn't come with source code, it would come with a card you send in along with $20 for 'processing' so you could order the source, but no one would bother.
Then one day, a friend would offer to install some wicked free app that didn't come from MS, and it wouldn't work. And the MS Person(tm) would blame the developer of the program, not Microsoft.
In a few rare cases their hacker friend might be able to convince them to switch to an uncorrupted distribution, but for the most part it's like talking to a Catholic about the Tao. The same arguments that currently don't convince Windows users to switch to Linux won't convince MS Linux users to switch distributions. Why? Because it runs out of the box, with no hassles, as long as you don't poke it too hard. That's all they want, and that's what they'll use.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
I'd pay to see that--bitter old people rule. Note the swearing woman in Lake Placid.
However, it isn't totally about throwing money at advertising. Lucas is a marketing genius, far better than he is a film maker. It's unfortunate that a lot of people confuse the two.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Seriously now, do you really think anyone who's fanatic enough to download a camcorder version over a modem is then going to not see the film in the theater? They probably all saw it twice.
It has nothing to do with money, it has to do with Lucas and his hype machine (the best there is) making sure he is in complete control of everything you see and hear. The financial hit doesn't come from the people who actually watch the bootleg, it comes from the people who then find out the movie sucks and were previously undecided.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
This is off-topic to be sure, but can someone with a little historical knowledge tell me how come the US (and to a lesser extent Canada) is so puritanical? Most of the original settlers were European, so why did all the anal ones come over? Perhaps they were sent away from Europe rather than choosing to live in N. America. Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Last week's column (to name one) about 'techno-media' showed that Katz has no business pretending to be a geek. It was long, boring, and was nothing more than a single, unsupported idea which he repeated over and over until I stopped reading.
This column, by contrast, is short, to the point, and aside from the fact Katz (like a lot of today's writers) spells everything out in grade 5 English, it was quite an enjoyable piece. My conclusion: get him to write more about social issues and less about technology, which he obviously doesn't have a firm handle on.
Now, if we could find him a new horse to beat, all would be well. This one, while not quite dead, is certainly malnurished and won't carry him much farther.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
No, they don't realise you can download movies off the web. These are not technologically savy people, these are people who need secretaries to show them how you use Eudora. That's why there are all these un-enforcable laws.
You or I would never try to keep kids from watching or reading or listening to something they really want to, because we know that some of them will set up a web page, and encode it, and have it streaming or ftp-able within four hours. The law makers and the corporate policy makers haven't caught on to that. They are acting the same way they did a decade ago because they don't realize that they've lost control.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
I think they should be putting all this information in a chip/transmitter and implanting it in our bodies. That way you would never lose it, and as an added bonus the police you could use it to track criminals. In fact, you could make little rockets that would home on the signal, so the cops wouldn't even have to get out of thier cars. And rather than pulling people over for speeding, they could just get a reading of your driver's license and mail you the ticket. And when companies wanted to do a background check, it would include where you've gone, what you've bought, and who you were with for as far back as they want to go. The options are limitless!
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
What does this actually have to do with technology? Jonny uses the word all through the column, and randomly appends 'techno-' to every seventh word, but never actually explains how he thinks technology is changing the media. He seems to think it's self-evident that this is happening.
Well I for one don't see technology changing the media at all. What new technique were they using in the coverage I didn't watch, Jon? Were there 3D recreations of the crash? Did they use personality analysis software to guess how JFK Sr would react to his son's death? Did they, in fact, do anything with technology that wasn't done previously in some form on television, or radio, or in print, or gossiping in the bathhouse? Maybe you're just overawed by this new fangled tee vee set what makes it look like you're really there.
And by the way, the image 'techno-media' conjures in my mind is of a reporter shouting to be heard over a pounding bassline with colored spotlights flashing in the background and club kids gyrating on Ecstasy. Maybe that's just me.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
I believe they have a bunch of shares owned by various investors on top of the ones released to the public. I don't have any numbers in front of me, but I recall there being significantly more shares outstanding than they just released, which could account for a total company "value" of 4 billion.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
You're as much of the problem as the 'British' in N. Ireland. Note that they've been living there all thier lives, as did their parents. Any time two groups claim the same land there is only one solution: ethnic cleansing. Otherwise you have an ongoing war that will never end. Or I suppose both sides could just grow up and get on with their lives, but how likely is that?
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
I bought a PC with onboard video and sound. The video wasn't directx compatible (and it stole 4 megs of system memory, which really pissed me off) so I plugged in a Banshee and the onboard video turned itself off. Not a big deal. I don't forsee a time when you will be unable to upgrade. Sure, your $300 computer won't have an AGP slot and might only have 1 PCI slot, but the mid to high-end computers will still have room for expansion. Why? Because there are other things besides upgrades. Are they going to put the modem, nic, tv tuner, video capture card, SCSII controller, and the next great invention all on the CPU? I doubt it. There will always be specialty expansions that not everyone wants, but enough people will to keep the slots around.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
What I expect to see is more and more independent bands using the internet in place of radio to get themselves known. All it will take is one real breakthrough artist to become huge by publishing mp3s on the web and selling cds by direct mailorder. Then every radio station will start scouring the web for the "next one".
And the thing is, rather than using this as a way to get themselves a deal with a major label, the band can just continue on as they are. Maybe cdnow will start making copies of the cd and selling them, so the band doesn't have to do it all themselves. I doubt mp3 will ever kill cds, but it might change the way we buy them, and it will certainly change how the profits are divided.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
If you want to weed out 'me too' posts, put in a 'me too, -1' moderator option. Length has nothing to do with it, since you can say something original in two sentances and you can say 'me too' in five paragraphs.
Quantity and quality are not the same thing. That's why they get their own words.
If the French decide to have their clocks two minutes fast, it affects no one outside of France. By your logic, that is. However, standards are only worth while if they are universal. In a lot of ways the US's refusal to adopt the metric system is more of a problem, because anyone who wants to understand your measurements has to know how many inches, quarts, or pounds there are in the real unit. If my clock is only 2 minutes off, I don't even bother to change it.
Yup. I've seen banner ads for this 'limited time' deal every day this week. My take would be it's a loss leader--they give you something that you can't really use unless you buy other stuff. Just like the photo stores do, sell you a camera cheap because they know they'll get you back on the lenses. If they were giving away a complete kit that could run 10 appliances out of the box, I'd be more tempted.
While I don't dispute that Kasparov will win as handily as if he were playing one novice player (if not more so), that is not why we have elected officials. The simple fact is it takes too long and costs too much to have votes on every little issue that comes up. Or at least, that is why the system was set up originally. Nowadays the system perpetuates itself because those involved have an interest that it do so. Sure, we could have online polls to decide whether or not to bomb the hell out of a third world country, but first all the elected officials would have to give up their power and six figure pension.
Off topic I know, but this thread isn't that deep. It's like asking who would win a race between a cheetah and a thousand people with their ankles tied together.
You're getting caught up in the legal arguments. The point is not whether or not MS was able to intermingle some DLLs and cripple thier own product, the point is that they did this to crush Netscape and to deal with the original DOJ complaint. Namely, they were forcing OEMs to bundle IE3 with Win95. So they made IE4 an 'integral' part of Win98.
Just because I can't uninstall it without going through a million lines of machine code doesn't mean it can't be uninstalled. And just because the code has been spread out into various system DLLs doesn't make it less of a standalone product. You can run IE4 on several OS's. You can't do the same with RegEdit. Note also that it still has it's own versioning information. They released IE5, they didn't call it 'Win98 SP2 with better internet support'.
@Home has a better chance than AOL. Where I live, it's got a monopoly on broadband internet, on account of the cable monopoly. AOL has to hope the cable monopoly gets overturned or start laying pipe.
If the legal system weren't filled with lawyers and instead had a little room for common sense, the whole issue of 'integrating' IE would've died on the first day. The DOJ representative puts a box containing IE on a table, then puts a Win98 cd beside it, and passes his hand between the two. Well what do you know, they are separate.
I got a bunch of software bundled with my modem, it doesn't make it 'integrated' with the modem drivers. All MS did was take the check box out of the custom install that let's you choose not to install IE.
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Using Microsoft software is like having unprotected sex.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotected sex.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotected sex.
This is an example of why we need a stronger UN which could start to make laws dealing with the world as a whole. That's the only way you could ever even try to police the interenet, otherwise you just move your server to South America. But if there was a universal law, there would be no need for extradition. Maybe they decide to classify 'child porn' as pictures of kids under 16. Then, (if you can track down the person posting the site) they get tried in their own country under the world law.
Of course, the reason this won't work is that the US doesn't listen to or support the UN, (acronym envy?) so they would pretty much undermine anything that was decided. Look at the landmine fiasco. Every nation in the world agreed to the ban, but the US says "we'll agree to it, unless there's a war".
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
No hacker would willingly use a Microsoft corrupted distribution, so the people who would use it are the glassy-eyed Windows converts who don't know what the word 'compile' means.
They would install their MS Linux and expect it to work. Then they would install Office for MS Linux and expect that to work. The distribution wouldn't come with source code, it would come with a card you send in along with $20 for 'processing' so you could order the source, but no one would bother.
Then one day, a friend would offer to install some wicked free app that didn't come from MS, and it wouldn't work. And the MS Person(tm) would blame the developer of the program, not Microsoft.
In a few rare cases their hacker friend might be able to convince them to switch to an uncorrupted distribution, but for the most part it's like talking to a Catholic about the Tao. The same arguments that currently don't convince Windows users to switch to Linux won't convince MS Linux users to switch distributions. Why? Because it runs out of the box, with no hassles, as long as you don't poke it too hard. That's all they want, and that's what they'll use.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
However, it isn't totally about throwing money at advertising. Lucas is a marketing genius, far better than he is a film maker. It's unfortunate that a lot of people confuse the two.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
It has nothing to do with money, it has to do with Lucas and his hype machine (the best there is) making sure he is in complete control of everything you see and hear. The financial hit doesn't come from the people who actually watch the bootleg, it comes from the people who then find out the movie sucks and were previously undecided.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
This is off-topic to be sure, but can someone with a little historical knowledge tell me how come the US (and to a lesser extent Canada) is so puritanical? Most of the original settlers were European, so why did all the anal ones come over? Perhaps they were sent away from Europe rather than choosing to live in N. America.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
This column, by contrast, is short, to the point, and aside from the fact Katz (like a lot of today's writers) spells everything out in grade 5 English, it was quite an enjoyable piece. My conclusion: get him to write more about social issues and less about technology, which he obviously doesn't have a firm handle on.
Now, if we could find him a new horse to beat, all would be well. This one, while not quite dead, is certainly malnurished and won't carry him much farther.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
You or I would never try to keep kids from watching or reading or listening to something they really want to, because we know that some of them will set up a web page, and encode it, and have it streaming or ftp-able within four hours. The law makers and the corporate policy makers haven't caught on to that. They are acting the same way they did a decade ago because they don't realize that they've lost control.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Well I for one don't see technology changing the media at all. What new technique were they using in the coverage I didn't watch, Jon? Were there 3D recreations of the crash? Did they use personality analysis software to guess how JFK Sr would react to his son's death? Did they, in fact, do anything with technology that wasn't done previously in some form on television, or radio, or in print, or gossiping in the bathhouse? Maybe you're just overawed by this new fangled tee vee set what makes it look like you're really there.
And by the way, the image 'techno-media' conjures in my mind is of a reporter shouting to be heard over a pounding bassline with colored spotlights flashing in the background and club kids gyrating on Ecstasy. Maybe that's just me.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Any time two groups claim the same land there is only one solution: ethnic cleansing. Otherwise you have an ongoing war that will never end. Or I suppose both sides could just grow up and get on with their lives, but how likely is that?
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
I don't forsee a time when you will be unable to upgrade. Sure, your $300 computer won't have an AGP slot and might only have 1 PCI slot, but the mid to high-end computers will still have room for expansion. Why? Because there are other things besides upgrades. Are they going to put the modem, nic, tv tuner, video capture card, SCSII controller, and the next great invention all on the CPU? I doubt it. There will always be specialty expansions that not everyone wants, but enough people will to keep the slots around.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
And the thing is, rather than using this as a way to get themselves a deal with a major label, the band can just continue on as they are. Maybe cdnow will start making copies of the cd and selling them, so the band doesn't have to do it all themselves. I doubt mp3 will ever kill cds, but it might change the way we buy them, and it will certainly change how the profits are divided.
Using Microsoft software is like having unprotect sex.
Quantity and quality are not the same thing. That's why they get their own words.
There are times when it is necessary to speak.
In a lot of ways the US's refusal to adopt the metric system is more of a problem, because anyone who wants to understand your measurements has to know how many inches, quarts, or pounds there are in the real unit. If my clock is only 2 minutes off, I don't even bother to change it.
There are times when it is necessary to speak.
There are times when it is necessary to speak.
Off topic I know, but this thread isn't that deep. It's like asking who would win a race between a cheetah and a thousand people with their ankles tied together.
There are times when it is necessary to speak.
Just because I can't uninstall it without going through a million lines of machine code doesn't mean it can't be uninstalled. And just because the code has been spread out into various system DLLs doesn't make it less of a standalone product. You can run IE4 on several OS's. You can't do the same with RegEdit. Note also that it still has it's own versioning information. They released IE5, they didn't call it 'Win98 SP2 with better internet support'.
There are times when it is necessary to speak.
There are times when it is necessary to speak.
I got a bunch of software bundled with my modem, it doesn't make it 'integrated' with the modem drivers. All MS did was take the check box out of the custom install that let's you choose not to install IE.
There are times when it is necessary to speak.