The large PC makers (the ones that most people buy from) were coerced into these agreements by Microsoft. So unless you knew how to build one yourself (unlikely), or trusted someone else to do it for you (no 3 year RTB warranty or big trusted name) or you had the money for a Mac you did have to pay Microsoft. You don't have to pay road fund licence on cars of a certain vintage either but you then have to put up with all the disadvantages of having such an old car. Not that different really.
There was a time when Microsoft got paid irrespective of what OS was loaded on the PC. Have a look for "per CPU licensing" on Google. Since the only way to avoid paying Microsoft was not to buy a PC at all that's quite a lot like the road fund licence or television licence in the UK which are both considered to be taxes even though they are not compulsory unless you have a car or a device capable of receiving television signals (I would have just said television but this place is where pedants go to die:P). I doubt that they are allowed to get away with that nowadays but the term Microsoft tax is still a valid albeit historical term.
Why is this modded as insightful? Do some internet research instead of parrotting the same old shite that's been posted on here endlessly and you might see why Microsoft are treated the way they are.
The EU did not request this, Microsoft did it themselves to try and avoid stricter punishments. By the way how else do you deal with lawbreakers than via the courts? This isn't the EU being mean to a successful foreign company, this is a European court prosecuting a habitual criminal.
There is an alternative to losing all your installed apps. Bit more of a mess about but you can have a clean install and access to all your previously installed apps.
Some moron in the Times (of London) annoyed me by saying "Windows Mobile, the operating system that runs on most smartphones...". He then later stated that it was Google Chrome that caused Microsoft to fix IE. Aaaaaaaaaaagh you're fired as technical editor.
Viable for what? They're not viable replacements for Windows unless there's some magic you know that lets them run all the mission critical Win32 only apps. How hard is that to understand? Why do people keep having to point this out to one-eyed capitalists.
If Linux or OS X or any of the other Intel operating systems were a viable alternative to Windows you'd see far more heterogenous desktop environments in businesses but you don't. Is that because Windows is far superior to the others? No, it's because companies have made huge investments in Windows only software which they can't afford to abandon. Pretences of other issues are meaningless, as is the hilarious idea that it's the competitors' incompetence, and not a couple of decades of illegal behaviour, that have entrenched this second-rate crap.
That part of the obesity problem will never be mentioned as expecting corporations to limit their staff's working time to a sensible level that allows them to have a better is anti-capitalist, work-life balance lies notwithstanding.
I fail to see the difference between a computer game and a soccer kickabout in the park in terms of talent required. There are very few pastimes that require skill. A hobby, whether it's a sport or gaming, is just a way to have fun, whereas if I want to be skilled at soccer I would need to train regularly and that would make it less fun and more like a job.
The reason this is significant is that Microsoft were heavily involved in the development of this system and are still saying how wonderful it is that the LSE runs on their amazing software. The fact of the matter is that it's been a total disaster both for the LSE and for Microsoft's PR machine. Whether it's a political powerplay as well remains to be seen, but the simple fact is that the software sucked and not even Microsoft could make it work.
If there's a lack of proper skills in COBOL then why is no-one advertising for COBOL programmers anymore? I left IT because I found it impossible to get a COBOL job after Y2K.
Wow, I thought you were a lifer there. I left it ages ago for similar reasons. It's a real shame because it used to be a great place for an interesting argument.
It does seem weird however to compare the performance of an app on the latest version of Ubuntu versus that of the previous (and now 8 year old) version of Windows. I'm sure it's even quicker on Windows 2000.
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The large PC makers (the ones that most people buy from) were coerced into these agreements by Microsoft. So unless you knew how to build one yourself (unlikely), or trusted someone else to do it for you (no 3 year RTB warranty or big trusted name) or you had the money for a Mac you did have to pay Microsoft. You don't have to pay road fund licence on cars of a certain vintage either but you then have to put up with all the disadvantages of having such an old car. Not that different really.
Yes although I don't know whether it applies to corporations or not.
There was a time when Microsoft got paid irrespective of what OS was loaded on the PC. Have a look for "per CPU licensing" on Google. Since the only way to avoid paying Microsoft was not to buy a PC at all that's quite a lot like the road fund licence or television licence in the UK which are both considered to be taxes even though they are not compulsory unless you have a car or a device capable of receiving television signals (I would have just said television but this place is where pedants go to die :P). I doubt that they are allowed to get away with that nowadays but the term Microsoft tax is still a valid albeit historical term.
Don't let your hatred for the EU blind you will you ;-)
Microsoft is a habitual lawbreaker. The information is widely available on the net if you care to look.
Firefox has a healthy eating mode?
Why is this modded as insightful? Do some internet research instead of parrotting the same old shite that's been posted on here endlessly and you might see why Microsoft are treated the way they are.
The EU did not request this, Microsoft did it themselves to try and avoid stricter punishments. By the way how else do you deal with lawbreakers than via the courts? This isn't the EU being mean to a successful foreign company, this is a European court prosecuting a habitual criminal.
There is an alternative to losing all your installed apps. Bit more of a mess about but you can have a clean install and access to all your previously installed apps.
My phone doesn't play MP3s while I'm trying to talk to someone.
In what way is Symbian a failure? It seems to be on an awful lot more mobiles than WinMo.
Some moron in the Times (of London) annoyed me by saying "Windows Mobile, the operating system that runs on most smartphones...". He then later stated that it was Google Chrome that caused Microsoft to fix IE. Aaaaaaaaaaagh you're fired as technical editor.
Viable for what? They're not viable replacements for Windows unless there's some magic you know that lets them run all the mission critical Win32 only apps. How hard is that to understand? Why do people keep having to point this out to one-eyed capitalists.
If Linux or OS X or any of the other Intel operating systems were a viable alternative to Windows you'd see far more heterogenous desktop environments in businesses but you don't. Is that because Windows is far superior to the others? No, it's because companies have made huge investments in Windows only software which they can't afford to abandon. Pretences of other issues are meaningless, as is the hilarious idea that it's the competitors' incompetence, and not a couple of decades of illegal behaviour, that have entrenched this second-rate crap.
God damn that book gave me nightmares for weeks. Very simple but very scary too.
That part of the obesity problem will never be mentioned as expecting corporations to limit their staff's working time to a sensible level that allows them to have a better is anti-capitalist, work-life balance lies notwithstanding.
What would the advantage be in highering a coder? It would be more difficult to reach the keyboard for a start.
I fail to see the difference between a computer game and a soccer kickabout in the park in terms of talent required. There are very few pastimes that require skill. A hobby, whether it's a sport or gaming, is just a way to have fun, whereas if I want to be skilled at soccer I would need to train regularly and that would make it less fun and more like a job.
The reason this is significant is that Microsoft were heavily involved in the development of this system and are still saying how wonderful it is that the LSE runs on their amazing software. The fact of the matter is that it's been a total disaster both for the LSE and for Microsoft's PR machine. Whether it's a political powerplay as well remains to be seen, but the simple fact is that the software sucked and not even Microsoft could make it work.
Chinese guns can take out tanks can they?
And running Windows 9 :(
If there's a lack of proper skills in COBOL then why is no-one advertising for COBOL programmers anymore? I left IT because I found it impossible to get a COBOL job after Y2K.
Would Muslims want to use ham radio?
I'm sure there's someone out there prepared to prove you wrong. But that person is not me. ;-)
Wow, I thought you were a lifer there. I left it ages ago for similar reasons. It's a real shame because it used to be a great place for an interesting argument.
Seriously who comes up with this idiotic nonsense. All that will happen is that consumers will spend less money on their music.
It does seem weird however to compare the performance of an app on the latest version of Ubuntu versus that of the previous (and now 8 year old) version of Windows. I'm sure it's even quicker on Windows 2000.