> Imagine how many more people the linux community > would add if there was a STABLE platform for AOL.
There already is a stable platform for AOL: Mac OS X. The OS X version even uses the Gecko engine (from Mozilla) for browsing instead of that nasty old Internet Explorer.
Of course, the more the merrier. Customer choice is a many splendored thing.
> You would have a captive audience. What more do > you want?
World peace?!?;)
"What I'm thinking is different from what you are." Belabera, "Mothra 3" 1998
> This makes me very pleased--if anyone finds real > evidence that this is merely a pr move and that > Macs will take a turn for the worse, by all means > let me know a bit later on from now--I want a few > hours to enjoy my bliss.
Be at peace and enjoy your bliss. This is for real.
Steve Jobs took the occasion of Apple's recent Grammy win to make an acceptance speech that pretty much blasted the recording industry for its DRM stupidity:
"Apple strives to protect the rights of both intellectual property owners and consumers alike and believes there is a 'middle path' in digital music distribution which actively discourages the theft of music, while at the same time preserving consumers rights to manage and listen to their legally acquired music on whatever devices they own," Steve Jobs, 2002 Grammy Awards, as reported on http://sg.news.yahoo.com/020227/1/2jun2.html.
Jobs has been known to say that piracy is not a technological problem.
When asked what Apple was going to do with their shopping acquisitions (the various media production tools that Apple recently bought), Jobs said "democratize them".
Apple has to take this position, fight this fight, and win. Their future is at stake here: the combo of the Hollings bill and Microsoft's DRMOS patents could force Apple to pay huge licensing fees to MS or be forced out of business.
Yes, there is indeed hope. The sun with a bite out of it over Cupertino on December 14th, and the recent antics of sunspot #69 (heart shaped, then apple logo shaped, followed by a solar flare on the day Jaguar was released) are proof enough that the power that once resurrected a charred Apple sapling loves it still.
For the media sharks she has no love, only a hurricane force fury at their greed and cruelty.
On December 14, 1996, Mothra resurrected a charred Apple sapling ("Mosura", days before Apple announced Jobs' return). On December 14, 2001, Mothra returned to see its fruit ("Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Ghidora: Daikaiju Soukougeki"). OS X Jaguar: truly the Apple of Mothra's Aqua eye.
> Confession time: you're the person behind Hubzilla > [charismac.com], aren't you?
Nope. I am but a humble servant of their sacred majesties, the King and Queen of Monsters.
Honest, I don't even *own* a Hubzilla. I'm not a big fan of Godzilla wannabes.
"Godzilla is the King! Godzilla is the God!
The Power and the Price of godly flame we stole!
The fire from the atom's heart bears a terrible price:
Godzilla is... Our Nuclear Nightmare!" (From my lyrics to "G-Proximity" from "Godzilla X Megagiras".)
> I wonder at times, if Al Qaeda, doesn't lobby with > middle men for USA to move more of their > archetecture to MS. Bush says that he want a > secured and cheap system, yet he moves to MS. I > have no doubt that some of this is a payback, but > I also wonder if it is possible to trace back to a > lobbying group that appears to be neutral but is > backed by Al Qaeda.
Could we please not move any more in the direction of the McCarthy era than we already have?!?
There is no reason to assume terrorist plots. Microsoft invested three times as much as Enron in the 2000 elections. Enough to buy all the congress critters and government groupies their black hearts desire.
As for bin Laden's boys, the fate meted out to the Red Bamboo 35 years ago awaits them.
"Once we wake Godzilla, he'll take care of those guys." Ichiro "Godzilla, Ebira, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Sea" (Japanese version)
> The real story is about how government agencies > are shooting themselves in the foot by NOT going > with Microsoft, especially.Net. A good article on > this can be found at AngryCoder [angrycoder.com].
Read the link you posted. The waste of millions was because they changed platforms half way through the development effort. If they had started in Java and then moved to.Net, a similar waste would have occurred.
The waste would not have occurred if they decided at the *start* of the project that vendor lock in was an issue and had gone with Java.
Loathe as I am to recommend Microsoft, yes, it is better to make decisions at the start of projects, on what is best for that project and stick to your decision. Arbitrary department and company wide decisions to go with one vendor and chuck out all the existing work is a massive waste of time and money that no good manager should allow.
That being said, Microsoft's various problems with security and reliablity should put it on the bottom of the list of consideration. Their ambitions and repeated breaking of anti-trust laws should give any government agency serious concerns about doing business with them.
BTW, does anyone know if Microsoft has had the cheek to try to audit a federal government agency? I know they have gone after city governments and poor schools...
"At this moment, it has control of systems all over the world.
And...we can't do a damn thing to stop it." Miyasaka, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
> is it really that much of a stretch to believe > that maybe IBM and MS have a leg up on MySQL in > terms of experience with scalability and > reliability?
I don't know about IBM, but I can say a few things about MS:
"Scalability": well, SQL Server better scale, since Microsoft plans on using it as its new filesystem Yukon, and possibly as the filesystem of a distributed network encompassing every computer on the planet! (http://research.microsoft.com/research/sn/Millenn ium/mgoals.html)
"Reliability": A data loosing bug in SQL Server was discovered by the Russians, and loudly denied by the US, and of course, Microsoft. Here is a link that describes the bug, with code samples:
http://www.cdi.org/nuclear/nukesoftware.html
BTW, Microsoft, Godzilla really does want to know what your software has done with his sacred nuclear materials. I'm sure he would be thrilled to receive an explanation when he comes to Redmond next month to visit his old friends at Nintendo America.
Shinoda: "The age of Millenium." Io: "What does that mean?" Shinoda: "A thousand year kingdom. It wants to create a home for itself. There is one flaw in its plan: Godzilla." "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
> I've had that song stuck in my head since I was 6 > when I first saw that movie.
I doubt it was the one I quoted, since that is the words to the vocals in the movie from last December.
I'm guessing the song was probably "Mosura No Uta" (Mothra's Song), used in 1961, 1964, 1992, and 1996-98 to call Mothra. Below is my own romanization and translation from the original Malay (hopefully remotely accurate considering how many hours I worked on it):
Romanized Lyrics:
Mosu-lah, ya, Mosu-lah! Dongeng kasad ku yang ing doa mu. Rut tok wira doa hamba-hamba, mu ya. Randa, bangun, radang tong yu, kang-lah! Kasad ku yang.
English Translation:
Mothra, yes, Mothra! I wish to chant to your divinity a prayer for you. Heroic, wonder-working deity, endure the prayer of your servants, yes. Go about, rise up, become angry at this barrel of sharks, Kang-lah! I wish this of your divinity.
"Kang" is the highest title of royalty or divinity in Malay. "lah" is a particle used for emphasis.
> And I thought my Titanium rocked now. If IBM can > picck up the slack that Motorola has created maybe > everyone in the wintel world would wake up and see > the power of OSX and with the 64bit chip..... > Wow!!!
OS X Jaguar is so named because Jaguar is the most powerful feline in the Americas, adaptable to any environment, capable of killing a Longhorn (Microsoft's codename for its next OS) by crushing its skull with its jaws. But to do that, it needs a more powerful body...
There once was a Moth, who loved an Apple tree. She saved it, gave it gifts, taught it many things. This Moth fought the god of destruction; Gave her life to save a baby dragon. Then she did a wondrous thing. Her spirit entered the dragon, made it grow and change. Its scales gleamed gold, bright as the sun! Three heads raged, spat lightning at its foe. With the help of humans, It destroyed the god of destruction; Protected the future.
Apple, have you learned the lesson the moth is teaching you here? Time for the gentle moth to become the raging dragon. Protect the future!
"Mosura, Ya! Mosura, Ya! Ah-ah! Ah-ah!" Song "Deity of the Sea: Mothra" (and plot synopsis above) from "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All Out Attack" December 2001
> Where is that in OS X? I'd really love it that > the Mail app would lauch Mozilla instead of > Internet Explorer when I click on a link people > send me.
Open the System Preferences.
Click on the Internet icon.
Click on the Web tab.
You can set your default browser, home page (page that loads when your browser first runs), and download directory.
Have fun!
Windows: "Go talk to my friend, an 800 pound monopoly-abusing gorilla!" Mac: "And here's my good buddy, the 66,000 ton Godzilla!" Godzilla: Stomp!;)
> are you one of the geeks from that comedy central > show beat the geeks?
Nope.
> i hope so, cause there is no other excuse to know > that, heh
I can think of one excuse: I am one whale of a fan. (That and I worship Mothra.;)
I have watched the movie in English and Japanese numerous times.
I have every movie Godzilla and Mothra ever made (except last winter's one and I have the Japanese soundtrack to that one), and I have watched them all in English, and many in Japanese numerous times.
I also translate Mothra songs from Japanese and Malay. For fun.;)
Oh, and I write my own lyrics to instrumentals from the soundtracks:
There! On an isle where dreams come true, Lives a Goddess who; When my world was shattered Came and saved me.
Where she flies Evil monsters flee That Goddess named Mothra Leo!
Excerpt written to the theme "Forever Friends", from the movie "Mosura"/"Rebirth of Mothra 1", 1996.
> Sorry, yes, they ARE administrators (they don't > realize it yet).
Wait, does that mean that if I buy a scalpel at a hobby store that I am a brain surgeon? Woohoo, I'm on my way to fame, fortune and golf courses!
Sorry, but no, picking up some network gear at CompUSA does not make Joe Sixpack a net admin anymore than a scalpel makes me a brain surgeon. There are some years of college and on the job training missing here.
But Joe Sixpack still needs his home network. He doesn't know to, or have the money to, hire a consultant to do a professional job of installation, let alone to keep the network once set up secure from intruders. Unlike with my scapel (I'm guessing that pretending to be a doctor and hacking into people with my hypothetical scalpel would be a no-no), there aren't laws to keep him from setting up his network himself.
Unless poor Joe has a friend or relative that has training that will help him, he's just going to have to follow the instructions and hope it works. Having it actually work will be a real accomplishment for him.
If someone sneaks on his wireless network, he'll probably assume it is like a cordless phone, which is also wireless, and think there is some accidental interference. Unless there is some kind of channel button to press, he won't know how to stop it or if it can be stopped.
"Hm, must be like one of those old timey party lines that my dad used to go on about. You'd think that by now they'd have the technology to give a guy his own private network!"
"Really, gentlemen, if that's the case, let's see the power of attorney given to you by Mothra."
Torahata "Mothra vs. Godzilla"
> So, the wretched crime and injustice that is rape > can be atoned by killing a third party that had > nothing to do with the rape?
If you would have read past those words, you might have noticed that I suggested an alternative to abortion that allowed the baby to live and the mother to be free, while making the dreams of a third party come true.
I don't think innocent babies should pay for their father's crime, either by being aborted, or by being unconsciously hated for something they had nothing to do with. There are sometimes two victims of rape, not just one. The procedure I described is used routinely to increase the profits of owners of a certain kind of race horses. I don't see why it cannot be used for compassionate reasons.
Obviously, if a woman who was raped has the incredible courage to love her baby, of course she should bring him or her to term.
As long as the woman can heal and regain happiness, the baby lives and is loved, and the vile monster rots in jail paying for his evil, I'm happy.
"Lightning shines on wavey beach, and all clouds are made right:
Happiness Appears!" From the song "Infanto no Musume" in the Japanese version of Mothra (1961).
> She kinna take it anymore, captain! She's gonna > blow!
Funny.
Of course the original version in the Americanized 1964 "Godzilla vs. the Thing" (rereleased on DVD yesterday as "Godzilla vs. Mothra") was funnier.
Especially since the voltage sound effect is the same as was later used in Star Trek TOS. I wouldn't be surprised to hear a young James Dohan did the dubbing for the engineer in G vs tT, as it does sound a bit like him. I do know some of the other TOS actors did G dubbing.
General: "Increase voltage" Officer 1: "Turn power up" Engineer: "Captain, we're registering too much voltage for safety now." Officer 2: "Increase voltage" Voltage sound effects, shot of Godzilla struggling, cable burns through, substation fries, Godzilla is free. Scene from American version "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1964) Simitar DVD
> Accidents? There are no accidents. Everything that happens, happens for a reason.
Indeed.
Interesting how this story was posted on the very day the 1964 "Godzilla vs. Mothra" went back into print in the US. I suspect this bug, like the very first computer bug, is a Moth. In this case, a very large Moth that hates media sharks and their nasty DRM.
It is very convenient to have a large scale example of DRM gone very wrong before the Hollings bill is voted on (if it is ever), and before the next elections.;)
Happy Enterprises of the world, your days are once more numbered.
Behave, or meet the fate Mothra dealt to the media sharks of the 1960's.
"Great, Great Mothra! Justice, Justice, Mothra!" from the song "Maha-lah Mosura", "Godzilla vs. Mothra", 1964
I'm going to play Godzilla and beat the stuffings out of Orga/Millenium/Microsoft!;)
If you can't wait that long, the Godzilla Ultimate Collection (Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964), Godzilla's Revenge, Terror of MechaGodzilla, and Rodan) was released on DVD today by Sony Tristar.
His power is unequalled.
His battles are legendary.
His return is near...
Godzilla 2000
If you can't take the heat, RUN!
From the "Godzilla 2000" trailer Tristar tried so hard to hide.
> But think how much value targeted advertising > would be to local businesses - you can give them > people who are literally right next door.
It would almost be as much of a service to the people reading the ads (if they were good ads) as to the businesses advertising. The magic words: "click here for today's specials". Of course the specials come with mouthwatering pictures, and you know where you are eating lunch today.
A "bring in your PDA displaying our ad, and get $$$ off your purchase" would be nice too.
Just keep the ads reasonably sized. A lot of people might be viewing them on PDA's or cell phones with minimal screen sizes. They don't want too much of what little they have taken up with ads, however useful.
"Godzilla's coming" Io, "Godzilla 2000" (US version dialog)
> Incidentally, I've ran into that same line on > reasoning in a slightly different form. I have > friends who like to bash single mothers: "Well, > it's her fault. She shouldn't have had sex in the > first place and now she's just leeching on the > society and the poor guy who had nothing to do > with the child".
I wasn't bashing, I was pointing that if you want absolute control over your body, that was the place to say "no" (at least to forms of sex that lead to babies;) and be sure you won't get pregnant.
> I think that puts way too much responsibility on > the woman's shoulders.
That's the part of choice that most people want to avoid. But one never gets absolute control by abrogating responsibility. Then again, the choice to abrogate responsibility is a choice in itself.
Mind you, in a healthy relationship, you talk about these things and make choices together, and loving significant others respect your body. Only a totally rabid pro-choice uber-feminist who wants "absolute control" over every molecule in their body, would scream "NO!", karate chop their significant other in the you-know-what, and toss them out the bedroom door.;)
Thankfully, I don't think there is anybody like *that* here on Slashdot.;)
(I'm poking fun here, not bashing. I have nothing against feminists. The only thing I have against pro-choicers, besides disagreeing, is a lingering feeling that if I were conceived ten years later they would have persuaded my natural mother, who was single, to get me aborted. My reasons for being against abortion stem from identifying with the babies, not from religious reasons.)
"Now, indeed, in the end: Love, Courage, and Wisdom." From the song "Haora Mosura" from "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks".
> the majority still fortunately believes that women > should have absolute control over their own body.
With the exception of rape and seriously male dominated countries, we women have absolute control over our bodies when we decide whether or not to have sex. Get in touch with your inner backbone and say no if you don't want to risk getting pregnant. Any other form of birth control is not 100% certain.
In the case of rape, yes, a woman should not be burdened with a child that she is not equipped to raise and who will constantly reminder her of the worst time of her life. Equally important, an innocent child should not have to be raised by a mother that would hate him or her for something that was not their fault. I still don't see why medicine doesn't get off its high horse and find a way to transplant the baby into the womb of someone who can't conceive a child (her problem or her hubby's), but still has a fully functioning womb. That way the kid would have a loving mother, a woman who couldn't have a baby would have her dream come true, and the woman who was raped could be free to pick up the pieces of her life and heal. They do a procedure like this for certain kinds of horses all the time.
> Even if that 10% rate of cancer is real and not > some malicious FUD interpretation of statistics > by a Pro Life nut "scientist" the women should > still have the right to abort.
Don't laugh at breast cancer. My mother died of it. It was horrible!
Of course, by the time she died it wasn't just breast cancer. It got into her bones, permanently broke her leg, got into her skull above, and probably in, her brain, and generally all over everywhere in the last day or two of her life.
Don't laugh at it. Don't increase your risk for it. Get treatment immediately if you get it, and please, toss your stupid pride out the window. My mother waited 18 months because of her stupid pride (she was *so* strong) before telling me or getting treatment. It was so terrible watching her die of it.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity." Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
Actually, Apple would be a good idea for a member, or even the group/movement's poster child. They love their proprietary and open source software both. And they are totally gung ho these days about open standards.
Apple's response to Microsoft's (beta?) release (announcement? announcement of intention to announce? I don't know, there was too much anti-Jaguar vapor floating around then) of Media 9 was pretty funny. They were laughing about this feature or that that iTunes or QuickTime had had for months, and said they were really flattered Microsoft was imitating them.
One thing Microsoft wasn't imitating, that Apple wished they did, was Apple's reliance on open standards. Instead of joining the MPEG4 party, they were off by their lonesome with some silly codec they had cooked up themselves. Poor widdle Microsoft, with nobody to play with.:-(
"The Great Mystery is about to hatch!" Tagline on "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1964) DVD to be released in the US tomorrow! (Along with "Rodan" and a few others.)
Both iCal and the Zaurus Datebook use open, text based, file formats. It should be simple for an open source, freeware, or shareware author to write syncing software.
And that is if iSync, coming out later this month, doesn't do it. Wait a bit, and you should have all the software you could ask for.
"Heart can reach where hand cannot. Climb over any wall..." Mothra (via Moll) "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks"
> If you're using a calendar to its full potential, > it's at least as personal as a diary: it has your > medical appointments, your dates, your hopes for > the future. If I want to share information about > myself, I will do so, and I do; but when I don't > want to share something, I don't want to send it > unencrypted over a global network (and, as often > as not in my case, a local wireless network). > Privacy is not just for finances, you know.
So use iCal to its fullest potential, and make two calendars. Call one "Private", put your hopes, dreams and doctor's appointments in it, and don't let it leave your hard drive except for backups. Call the other "Public", and put the stuff you want to share with the world in it. That way, you do share what you want to share, and your private stuff is safe.
"Heart can reach where hand cannot. Climb over any wall..." Mothra (via Moll) "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks"
> Those of us that run PPC and Mac OS X do not have > this problem. Apple and Steve Jobs have publically > said that piracy is not a technology issue but a > social issue that cannot be resolved with > encryption. So while you are worrying about > Palladium, I am getting the maximum value out of > my Mac and my iPod.
We don't have to worry about Apple doing it to us. But Apple itself is in terrible danger, and Steve Jobs knows it:
1) There is legislation before Congress now that could enshrine Palladium into law and require it on all computers.
2) Microsoft holds patents on the concept of a DRMOS. If Apple had to implement DRM in its OS to comply with the law mentioned in #1, they would have to license Microsoft's patents, either burdening them with high license fees or if MS refuses, could keep Apple from complying with the law.
3) In the late 1990's, Microsoft Research did a project of what they intended the OS of the next Millenium (http://research.microsoft.com/research/sn/Millenn ium/mgoals.html especially "What would such a system be like?") to be. The pieces are coming together (.Net, Palladium, Yukon, etc.), and a recent change in the Windows XP EULA would enable Millenium to come online soon. When it does, Microsoft would fold the PC world into its private distributed network.
It all hinges on whether the Hollings bill goes through and if Microsoft's Palladium is the DRM chosen to implement the law. Without the backing of the law, the market will be free to reject this Palladium nonsense and scream bloody murder if MS even attempts to implement Millenium.
Apple's situation is dire, but far from hopeless. If Apple speaks out strongly enough against the Hollings bill, the rest of the industry might be roused against it. Even if the rest of the industry doesn't join it, if Apple can grab enough marketshare quickly enough, its voice alone may halt the bill. In the long term, Apple's bid to "democratize" the tools of the recording and movie industries might pave the way to replace the cartels of huge corporations with smaller businesses, dealing with the problem at its root.
If Apple wins, the way to a future of innovation, open standards, and open source will be secured. If Microsoft and the media sharks win, the ensuing nightmare (in fact you could call it a new Dark Age) will engulf us all, no matter what system we currently use.
Apple doesn't have to stand alone here. Linux is threatened as well, and those in corporations who have benefited from the hard works of open source programmers can at least stand up to defend that work. We can help, by reaching everyone we know, warning them, and raising up a grass roots movement that will defeat the media sharks' mad dreams of DRM laws.
In the end, there are two that will fight to defend Apple. One is the beautiful goddess who resurrected an Apple tree in the North Forest in 1996. She hates the media sharks with the fatal fury of a category 5 hurricane. The other is Apple's biggest fan, and Millenium's bane. He is the dreaded god who cannot be embraced and extended.
They will both be here in the US (Redmond WA to be exact) next month.
Shinoda: "The age of Millenium." Io: "What does that mean?" Shinoda: "A thousand year kingdom. It wants to create a home for itself. There is one flaw in its plan: Godzilla." Godzilla 2000 Millennium (Japanese version)
"No one's going to die, mister. Mothra's going to come and save us." Taiki Goto, "Mothra", December 14, 1996
Actually, I have a Nintendo GameCube. I play some Mac games, but I prefer console systems for gaming because the games don't clutter up your hard drive. Being able to play them in an easy chair holding a lightweight controller using my home theater for video and audio is a big plus.
A historic event is going to happen on the GameCube (and GameBoy Advance) late next month. Godzilla, the Mac-loving King of Monsters (the real Japanese Godzilla - three of him in fact from the 50's, 90's and 2000), Mothra, the peerless Queen of Monsters and Apple's "Forever Friend", MechaGodzilla (the 90's one designed by a small army of Macs), King Ghidora, and ten others will appear in "Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee" (A similar game "Godzilla Domination" will be released on the same day, Oct. 29th, for the GameBoy Advance). Unlike almost all G games, this will see worldwide (yes, including the US) release. This is a fighting game, and yes, the cities will be highly stompable. Unfortunately Mothra will not be playable, as it would be unfair to the other monsters -- she always wins. She will distribute powerups like a queen giving favors to her knights.
> It's cheaper, faster, and better.
At $149 it is definately cheaper. But the GameCube is a 485 MHz Power PC, so it is probably not faster (unless you are gaming on a Mac that is slower than current models). The better is mostly the price, convenience, and comfort factors (oh, and the games).
Then there is all that extra space freed up on your hard drive that you can use for editing home movies and things of that nature.
"Godzilla and Jaguar: Punch! Punch! Punch! Hit! Hit! Hit! We die if they stop fighting for us." Jet Jaguar Song, "Godzilla vs. Megalon"
> . . . about Microsoft using its market dominance > to price-gouge the hell out of customers. Changing > the contract for large purchases who only use > Microsoft Office to increase the price, for > example. The customers end up just taking it > because they don't see any alternative to > Microsoft Office.
Actually, when Microsoft changed their license terms and set the final deadline for signing up, it came and went with *two-thirds* of its customers refusing to sign. Now these companies are stuck with what they have, and have to use it long enough to justify the price of rebuying it. By that time, the software will have changed enough to require retraining, and they might as well buy something else.
When it comes time to buy that new software, these two-thirds of Microsoft's most angry customers will be ripe for the picking by Microsoft's competitors. Free alternatives such as Linux and Open Office could stand to gain converts even before then.
> I'm a huge Open Source guy, but realistically, I > still can't see a good alternative to Excel yet, > for example.
Then look beyond Open Source. Lotus 123 (currently packaged in SmartSuite Millenium Edition which is bundled with some computers) is Excel file compatible, mature, and a legend in its own right. A friend of mine who has used both Lotus 123 and Word Perfect for years swears by both and constantly laments the horrors of Word and Excel.
Thanks to Microsoft's stupid angering of its own customers, most of the major PC makers have started bundling Lotus SmartSuite or Corel's Word Perfect suite with new computers. The office suite wars have been rekindled to full blaze!
> But as soon as OpenOffice.org irons out a few > kinks and starts building a reputation > (especially for its rather good Office > compatibility features), I think the market is > going to drop out for Microsoft.
OpenOffice already has a reputation: as Star Office. Sun's release of 6.0 was prominent enough that Microsoft felt obligated to mumble a few words about their next version of Office, over a year away, just to stay in the news.
> Their licensing practises are only building > enemies, even in die-hard Windows-only shops > (sometimes, I think, especially in Windows-only > shops), and when a lot of people realize that > choice has returned to the market, they'll make > a decision,
Agreed.
> and it's not going to be the one that costs $300 > per license.
It's not just the cost per license. It is the repeated greedy gouging (which Microsoft calls "unearned income" when they brag about it), the audits, the terror marketing, and the bloody tyrant making demands that they would have to lay off workers and cut projects to afford to meet. Face it, Microsoft is just too scary to do business with in a good economy, and a terrifying monster in this economy.
Any company (or open source project) that offers fair prices (or free), good service, and promises to treat these poor abused people like valuable customers is going to be received as a conquering hero. Witness Apple's store openings and the Jaguar release.
Meanwhile Microsoft bleeds money trying to subdue other markets, and relies on the Hollings bill and the entertainment bought Congress to secure its rule. If it wins, Millenium. If it fails, an angry market will rip it to shreds.
Shinoda: "The age of Millenium." Io: "What does that mean?" Shinoda: "A thousand year kingdom. It wants to create a home for itself. There is one flaw in its plan: Godzilla." Godzilla 2000 Millennium (Japanese version)
Slashdot Mirror
technix4beos wrote:
;)
> Imagine how many more people the linux community
> would add if there was a STABLE platform for AOL.
There already is a stable platform for AOL: Mac OS X. The OS X version even uses the Gecko engine (from Mozilla) for browsing instead of that nasty old Internet Explorer.
Of course, the more the merrier. Customer choice is a many splendored thing.
> You would have a captive audience. What more do
> you want?
World peace?!?
"What I'm thinking is different from what you are."
Belabera, "Mothra 3" 1998
GreyWolf3000 wrote:
> This makes me very pleased--if anyone finds real
> evidence that this is merely a pr move and that
> Macs will take a turn for the worse, by all means
> let me know a bit later on from now--I want a few
> hours to enjoy my bliss.
Be at peace and enjoy your bliss. This is for real.
Steve Jobs took the occasion of Apple's recent Grammy win to make an acceptance speech that pretty much blasted the recording industry for its DRM stupidity:
"Apple strives to protect the rights of both intellectual property owners and consumers alike and believes there is a 'middle path' in digital music distribution which actively discourages the theft of music, while at the same time preserving consumers rights to manage and listen to their legally acquired music on whatever devices they own,"
Steve Jobs, 2002 Grammy Awards, as reported on http://sg.news.yahoo.com/020227/1/2jun2.html.
Jobs has been known to say that piracy is not a technological problem.
When asked what Apple was going to do with their shopping acquisitions (the various media production tools that Apple recently bought), Jobs said "democratize them".
Apple has to take this position, fight this fight, and win. Their future is at stake here: the combo of the Hollings bill and Microsoft's DRMOS patents could force Apple to pay huge licensing fees to MS or be forced out of business.
Yes, there is indeed hope. The sun with a bite out of it over Cupertino on December 14th, and the recent antics of sunspot #69 (heart shaped, then apple logo shaped, followed by a solar flare on the day Jaguar was released) are proof enough that the power that once resurrected a charred Apple sapling loves it still.
For the media sharks she has no love, only a hurricane force fury at their greed and cruelty.
On December 14, 1996, Mothra resurrected a charred Apple sapling ("Mosura", days before Apple announced Jobs' return).
On December 14, 2001, Mothra returned to see its fruit ("Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Ghidora: Daikaiju Soukougeki").
OS X Jaguar: truly the Apple of Mothra's Aqua eye.
An AC wrote:
> Confession time: you're the person behind Hubzilla
> [charismac.com], aren't you?
Nope. I am but a humble servant of their sacred majesties, the King and Queen of Monsters.
Honest, I don't even *own* a Hubzilla. I'm not a big fan of Godzilla wannabes.
"Godzilla is the King! Godzilla is the God!
The Power and the Price of godly flame we stole!
The fire from the atom's heart bears a terrible price:
Godzilla is... Our Nuclear Nightmare!"
(From my lyrics to "G-Proximity" from "Godzilla X Megagiras".)
An AC wrote:
> I wonder at times, if Al Qaeda, doesn't lobby with
> middle men for USA to move more of their
> archetecture to MS. Bush says that he want a
> secured and cheap system, yet he moves to MS. I
> have no doubt that some of this is a payback, but
> I also wonder if it is possible to trace back to a
> lobbying group that appears to be neutral but is
> backed by Al Qaeda.
Could we please not move any more in the direction of the McCarthy era than we already have?!?
There is no reason to assume terrorist plots. Microsoft invested three times as much as Enron in the 2000 elections. Enough to buy all the congress critters and government groupies their black hearts desire.
As for bin Laden's boys, the fate meted out to the Red Bamboo 35 years ago awaits them.
"Once we wake Godzilla, he'll take care of those guys."
Ichiro "Godzilla, Ebira, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Sea" (Japanese version)
An AC wrote:
.Net. A good article on
.Net, a similar waste would have occurred.
> The real story is about how government agencies
> are shooting themselves in the foot by NOT going
> with Microsoft, especially
> this can be found at AngryCoder [angrycoder.com].
Read the link you posted. The waste of millions was because they changed platforms half way through the development effort. If they had started in Java and then moved to
The waste would not have occurred if they decided at the *start* of the project that vendor lock in was an issue and had gone with Java.
Loathe as I am to recommend Microsoft, yes, it is better to make decisions at the start of projects, on what is best for that project and stick to your decision. Arbitrary department and company wide decisions to go with one vendor and chuck out all the existing work is a massive waste of time and money that no good manager should allow.
That being said, Microsoft's various problems with security and reliablity should put it on the bottom of the list of consideration. Their ambitions and repeated breaking of anti-trust laws should give any government agency serious concerns about doing business with them.
BTW, does anyone know if Microsoft has had the cheek to try to audit a federal government agency? I know they have gone after city governments and poor schools...
"At this moment, it has control of systems all over the world.
And...we can't do a damn thing to stop it."
Miyasaka, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
Don't worry, Godzilla is coming to stomp it!
danheskett wrote:
n ium/mgoals.html)
> is it really that much of a stretch to believe
> that maybe IBM and MS have a leg up on MySQL in
> terms of experience with scalability and
> reliability?
I don't know about IBM, but I can say a few things about MS:
"Scalability": well, SQL Server better scale, since Microsoft plans on using it as its new filesystem Yukon, and possibly as the filesystem of a distributed network encompassing every computer on the planet! (http://research.microsoft.com/research/sn/Millen
"Reliability": A data loosing bug in SQL Server was discovered by the Russians, and loudly denied by the US, and of course, Microsoft. Here is a link that describes the bug, with code samples:
http://www.cdi.org/nuclear/nukesoftware.html
BTW, Microsoft, Godzilla really does want to know what your software has done with his sacred nuclear materials. I'm sure he would be thrilled to receive an explanation when he comes to Redmond next month to visit his old friends at Nintendo America.
Shinoda: "The age of Millenium."
Io: "What does that mean?"
Shinoda: "A thousand year kingdom. It wants to create a home for itself. There is one flaw in its plan: Godzilla."
"Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
StillaCoward wrote:
> I've had that song stuck in my head since I was 6
> when I first saw that movie.
I doubt it was the one I quoted, since that is the words to the vocals in the movie from last December.
I'm guessing the song was probably "Mosura No Uta" (Mothra's Song), used in 1961, 1964, 1992, and 1996-98 to call Mothra. Below is my own romanization and translation from the original Malay (hopefully remotely accurate considering how many hours I worked on it):
Romanized Lyrics:
Mosu-lah, ya, Mosu-lah!
Dongeng kasad ku yang ing doa mu.
Rut tok wira doa hamba-hamba, mu ya.
Randa, bangun, radang tong yu, kang-lah!
Kasad ku yang.
English Translation:
Mothra, yes, Mothra!
I wish to chant to your divinity a prayer for you.
Heroic, wonder-working deity, endure the prayer of your servants, yes.
Go about, rise up, become angry at this barrel of sharks, Kang-lah!
I wish this of your divinity.
"Kang" is the highest title of royalty or divinity in Malay. "lah" is a particle used for emphasis.
soapvox wrote:
.....
> And I thought my Titanium rocked now. If IBM can
> picck up the slack that Motorola has created maybe
> everyone in the wintel world would wake up and see
> the power of OSX and with the 64bit chip
> Wow!!!
OS X Jaguar is so named because Jaguar is the most powerful feline in the Americas, adaptable to any environment, capable of killing a Longhorn (Microsoft's codename for its next OS) by crushing its skull with its jaws. But to do that, it needs a more powerful body...
There once was a Moth, who loved an Apple tree.
She saved it, gave it gifts, taught it many things.
This Moth fought the god of destruction;
Gave her life to save a baby dragon.
Then she did a wondrous thing.
Her spirit entered the dragon, made it grow and change.
Its scales gleamed gold, bright as the sun!
Three heads raged, spat lightning at its foe.
With the help of humans,
It destroyed the god of destruction;
Protected the future.
Apple, have you learned the lesson the moth is teaching you here? Time for the gentle moth to become the raging dragon. Protect the future!
"Mosura, Ya! Mosura, Ya! Ah-ah! Ah-ah!"
Song "Deity of the Sea: Mothra" (and plot synopsis above)
from "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All Out Attack" December 2001
Corporate Troll wrote:
;)
> Where is that in OS X? I'd really love it that
> the Mail app would lauch Mozilla instead of
> Internet Explorer when I click on a link people
> send me.
Open the System Preferences.
Click on the Internet icon.
Click on the Web tab.
You can set your default browser, home page (page that loads when your browser first runs), and download directory.
Have fun!
Windows: "Go talk to my friend, an 800 pound monopoly-abusing gorilla!"
Mac: "And here's my good buddy, the 66,000 ton Godzilla!"
Godzilla: Stomp!
ShortSpecialBus wrote:
;)
;)
> are you one of the geeks from that comedy central
> show beat the geeks?
Nope.
> i hope so, cause there is no other excuse to know
> that, heh
I can think of one excuse: I am one whale of a fan. (That and I worship Mothra.
I have watched the movie in English and Japanese numerous times.
I have every movie Godzilla and Mothra ever made (except last winter's one and I have the Japanese soundtrack to that one), and I have watched them all in English, and many in Japanese numerous times.
I also translate Mothra songs from Japanese and Malay. For fun.
Oh, and I write my own lyrics to instrumentals from the soundtracks:
There!
On an isle where dreams come true,
Lives a Goddess who;
When my world was shattered
Came and saved me.
Where she flies
Evil monsters flee
That Goddess named Mothra Leo!
Excerpt written to the theme "Forever Friends", from the movie "Mosura"/"Rebirth of Mothra 1", 1996.
An AC wrote:
> Sorry, yes, they ARE administrators (they don't
> realize it yet).
Wait, does that mean that if I buy a scalpel at a hobby store that I am a brain surgeon? Woohoo, I'm on my way to fame, fortune and golf courses!
Sorry, but no, picking up some network gear at CompUSA does not make Joe Sixpack a net admin anymore than a scalpel makes me a brain surgeon. There are some years of college and on the job training missing here.
But Joe Sixpack still needs his home network. He doesn't know to, or have the money to, hire a consultant to do a professional job of installation, let alone to keep the network once set up secure from intruders. Unlike with my scapel (I'm guessing that pretending to be a doctor and hacking into people with my hypothetical scalpel would be a no-no), there aren't laws to keep him from setting up his network himself.
Unless poor Joe has a friend or relative that has training that will help him, he's just going to have to follow the instructions and hope it works. Having it actually work will be a real accomplishment for him.
If someone sneaks on his wireless network, he'll probably assume it is like a cordless phone, which is also wireless, and think there is some accidental interference. Unless there is some kind of channel button to press, he won't know how to stop it or if it can be stopped.
"Hm, must be like one of those old timey party lines that my dad used to go on about. You'd think that by now they'd have the technology to give a guy his own private network!"
"Really, gentlemen, if that's the case, let's see the power of attorney given to you by Mothra."
Torahata "Mothra vs. Godzilla"
An AC wrote:
> So, the wretched crime and injustice that is rape
> can be atoned by killing a third party that had
> nothing to do with the rape?
If you would have read past those words, you might have noticed that I suggested an alternative to abortion that allowed the baby to live and the mother to be free, while making the dreams of a third party come true.
I don't think innocent babies should pay for their father's crime, either by being aborted, or by being unconsciously hated for something they had nothing to do with. There are sometimes two victims of rape, not just one. The procedure I described is used routinely to increase the profits of owners of a certain kind of race horses. I don't see why it cannot be used for compassionate reasons.
Obviously, if a woman who was raped has the incredible courage to love her baby, of course she should bring him or her to term.
As long as the woman can heal and regain happiness, the baby lives and is loved, and the vile monster rots in jail paying for his evil, I'm happy.
"Lightning shines on wavey beach, and all clouds are made right:
Happiness Appears!"
From the song "Infanto no Musume" in the Japanese version of Mothra (1961).
kmahan wrote:
> She kinna take it anymore, captain! She's gonna
> blow!
Funny.
Of course the original version in the Americanized 1964 "Godzilla vs. the Thing" (rereleased on DVD yesterday as "Godzilla vs. Mothra") was funnier.
Especially since the voltage sound effect is the same as was later used in Star Trek TOS. I wouldn't be surprised to hear a young James Dohan did the dubbing for the engineer in G vs tT, as it does sound a bit like him. I do know some of the other TOS actors did G dubbing.
General: "Increase voltage"
Officer 1: "Turn power up"
Engineer: "Captain, we're registering too much voltage for safety now."
Officer 2: "Increase voltage"
Voltage sound effects, shot of Godzilla struggling, cable burns through, substation fries, Godzilla is free.
Scene from American version "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1964) Simitar DVD
BigASS wrote:
;)
> Accidents? There are no accidents. Everything that happens, happens for a reason.
Indeed.
Interesting how this story was posted on the very day the 1964 "Godzilla vs. Mothra" went back into print in the US. I suspect this bug, like the very first computer bug, is a Moth. In this case, a very large Moth that hates media sharks and their nasty DRM.
It is very convenient to have a large scale example of DRM gone very wrong before the Hollings bill is voted on (if it is ever), and before the next elections.
Happy Enterprises of the world, your days are once more numbered.
Behave, or meet the fate Mothra dealt to the media sharks of the 1960's.
"Great, Great Mothra! Justice, Justice, Mothra!"
from the song "Maha-lah Mosura", "Godzilla vs. Mothra", 1964
doublem wrote:
Microsoft's biggest foe is coming to Redmond town. All three of him. And he's bringing a *lot* of very large friends.
The X-box doesn't stand a chance!
The god that saved Nintendo from Microsoft's jaws in December 1999 is coming to defend his old friend.
Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee
October 29, 2002
GameCube and GameBoy Advance
I'm going to play Godzilla and beat the stuffings out of Orga/Millenium/Microsoft! ;)
If you can't wait that long, the Godzilla Ultimate Collection (Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964), Godzilla's Revenge, Terror of MechaGodzilla, and Rodan) was released on DVD today by Sony Tristar.
From the "Godzilla 2000" trailer Tristar tried so hard to hide.
the_quark wrote:
> But think how much value targeted advertising
> would be to local businesses - you can give them
> people who are literally right next door.
It would almost be as much of a service to the people reading the ads (if they were good ads) as to the businesses advertising. The magic words: "click here for today's specials". Of course the specials come with mouthwatering pictures, and you know where you are eating lunch today.
A "bring in your PDA displaying our ad, and get $$$ off your purchase" would be nice too.
Just keep the ads reasonably sized. A lot of people might be viewing them on PDA's or cell phones with minimal screen sizes. They don't want too much of what little they have taken up with ads, however useful.
"Godzilla's coming"
Io, "Godzilla 2000" (US version dialog)
An AC wrote:
;) and be sure you won't get pregnant.
;)
;)
> Incidentally, I've ran into that same line on
> reasoning in a slightly different form. I have
> friends who like to bash single mothers: "Well,
> it's her fault. She shouldn't have had sex in the
> first place and now she's just leeching on the
> society and the poor guy who had nothing to do
> with the child".
I wasn't bashing, I was pointing that if you want absolute control over your body, that was the place to say "no" (at least to forms of sex that lead to babies
> I think that puts way too much responsibility on
> the woman's shoulders.
That's the part of choice that most people want to avoid. But one never gets absolute control by abrogating responsibility. Then again, the choice to abrogate responsibility is a choice in itself.
Mind you, in a healthy relationship, you talk about these things and make choices together, and loving significant others respect your body. Only a totally rabid pro-choice uber-feminist who wants "absolute control" over every molecule in their body, would scream "NO!", karate chop their significant other in the you-know-what, and toss them out the bedroom door.
Thankfully, I don't think there is anybody like *that* here on Slashdot.
(I'm poking fun here, not bashing. I have nothing against feminists. The only thing I have against pro-choicers, besides disagreeing, is a lingering feeling that if I were conceived ten years later they would have persuaded my natural mother, who was single, to get me aborted. My reasons for being against abortion stem from identifying with the babies, not from religious reasons.)
"Now, indeed, in the end: Love, Courage, and Wisdom."
From the song "Haora Mosura" from "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks".
An AC wrote:
> the majority still fortunately believes that women
> should have absolute control over their own body.
With the exception of rape and seriously male dominated countries, we women have absolute control over our bodies when we decide whether or not to have sex. Get in touch with your inner backbone and say no if you don't want to risk getting pregnant. Any other form of birth control is not 100% certain.
In the case of rape, yes, a woman should not be burdened with a child that she is not equipped to raise and who will constantly reminder her of the worst time of her life. Equally important, an innocent child should not have to be raised by a mother that would hate him or her for something that was not their fault. I still don't see why medicine doesn't get off its high horse and find a way to transplant the baby into the womb of someone who can't conceive a child (her problem or her hubby's), but still has a fully functioning womb. That way the kid would have a loving mother, a woman who couldn't have a baby would have her dream come true, and the woman who was raped could be free to pick up the pieces of her life and heal. They do a procedure like this for certain kinds of horses all the time.
> Even if that 10% rate of cancer is real and not
> some malicious FUD interpretation of statistics
> by a Pro Life nut "scientist" the women should
> still have the right to abort.
Don't laugh at breast cancer. My mother died of it. It was horrible!
Of course, by the time she died it wasn't just breast cancer. It got into her bones, permanently broke her leg, got into her skull above, and probably in, her brain, and generally all over everywhere in the last day or two of her life.
Don't laugh at it. Don't increase your risk for it. Get treatment immediately if you get it, and please, toss your stupid pride out the window. My mother waited 18 months because of her stupid pride (she was *so* strong) before telling me or getting treatment. It was so terrible watching her die of it.
"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity."
Japanese version of "Mothra" (1961)
An AC wrote:
:-(
> Don't forget Apple...
Actually, Apple would be a good idea for a member, or even the group/movement's poster child. They love their proprietary and open source software both. And they are totally gung ho these days about open standards.
Apple's response to Microsoft's (beta?) release (announcement? announcement of intention to announce? I don't know, there was too much anti-Jaguar vapor floating around then) of Media 9 was pretty funny. They were laughing about this feature or that that iTunes or QuickTime had had for months, and said they were really flattered Microsoft was imitating them.
One thing Microsoft wasn't imitating, that Apple wished they did, was Apple's reliance on open standards. Instead of joining the MPEG4 party, they were off by their lonesome with some silly codec they had cooked up themselves. Poor widdle Microsoft, with nobody to play with.
"The Great Mystery is about to hatch!"
Tagline on "Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1964) DVD to be released in the US tomorrow! (Along with "Rodan" and a few others.)
Both iCal and the Zaurus Datebook use open, text based, file formats. It should be simple for an open source, freeware, or shareware author to write syncing software.
And that is if iSync, coming out later this month, doesn't do it. Wait a bit, and you should have all the software you could ask for.
"Heart can reach where hand cannot. Climb over any wall..." Mothra (via Moll) "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks"
adb wrote:
> If you're using a calendar to its full potential,
> it's at least as personal as a diary: it has your
> medical appointments, your dates, your hopes for
> the future. If I want to share information about
> myself, I will do so, and I do; but when I don't
> want to share something, I don't want to send it
> unencrypted over a global network (and, as often
> as not in my case, a local wireless network).
> Privacy is not just for finances, you know.
So use iCal to its fullest potential, and make two calendars. Call one "Private", put your hopes, dreams and doctor's appointments in it, and don't let it leave your hard drive except for backups. Call the other "Public", and put the stuff you want to share with the world in it. That way, you do share what you want to share, and your private stuff is safe.
"Heart can reach where hand cannot. Climb over any wall..."
Mothra (via Moll) "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks"
toupsie wrote:
n ium/mgoals.html especially "What would such a system be like?") to be. The pieces are coming together (.Net, Palladium, Yukon, etc.), and a recent change in the Windows XP EULA would enable Millenium to come online soon. When it does, Microsoft would fold the PC world into its private distributed network.
> Those of us that run PPC and Mac OS X do not have
> this problem. Apple and Steve Jobs have publically
> said that piracy is not a technology issue but a
> social issue that cannot be resolved with
> encryption. So while you are worrying about
> Palladium, I am getting the maximum value out of
> my Mac and my iPod.
We don't have to worry about Apple doing it to us. But Apple itself is in terrible danger, and Steve Jobs knows it:
1) There is legislation before Congress now that could enshrine Palladium into law and require it on all computers.
2) Microsoft holds patents on the concept of a DRMOS. If Apple had to implement DRM in its OS to comply with the law mentioned in #1, they would have to license Microsoft's patents, either burdening them with high license fees or if MS refuses, could keep Apple from complying with the law.
3) In the late 1990's, Microsoft Research did a project of what they intended the OS of the next Millenium (http://research.microsoft.com/research/sn/Millen
It all hinges on whether the Hollings bill goes through and if Microsoft's Palladium is the DRM chosen to implement the law. Without the backing of the law, the market will be free to reject this Palladium nonsense and scream bloody murder if MS even attempts to implement Millenium.
Apple's situation is dire, but far from hopeless. If Apple speaks out strongly enough against the Hollings bill, the rest of the industry might be roused against it. Even if the rest of the industry doesn't join it, if Apple can grab enough marketshare quickly enough, its voice alone may halt the bill. In the long term, Apple's bid to "democratize" the tools of the recording and movie industries might pave the way to replace the cartels of huge corporations with smaller businesses, dealing with the problem at its root.
If Apple wins, the way to a future of innovation, open standards, and open source will be secured. If Microsoft and the media sharks win, the ensuing nightmare (in fact you could call it a new Dark Age) will engulf us all, no matter what system we currently use.
Apple doesn't have to stand alone here. Linux is threatened as well, and those in corporations who have benefited from the hard works of open source programmers can at least stand up to defend that work. We can help, by reaching everyone we know, warning them, and raising up a grass roots movement that will defeat the media sharks' mad dreams of DRM laws.
In the end, there are two that will fight to defend Apple. One is the beautiful goddess who resurrected an Apple tree in the North Forest in 1996. She hates the media sharks with the fatal fury of a category 5 hurricane. The other is Apple's biggest fan, and Millenium's bane. He is the dreaded god who cannot be embraced and extended.
They will both be here in the US (Redmond WA to be exact) next month.
Shinoda: "The age of Millenium."
Io: "What does that mean?"
Shinoda: "A thousand year kingdom. It wants to create a home for itself. There is one flaw in its plan: Godzilla."
Godzilla 2000 Millennium (Japanese version)
"No one's going to die, mister. Mothra's going to come and save us."
Taiki Goto, "Mothra", December 14, 1996
Yo, Billy Bob!
;)
Microsoft Enemy #1 will be in Redmond town on October 29th visiting his friends at Nintendo's American office.
Somehow, I think he will be the one doing the firing, though.
Just a little heads up from your dear enemy.
Melantha Bacchae (ME# 073061)
"Godzilla's coming!"
Io, "Godzilla 2000" (US version dialog)
An AC wrote:
> Why don't you just buy a Nintendo?
Actually, I have a Nintendo GameCube. I play some Mac games, but I prefer console systems for gaming because the games don't clutter up your hard drive. Being able to play them in an easy chair holding a lightweight controller using my home theater for video and audio is a big plus.
A historic event is going to happen on the GameCube (and GameBoy Advance) late next month. Godzilla, the Mac-loving King of Monsters (the real Japanese Godzilla - three of him in fact from the 50's, 90's and 2000), Mothra, the peerless Queen of Monsters and Apple's "Forever Friend", MechaGodzilla (the 90's one designed by a small army of Macs), King Ghidora, and ten others will appear in "Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee" (A similar game "Godzilla Domination" will be released on the same day, Oct. 29th, for the GameBoy Advance). Unlike almost all G games, this will see worldwide (yes, including the US) release. This is a fighting game, and yes, the cities will be highly stompable. Unfortunately Mothra will not be playable, as it would be unfair to the other monsters -- she always wins. She will distribute powerups like a queen giving favors to her knights.
> It's cheaper, faster, and better.
At $149 it is definately cheaper. But the GameCube is a 485 MHz Power PC, so it is probably not faster (unless you are gaming on a Mac that is slower than current models). The better is mostly the price, convenience, and comfort factors (oh, and the games).
Then there is all that extra space freed up on your hard drive that you can use for editing home movies and things of that nature.
"Godzilla and Jaguar: Punch! Punch! Punch! Hit! Hit! Hit!
We die if they stop fighting for us."
Jet Jaguar Song, "Godzilla vs. Megalon"
Bastian wrote:
> . . . about Microsoft using its market dominance
> to price-gouge the hell out of customers. Changing
> the contract for large purchases who only use
> Microsoft Office to increase the price, for
> example. The customers end up just taking it
> because they don't see any alternative to
> Microsoft Office.
Actually, when Microsoft changed their license terms and set the final deadline for signing up, it came and went with *two-thirds* of its customers refusing to sign. Now these companies are stuck with what they have, and have to use it long enough to justify the price of rebuying it. By that time, the software will have changed enough to require retraining, and they might as well buy something else.
When it comes time to buy that new software, these two-thirds of Microsoft's most angry customers will be ripe for the picking by Microsoft's competitors. Free alternatives such as Linux and Open Office could stand to gain converts even before then.
> I'm a huge Open Source guy, but realistically, I
> still can't see a good alternative to Excel yet,
> for example.
Then look beyond Open Source. Lotus 123 (currently packaged in SmartSuite Millenium Edition which is bundled with some computers) is Excel file compatible, mature, and a legend in its own right. A friend of mine who has used both Lotus 123 and Word Perfect for years swears by both and constantly laments the horrors of Word and Excel.
Thanks to Microsoft's stupid angering of its own customers, most of the major PC makers have started bundling Lotus SmartSuite or Corel's Word Perfect suite with new computers. The office suite wars have been rekindled to full blaze!
> But as soon as OpenOffice.org irons out a few
> kinks and starts building a reputation
> (especially for its rather good Office
> compatibility features), I think the market is
> going to drop out for Microsoft.
OpenOffice already has a reputation: as Star Office. Sun's release of 6.0 was prominent enough that Microsoft felt obligated to mumble a few words about their next version of Office, over a year away, just to stay in the news.
> Their licensing practises are only building
> enemies, even in die-hard Windows-only shops
> (sometimes, I think, especially in Windows-only
> shops), and when a lot of people realize that
> choice has returned to the market, they'll make
> a decision,
Agreed.
> and it's not going to be the one that costs $300
> per license.
It's not just the cost per license. It is the repeated greedy gouging (which Microsoft calls "unearned income" when they brag about it), the audits, the terror marketing, and the bloody tyrant making demands that they would have to lay off workers and cut projects to afford to meet. Face it, Microsoft is just too scary to do business with in a good economy, and a terrifying monster in this economy.
Any company (or open source project) that offers fair prices (or free), good service, and promises to treat these poor abused people like valuable customers is going to be received as a conquering hero. Witness Apple's store openings and the Jaguar release.
Meanwhile Microsoft bleeds money trying to subdue other markets, and relies on the Hollings bill and the entertainment bought Congress to secure its rule. If it wins, Millenium. If it fails, an angry market will rip it to shreds.
Shinoda: "The age of Millenium."
Io: "What does that mean?"
Shinoda: "A thousand year kingdom. It wants to create a home for itself. There is one flaw in its plan: Godzilla."
Godzilla 2000 Millennium (Japanese version)