Compare the cost of a Cisco VOIP gateway (96 ports), with the cost of a PC equipped with a 4-port PRI interface running asterisk. And people are complaining?
More accurately, Microsoft was out scouting technology developed by other companies so they, not having been able to come up with it on their own, could incorporate it into their own products. I'd say that much of Microsoft's competition never materialized not because Microsoft developed any new markets or more innovative products, but because they were driven from the market by Microsoft's relentlessly sleazy business tactics.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I've previously suggested a system whereby many of these problems would be elimated, and it's not too complicated:
1. Allow editing only for the first 10 minutes after posting. 2. An edited post's moderation will be reset if it has received any positive moderation, but will not change if the moderation is negative.
But it's more than likely a bunch of straight, heterosexual, penile/vaginal-obsessed junkies not only wrote it, but voted it into law. Let's keep things in perspective here.
You didn't read what he said. Any moron can hammer in a nail, or put some paint on a piece of wood. Give them a little technical training, and they can build a truss, or shingle a roof.
But it's not JUST about technical training. Why do you think they have master craftsmen? Do you think it's because they read "How to be a Master Craftsman in 21 Days" or "Master Craftsmen for Dummies"? No, it's because they have years of experience dealing with many different aspects of their specialized skill. An architect is still required to design the overall plan, but if you're interested in quality, there is no substitute for experience, passion, and mastery, whether it's a programmer or a carpenter.
Maybe so, but I'll tell you something true about programming and programmers that you can wait for time to validate: pure programming is easy, and someone who only programs doesn't need more than a high school diploma and some technical courses.
Right...exactly the same way that any moron can hack together a few pieces of drywall, some wood, and some paint, and call it a house. But we all know that there are never any problems with poor construction, now, don't we.
There's nothing like the real thing - one shot of espresso in 12 oz. of milk. Low caffeine mind you, but the taste is to die for. He can keep his coffee-flavored flakes.
There's one catch - "doing what you want" is not always the easiest, nor the fastest way to do something. For example, what if, instead of just drawing a line, I want to draw a straight line. Suddenly, I need some kind of function that will constrain the movement along one axis. The alternative is to spend oodles of time trying to tweak a line until it's straight enough. What if I want to start out with a geographic primitive? Am I supposed to build one from scratch? Once I have that, what if I need to scale a part of it? Should that be done manually? Let's say I'd like to duplicate it and the flip it across an axis (often used for creating identical left/right portions of object)? Do I spend gobs of time doing this manually?
Tools have their place- and often, if used correctly, they are there to help us produce superior results, and save significant amounts of time in the process. Just like an empty window, they aren't a substitute for talent and artistic skill, but they can sure provide ways to automate the purely tedious aspects of 3D modeling.
What I am saying is that suing 14 and 15 year olds is not going to solve the problem, do you think it is?
As a point of clarification, are you saying that the average age of those being sued by the RIAA is 14-15?
My own opinion is that this will not solve the problem. Nor will legislation. Nor will illegal copying. Nor will incessant whining. Even so, it is their right to protect what they rightfully own.
There were several competing interests at the time, including VisiCorp's VisiOn, IBM's TopView, Digital Research's GEM, and QuarterDesk's Desq. And of course, the one that preceded all of this by a wide margin, and served as the inspiration for the Mac interface, was the Xerox Star. But Xerox, it seems was using this more as a testbed than a commercial venture.
Yes, there was a Windows 1.0, and a Windows/286. Windows' original name was Interface Manager, but was changed before its release.
Do you have a problem with someone looking at you?
Of course not. But there is a big difference between simply looking at someone as they walk by, and following them, tracking them, and recording the incident, all because I had to use a means of public access to get from one place to another. In fact, I'd argue that people have to look at me - that's how fellow pedestrians can avoid bumping into me, and how those operating motor vehicles can avoid hitting me. But this activity is entirely limited in its scope and purpose - it's needed only for that particular instance in time, and only to accomplish a very specific objective. You're suggesting that one's mere presence in a public venue portends an implied consent to invasion. I do not agree with this, since in most cases, people simply do not have a choice. As as long as I'm minding my own business, it's just that...my own business.
They could still have thier trademark on the phrase "Microsoft Windows", but they would no longer be allowed to have the word "Windows" itself trademarked, like it is now.
Microsoft ended up trademarking a term that described a key component of an operating system that existed long before Billy & Co. even had a clue- that being the Mac of course. Given this alone, if I were a judge, I'd yank the trademark without a second thought. If Microsoft was dumb enough to bank its success on such a common term, too bad.
For the record, there was a lot of activity going on about the time that Windows 1.0 was released. What's interesting is that while it came out shortly after the Apple Lisa was released, the Lisa's interface (and that of the Mac that shortly followed), was far more polished. Microsoft didn't come up with anything of the same caliber until Windows 3.0, which wasn't released until 1990, SEVEN YEARS later. It was only then that "Windows" incorporated a desktop environment that used what I'd consider "real" windowing.
When you start trying to do things with technology that arn't mainstream, like using linux or even just making a webserver on your mom's computer, then I'd say you are getting there.
I'd say that this isn't even enough. "Geek" or "Nerd" isn't about achieving a milestone...it's a process - a way of life that is focused on technology, technical skill, and forward thinking. It is a passion, not an event. People who are geeks EARN that distinction....not by installing the latest uber-cool Linux distro, for example, but by knowing why one distro might be better than another within a given set of circumstances. HUGE difference.
Today, when I walk into a record store and look at the prices of CDs, I usually end up not buying anything at all, not because I cannot afford them, but because I do not think I am getting value for my money.
Do you then sit down in front of your computer and download them, free of charge, because you feel that they're worth having, and worth listening to, but not worth paying for? Even if you don't, I would bet that this describes a rather common mentality among those who advocate file sharing as a "solution" to this problem.
Highways are public. Where you go is [largely] public information.
Where do you get this from? I use a public roadway because I have to use a public roadway. This does not mean that I have given my consent to have my every move tracked, published, recorded, or abused in any other manner. A public roadway is not a carte blanche invitation to invade someone's life, it is merely a means that allows the public to get from one place to another in an efficient and orderly fashion. That's all.
It's our crack habit that exists in the form of an obession with music and entertainment media. It is our own obsession that is fueling this fire, which ranges from illegal copying, to actually funding the madness by continuing to purchase products backed by the RIAA, MPAA, and other interests that have some say in the matter.
As I've said several times on this issue, there is only one true way to affect change. Keep your money, and let the media interests keep their copyrighted material - it's worthless without a willing market. Come back when they've changed their m.o.
Slashdot Mirror
some idiot at Microsoft...Windows Messaging service
This combination is also quite valid.
you'd have to process 1.7 trillion "drops"
Damn...there goes that idea...:)
You can assemble a system to adequately run this for about $500-$1000.
Compare the cost of a Cisco VOIP gateway (96 ports), with the cost of a PC equipped with a 4-port PRI interface running asterisk. And people are complaining?
Every drop of sea water contains 50 BILLION gold atoms, for perspective. Do people farm the ocean for gold?
Hmm....how many atoms are in an ounce of gold?
More accurately, Microsoft was out scouting technology developed by other companies so they, not having been able to come up with it on their own, could incorporate it into their own products. I'd say that much of Microsoft's competition never materialized not because Microsoft developed any new markets or more innovative products, but because they were driven from the market by Microsoft's relentlessly sleazy business tactics.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I've previously suggested a system whereby many of these problems would be elimated, and it's not too complicated:
1. Allow editing only for the first 10 minutes after posting.
2. An edited post's moderation will be reset if it has received any positive moderation, but will not change if the moderation is negative.
But it's more than likely a bunch of straight, heterosexual, penile/vaginal-obsessed junkies not only wrote it, but voted it into law. Let's keep things in perspective here.
You didn't read what he said. Any moron can hammer in a nail, or put some paint on a piece of wood. Give them a little technical training, and they can build a truss, or shingle a roof.
But it's not JUST about technical training. Why do you think they have master craftsmen? Do you think it's because they read "How to be a Master Craftsman in 21 Days" or "Master Craftsmen for Dummies"? No, it's because they have years of experience dealing with many different aspects of their specialized skill. An architect is still required to design the overall plan, but if you're interested in quality, there is no substitute for experience, passion, and mastery, whether it's a programmer or a carpenter.
Maybe so, but I'll tell you something true about programming and programmers that you can wait for time to validate: pure programming is easy, and someone who only programs doesn't need more than a high school diploma and some technical courses.
Right...exactly the same way that any moron can hack together a few pieces of drywall, some wood, and some paint, and call it a house. But we all know that there are never any problems with poor construction, now, don't we.
There's nothing like the real thing - one shot of espresso in 12 oz. of milk. Low caffeine mind you, but the taste is to die for. He can keep his coffee-flavored flakes.
There's one catch - "doing what you want" is not always the easiest, nor the fastest way to do something. For example, what if, instead of just drawing a line, I want to draw a straight line. Suddenly, I need some kind of function that will constrain the movement along one axis. The alternative is to spend oodles of time trying to tweak a line until it's straight enough. What if I want to start out with a geographic primitive? Am I supposed to build one from scratch? Once I have that, what if I need to scale a part of it? Should that be done manually? Let's say I'd like to duplicate it and the flip it across an axis (often used for creating identical left/right portions of object)? Do I spend gobs of time doing this manually?
Tools have their place- and often, if used correctly, they are there to help us produce superior results, and save significant amounts of time in the process. Just like an empty window, they aren't a substitute for talent and artistic skill, but they can sure provide ways to automate the purely tedious aspects of 3D modeling.
If I had moderation points, I'd mod this up.
What I am saying is that suing 14 and 15 year olds is not going to solve the problem, do you think it is?
As a point of clarification, are you saying that the average age of those being sued by the RIAA is 14-15?
My own opinion is that this will not solve the problem. Nor will legislation. Nor will illegal copying. Nor will incessant whining. Even so, it is their right to protect what they rightfully own.
There were several competing interests at the time, including VisiCorp's VisiOn, IBM's TopView, Digital Research's GEM, and QuarterDesk's Desq. And of course, the one that preceded all of this by a wide margin, and served as the inspiration for the Mac interface, was the Xerox Star. But Xerox, it seems was using this more as a testbed than a commercial venture.
Yes, there was a Windows 1.0, and a Windows/286. Windows' original name was Interface Manager, but was changed before its release.
Do you have a problem with someone looking at you?
Of course not. But there is a big difference between simply looking at someone as they walk by, and following them, tracking them, and recording the incident, all because I had to use a means of public access to get from one place to another. In fact, I'd argue that people have to look at me - that's how fellow pedestrians can avoid bumping into me, and how those operating motor vehicles can avoid hitting me. But this activity is entirely limited in its scope and purpose - it's needed only for that particular instance in time, and only to accomplish a very specific objective. You're suggesting that one's mere presence in a public venue portends an implied consent to invasion. I do not agree with this, since in most cases, people simply do not have a choice. As as long as I'm minding my own business, it's just that...my own business.
They could still have thier trademark on the phrase "Microsoft Windows", but they would no longer be allowed to have the word "Windows" itself trademarked, like it is now.
Microsoft ended up trademarking a term that described a key component of an operating system that existed long before Billy & Co. even had a clue- that being the Mac of course. Given this alone, if I were a judge, I'd yank the trademark without a second thought. If Microsoft was dumb enough to bank its success on such a common term, too bad.
For the record, there was a lot of activity going on about the time that Windows 1.0 was released. What's interesting is that while it came out shortly after the Apple Lisa was released, the Lisa's interface (and that of the Mac that shortly followed), was far more polished. Microsoft didn't come up with anything of the same caliber until Windows 3.0, which wasn't released until 1990, SEVEN YEARS later. It was only then that "Windows" incorporated a desktop environment that used what I'd consider "real" windowing.
When you start trying to do things with technology that arn't mainstream, like using linux or even just making a webserver on your mom's computer, then I'd say you are getting there.
I'd say that this isn't even enough. "Geek" or "Nerd" isn't about achieving a milestone...it's a process - a way of life that is focused on technology, technical skill, and forward thinking. It is a passion, not an event. People who are geeks EARN that distinction....not by installing the latest uber-cool Linux distro, for example, but by knowing why one distro might be better than another within a given set of circumstances. HUGE difference.
Today, when I walk into a record store and look at the prices of CDs, I usually end up not buying anything at all, not because I cannot afford them, but because I do not think I am getting value for my money.
Do you then sit down in front of your computer and download them, free of charge, because you feel that they're worth having, and worth listening to, but not worth paying for? Even if you don't, I would bet that this describes a rather common mentality among those who advocate file sharing as a "solution" to this problem.
Highways are public. Where you go is [largely] public information.
Where do you get this from? I use a public roadway because I have to use a public roadway. This does not mean that I have given my consent to have my every move tracked, published, recorded, or abused in any other manner. A public roadway is not a carte blanche invitation to invade someone's life, it is merely a means that allows the public to get from one place to another in an efficient and orderly fashion. That's all.
It's our crack habit that exists in the form of an obession with music and entertainment media. It is our own obsession that is fueling this fire, which ranges from illegal copying, to actually funding the madness by continuing to purchase products backed by the RIAA, MPAA, and other interests that have some say in the matter.
As I've said several times on this issue, there is only one true way to affect change. Keep your money, and let the media interests keep their copyrighted material - it's worthless without a willing market. Come back when they've changed their m.o.
I agree...counting isn't rocket science. You'd think they discovered how to add 1+1 for the first time.
Fair enough, but the preparation thereof, is not.
I guess I hit a nerve.