Microsoft's Watson said consumers have the choice to use any version of Windows and dismissed any suggestion that Microsoft has a responsibility to secure older versions of its software.
"This issue is not unique to the IT Industry. For example, there are many people on the road who choose to drive the latest cars with the latest safety features such as ABS brakes and air-bags, but at the same time, there are many others who are happy driving their cars which may not have these features.
No dude, bad example.
If there's a dangerous flaw with the designed features of your car (i.e., it's defective), it is recalled.
People don't complain about their 1970s-1980s car not having ABS, because it wasn't designed with it built in.
If, however, there's a critical flaw involving putting the user in a dangerous situation through normal use (such as perhaps, brake lines being broken by normal movement of the suspension) then the car is recalled. Regardless of whether it's under warranty or not...
Granted, anyone using Windows in a situation where software failure could be life-threatening deserves to be shot, but it's closer to the situation than users of old software complaining about features that were never designed into their product.
It's mandatory where I work that if you're working at heights, you wear a fall arresting harness.
Working several hundred km above the earth, one would presume that similar precautions would be a good idea. I.e., tether yourself to the shuttle/station/whatever before going space-walking...
Probably a lot easier to carry around than a jet-pack as well - certainly less costly.
In this case, Capital 10 stepped over the line and was enabling children to view filthy content via the Internet.
No, as I understand it, the BB streaming service is 18+ only.
Channel 10 didn't enable minors to view it, the parent's who either let their kids on their computer unsupervised, or let them use internet+credit card unsupervised are to blame.
There's a whole world of X rated porn they could be viewing in the same set of circumstances...
Why should I have to hit space 4 or 8 times instead of hitting tab once (presuming tab isn't redefined to x spaces, which is a broken idea. TAB key = TAB character)?
What if I don't *WANT* the same level of code indenting? Personal preference is 4 space tabs, linus for example likes 8 spaces. I know some who like only 2 spaces.
Either I
go through the file and delete all the spaces and replace them with the "Correct" number of spaces (brain damaged) OR
I set the "tab spacing" in my editor to a sane value and bingo, it's done
It's not a religous issue, it's a fucking "non-issue"....
If your code is that fucked that it's not readable/understandable when you change the tab spacing, you've got more serious problems to worry about.
As far as source control goes - all CVS/whatever sees is a tab character. It's expanded when viewed. Non-issue.
Unless you've got a broken text editor that replaces the TAB character with X spaces...
my 2c... (curse words not intended to cause offense, it's simply to illustrate the strength of my feelings on the matter:D)
Yeah, "not impressed" is different to "sexually assaulted" though. I mean (an unrelated analogy to illustrate my point): if your dog shits on my lawn, i'm going to be "not impressed" - but I'm not going to take you to court over it. However, if your dog mauls my kids, thats a different matter...
From the transcript, she was quite aware that it was very likely she was going to be "turkey slapped" and made no fuss for them to stop - she shut her eyes and went along with it (laughing at the time).
Certainly a far cry from what certain people are portraying - that she was physically restrained and assaulted against her will.
There was no complaint made by the female housemate in question. Whether or not it was acceptable or not we do not know (that's between the housemates themselves).
However, the "crazy bitch" in question is not the housemate who was "assaulted" (she claims it was all in fun - big brother stepped in without her complaining) - i believe the GP post is referring to our Communications minister, Helen Coonan... she "didn't get her way" in "getting the show off the air"...
... if they "standardize" on.doc format, come 2007/2008 when office 2k7 comes out, all their blind users would need to pay a few hundred dollars to read the new document format.
... if they standardize on opendoc, there's a free plugin to download for any version of office released in the last decade or so, and they're golden.
How the fuck is this a problem? And how the fuck is a non-technical asshat like this senator having any input into what is, essentially, a document control/IT problem?
Pay little johnny blackhate to code some exploit so nasty that you need the patch (that requires WGA)? Release a new codec set that requires WGA? All new microsoft apps need WGA?
There's several vectors for them to attempt it with, but yes, you're right, if you're not patched, the chances are you won't suddenly stop working. However you can bet your ass that microsoft will be attempting to make sure that there's "must have" patches/software out there that requires WGA to work until they eventually force most people into either complying, or piss them off enough to jump ship...
The big-time pirates will be affected by this for all of 24 hours, if that.
The legitimate users, who don't use cracks, own their own copy of Windows, etc are the ones likely to be hit by false positives.
I mean, how many users are likely to have taken their PC into a shop to get it rebuilt, not brought in their windows serial, and the tech on the bench just used a generic one because the customer assures him they have a legit copy of Windows? In my experience, thats probably greater than 50-60% of the windows reinstalls I've ever been witness to. Either the customer has to trot back home from work and retrieve their serial which they misplaced (taking time out from work, etc), or they bring it in the next day (more wasted time - without the use of their legally purchased gear), or their PC gets de-activated (even more wasted time)...
At the end of the day, the customer has not hurt microsoft in any way, however they get fucked on D-day because of a shitty licensing procedure.
Meanwhile, the pirates who are the target of this campaign have either installed the crack within the 30 day grace period, 24 hours afterwards or whatever, and continue on as normal.
I would wager that half the people who run XP don't even know what "software" is.
They didn't choose xp because of the software library, they didn't choose anything at all.
It's what came with their computer. I used to work in retail, and in 3 years I could count the number of people who purchased a copy of Windows outright (as opposed to with a computer) on one hand.
Why? Because its currently not inconvenient enough to bother installing something unfamiliar.
If I have, for example a choice between buying a copy of Windows, or having XP stop working, and switch to something else that's free that i've heard things about - like fewer reboots, virtually zero virus/spyware threat (currently - whether or not this is by design or due to market share is debatable, however this *IS* the current situation as it stands), etc - then if I was joe user, I'd definately consider it.
Especially if there's a heap of hype about being held to ransom by microsoft in the press, and how the alternatives do not do this.
I really think that if microsoft was to "pull the pin" so to speak (and actually not have the protection hacked), this would be the best thing ever to happen for the alternatives - whether they're free or not.
Out of all the home users I know, very few of them pay for apps other than games. They get windows with their PC, but when it comes time to upgrade, they generally don't buy the new version - simply install a friend's copy that shipped with their PC.
It's too easy to do - and people don't like paying for an OS before they can even use their PC (linked to the old days where home computers didn't require you to buy an O/S as well).
If they're going to *have* to pay for it, they'll be more likely to shop around for alternatives, and will also be more likely to be pissed off when they hear that they're paying for a product that generally has more problems than anything else on the market in general operation.
My 2c anyway. The day Windows 2000 is no longer usable is the day i jump ship - either to FreeBSD/Linux full time, or MacOS.
Don't be fooled by the "fiction" disguise, the Da Vinci Code is a serious attack on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Excuse me while I laugh my ass off.
Having said that, this is a dream come true. This is a true fan system for hardcore gamers only. No longer will I have to suffer being in the company of pretenders. Finally we'll have a system to be truly proud to say we own. Just like the Neo Geo, except successful.
As i said in a previous post - i wish sony the best of luck with that.
However, history shows they're not going to be very successful, if that's their strategy. And unless they get the numbers, third party developers won't give a fuck about developing for the platform (especially considering that it's going to be a royal pain in the ass to code for by most accounts).
Slashdot Mirror
You've been able to run windows as a guest O/S on linux using vmware since about 1997-1998...
No dude, bad example.
If there's a dangerous flaw with the designed features of your car (i.e., it's defective), it is recalled.
People don't complain about their 1970s-1980s car not having ABS, because it wasn't designed with it built in.
If, however, there's a critical flaw involving putting the user in a dangerous situation through normal use (such as perhaps, brake lines being broken by normal movement of the suspension) then the car is recalled. Regardless of whether it's under warranty or not...
Granted, anyone using Windows in a situation where software failure could be life-threatening deserves to be shot, but it's closer to the situation than users of old software complaining about features that were never designed into their product.
It's mandatory where I work that if you're working at heights, you wear a fall arresting harness.
Working several hundred km above the earth, one would presume that similar precautions would be a good idea. I.e., tether yourself to the shuttle/station/whatever before going space-walking...
Probably a lot easier to carry around than a jet-pack as well - certainly less costly.
Before the grammar nazis step in... damn 's finger habit...:D
No, as I understand it, the BB streaming service is 18+ only.
Channel 10 didn't enable minors to view it, the parent's who either let their kids on their computer unsupervised, or let them use internet+credit card unsupervised are to blame.
There's a whole world of X rated porn they could be viewing in the same set of circumstances...
This was not broadcast on TV and was not available to minors, so as far as i'm concerned, the government should just butt out.
In summary - i think BB is shit and don't watch it, but I do agree with channel 10s right to broadcast it...
ACT (our capital state) is the only state in which porn is actually legal... go figure...
What if I don't *WANT* the same level of code indenting? Personal preference is 4 space tabs, linus for example likes 8 spaces. I know some who like only 2 spaces.
Either I
- go through the file and delete all the spaces and replace them with the "Correct" number of spaces (brain damaged) OR
- I set the "tab spacing" in my editor to a sane value and bingo, it's done
It's not a religous issue, it's a fucking "non-issue"....If your code is that fucked that it's not readable/understandable when you change the tab spacing, you've got more serious problems to worry about.
As far as source control goes - all CVS/whatever sees is a tab character. It's expanded when viewed. Non-issue.
Unless you've got a broken text editor that replaces the TAB character with X spaces...
my 2c... (curse words not intended to cause offense, it's simply to illustrate the strength of my feelings on the matter :D)
From the transcript, she was quite aware that it was very likely she was going to be "turkey slapped" and made no fuss for them to stop - she shut her eyes and went along with it (laughing at the time).
Certainly a far cry from what certain people are portraying - that she was physically restrained and assaulted against her will.
There was no complaint made by the female housemate in question. Whether or not it was acceptable or not we do not know (that's between the housemates themselves).
However, the "crazy bitch" in question is not the housemate who was "assaulted" (she claims it was all in fun - big brother stepped in without her complaining) - i believe the GP post is referring to our Communications minister, Helen Coonan... she "didn't get her way" in "getting the show off the air"...
We'll regulate that too, damnit!
(in jest, however - sadly, it appears that's probably what they'll propose if previous internet related legislation is anything to go by).
Just because Jamie is a famous guy who used to work at netscape, it doesn't mean he's right :D
How the fuck is this a problem? And how the fuck is a non-technical asshat like this senator having any input into what is, essentially, a document control/IT problem?
There's several vectors for them to attempt it with, but yes, you're right, if you're not patched, the chances are you won't suddenly stop working. However you can bet your ass that microsoft will be attempting to make sure that there's "must have" patches/software out there that requires WGA to work until they eventually force most people into either complying, or piss them off enough to jump ship...
The big-time pirates will be affected by this for all of 24 hours, if that.
The legitimate users, who don't use cracks, own their own copy of Windows, etc are the ones likely to be hit by false positives.
I mean, how many users are likely to have taken their PC into a shop to get it rebuilt, not brought in their windows serial, and the tech on the bench just used a generic one because the customer assures him they have a legit copy of Windows? In my experience, thats probably greater than 50-60% of the windows reinstalls I've ever been witness to. Either the customer has to trot back home from work and retrieve their serial which they misplaced (taking time out from work, etc), or they bring it in the next day (more wasted time - without the use of their legally purchased gear), or their PC gets de-activated (even more wasted time)...
At the end of the day, the customer has not hurt microsoft in any way, however they get fucked on D-day because of a shitty licensing procedure.
Meanwhile, the pirates who are the target of this campaign have either installed the crack within the 30 day grace period, 24 hours afterwards or whatever, and continue on as normal.
They didn't choose xp because of the software library, they didn't choose anything at all.
It's what came with their computer. I used to work in retail, and in 3 years I could count the number of people who purchased a copy of Windows outright (as opposed to with a computer) on one hand.
If I have, for example a choice between buying a copy of Windows, or having XP stop working, and switch to something else that's free that i've heard things about - like fewer reboots, virtually zero virus/spyware threat (currently - whether or not this is by design or due to market share is debatable, however this *IS* the current situation as it stands), etc - then if I was joe user, I'd definately consider it.
Especially if there's a heap of hype about being held to ransom by microsoft in the press, and how the alternatives do not do this.
Fine until they bundle WGA with DirectX, or one of the other libraries that you need to use your apps/games....
Out of all the home users I know, very few of them pay for apps other than games. They get windows with their PC, but when it comes time to upgrade, they generally don't buy the new version - simply install a friend's copy that shipped with their PC.
It's too easy to do - and people don't like paying for an OS before they can even use their PC (linked to the old days where home computers didn't require you to buy an O/S as well).
If they're going to *have* to pay for it, they'll be more likely to shop around for alternatives, and will also be more likely to be pissed off when they hear that they're paying for a product that generally has more problems than anything else on the market in general operation.
My 2c anyway. The day Windows 2000 is no longer usable is the day i jump ship - either to FreeBSD/Linux full time, or MacOS.
The cost to develop a game does not go up significantly as the number of copies sold rises...
Excuse me while I laugh my ass off.
As i said in a previous post - i wish sony the best of luck with that.
However, history shows they're not going to be very successful, if that's their strategy. And unless they get the numbers, third party developers won't give a fuck about developing for the platform (especially considering that it's going to be a royal pain in the ass to code for by most accounts).
Enjoy your 2-3 $100 games per year :D
Gradually starting to look that way - stupidly overpriced console, overpriced games, hype about being the best next gen platform around...
I wish them the best of luck with that (this coming from someone who's been a massive ps1/ps2 fan over the years)...
After all, it's possible that the mean nasty public out there put a copy of it on every blank media available...
System is broken and does not work...
Cool... after all, I've already paid my share...
(sarcasm)