1. Not always true, depends on your provider. Having had various consumer and business packages in the past, most ISPs only push you to a business package if you:
a. Want a static IP b. Want to run any kind of server
2. In the age of 20mbps consumer connections there is no need for someone who just needs legitimate heavier usage of the connection to not use it. I transfer 100's of gigs a month to and from datacenters around the country for my job. Granted I can get my company to help subsidize that but if I found out my ISP was throttling me I would more than likely take my business elsewhere. I would rather have my company pay for an expensive business package with another provider than give more money to a provider that actively wants to screw me over.
Contractors have an even bigger problem as they don't get their connections subsidized (trust me the tax refund isn't much).
So far my ISP has been pretty good, I called about bandwidth issues once or twice and when asked if I was downloading movies I explained to them what I do. When the rep realizes your just another guy trying to do his job you get all sorts of help.
I can certainly agree with your sentiment about their single laptop offering. I am throwing my wallet in the ring on one of the desktop systems for now and will patiently wait to see if they offer more options on laptops. My current system has about 1 year of life left in it and then it will either be a Linux based laptop or an Apple. Here is to hoping Dell actually sees the support they are expecting and expand the line.
"wahhhh no OEM vendor will put *nix as an option on machines, whaa we have limited support, waahhh if we were more mainstream regular users would see how great *nix is"
Then it's
"Yaaaa go Dell, offering us what we want, give us the choice and we will show you that there is a market for linux."
Now it's
"Who cares if dell is offering linux, i can install it myself for free anyway or I can put together a better computer with bubble gum and bailing wire and make it run off a watch micro-processor. Regular people don't want linux blah blah blah"
You folks need to make up your minds. I think this is a great thing personally. I run both Windows and *nix systems and I used to be all about putting together my own PC's but now I have a life and other priorities rather than piecing together a custom system or digging up the information necessary to install some obscure video driver to make my selections work with my distro. I welcome being able to buy a pre-build and compatible *nix system from a vendor whom I can choke and yell at for anything gone wrong (hardware wise).
And you know what? That's what average folks want. In order to adopt linux as a home platform in Joe 6-pack's home you need that brand, you need that support and you need that gaurentee. Yes some people are afraid of changes and upgrade issues but its only more aggravated by the whole "the Internet is your support" mantra. Joe 6-pack doesn't want to read a 5 message boards to find out he needs to hand install some driver or app to get the feature he wants or to fix his machine. Granted a properly configured *nix environment should be rock stable but Joe 6-pack has been living in an MS world and needs to feel comfortable that he will have the same level of support he always has had.
Right now dell is offering these machines on a limited basis and is targeting the market segment that asked for these machines in the first place. If we don't step up to the plate and show Dell that this is a worthwhile idea then it will be scrapped before it has a chance to get going.
Personally I've been in the market for a new box and getting one ready to go with a warranty and a single support department to deal with makes the decision a lot easier and a lot less time consuming.
Yes I did save some money over a windows machine but that was never really the point of getting Dell to sell these things.
That's making a weak assumption that this banking job is the only one in her area that she is able to get. I know in most areas any decent developer can get 1-3 offers lined up with a month or two of searching. No on is forcing anyone here there are always other options. People who think they are victimized by thier jobs that make me laugh. In my recollection no on has ever forced me to work anywhere. I have in the past been asked to do things like fingerprints and blood samples. You know what? I said "No thanks" and kept looking. Yeah I had to tighten the belt but believe me most people have quite a long way to fall before they hit bottom.
I dont have super monkey balls but I have CoD3 and Rayman Raving Rabids and both feature FPS. So far I have had no trouble shooting or targeting. Honestly I think its easier to play FPS with the Wii controllers. I gave up on the Genre long ago because play on consoles sucked with dual analog. Perhaps Super Monkey Balls just implments thhe hardware badly.
I dont know about the average consumer but I know I have purcahsed alot less CDs. Mainly I only buy RIAA CDs if its a band I REALLY like. Back in the early days of ripping it was not uncommon for me to drop $50 every month on CD purchases but now that RIAA has decided to attack its own customers I find my self looking at alternative bands and non-RIAA publishers for my music.
I also have to say that satallite radio has played a big role in dropping my dependance from CDs. For about $140 a year I have 100 radio staions to choose from, most of which are commerical free. When I want to listen to a certain type of music I typically go there. If I do buy a CD its more for a specific artist or CD I know I want and I avoid RIAA publishers as much as possible.
I prob dont represent the majority of the population but I would not be surprised if there was a decnt chunk of people who are trying to Boycott RIAA on a personal level. Also I would like to see a study on Sat radio vs CD sales.
the word "podcast" was first used back in early 2004, now how can Apple claim that this term hasnt already become part of the general vocab. I think this might be muddy. If they didnt want people dubbing thier works podcasts then apple should have jumped on it back in early 2004 when it started not over 2 years later.
You want to hear the lecture for free? Try going to class. Recording equipment, setup, recording, organizing and uploading all take time and money. Since the prof is only making about $1.00 per sale it likely barely covers his extra time and expense.
Its not uncommon to have schools charge extra for online versions of thier courses, how is this any different?
FWIW this man is a journalist and by the most technical means ANYONE holding a camera recording footage to be reported to the general public is a journalist. Not just someone who gets a paycheck from a major news media company.
This is what is sad about our country these days, people assume that to do things, even simple things you must be registered and have some form of permission from some higher power. This is supposed to be a free country not free so long as its ok with mommy Administrative branch and daddy Judicial branch. Sadly thats what we are coming to.
Even if it is implied there is no implied level of service, if you decide to degrade the connection or alter the data passing through your personal equipment then thats up to you.
It's always a safe bet to just go with the JDK since there are a few Java apps out there that need the JDK classes to run (even though they shouldn't be built that way).
Just be glad you dont have to install entrprise software that relies on a specific version of thhe JDK. I have some machines setup with various different versions of Java for different app servers just to keep the applications happy.
other names that have been used in the past are: gadget web part pagelet
An industry group of the major enterprise portal companies got together and worked on standarizing some things like what to name those little "sub pages". This is also the same group that brought you the JSR-168 specification and to some extent WSRP.
no doubt and has MS lost its mind and forgotten about compainies that have been in the enterprise search business much longer and have enterprise search installations in many more Fortune 500s than MS could ever hope for:
Why are we comparing 2 second string players in the industry to eachother? I would say BEA AquaLogic/Plumtree vs IBM would be a more valid article. However I dont take alot of stock in an article that glosses over the details of such a large discussion topic not to mention speaks as if Lotus and Microsoft are the only major players in this space.
I vote we submit this series to JumpTheShark as I deem it to already have jumped before it started.
Lucas these days knows nothing about filmmaking short of pretty eye candy and how to milk a franchise for every little penny at the same time destroying the orignal vision.
Sure, hen it comes to your typical/. geek that only uses the net for surfing, downloading source, etc.
For those of us that run services on the net however; no matter our opnion of AOL users they do represent a large slice of internet users. Regaurdless of how dumb we may precieve them to be thier money is still green. If an AOL user uses my site/service and part of that service offering includes e-mail updates the AOL user excpets those updates to work. If the person providing the service does not pay the "tax" then those emails may not make it to those users and from a user perspective it is the service that is "broken" and not thier AOL connection to the internet. This may result in that user taking thier eyeballs and thier cash elsewhere.
I can honestly say that AOL's stance on email has hurt a few of my sites in the past 2 years. AOL users cannot use the subscription updates that the forum publishes nor does thier activation or forgotton password emails work properly. When they used to whitelist I found myself figting with AOL every couple months to get back on thier whitelist thanks to either people forgetting they sigend up for subscription updates or just someone with a vandettea (it happens when you ban foul mouthed 13yr olds from degrading your service). Eventually I gave up the constant battle with aol and just decided to remain on thier black list as I got tired of the constant treatment as if I was some kind of criminal.
Since I have stopped fighting with AOL over it my membership growth has dropped as well as the activity on the forum. Only a few AOL users take the extra time neccassary to email me directly if they have a problem or get an alternate email address. Most just never login and we never see them again.
Now that AOL has this "tax" the bar is even higher and even if I wanted to get back on thier whitelist the economic cost wold end up being well beyond what I wcould afford for the small service I provide.
Funny, Im running XP SP2 here and if I go to Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Add Remove Windows Components IE, Outlook Express and Media Player are all optional Items I can remove if I choose.
Now if MS is forcing vendors via agreements to ensure those applications are alsways installed by default then there is an issue. If the vendors are choosing on thier own to install those items by default then how is Microsoft to blame?
As a matter of fact I rountinely remove Outlook Express and MSN Messenger by default on all my Windows installs.
Redhat do not have a stranglehold over the linux market, there are many other distributions you can use.
So by your logic Microsoft cannot bundle because they are the biggest player in the OS world but everyone else should be allowed to create bundles that limit user options and choices.
Is it ok to do these things to users when your small but not when your big? Sounds like a double standard to me.
Regaurdless the apps can be removed and he operating system works without them.
I think that there is only trouble if either via back door agreements or technological means users/OEMs are forced to bundle Microsoft products (this was the center of the IE bundling issue) with the operating system.
THATS WHAT I GET FOR NOT USING PREVIEW. I forgot that/. is quite literal when it does HTML formatting. Please ignore my last post. This one has the correct formatting.
This will certainly be one to be tested by the courts
Vertical tying is the practice of requiring customers to purchase related products or services from the same company. For example, a company's automobile only runs on its own proprietary gas and can only be serviced by its own dealers. In an effort to curb this, many jurisdictions require that warranties not be voided by outside servicing; for example see the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
This argument fails the test as to what Microsoft is being accused of.
Even if you look at the definition of Horzional tying as well some of these cases do not fit the bill. In particular office; You CAN buy Word alone without any of the other tools. Also The various components of Office can run without the existence of another (IE Excel does not need Word or Outlook installed to operate properly). This is also the case in WMP and Active Directory. Windows does not NEED these components to be installed in order to run. However since they do come with the operating system they may need to be reviewed as far as Horizontal tying goes. IE, windows and outlook are no longer tied.
I have no outlook express installed on my machine. Technically IE can also be removed from the system as a user application however components still exist of IE that are required by back end services and processes. Some argue that, that means IE is never really removed but just hidden while others say that the remaining pieces of IE are just shared libraries.
Bundling is not something that Microsoft is uniquely guilty of either (if its truly tested to be a crime). Oracle, for example, distributes its new Oracle Portal with every licence of its 10g database. Like Windows/WMP the Oracle Database does not require Oracle portal components to operate properly however it is installed with every DB installation. Also most Linux distributions also bundle multiple components with their installation. Look at RHEL it has OpenLDAP, an FTP server, a Media Player, an office suite and more all part of the installation of the OS. Even though this is a "Free" operating system is that not bundling as well? Intermedia (the makers of WinDVD) even have a bundled package of all their video viewing and editing tools in one package much like office. Like office buying the individual components is more expensive than buying the bundle.
I will be one of the first to tell you I'm not fan of Microsoft however I'm also not going to cry wolf over something like this because honestly I don't see what the problem is considering none of these products require their bundled counterpart to operate properly.
It will be interesting to see this go to court and see what comes out.
This will certainly be one to be tested by the courts
Vertical tying is the practice of requiring customers to purchase related products or services from the same company. For example, a company's automobile only runs on its own proprietary gas and can only be serviced by its own dealers. In an effort to curb this, many jurisdictions require that warranties not be voided by outside servicing; for example see the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
This argument fails the test as to what Microsoft is being accused of. Even if you look at the definition of Horzional tying as well some of these cases do not fit the bill. In particular office. You CAN buy Word alone without any of the other tools. Also The various components of Office can run without the existence of another (IE Excel does not need Word or Outlook installed to operate properly).
This is also the case in WMP and Active Directory. Windows does not NEED these components to be installed in order to run. However since they do come with the operating system they may need to be reviewed as far as Horizontal tying goes.
IE, windows and outlook are no longer tied. I have no outlook express installed on my machine. Technically IE can also be removed from the system as a user application however components still exist of IE that are required by back end services and processes. Some argue that, that means IE is never really removed but just hidden while others say that the remaining pieces of IE are just shared libraries.
Bundling is not something that Microsoft is uniquely guilty of either (if its truly tested to be a crime). Oracle, for example, distributes its new Oracle Portal with every licence of its 10g database. Like Windows/WMP the Oracle Database does not require Oracle portal components to operate properly however it is installed with every DB installation. Also most Linux distributions also bundle multiple components with their installation. Look at RHEL it has OpenLDAP, an FTP server, a Media Player, an office suite and more all part of the installation of the OS. Even though this is a "Free" operating system is that not bundling as well? Intermedia (the makers of WinDVD) even have a bundled package of all their video viewing and editing tools in one package much like office. Like office buying the individual components is more expensive than buying the bundle.
I will be one of the first to tell you I'm not fan of Microsoft however I'm also not going to cry wolf over something like this because honestly I don't see what the problem is considering none of these products require their bundled counterpart to operate properly.
It will be interesting to see this go to court and see what comes out.
BTW, I love you sig:-)
Agreed, and this is a point many people seem to be missing. Unlike the IE anti-trust action you are not required to have any of these components installed on a machine. I can run office without outlook. I can run Server 2k3 without active directory and use some other vendor for LDAP (OpenSSO, Oracle, Novell, etc). During the browser contreversy you could not uninstall IE. You could not remove it from the desktop and there were active hooks in windows to prevent other browsers from installing/running properly. THAT was the rub.
Microsoft is welcome to bundle whatever they choose so long as they dont prevent/cripple users from installing products from competing vendors.
Slashdot Mirror
1. Not always true, depends on your provider. Having had various consumer and business packages in the past, most ISPs only push you to a business package if you:
a. Want a static IP
b. Want to run any kind of server
2. In the age of 20mbps consumer connections there is no need for someone who just needs legitimate heavier usage of the connection to not use it. I transfer 100's of gigs a month to and from datacenters around the country for my job. Granted I can get my company to help subsidize that but if I found out my ISP was throttling me I would more than likely take my business elsewhere. I would rather have my company pay for an expensive business package with another provider than give more money to a provider that actively wants to screw me over.
Contractors have an even bigger problem as they don't get their connections subsidized (trust me the tax refund isn't much).
So far my ISP has been pretty good, I called about bandwidth issues once or twice and when asked if I was downloading movies I explained to them what I do. When the rep realizes your just another guy trying to do his job you get all sorts of help.
I can certainly agree with your sentiment about their single laptop offering. I am throwing my wallet in the ring on one of the desktop systems for now and will patiently wait to see if they offer more options on laptops. My current system has about 1 year of life left in it and then it will either be a Linux based laptop or an Apple. Here is to hoping Dell actually sees the support they are expecting and expand the line.
First it's
"wahhhh no OEM vendor will put *nix as an option on machines, whaa we have limited support, waahhh if we were more mainstream regular users would see how great *nix is"
Then it's
"Yaaaa go Dell, offering us what we want, give us the choice and we will show you that there is a market for linux."
Now it's
"Who cares if dell is offering linux, i can install it myself for free anyway or I can put together a better computer with bubble gum and bailing wire and make it run off a watch micro-processor. Regular people don't want linux blah blah blah"
You folks need to make up your minds. I think this is a great thing personally. I run both Windows and *nix systems and I used to be all about putting together my own PC's but now I have a life and other priorities rather than piecing together a custom system or digging up the information necessary to install some obscure video driver to make my selections work with my distro. I welcome being able to buy a pre-build and compatible *nix system from a vendor whom I can choke and yell at for anything gone wrong (hardware wise).
And you know what? That's what average folks want. In order to adopt linux as a home platform in Joe 6-pack's home you need that brand, you need that support and you need that gaurentee. Yes some people are afraid of changes and upgrade issues but its only more aggravated by the whole "the Internet is your support" mantra. Joe 6-pack doesn't want to read a 5 message boards to find out he needs to hand install some driver or app to get the feature he wants or to fix his machine. Granted a properly configured *nix environment should be rock stable but Joe 6-pack has been living in an MS world and needs to feel comfortable that he will have the same level of support he always has had.
Right now dell is offering these machines on a limited basis and is targeting the market segment that asked for these machines in the first place. If we don't step up to the plate and show Dell that this is a worthwhile idea then it will be scrapped before it has a chance to get going.
Personally I've been in the market for a new box and getting one ready to go with a warranty and a single support department to deal with makes the decision a lot easier and a lot less time consuming.
Yes I did save some money over a windows machine but that was never really the point of getting Dell to sell these things.
That's making a weak assumption that this banking job is the only one in her area that she is able to get. I know in most areas any decent developer can get 1-3 offers lined up with a month or two of searching. No on is forcing anyone here there are always other options. People who think they are victimized by thier jobs that make me laugh. In my recollection no on has ever forced me to work anywhere. I have in the past been asked to do things like fingerprints and blood samples. You know what? I said "No thanks" and kept looking. Yeah I had to tighten the belt but believe me most people have quite a long way to fall before they hit bottom.
I dont have super monkey balls but I have CoD3 and Rayman Raving Rabids and both feature FPS. So far I have had no trouble shooting or targeting. Honestly I think its easier to play FPS with the Wii controllers. I gave up on the Genre long ago because play on consoles sucked with dual analog. Perhaps Super Monkey Balls just implments thhe hardware badly.
I dont know about the average consumer but I know I have purcahsed alot less CDs. Mainly I only buy RIAA CDs if its a band I REALLY like. Back in the early days of ripping it was not uncommon for me to drop $50 every month on CD purchases but now that RIAA has decided to attack its own customers I find my self looking at alternative bands and non-RIAA publishers for my music.
I also have to say that satallite radio has played a big role in dropping my dependance from CDs. For about $140 a year I have 100 radio staions to choose from, most of which are commerical free. When I want to listen to a certain type of music I typically go there. If I do buy a CD its more for a specific artist or CD I know I want and I avoid RIAA publishers as much as possible.
I prob dont represent the majority of the population but I would not be surprised if there was a decnt chunk of people who are trying to Boycott RIAA on a personal level. Also I would like to see a study on Sat radio vs CD sales.
the word "podcast" was first used back in early 2004, now how can Apple claim that this term hasnt already become part of the general vocab. I think this might be muddy. If they didnt want people dubbing thier works podcasts then apple should have jumped on it back in early 2004 when it started not over 2 years later.
You want to hear the lecture for free? Try going to class. Recording equipment, setup, recording, organizing and uploading all take time and money. Since the prof is only making about $1.00 per sale it likely barely covers his extra time and expense.
Its not uncommon to have schools charge extra for online versions of thier courses, how is this any different?
RTFA, he used a key from a serials site that was marked as 2 years old. MS is apparently not keeping up with its pirateed key list
Im not sure what your definition is, but here are a few definitions to keep you occipied.
FWIW this man is a journalist and by the most technical means ANYONE holding a camera recording footage to be reported to the general public is a journalist. Not just someone who gets a paycheck from a major news media company.
This is what is sad about our country these days, people assume that to do things, even simple things you must be registered and have some form of permission from some higher power. This is supposed to be a free country not free so long as its ok with mommy Administrative branch and daddy Judicial branch. Sadly thats what we are coming to.
Even if it is implied there is no implied level of service, if you decide to degrade the connection or alter the data passing through your personal equipment then thats up to you.
It's always a safe bet to just go with the JDK since there are a few Java apps out there that need the JDK classes to run (even though they shouldn't be built that way).
Just be glad you dont have to install entrprise software that relies on a specific version of thhe JDK. I have some machines setup with various different versions of Java for different app servers just to keep the applications happy.
hardly a buzz word and hardly new: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portlet
other names that have been used in the past are:
gadget
web part
pagelet
An industry group of the major enterprise portal companies got together and worked on standarizing some things like what to name those little "sub pages". This is also the same group that brought you the JSR-168 specification and to some extent WSRP.
no doubt and has MS lost its mind and forgotten about compainies that have been in the enterprise search business much longer and have enterprise search installations in many more Fortune 500s than MS could ever hope for:
BEA
Verity
IBM
to name a few.
where have you been? Almost every single one of those arguments and more were used by MS when the state of MA decided to standardize on ODF.
Why are we comparing 2 second string players in the industry to eachother? I would say BEA AquaLogic/Plumtree vs IBM would be a more valid article. However I dont take alot of stock in an article that glosses over the details of such a large discussion topic not to mention speaks as if Lotus and Microsoft are the only major players in this space.
I vote we submit this series to JumpTheShark as I deem it to already have jumped before it started.
Lucas these days knows nothing about filmmaking short of pretty eye candy and how to milk a franchise for every little penny at the same time destroying the orignal vision.
Sounds like a plan, hell DieBold has been following that method for years and they seem to be doing quite well for it.
The instructions SPECIFICALLY SAID......."DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN BALL"!!!!!!!!!
Your just a nacy boy, the happy fun ball must be taunted.
Wait, did I miss something?? When did email not require the use of at least one server somewhere?
Sure, hen it comes to your typical /. geek that only uses the net for surfing, downloading source, etc.
For those of us that run services on the net however; no matter our opnion of AOL users they do represent a large slice of internet users. Regaurdless of how dumb we may precieve them to be thier money is still green. If an AOL user uses my site/service and part of that service offering includes e-mail updates the AOL user excpets those updates to work. If the person providing the service does not pay the "tax" then those emails may not make it to those users and from a user perspective it is the service that is "broken" and not thier AOL connection to the internet. This may result in that user taking thier eyeballs and thier cash elsewhere.
I can honestly say that AOL's stance on email has hurt a few of my sites in the past 2 years. AOL users cannot use the subscription updates that the forum publishes nor does thier activation or forgotton password emails work properly. When they used to whitelist I found myself figting with AOL every couple months to get back on thier whitelist thanks to either people forgetting they sigend up for subscription updates or just someone with a vandettea (it happens when you ban foul mouthed 13yr olds from degrading your service). Eventually I gave up the constant battle with aol and just decided to remain on thier black list as I got tired of the constant treatment as if I was some kind of criminal.
Since I have stopped fighting with AOL over it my membership growth has dropped as well as the activity on the forum. Only a few AOL users take the extra time neccassary to email me directly if they have a problem or get an alternate email address. Most just never login and we never see them again.
Now that AOL has this "tax" the bar is even higher and even if I wanted to get back on thier whitelist the economic cost wold end up being well beyond what I wcould afford for the small service I provide.
Funny, Im running XP SP2 here and if I go to Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Add Remove Windows Components IE, Outlook Express and Media Player are all optional Items I can remove if I choose.
Now if MS is forcing vendors via agreements to ensure those applications are alsways installed by default then there is an issue. If the vendors are choosing on thier own to install those items by default then how is Microsoft to blame?
As a matter of fact I rountinely remove Outlook Express and MSN Messenger by default on all my Windows installs.
Redhat do not have a stranglehold over the linux market, there are many other distributions you can use.
So by your logic Microsoft cannot bundle because they are the biggest player in the OS world but everyone else should be allowed to create bundles that limit user options and choices.
Is it ok to do these things to users when your small but not when your big? Sounds like a double standard to me.
Regaurdless the apps can be removed and he operating system works without them.
I think that there is only trouble if either via back door agreements or technological means users/OEMs are forced to bundle Microsoft products (this was the center of the IE bundling issue) with the operating system.
THATS WHAT I GET FOR NOT USING PREVIEW. I forgot that /. is quite literal when it does HTML formatting. Please ignore my last post. This one has the correct formatting.
This will certainly be one to be tested by the courts
:-)
Vertical tying is the practice of requiring customers to purchase related products or services from the same company. For example, a company's automobile only runs on its own proprietary gas and can only be serviced by its own dealers. In an effort to curb this, many jurisdictions require that warranties not be voided by outside servicing; for example see the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
This argument fails the test as to what Microsoft is being accused of. Even if you look at the definition of Horzional tying as well some of these cases do not fit the bill. In particular office; You CAN buy Word alone without any of the other tools. Also The various components of Office can run without the existence of another (IE Excel does not need Word or Outlook installed to operate properly). This is also the case in WMP and Active Directory. Windows does not NEED these components to be installed in order to run. However since they do come with the operating system they may need to be reviewed as far as Horizontal tying goes. IE, windows and outlook are no longer tied.
I have no outlook express installed on my machine. Technically IE can also be removed from the system as a user application however components still exist of IE that are required by back end services and processes. Some argue that, that means IE is never really removed but just hidden while others say that the remaining pieces of IE are just shared libraries.
Bundling is not something that Microsoft is uniquely guilty of either (if its truly tested to be a crime). Oracle, for example, distributes its new Oracle Portal with every licence of its 10g database. Like Windows/WMP the Oracle Database does not require Oracle portal components to operate properly however it is installed with every DB installation. Also most Linux distributions also bundle multiple components with their installation. Look at RHEL it has OpenLDAP, an FTP server, a Media Player, an office suite and more all part of the installation of the OS. Even though this is a "Free" operating system is that not bundling as well? Intermedia (the makers of WinDVD) even have a bundled package of all their video viewing and editing tools in one package much like office. Like office buying the individual components is more expensive than buying the bundle.
I will be one of the first to tell you I'm not fan of Microsoft however I'm also not going to cry wolf over something like this because honestly I don't see what the problem is considering none of these products require their bundled counterpart to operate properly.
It will be interesting to see this go to court and see what comes out.
BTW, I love you sig
This will certainly be one to be tested by the courts Vertical tying is the practice of requiring customers to purchase related products or services from the same company. For example, a company's automobile only runs on its own proprietary gas and can only be serviced by its own dealers. In an effort to curb this, many jurisdictions require that warranties not be voided by outside servicing; for example see the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act This argument fails the test as to what Microsoft is being accused of. Even if you look at the definition of Horzional tying as well some of these cases do not fit the bill. In particular office. You CAN buy Word alone without any of the other tools. Also The various components of Office can run without the existence of another (IE Excel does not need Word or Outlook installed to operate properly). This is also the case in WMP and Active Directory. Windows does not NEED these components to be installed in order to run. However since they do come with the operating system they may need to be reviewed as far as Horizontal tying goes. IE, windows and outlook are no longer tied. I have no outlook express installed on my machine. Technically IE can also be removed from the system as a user application however components still exist of IE that are required by back end services and processes. Some argue that, that means IE is never really removed but just hidden while others say that the remaining pieces of IE are just shared libraries. Bundling is not something that Microsoft is uniquely guilty of either (if its truly tested to be a crime). Oracle, for example, distributes its new Oracle Portal with every licence of its 10g database. Like Windows/WMP the Oracle Database does not require Oracle portal components to operate properly however it is installed with every DB installation. Also most Linux distributions also bundle multiple components with their installation. Look at RHEL it has OpenLDAP, an FTP server, a Media Player, an office suite and more all part of the installation of the OS. Even though this is a "Free" operating system is that not bundling as well? Intermedia (the makers of WinDVD) even have a bundled package of all their video viewing and editing tools in one package much like office. Like office buying the individual components is more expensive than buying the bundle. I will be one of the first to tell you I'm not fan of Microsoft however I'm also not going to cry wolf over something like this because honestly I don't see what the problem is considering none of these products require their bundled counterpart to operate properly. It will be interesting to see this go to court and see what comes out. BTW, I love you sig :-)
Agreed, and this is a point many people seem to be missing. Unlike the IE anti-trust action you are not required to have any of these components installed on a machine. I can run office without outlook. I can run Server 2k3 without active directory and use some other vendor for LDAP (OpenSSO, Oracle, Novell, etc). During the browser contreversy you could not uninstall IE. You could not remove it from the desktop and there were active hooks in windows to prevent other browsers from installing/running properly. THAT was the rub.
Microsoft is welcome to bundle whatever they choose so long as they dont prevent/cripple users from installing products from competing vendors.