Well, you're not really risking damage dodging cones in a parking lot, either, are you? That was how this all started. I suppose you might encounter the occasional errant shopping cart...
Worse. They said ".NET is Web Services", and in one fell swoop discounted a vast array of much more interesting and important technologies and features, chased away (or at least lost the interest of) huge numbers of people who would be interested in all those discounted things, and made it nearly impossible to have an intelligent discussion with the opposition (most of whom haven't actually touched it).
Nonetheless, it's a stretch to say it fails, particularly if the comment is directed at its ability to deliver as a platform, rather than its success in the marketplace (where it still isn't a failure, it is just being adopted much more slowly than MS predicted/expected/wished/hoped/whatever).
Or maybe they just looked at Windows. Again. Seriously, this puts Linux printing roughly where Windows printing was about 9 years ago. Not a flame, just an observation.
Not all the good music is on small or indie labels. A very substantial majority of all the music is still owned by the big labels and is still not available anywhere. Putting that stuff online would probably make bigger waves than going after "Wisconson Pete's Record Hut" label.
I've always wondered how reliable TiVo data is. Clearly the history of recorded programs is going to be good, but if they track which programs you watch "live" I'm willing to bet most of the data is garbage, because nobody turns their TiVo off. I just power off the TV and the stereo, and the TiVo runs 24x7. That means when it's done recording Formula One, it hangs around on Speed Channel picking up every redneck NASCAR talkshow until Enterprise comes on the following day and forces a channel-change (for example). Just a thought.
There are other flaws with this concept, but the main one is that the content being traded over P2P networks will also be DRM-ed into uselessness. In other words, if you're running Palladium (or NGSCSBSDCSN or whatever today's rename is), your machine is producing DRM-crippled MP3s, WMVs, and other files of intereste in this scenario. You can secure-P2P them to anybody you want. Or just e-mail them for that matter. The files won't play on the other end, because the MPAA/RIAA/XXAA already 0wns your box.
The Chinese may hold an officially defensive posture, but even this fact does not bar the use of this tactic as a bargaining chip. They are certainly advanced enough to have recognized and to understand the implications of being the first to establish a permanent presence.
Basing your defense of modern-day China's motives on their 16th century world view is nearly as ridiculous as the original poster's assumption that this is the primary motive for such a monumental undertaking. This is particularly true when you consider that the communist Chinese government is a very different animal when compared to the feudal governments of 500 years ago.
One need only look as far back as 1979 (Vietnam) or 1962 (India) for examples of overt Chinese aggression, which has it's roots in the somewhat questionable policies of "active defense" introduced largely by Chairman Mao in the thirties. In this regard, the original poster was absolutely correct to cite the long-term view favored by the Chinese. More recent evidence suggests the Chinese continue to work towards a less defensive military orientation. Their "Liberation 2" exercises in 2001 are well-known in military circles to have been designed as a simulated full-scale invasion of Taiwan which included coordinated air, sea, and missile attacks against American aircraft carriers. Even more ominous examples aren't hard to find. For example, in 12/2000 the vice-chairman of their Central Military Command stated that war with Taiwan was inevitable by 2006 (decent article here). They aren't all gumdrops and sunshine any more than we are.
Regardless of why they or anyone else establish a permanent moon base, it only makes sense for still-earthbound nations to be concerned about this. Without assigning any real, inferred or even purely imagined malice, the fact remains they will sit at the top of an enormous gravity well with an effectively infinite supply of rocks.
You do not know their intentions any more than any of the rest of us. The original poster's message was insightful, if somewhat inflammatory in its presentation. It is also worth mentioning that the poster was correct, Robert Heinlein was the first to recognize this threat. I wasn't born yet, but I have read that his story caused quite a stir in military circles at the time.
The bulk of their headcount is in programming, and always has been. MS currently employs roughly 13,000 programmers. Furthermore, very, very few companies employ your magic figure of 250K+ people -- not that the number appears to be relevant to anything. You don't appear to make any point very clearly in your post, but you seem to believe that merely having a lot of employees means something good will happen. I fail to see the connection.
"Microsoft has decided to _beef_ up their security group by adding a code cleaning group "
As close to their admitting the code is full of bullshit!
I wonder, is it even worth the effort to point out that the quote which has you hopping with glee was merely the interpretation of "the pooh experience" who submitted the/. article?
As I described in the first-ever issue of.NET UPDATE, published in January 2001...[snip]... that would underlie Next Generation Web Service (NGWS), later (and wisely) renamed.NET.
Not even a good troll. NGWS was Next Generation [b]Windows[/b] Services. So much for the "first ever" issue of your authoritative publication.
Microsoft regularly makes relatively significant commitments to old code. I have an EXE I compiled in 1991 which I use regularly under Win2K and XP. Microsoft has something like 12,000 employees. If you survive there, you know politics. Many geeks will disagree, but Microsoft actually has pretty strict internal processes and rules about coding and testing -- I've worked very closely with them a number of times over the years.
I'm not saying you didn't make good points, I'm saying the same points are equally likely to apply to a developer who has had a successful term of employment at Microsoft.
The problem is, the average user doesn't read/. and doesn't know that Gator or Bonzi is a known offender of all things trustworthy.
...and...
but who's gonna accept Microsoft as the trustworthy authority for anything?
It's very likely those are the same people.
FYI, the freeware version of Tiny Personal Firewall does a great job for things like this. (Intended as a response to your parent comment, not your comment -- Tiny is still too complicated for the average user.)
Slashdot Mirror
Well, you're not really risking damage dodging cones in a parking lot, either, are you? That was how this all started. I suppose you might encounter the occasional errant shopping cart...
Yawn. Cone-racing is for pansies. I suggest road racing for the real thing.
http://www.panozracingschool.com
http://www.performance-drivers-club.com
http://www.opentrackchallenge.com
http://www.safemotorsports.com
1984
Ziff-Davis is one of the most vocal anti-Microsoft publications in existence.
Their editors flat-out despise Gates & Co.
Nonetheless, it's a stretch to say it fails, particularly if the comment is directed at its ability to deliver as a platform, rather than its success in the marketplace (where it still isn't a failure, it is just being adopted much more slowly than MS predicted/expected/wished/hoped/whatever).
Good.
Or maybe they just looked at Windows. Again. Seriously, this puts Linux printing roughly where Windows printing was about 9 years ago. Not a flame, just an observation.
Not all the good music is on small or indie labels. A very substantial majority of all the music is still owned by the big labels and is still not available anywhere. Putting that stuff online would probably make bigger waves than going after "Wisconson Pete's Record Hut" label.
I've always wondered how reliable TiVo data is. Clearly the history of recorded programs is going to be good, but if they track which programs you watch "live" I'm willing to bet most of the data is garbage, because nobody turns their TiVo off. I just power off the TV and the stereo, and the TiVo runs 24x7. That means when it's done recording Formula One, it hangs around on Speed Channel picking up every redneck NASCAR talkshow until Enterprise comes on the following day and forces a channel-change (for example). Just a thought.
Chevy has done that for a long time. I used to have a Grand Prix GTP which would switch from six to three cylinders at steady highway speeds.
There are other flaws with this concept, but the main one is that the content being traded over P2P networks will also be DRM-ed into uselessness. In other words, if you're running Palladium (or NGSCSBSDCSN or whatever today's rename is), your machine is producing DRM-crippled MP3s, WMVs, and other files of intereste in this scenario. You can secure-P2P them to anybody you want. Or just e-mail them for that matter. The files won't play on the other end, because the MPAA/RIAA/XXAA already 0wns your box.
I believe the correct phrasing is, "What have they done for us lately?" and sadly the answer is, "Not a damned thing." The lazy bastards.
Basing your defense of modern-day China's motives on their 16th century world view is nearly as ridiculous as the original poster's assumption that this is the primary motive for such a monumental undertaking. This is particularly true when you consider that the communist Chinese government is a very different animal when compared to the feudal governments of 500 years ago.
One need only look as far back as 1979 (Vietnam) or 1962 (India) for examples of overt Chinese aggression, which has it's roots in the somewhat questionable policies of "active defense" introduced largely by Chairman Mao in the thirties. In this regard, the original poster was absolutely correct to cite the long-term view favored by the Chinese. More recent evidence suggests the Chinese continue to work towards a less defensive military orientation. Their "Liberation 2" exercises in 2001 are well-known in military circles to have been designed as a simulated full-scale invasion of Taiwan which included coordinated air, sea, and missile attacks against American aircraft carriers. Even more ominous examples aren't hard to find. For example, in 12/2000 the vice-chairman of their Central Military Command stated that war with Taiwan was inevitable by 2006 (decent article here). They aren't all gumdrops and sunshine any more than we are.
Regardless of why they or anyone else establish a permanent moon base, it only makes sense for still-earthbound nations to be concerned about this. Without assigning any real, inferred or even purely imagined malice, the fact remains they will sit at the top of an enormous gravity well with an effectively infinite supply of rocks.
You do not know their intentions any more than any of the rest of us. The original poster's message was insightful, if somewhat inflammatory in its presentation. It is also worth mentioning that the poster was correct, Robert Heinlein was the first to recognize this threat. I wasn't born yet, but I have read that his story caused quite a stir in military circles at the time.
The bulk of their headcount is in programming, and always has been. MS currently employs roughly 13,000 programmers. Furthermore, very, very few companies employ your magic figure of 250K+ people -- not that the number appears to be relevant to anything. You don't appear to make any point very clearly in your post, but you seem to believe that merely having a lot of employees means something good will happen. I fail to see the connection.
As close to their admitting the code is full of bullshit! I wonder, is it even worth the effort to point out that the quote which has you hopping with glee was merely the interpretation of "the pooh experience" who submitted the /. article?
Ok, they're not great screenshots, but...
And Echostar makes satellite equipment for DishNetwork, but Echostar is partnered with DirectTV.
And GM partners with Isuzu, Chrysler with Mitsubishi, and Ford with Mazda.
And gas stations all use each other's tank farms.
And... you get the point.
Not even a good troll. NGWS was Next Generation [b]Windows[/b] Services. So much for the "first ever" issue of your authoritative publication.
I'm not saying you didn't make good points, I'm saying the same points are equally likely to apply to a developer who has had a successful term of employment at Microsoft.
Or our return for inventing the whole thing in the first place.
but who's gonna accept Microsoft as the trustworthy authority for anything?
It's very likely those are the same people.
FYI, the freeware version of Tiny Personal Firewall does a great job for things like this. (Intended as a response to your parent comment, not your comment -- Tiny is still too complicated for the average user.)
That's because people like to talk about that kind of thing. It doesn't make for "+1 Interesting" if you only talk about aqueducts and durable roads.
Beautiful??? It's a nearly featureless silver box.
Solving games with guns isn't new. Guns hit the mainstream -- and stayed there -- shortly after Pong lost mindshare to Space Invaders. Get used to it.
Assuming you're American like me, we live in a republic, not a democracy.