What you call higher standards are artificial barriers. You live in them for some time, you forget about them.
Okay, here's an "artificial barrier": You're an IT administrator for a bank. You support about 35 mission-critical applications that go to a mainframe. Why keep the mainframe? Because it's the only thing that's gone through the laborous process of being documented, audited, and certified for use. Those certifications could run into the tens of millions of dollars, plus another fifty million to retool your existing infrastructure, minimum. All those applications were written for Windows 95.
Now, Microsoft is a safe bet because you know those applications were written decades ago and will still work. They're horrible, out of date, and make your butt itch just thinking about them, but they work, and it's cheaper to keep them going than to invest in an all-new infrastructure. But you go with Apple, or Linux and what do you get? Every five years, maybe ten if you're lucky, you have to rebuild and redesign everything to make it work with the latest and greatest.
Microsoft delivers what businesses want: Reliability. Long. Term.
And that costs money, time, effort, and yes... it's a MUCH higher standard to reach for.
I don't think I am. I'm considering the total level of satisfaction with a Windows 7-based system,
What the frack does total level of satisfaction have to do with the price of tea in China?
Hey. My ford pinto has four cup holders, compared to your Ferrari which only has two. And my pinto is purple while your Ferrari is a boring grey. Clearly the Pinto is a better product based on "total level of satisfaction". -_- Seriously...
Between now and then, Apple will likely have released OS X 10.6, and there will have been two new release of Ubuntu.
You're comparing apples and oranges. Each new release of OS X might, at best, be compared to a service pack. It's still the same operating system, same applications, same API, etc. And new releases of Ubuntu... That's not really a fair comparison either. "Windows 7" might have perhaps 40 applications shipping with it that the user might actually interact with on a regular basis. But most linux distributions are a conglomeration of just about every application being developed for linux... And again, while the APIs and such in linux change a lot more frequently, it's still apples-to-oranges. Most linux apps have source code. Backwards compatibility isn't as big of a problem as with binary-only distributions.
This is going to piss off every fanboy in the house, but frankly Microsoft has higher standards to beat than your comparisons.
Actually, most of the "blue" states make a net contribution in federal taxes, while the "red" states take that contribution. If the federal government's aid to the states collapses, it will be the south that pays while the north shrugs and continues much as things are now. It could conceivably lead to another civil war along the old lines, over the same reason: Economics. The south simply doesn't have the money or natural resources to survive without the assistance of the north. -_-
I think you misunderstand our method of government. Unlike most "western european" countries, our government is based on a division between the county, state, and federal levels. And it's not a clear division either. For example, a federal law trumps a state law, unless it happens to be in the state constitution, in which case only the federal constition can override or restrict it. You might imagine what merry hell this plays on our justice system (give you a hint: Everyone in this country is a felon, it's just that some of them haven't been caught yet). The law books are just that damned dense, and have that many competing administrations. And laws are rarely, if ever, repealed. Now, imagine how hellacious that is, and multiply it by a hundred and you have the tax codes in this country.
It's not about tax as a percentage, or tax of a certain good or service, but simply knowing what to pay in. The tax code has become so horribly complicated that nobody wants to fix it, so they throw monkeys at it and they flip levers and switches and hope that it dials into the desired amount of income. It never does. Recently they approved a federal tax on cigarettes, one of a variety of so-called "sin taxes" that we knew the democrats would push forward as the solution to the deficit (if you're a minority of some kind or another -- prepare to be taxed. Alcohol is safe for now though because everybody drinks in a crap economy). Next they'll be taxing food with "trans fat" in it, and other acts of sheer idiocy, and the pattern will continue.
You have this attitude that if you sprinkle magic european-thinking fairy dust over america there problems will all be solved. That's really naive. The current state of affairs is a byproduct of how this country's government is structured, and while at times it irritates all of us, it is all about tradeoffs. As I'm sure you're discovering across the pond right now, the European Union is a giant clusterf--k of monumental proportions. Our country did the same thing -- and then we abandoned that system of organization and created the US Constitution. The European Union is experiencing many of the issues our country dealt with 200 years ago -- which is, how do you organize a number of autonomous and sovereign member states into a cohesive whole? There must be a balance struck between the power of the central authority, and that of its member states.
Our balance point may not be perfect, but it's been around for 200 years. I doubt the European Union will last another twenty. For starters, their constitution is way too long.;)
Let's start with a fact: If you're over the age of 18 and have ever filed taxes, you're guilty of tax fraud. I don't know what law, but I assure you, you're a criminal. Shame on you. Now, that said, they can pass this law all they want... and it will only succeed in chasing any businesses operating in their state that sell software online away. And really, how many skilled programmers are you going to find in Mississippi anyway? Oh, sorry, that might be stereotyping. Shame on me.:) But seriously -- I suggest the British approach to this for my fellow american citizens: See a stupid law? Ignore it.
Professional counterfeiters won't be deterred by this. It'll only catch the teenagers that try to print twenty dollar bills to pay for their school lunches. Much like how Photoshop won't edit files with a certain shade of green, or how ink jet printers embed a unique identifier in the yellow ink output. *shrug* It's amusing that most counterfeit money comes from Iran from a pair of printing presses that are identical to the ones used here in the United States, yet there's all this effort on trying to curb production from Joe Average. Most real threats come from sophisticated operations like that, and require a team to combat. This is nothing more than a novelty.
They sell according to local economy, not global economy. Someone in Somalia can't pay $350/mo for pills because they don't make that in a year. Here in the US, where everything is subsidized, they can charge more because the market will bear it. Give you an example: Say I build a car here in the United States and sell it for $25,000. It was developed for use here, in this economy. But now that I've paid the research costs, the price to build a factory and start producing them in another country (say, Germany for giggles) will be less -- doesn't it make sense to charge less there?
Did I wake up in a wrong universe or something? People are actually thinking now?
Right universe, wrong country. It's been known to happen these "3rd world countries" that don't have public education systems designed to beat individuality out of people, starting with a morning salute to the flag, and ending in a cease and desist order to the cries of "oh my precious imaginary property!"
They shouldnt blame their customers for simply looking for an honest bargain.
Honest bargains hangout with unicorns and Santa Claus. But more seriously, where does this entitlement attitude come from? There's this mass misconception that products are "marked up". Really? From what baseline? It's like saying pharmaceutical companies are "ripping us off" based solely on the price being charged. Because there's a perception it should be cheaper. But ask those same people about the costs of: accounting, auditing, testing, evaluations, legal representation, insurance, research, development, marketing, quality control, and security. What, did you hear something? No? Me neither, just the wind, and it sounded like it was saying "cheaper, cheaper, cheaper..." Logic be damned.
People are quick to point out it only costs pennies to make a pill, but they think all those other costs should be paid for "by somebody else". No, that's not how business works, and it's just as true in retail as anywhere else. And answering back with crap about "customer loyalty" and "service quality" is just that -- crap. There haven't been "customers" or "clients" in this economy in about 20 years. What we have now is "consumers" -- and consumers do. not. care. about loyalty to the brand or service and quality of manufacture in the vast majority of cases.
It was a sad day when Enron closed its doors after making horrible management decisions that cost their employees, customers, and the general public billions. But curiously enough, nobody ever blames management. "The market is bad." Yes, the big bad evil market -- tell me, even in a recession or depression, does the market for electronics suddenly disappear? No. It might shrink, but a business that's properly built will shrink with it, not simply die off. A corporate mass-extinction like this has only one cause: Bad management. Period.
In addition to being disgusting from a pro liberty standpoint, that sort of centralized control is antithetic to the entire point of the technology.
The point of technology is to improve efficiency, expand our control over nature, and better our lives. At least in theory. Nothing in that says centralization is either good or bad. Technology is just a tool... Stop trying to add a political angle to inert materials.
I'm not a huge fan of this technology replacing the existing infraustructure (gas powered vehicles) yet. But only because of energy density in the fuel, not what fuel it is. And these vehicles do have a niche market -- must be about as frightening as Apple is to Microsoft (oh, wait... that's not a fair comparison. Apple might actually be double-digits now). But as the technology develops, and the energy density problem is solved, gas-powered vehicles will go the way of the dinosaur./tongue in cheek
For those of us who dealt with intel's "integrated" graphic cards on laptops for the past several years now... on their behalf I just want to say PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS SHINY AND SILICON, DON'T DO IT! Anything with the word "integrated" near it makes me want to cringe... it's a post traumatic stress response caused by watching a myriad of good video games shutter, blink, crash, and burn right in front of me. It's a black day indeed when Warcraft 3 can't run at full resolution on a laptop produced only a year ago.
We've seen this rhetoric before. If I post a solicitation to pay for sex on myspace, is myspace liable? No, because myspace cannot possibly have the resources to police every post made. They're a service provider, not the morality police. Likewise with Craigslist. Now, it's good community service to help the police out when it's discovered there's a higher than usual number of problems here and there, and I'd expect any responsible business owner to try to limit illegal activity... But likewise, I don't expect any reasonable police officer to believe that business owners are superhuman and can prevent crime entirely. It's about managing your risks, not eliminating them.
Everyone, repeat after me; "Some Contracts Are Not Legally Enforceable."
Many of us have had to sign non-compete clauses, sign documents stating to hold ex-employers harmless so a prospective employer can ask them whatever, etc., etc. See though, most contracts have some language to the effect of "if some of this is declared crap, the rest shall remain in effect." They put that in there because they know there is crap language in there and are hoping you just go along with it because it "looks legal". It's the same way RIAA, the MPAA, and all those cease and desist orders we keep hearing about operate; Make it look official and chances are good people will go "Oh Noes! Legal Mumbo Jumbo! Aieeeeeee. thud."
My advice? Sign it. Get treated. If s/he does a good job -- great, say so. If they do a crap job though, tell the whole damn world (but have proof). If that doctor wants to come after you for it; "Hello? Channel 9 news? I'm being oppressed." He might get you for breach of contract, but you'll make sure it's the last time anyone signs it. Think someone wants to risk their career, after spending 10 years just getting started in it, trying to prosecute someone who told the truth? Get real.
Also true. Too bad the idiot Christian world had to pick up where they went off.
Credit where credit is due: there was a long period of taking people's heads off and burning them at the stake before they picked up on the use of empirical observation and reason. Even today, empirical observation and reason is met with healthy skepticism -- I mean, compared to Jesus, what has empiricism ever done for YOU?/sarcasm
Hello? It was a compliment. Seriously... Can't even compliment muslims anymore without some christian screaming "help, help, I'm being oppressed!" Please take your irrational key-stabbing somewhere else.
Yeah, because the the Qur'an (first published ca. 610AD) emphasizes the use of empirical observation and reason, and had technology and building know-how far ahead of its time. Thank Allah they didn't continue that tradition.
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What you call higher standards are artificial barriers. You live in them for some time, you forget about them.
Okay, here's an "artificial barrier": You're an IT administrator for a bank. You support about 35 mission-critical applications that go to a mainframe. Why keep the mainframe? Because it's the only thing that's gone through the laborous process of being documented, audited, and certified for use. Those certifications could run into the tens of millions of dollars, plus another fifty million to retool your existing infrastructure, minimum. All those applications were written for Windows 95.
Now, Microsoft is a safe bet because you know those applications were written decades ago and will still work. They're horrible, out of date, and make your butt itch just thinking about them, but they work, and it's cheaper to keep them going than to invest in an all-new infrastructure. But you go with Apple, or Linux and what do you get? Every five years, maybe ten if you're lucky, you have to rebuild and redesign everything to make it work with the latest and greatest.
Microsoft delivers what businesses want: Reliability. Long. Term.
And that costs money, time, effort, and yes... it's a MUCH higher standard to reach for.
I don't think I am. I'm considering the total level of satisfaction with a Windows 7-based system,
What the frack does total level of satisfaction have to do with the price of tea in China?
Hey. My ford pinto has four cup holders, compared to your Ferrari which only has two. And my pinto is purple while your Ferrari is a boring grey. Clearly the Pinto is a better product based on "total level of satisfaction". -_- Seriously...
I wish people would stop bashing Vista. I know it's cool to bash Vista, but it's really not bad at all, MS has released far, far worse over the years.
Someone on the internet is wrong. Do you wish to continue reading?
[ allow ] [ deny ]
Between now and then, Apple will likely have released OS X 10.6, and there will have been two new release of Ubuntu.
You're comparing apples and oranges. Each new release of OS X might, at best, be compared to a service pack. It's still the same operating system, same applications, same API, etc. And new releases of Ubuntu... That's not really a fair comparison either. "Windows 7" might have perhaps 40 applications shipping with it that the user might actually interact with on a regular basis. But most linux distributions are a conglomeration of just about every application being developed for linux... And again, while the APIs and such in linux change a lot more frequently, it's still apples-to-oranges. Most linux apps have source code. Backwards compatibility isn't as big of a problem as with binary-only distributions.
This is going to piss off every fanboy in the house, but frankly Microsoft has higher standards to beat than your comparisons.
"How Vista Mistakes Changed Windows 7 Development"
You got it wrong: Vista was the mistake that caused Windows 7 development.
Actually, most of the "blue" states make a net contribution in federal taxes, while the "red" states take that contribution. If the federal government's aid to the states collapses, it will be the south that pays while the north shrugs and continues much as things are now. It could conceivably lead to another civil war along the old lines, over the same reason: Economics. The south simply doesn't have the money or natural resources to survive without the assistance of the north. -_-
I think you misunderstand our method of government. Unlike most "western european" countries, our government is based on a division between the county, state, and federal levels. And it's not a clear division either. For example, a federal law trumps a state law, unless it happens to be in the state constitution, in which case only the federal constition can override or restrict it. You might imagine what merry hell this plays on our justice system (give you a hint: Everyone in this country is a felon, it's just that some of them haven't been caught yet). The law books are just that damned dense, and have that many competing administrations. And laws are rarely, if ever, repealed. Now, imagine how hellacious that is, and multiply it by a hundred and you have the tax codes in this country.
It's not about tax as a percentage, or tax of a certain good or service, but simply knowing what to pay in. The tax code has become so horribly complicated that nobody wants to fix it, so they throw monkeys at it and they flip levers and switches and hope that it dials into the desired amount of income. It never does. Recently they approved a federal tax on cigarettes, one of a variety of so-called "sin taxes" that we knew the democrats would push forward as the solution to the deficit (if you're a minority of some kind or another -- prepare to be taxed. Alcohol is safe for now though because everybody drinks in a crap economy). Next they'll be taxing food with "trans fat" in it, and other acts of sheer idiocy, and the pattern will continue.
You have this attitude that if you sprinkle magic european-thinking fairy dust over america there problems will all be solved. That's really naive. The current state of affairs is a byproduct of how this country's government is structured, and while at times it irritates all of us, it is all about tradeoffs. As I'm sure you're discovering across the pond right now, the European Union is a giant clusterf--k of monumental proportions. Our country did the same thing -- and then we abandoned that system of organization and created the US Constitution. The European Union is experiencing many of the issues our country dealt with 200 years ago -- which is, how do you organize a number of autonomous and sovereign member states into a cohesive whole? There must be a balance struck between the power of the central authority, and that of its member states.
Our balance point may not be perfect, but it's been around for 200 years. I doubt the European Union will last another twenty. For starters, their constitution is way too long. ;)
Let's start with a fact: If you're over the age of 18 and have ever filed taxes, you're guilty of tax fraud. I don't know what law, but I assure you, you're a criminal. Shame on you. Now, that said, they can pass this law all they want... and it will only succeed in chasing any businesses operating in their state that sell software online away. And really, how many skilled programmers are you going to find in Mississippi anyway? Oh, sorry, that might be stereotyping. Shame on me. :) But seriously -- I suggest the British approach to this for my fellow american citizens: See a stupid law? Ignore it.
Professional counterfeiters won't be deterred by this. It'll only catch the teenagers that try to print twenty dollar bills to pay for their school lunches. Much like how Photoshop won't edit files with a certain shade of green, or how ink jet printers embed a unique identifier in the yellow ink output. *shrug* It's amusing that most counterfeit money comes from Iran from a pair of printing presses that are identical to the ones used here in the United States, yet there's all this effort on trying to curb production from Joe Average. Most real threats come from sophisticated operations like that, and require a team to combat. This is nothing more than a novelty.
They sell according to local economy, not global economy. Someone in Somalia can't pay $350/mo for pills because they don't make that in a year. Here in the US, where everything is subsidized, they can charge more because the market will bear it. Give you an example: Say I build a car here in the United States and sell it for $25,000. It was developed for use here, in this economy. But now that I've paid the research costs, the price to build a factory and start producing them in another country (say, Germany for giggles) will be less -- doesn't it make sense to charge less there?
You forgot another big reason for a company to disappear instead of shrink : Governmental involvement.
That's just another form of bad management. The difference is, they're far better at avoiding responsibility.
Did I wake up in a wrong universe or something? People are actually thinking now?
Right universe, wrong country. It's been known to happen these "3rd world countries" that don't have public education systems designed to beat individuality out of people, starting with a morning salute to the flag, and ending in a cease and desist order to the cries of "oh my precious imaginary property!"
They shouldnt blame their customers for simply looking for an honest bargain.
Honest bargains hangout with unicorns and Santa Claus. But more seriously, where does this entitlement attitude come from? There's this mass misconception that products are "marked up". Really? From what baseline? It's like saying pharmaceutical companies are "ripping us off" based solely on the price being charged. Because there's a perception it should be cheaper. But ask those same people about the costs of: accounting, auditing, testing, evaluations, legal representation, insurance, research, development, marketing, quality control, and security. What, did you hear something? No? Me neither, just the wind, and it sounded like it was saying "cheaper, cheaper, cheaper..." Logic be damned.
People are quick to point out it only costs pennies to make a pill, but they think all those other costs should be paid for "by somebody else". No, that's not how business works, and it's just as true in retail as anywhere else. And answering back with crap about "customer loyalty" and "service quality" is just that -- crap. There haven't been "customers" or "clients" in this economy in about 20 years. What we have now is "consumers" -- and consumers do. not. care. about loyalty to the brand or service and quality of manufacture in the vast majority of cases.
It was a sad day when Enron closed its doors after making horrible management decisions that cost their employees, customers, and the general public billions. But curiously enough, nobody ever blames management. "The market is bad." Yes, the big bad evil market -- tell me, even in a recession or depression, does the market for electronics suddenly disappear? No. It might shrink, but a business that's properly built will shrink with it, not simply die off. A corporate mass-extinction like this has only one cause: Bad management. Period.
In addition to being disgusting from a pro liberty standpoint, that sort of centralized control is antithetic to the entire point of the technology.
The point of technology is to improve efficiency, expand our control over nature, and better our lives. At least in theory. Nothing in that says centralization is either good or bad. Technology is just a tool... Stop trying to add a political angle to inert materials.
I'm not a huge fan of this technology replacing the existing infraustructure (gas powered vehicles) yet. But only because of energy density in the fuel, not what fuel it is. And these vehicles do have a niche market -- must be about as frightening as Apple is to Microsoft (oh, wait... that's not a fair comparison. Apple might actually be double-digits now). But as the technology develops, and the energy density problem is solved, gas-powered vehicles will go the way of the dinosaur. /tongue in cheek
Will always be vulnerable to a gun to your head and the question "What does it say?"
Try not to forget the human side of the equation when you're quoting statistics and mathematics.
For those of us who dealt with intel's "integrated" graphic cards on laptops for the past several years now... on their behalf I just want to say PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS SHINY AND SILICON, DON'T DO IT! Anything with the word "integrated" near it makes me want to cringe... it's a post traumatic stress response caused by watching a myriad of good video games shutter, blink, crash, and burn right in front of me. It's a black day indeed when Warcraft 3 can't run at full resolution on a laptop produced only a year ago.
We've seen this rhetoric before. If I post a solicitation to pay for sex on myspace, is myspace liable? No, because myspace cannot possibly have the resources to police every post made. They're a service provider, not the morality police. Likewise with Craigslist. Now, it's good community service to help the police out when it's discovered there's a higher than usual number of problems here and there, and I'd expect any responsible business owner to try to limit illegal activity... But likewise, I don't expect any reasonable police officer to believe that business owners are superhuman and can prevent crime entirely. It's about managing your risks, not eliminating them.
Sir, you mistake litigants as entirely and wholly rational people. This will be your downfall.
Everyone, repeat after me; "Some Contracts Are Not Legally Enforceable."
Many of us have had to sign non-compete clauses, sign documents stating to hold ex-employers harmless so a prospective employer can ask them whatever, etc., etc. See though, most contracts have some language to the effect of "if some of this is declared crap, the rest shall remain in effect." They put that in there because they know there is crap language in there and are hoping you just go along with it because it "looks legal". It's the same way RIAA, the MPAA, and all those cease and desist orders we keep hearing about operate; Make it look official and chances are good people will go "Oh Noes! Legal Mumbo Jumbo! Aieeeeeee. thud."
My advice? Sign it. Get treated. If s/he does a good job -- great, say so. If they do a crap job though, tell the whole damn world (but have proof). If that doctor wants to come after you for it; "Hello? Channel 9 news? I'm being oppressed." He might get you for breach of contract, but you'll make sure it's the last time anyone signs it. Think someone wants to risk their career, after spending 10 years just getting started in it, trying to prosecute someone who told the truth? Get real.
Also true. Too bad the idiot Christian world had to pick up where they went off.
Credit where credit is due: there was a long period of taking people's heads off and burning them at the stake before they picked up on the use of empirical observation and reason. Even today, empirical observation and reason is met with healthy skepticism -- I mean, compared to Jesus, what has empiricism ever done for YOU? /sarcasm
Hello? It was a compliment . Seriously... Can't even compliment muslims anymore without some christian screaming "help, help, I'm being oppressed!" Please take your irrational key-stabbing somewhere else.
At least they aren't muslims!
Yeah, because the the Qur'an (first published ca. 610AD) emphasizes the use of empirical observation and reason, and had technology and building know-how far ahead of its time. Thank Allah they didn't continue that tradition.
Bourne Again SHell - I remember when I first learned of it, thinking "Wow! Unix meets Jesus!".
Dude, that's Emacs, not Bash.