The wired story you linked is about a proyect that was forever frozen in the local congress because MS (or someone) paid some rightwingers to block it. Result: The local goverment in Mexico still uses windows (pirated for the most part, but hey, it's STILL marketshare!)
The second story, about Linux and open office in rural elementary schools, was the first draft of what became the e-Mexico program. Then MS sweet-talked the secretary of Communications and Transportation and also the President. Result: e-Mexico will use MS software.
Theres no fighting against corruption. Nowhere in the world, much less when MS is involved. You dont believe me? Ask yourselves what would happen if your goverment suggested dropping MS for Linux...
danheskett says: ...when was the last time you saw any open source company put together a broadbased, ambitious, and extremely useful package like the 'eMexico' initiative? Where is RedHat? Where are the competitors? Where is RedHat in this big deal? Why didnt they put together a package? What about the open source ally's? Where are they? ...Where is RedHat? SuSE? Mandrake? Where are they? They are off fighting for scraps here or there while missing huge opportunties.
Problem is, EMexico was originally based on Linux and Free Software, at least the original drafts made at the National University (UNAM), --incidentally this is Miguel de Icaza's alma mater.
However Microsoft, upon learning this, offerred a very sweet deal to the President Vicente Fox and to the Communications and Transports Secretary Pedro Cerisola. Gates himself gave a tour of Redmond to these two and most likely they also got showered with gifts and other "signs of good will".
Theres nothing the University could have done about it, much less Redhat or any other Linux company.
I am not. If I were, I wouldnt be reading slashdot.
Point is (one more time, with feeling!) that some posters here feel slashdot services only US citizens. Not everybody here, of course, but a few annoying dimwits.
You, however, seem an intelligent person, so I feel nothing else needs to be said on this matter.
1.- I read the first installment and didnt like it. It felt like King put sub-standard work online for this "test".
2.- Stephen King makes way more money that I do, he doesnt need donations. If he were a struggling young writer, perhaps I would've felt compelled to send a dollar or two. Again, as some other poster noted, the street performer system wouldnt work for Broadway stars.
Anonymous Coward says: I'm sure they will drop the browser requirement. That's just plain stupid software engineering. Why run office in a browser? Doesn't make sense and is the reason why Java failed in the browser.
A Software Engineering department has never had authority over the Marketing and Management areas. Specially at Microsoft.
Actually all big software houses have made mistakes of this sort at some point.
Slashdot.org is a global site, and although we are all capable of tolerating a certain level of US-centricness, stupid gringos* like you believe that only "roman citizens" should enjoy its benefits.
If that were the case, using your own argument, the site would be named slashdot.org.us, wouldnt it?
* Disclaimer, not all US-citizens are gringos, only the stupid, prejudiced, egotistical jerks that seem to plague the world.
I couldnt have put it better myself. That's why a talented graphic designer that makes usable, non-intrusive eyecandy is worth his/her weight in Athlon XP's (more expensive than gold or platinum, gram by gram)
Bad thing is, everybody these days thinks that by taking a basic flash course and an online "make your own web page" course they instantly become graphic designers.
So many web pages are out there (many from stablished companies, too!) that don't have the least idea about color theory, font readability, UI design, etc... It gives the WWW a bad name.
Osamu Tezuka was indeed inspired and influenced by the work of Walt Disney (Bambi's enormous eyes in particular), however he did not rip off Disney's stories.
Disney didnt make anything like Astroboy or Princess Knight... However there's a certain "Lion King" in Tezuka's filmography
About watching movies and subtitles at the same time, its not hard, but I will concede that most gringos just havent had enough practice at it. They expect all movies to be in their own language.
That said, some movies have so many things going on at the same times (visually) that its extra-challenging to keep track of the subtitles and enjoy the movie at the same time, however a second watching of the scene (or the whole movie) usually solves the problem.
AC says: Adobe would be a candidate, Russian law prohibits software that doesn't allow customers from makeing backups. The irony would be delicious, the justice poetic.
Could you post a link that backs your claim?
That sounds almost too good to be true, and most likely Skylarov's associates, friends and family in Russia would be perfectly willing to do this.
Slashdot Mirror
Re: Linux vendors not being in the deal,
3 71 910d =3371 937
Please read my comments on the matter:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=31233&cid=3
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=31233&ci
The wired story you linked is about a proyect that was forever frozen in the local congress because MS (or someone) paid some rightwingers to block it. Result: The local goverment in Mexico still uses windows (pirated for the most part, but hey, it's STILL marketshare!)
The second story, about Linux and open office in rural elementary schools, was the first draft of what became the e-Mexico program. Then MS sweet-talked the secretary of Communications and Transportation and also the President. Result: e-Mexico will use MS software.
Theres no fighting against corruption. Nowhere in the world, much less when MS is involved. You dont believe me? Ask yourselves what would happen if your goverment suggested dropping MS for Linux...
danheskett says:
...when was the last time you saw any open source company put together a broadbased, ambitious, and extremely useful package like the 'eMexico' initiative? Where is RedHat? Where are the competitors? Where is RedHat in this big deal? Why didnt they put together a package? What about the open source ally's? Where are they?
...Where is RedHat? SuSE? Mandrake? Where are they? They are off fighting for scraps here or there while missing huge opportunties.
Problem is, EMexico was originally based on Linux and Free Software, at least the original drafts made at the National University (UNAM), --incidentally this is Miguel de Icaza's alma mater.
However Microsoft, upon learning this, offerred a very sweet deal to the President Vicente Fox and to the Communications and Transports Secretary Pedro Cerisola. Gates himself gave a tour of Redmond to these two and most likely they also got showered with gifts and other "signs of good will".
Theres nothing the University could have done about it, much less Redhat or any other Linux company.
I am not. If I were, I wouldnt be reading slashdot.
Point is (one more time, with feeling!) that some posters here feel slashdot services only US citizens. Not everybody here, of course, but a few annoying dimwits.
You, however, seem an intelligent person, so I feel nothing else needs to be said on this matter.
I didnt pay for those because:
1.- I read the first installment and didnt like it. It felt like King put sub-standard work online for this "test".
2.- Stephen King makes way more money that I do, he doesnt need donations. If he were a struggling young writer, perhaps I would've felt compelled to send a dollar or two. Again, as some other poster noted, the street performer system wouldnt work for Broadway stars.
Mod this up!
(sorry for the useless post, but I dont have mod points to do it myself)
>
Did you know that 83.4% of all quoted statistics in websites are made up at the spur of the moment?
>
Care to back up your statement with a link to the Denver Post?
Anonymous Coward says:
I'm sure they will drop the browser requirement. That's just plain stupid software engineering.
Why run office in a browser? Doesn't make sense and is the reason why Java failed in the browser.
A Software Engineering department has never had authority over the Marketing and Management areas. Specially at Microsoft.
Actually all big software houses have made mistakes of this sort at some point.
Mail-in rebates are not valid everywhere...
However, thats not the reason.
The reason is, quite simply: money
Linux companies just dont have enough money to fund all the developers they need.
IIRC, KOffice is being worked on by only 1-3 guys.
Sadly enough, I agree with most of your post
Market reasons. No matter what you say, not nearly enough people would buy Photoshop for Linux.
Besides, Adobe has many interests on software patents and closed source, so they wont even acknowledge that Linux exists.
That's an image of a slightly large size (about a half page) in a standard magazine.
When I was working on a small magazine/large newsletter, we had 1 Gig Tiff images for covers.
Needless to say, Gimp is not ready for that, yet.
I am very curious as to who was this...
Care to post it anonymously?
Thank you, DavittJPotter and thank you, anonymous coward, for proving my point so succintly.
If that were the case, using your own argument, the site would be named slashdot.org.us, wouldnt it?
* Disclaimer, not all US-citizens are gringos, only the stupid, prejudiced, egotistical jerks that seem to plague the world.
...but only when used appropriately(sic)
I couldnt have put it better myself.
That's why a talented graphic designer that makes usable, non-intrusive eyecandy is worth his/her weight in Athlon XP's
(more expensive than gold or platinum, gram by gram)
Bad thing is, everybody these days thinks that by taking a basic flash course and an online "make your own web page" course they instantly become graphic designers.
So many web pages are out there (many from stablished companies, too!) that don't have the least idea about color theory, font readability, UI design, etc... It gives the WWW a bad name.
But less people would be inclined to search the originals if the only thing they knew was the crappy merchandise. Thats the whole point
The TMNT brand was diluted. Eastman and Laird never got the diffusion they deserved.
Osamu Tezuka was indeed inspired and influenced by the work of Walt Disney (Bambi's enormous eyes in particular), however he did not rip off Disney's stories.
Disney didnt make anything like Astroboy or Princess Knight... However there's a certain "Lion King" in Tezuka's filmography
For storytelling rivalling (exceeding IMHO) Akira: Evangelion and Lain
But perhaps you are right, Akira has both strong visuals and a good story to tell.
That said, some movies have so many things going on at the same times (visually) that its extra-challenging to keep track of the subtitles and enjoy the movie at the same time, however a second watching of the scene (or the whole movie) usually solves the problem.
In that case, my apologies sir.
English is not my first language, so sometimes (but not often!) I miss things like this.
You mean gigantic blocks arranged in groups of 4 are not falling from the sky into downtown Moscow????
Next thing you know, people will say that Ultraman didnt save Tokyo from Godzilla and Mothra...
jeezuz, these revisionistic historians will destroy everything we believe in...
I feel very sorry for you.
hint: read your sig again
Adobe would be a candidate, Russian law prohibits software that doesn't allow customers from makeing backups. The irony would be delicious, the justice poetic.
Could you post a link that backs your claim?
That sounds almost too good to be true, and most likely Skylarov's associates, friends and family in Russia would be perfectly willing to do this.