Maybe some people do not notice a difference or care if there even is a difference. I've been buying the super sized buckets of laundry soap and automatic dish washer detergent, and the gallon size bottles of liquid dish soap from Costco and Sams for years. I have no complaints at all.
Although not related to this incedent, PBS has a video (Real format as well) of an octopus attacking and killing a shark. The story with the video claims this same octopus killed quite a few 3-4 foot sharks.
According to Opera Winfrey, there are many people that have that same cephalopod fetish. Oddly enough, this is the only person to ever actually be able to act it out. The others now have hope.
Was it patched and up to date and left with the default of firewall on? What did the attacker use to gain access or turn it into a bot? If it was not patched then your results are useless. I am no MS fanboi but my company does support about 500 XP laptop users. Other then the rampant spyware they get on or off our internal firewalled network from browsing the internet, I don't think I've ever seen one owned as a direct result of just being plugged in outside our network. I've read about quite a few honeypots and I know flaws exist but these are almost always pre SP2. Heck, SANS has there own advisory for XP called Surviving the first day (direct pdf link), but it too is pre XP2. I personally would never put any computer directly up against the internet without some type of firewall, XP SP2 included. Again, I am not saying it does not happen but your dicounting one persons claim with your one claim seems a little odd as well.
Wouldn't the supporting of censorship or giving into the government of China pretty much be a requirement if they want to do business in China? I guess the other option is to not do business there at all.
The censorship is and will be there regardless of any new company that comes in to do business. I guess the act of Google or any company doing what the government wants could be considered supporting the censorship but specific companies not doing business over there is not going to change anything either. The people there need to start the change and we've all seen how bad that could turn out from previous attempts. So far, I'm on the fence for this one.
My comment is specific to your part about the PSP and from the main story where it was stated:
If the new device comes with the Xbox brand, most consumers will view it as a game player, like Sony's PlayStation Portable.
I think the PSP would sell much more if it did not require hacks and specific versions of old firmware to do basic things. Meaning, Sony should allow or encourage more non gaming uses. I'd love to have Google Earth or a decent chat application ported to the PSP. Make it more like a PDA but with the gaming capability that it already has. IMHO, the PSP would take off and more functionality would be available to everyone that owned one. I guess the down side for Sony would be loss of game sales. I know Nokia makes a portable computer (referenced on/. a few weeks ago, sorry, no link) but gaming is not its high point.
Of course getting the users to actually use encryption is another story...
TrueCrypt works pretty good for these situations and it comes with an open source license. The forums contain a lot of tips and tricks for using the application in odd ball situations.
Not only that, but locating the lines with a locator is not exactly a science. Some guy walks around with a wand (locator) and tries to find it, while also looking at maps. They are wrong way too many of the times.
I had a septic guy come to my house to pump my tank. This was my first time since living here that it was done so I had no real idea where the lid or even the tank was. The septic guy walked around for a while and then started digging. His first attempt was directly centered over the access lid which was three feet down. I was impressed. I commented on how lucky he was and he stated "It is not a science but I know my shit". How fitting.
If you've never managed to reach the stage where your reading is pipelined then you won't be impacted much by grammatical errors.
So a higher level of reading comprehension is now causing confusion by a simple spelling or error in grammar? I hope I never reach that level;)
I really do not like getting involved in these threads because it really is a no win situation for either side and opinions are not going to change. I can show an opposing view to your thoughts though.
I believe the problem is not really one of comprehension or pipelines at all, but a mental trigger that you simply get frustrated when you see errors and that disrupts your thinking. I know my neighbor does not like jake brakes (those engine breaks that large trucks use). He often gets so worked up after a truck drives by he even run over to the road side to complain about it as they went by. Meanwhile, the rest of the neighborhood simply ignored it and moved along, not even realizing that a truck just went by. Why is one person bothered and disrupted but others can block it out and without even knowing it just happened? To add even more useless crap to my theory.. The problem may be the fact that you feel that what bothers you is controllable and the frustration may be an attempt to exercise some control over the situation. I lived right in the landing path of a commerical/military runway in the past. The planes were MUCH louder then the jake breaks. I do not recall anyone ever really complaining or get worked up by the noise. If they did not like it, they left much earlier. It was a fact of life for everyone in that area and everyone living there accepted it. Running outside and trying to yell at a passing aircraft would be useless.
Who knows.
I'd bet I'm about average english skills but I've never been tripped up or confused by basic mistakes and I've never had a hard time communicating with people or comprehending less then perfect communications. I would not even to tell you what errors were in a slasdot post unless I was specifically looking for them or someone else pointed them out.
Why are you globbing all Mac and Windows users into very specific groups that all believe the same thing? I am a Windows and various unix user and I've never felt inclined to defend myself or the OSs. I may point out technical differences or attempt to clear up misconceptions from time to time but I never take it to any extreme where I would even get close to getting frustrated. Just today at work we were going over a plan to spread out some MS file servers around. I commented that with Samba, all of the shares are done via a conf file (smb.conf) and it is easy to move and modify that config file around from server to server as needed. It was a point, not a slam, not an attempt to prove something and not an attempt to get anyone to switch, just a tidbit of info for my co workers who are not familiar with Samba.
Just by reading your post, I can make a good guess of why you are always trying to defend yourself and I can say it probably has little to do with your choice of computer.
So what has access to that data besides some type of OS? Can you describe how this data is maintained "secure" from the OS accessing that data? I can think of some type of hardware write protect but that is hardly a reasonable compromise in almost every situation. Maybe I missed your point.
I went to the link with our Verizon business DSL and the site seemed to have worked fine. I did not understand your point at all until I read the sibling posts and tried again from our own company network and got different results. I guess the checks and balances of provider/consumer/web site operator will all work out in the end.
My method is not the geekiest way but it works great, is reliable, is cheap, and not bound to any specific hardware.
Back up data one HD to another on a schedule that fits your need. You can use rsync or if the data can compress well use tar with a compression option.
I have been using this method for years on my home network and it has saved me at least 3 times. My Samba server has 2 200GB drives ($90 each now) that get synced up in one way shape or form with other drives in the system (2 other 200GB drives and a 1GB drive that contains the entire OS) via some basic scripts run via cron. An example being my mp3 collection uses rsync and my/home is just tarred and compressed. I even have enough space left over on the "backup" drives to allow my Windows and Linux workstations to backup themselves to a computer specific shared directory setup via Samba (share is path =/mnt/hdh1/pcbackup/%m). Depending on the space, you can even rotate the resulting backups just like the system logs.
I know, not sexy, not chic, but for a reference point of under $200, I have 400gb of backup that is very flexible and not tied to any specific hardware or software raid setup and config. I guess I could expand it with another elcheapo PCI ATA card and more drives until I hit a limit with the PS. The machine is only a headless P3 so I have some power and space to spare.
I'm not a specific Apple fan but I'd love for ANYONE to break the US carriers from their "our phone, our network, our service plan" business model scam they have going now. I believe that either the FCC, a senator, or a few state attorney generals will eventually start the ball rolling but it will be a slow and painful process fighting with those big old grumpy carriers.
RTFA, I haven't formed an opinion on the situation yet but the linked article from the story covers what the function is for and there is a possibility that it does not work the way it is supposed to which leads to his theory that it may be a back door.
You've just about the same thing several times so far and it seems you are actively deploying some type of defense mechanism and purposely avoiding the real point of people questioning the practice. iTunes suggestions are based on files that you have on your computer available to iTMS. Not just songs you've bought from iTMS. If song files are on your computer and iTMS can see them, it sends that information back to Apple. This is not the same as tracking purchases or tracking songs you've searched for yourself inside iTMS and has nothing to do with your IP getting logged in a web server that you visited.
You are replying to all of these different people and not including important pieces of the process. You are not comparing Apples to Apples.
Now if Google searches were also tracking your local Windows file searches and tracking url's you entered in Word documents or your browsing history, it would be a problem. Imagine if Googles servers had your browsing history and suggested searches based on that as a service? I know Apples collection from iTunes are not that intrusive and I know it can be shut off and I know you don't have to use iTunes. The point is, information unrelated to the normal course of using iTMS and purchasing and browsing from iTMS was being transferred back to Apple and people were obviously unaware of that and questioned it. Everyone knows their IP and user account information can be tracked when the visit a web site or use something like Gmail, this is common and expected and assumed. IMHO, the practice of the iTunes suggest function transmitting information on items that may or may not be from Apple is not just assumed.
I personally don't care about the whole thing really, I'd probably shut that function off though. I did the same in MS Media player.
So it is a delicate balance between pissing them off with a delay and pissing them off with a potentialy broken fix. They can address reduce the toal amount of pissed of user in two ways. 1- Produce and test a fix faster. I'll assume that since this is Microsoft and they have a lot of money in the bank, they could afford a few more coders and testers. 2- Release a work around/fix with some simple testing and only release the official patch after some amount of testing has been completed. This allows the system administrators to make a choice and weigh the risk. Of course, that might not go over to well as it would require more IT managers to think.... The way it is now, the IT managers can always blame it on MS, but there was no patch, what was I supposed to do!!!
This certain issue does not bother me but I can understand it would bother others. Substiture Apple in your blurb with Gator|MS|Doubleclick|ads.somesite.com|your insurance company|your bank and I think you would understand why some people have some concerns. As hard as it may seem to some, not everyone feels a certain connection with Apple or any company for that matter and just "trusts them".
This is one good thing in my mind with the big three US automakers. For almost every model, replacement parts are relatively cheap and easy to find. There is always the exception and the odd ball half shaft or maybe an air conditioning part though. Most of the parts are the same across each parent companies model lines which makes it easy for the aftermarket companies to cover a wider range of cars with less parts. I used my old ignition coil from my 5.0l Mustang in my 2.9l v6 Bronco II. I can use the rotors and calipers from a Lincoln Mark VII in the front and the axles and brakes from a Bronco or Ranger in the back if I wanted to change the car from 4 to 5 lug rims. I think all 5.0l/302 Ford engines used the same distributor cap, starter, alternator, and water pump for like for 25 years. You can swap intake manifolds or heads on your Mercury Cougar or Explorer 5.0l from a Mustang (although they offer different performance levels). The 4.6l offers much of the same swapability with other 4.6l engines. Over time this concept of interchangability seems to be less and less each year but still an advantage if and when you may need a repair. Even if a company does not share many parts between models or if the model was a good seller, you will find cheaper replacement parts as well, like for a Civic or Accord. If you get stuck with a Geo Metro (made by ?) or Ford Aspire (made by Kia) that were not made very long, did not sell well, and did not have similar siblings across the other daughter companies, it gets a little tough. I know Daewoo tanked and Suzuki has some newer models and I bet parts for those are not cheap if and when you can find them.
Roll your eyes all you want but not all of us forget the past and curent practices of MS. MS restrictions did not cover every piece of software and every licensee but it was a common practice and still would be today if it had not have been specifically restricted by the DOJ. Do you really think MS would have had a change of heart on their own?
Microsoft today said that it built a clause into the recent licensing changes that forces PC makers to include the MSN icon alongside any third-party ones. Varma said that requirement was just an extension of a 6-year-old contract Microsoft's hardware partners are required to sign.
The MSN icon issue referenced above was one that recieved the most attention but the licenses restricted the changes and software third parties could add. The plans of preventing unwanted third party apps and icons was going full speed ahead until this:
Here is the actual ruling sent down from the district court regarding this issue, search or go to "C. Microsoft shall not restrict by agreement any OEM licensee from exercising any of the following options or alternatives:" in that page if you do not want to read the whole thing.
I guess you have not followed the issues in Europe with the bundling of MS Media Player and lack of choice by vendors either have you? Here are somelinks.
How do you define PR genius? I've heard about quite a few of the strange schemes and promotions for the Segway and it seems to continue to be nothing but a flop in the actual sales and usage numbers. Far from the numbers that those with a financial interest in the company had thought it would be several years ago.
Counting lines? I've done that while driving. I assume most interstates have roughly the same layout but I counted 142 lines per mile somewhere in North Carolina on I77 about 10 years ago. I used the mile markers on the side of the road for the distance. Well actually, I counted the road surface mounted reflectors at 71 per mile and there is one reflector every other line. My count may not be accurate as I was running out of ideas to try to stay somewhat alert after sticking my head out of the drivers window at 80mph with an outside temp hovering around 30F was not working anymore.
An even further off topic note.. If you are traveling down an interstate and you notice the surface mount reflectors are red and not orange, you might want to turn around. In many places, they are red on the other side!
Changing the subject but I followed your link to the Polybrominated biphenyls. I find this sentence as very odd:
In 1973, however, several thousand pounds of PBBs were accidentally mixed with livestock feed that was distributed to farms in West Central Michigan, USA.
I found more about it here, what an odd chain of events. I'm sure those with tin foil hats would have a different opinion of what really happened.
Actually it is a little deeper then that. MS also tries to leverage licensing and purchase power to prevent third parties (Dell, HP, Toshiba etc.) from adding specific additional software that competes with a MS version or removing software that MS included.
Getting off topic here but aside from the contract deals preventing mucking with what MS thinks every Windows PC should have on it, they are tackling the problem from a technical end as well. Most "features" are integrated the core OS and turns the system into a big glob of must haves. Almost an all or nothing situation.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe some people do not notice a difference or care if there even is a difference.
I've been buying the super sized buckets of laundry soap and automatic dish washer detergent, and the gallon size bottles of liquid dish soap from Costco and Sams for years. I have no complaints at all.
Although not related to this incedent, PBS has a video (Real format as well) of an octopus attacking and killing a shark. The story with the video claims this same octopus killed quite a few 3-4 foot sharks.
According to Opera Winfrey, there are many people that have that same cephalopod fetish. Oddly enough, this is the only person to ever actually be able to act it out. The others now have hope.
So your saying that I should have read and understood the entire thread before replying? Sounds fair to me ;)
Was it patched and up to date and left with the default of firewall on? What did the attacker use to gain access or turn it into a bot? If it was not patched then your results are useless.
I am no MS fanboi but my company does support about 500 XP laptop users. Other then the rampant spyware they get on or off our internal firewalled network from browsing the internet, I don't think I've ever seen one owned as a direct result of just being plugged in outside our network. I've read about quite a few honeypots and I know flaws exist but these are almost always pre SP2. Heck, SANS has there own advisory for XP called Surviving the first day (direct pdf link), but it too is pre XP2. I personally would never put any computer directly up against the internet without some type of firewall, XP SP2 included.
Again, I am not saying it does not happen but your dicounting one persons claim with your one claim seems a little odd as well.
Wouldn't the supporting of censorship or giving into the government of China pretty much be a requirement if they want to do business in China?
I guess the other option is to not do business there at all.
The censorship is and will be there regardless of any new company that comes in to do business. I guess the act of Google or any company doing what the government wants could be considered supporting the censorship but specific companies not doing business over there is not going to change anything either. The people there need to start the change and we've all seen how bad that could turn out from previous attempts.
So far, I'm on the fence for this one.
My comment is specific to your part about the PSP and from the main story where it was stated:
If the new device comes with the Xbox brand, most consumers will view it as a game player, like Sony's PlayStation Portable.
I think the PSP would sell much more if it did not require hacks and specific versions of old firmware to do basic things. Meaning, Sony should allow or encourage more non gaming uses. I'd love to have Google Earth or a decent chat application ported to the PSP. Make it more like a PDA but with the gaming capability that it already has. IMHO, the PSP would take off and more functionality would be available to everyone that owned one. I guess the down side for Sony would be loss of game sales. I know Nokia makes a portable computer (referenced on
Of course getting the users to actually use encryption is another story...
TrueCrypt works pretty good for these situations and it comes with an open source license. The forums contain a lot of tips and tricks for using the application in odd ball situations.
Not affiliated at all, just a satisfied user.
Not only that, but locating the lines with a locator is not exactly a science. Some guy walks around with a wand (locator) and tries to find it, while also looking at maps. They are wrong way too many of the times.
I had a septic guy come to my house to pump my tank. This was my first time since living here that it was done so I had no real idea where the lid or even the tank was. The septic guy walked around for a while and then started digging. His first attempt was directly centered over the access lid which was three feet down. I was impressed. I commented on how lucky he was and he stated "It is not a science but I know my shit". How fitting.
If you've never managed to reach the stage where your reading is pipelined then you won't be impacted much by grammatical errors.
;)
So a higher level of reading comprehension is now causing confusion by a simple spelling or error in grammar? I hope I never reach that level
I really do not like getting involved in these threads because it really is a no win situation for either side and opinions are not going to change. I can show an opposing view to your thoughts though.
I believe the problem is not really one of comprehension or pipelines at all, but a mental trigger that you simply get frustrated when you see errors and that disrupts your thinking. I know my neighbor does not like jake brakes (those engine breaks that large trucks use). He often gets so worked up after a truck drives by he even run over to the road side to complain about it as they went by. Meanwhile, the rest of the neighborhood simply ignored it and moved along, not even realizing that a truck just went by. Why is one person bothered and disrupted but others can block it out and without even knowing it just happened?
To add even more useless crap to my theory..
The problem may be the fact that you feel that what bothers you is controllable and the frustration may be an attempt to exercise some control over the situation. I lived right in the landing path of a commerical/military runway in the past. The planes were MUCH louder then the jake breaks. I do not recall anyone ever really complaining or get worked up by the noise. If they did not like it, they left much earlier. It was a fact of life for everyone in that area and everyone living there accepted it. Running outside and trying to yell at a passing aircraft would be useless.
Who knows.
I'd bet I'm about average english skills but I've never been tripped up or confused by basic mistakes and I've never had a hard time communicating with people or comprehending less then perfect communications. I would not even to tell you what errors were in a slasdot post unless I was specifically looking for them or someone else pointed them out.
This post was not spell checked!
Why are you globbing all Mac and Windows users into very specific groups that all believe the same thing? I am a Windows and various unix user and I've never felt inclined to defend myself or the OSs. I may point out technical differences or attempt to clear up misconceptions from time to time but I never take it to any extreme where I would even get close to getting frustrated. Just today at work we were going over a plan to spread out some MS file servers around. I commented that with Samba, all of the shares are done via a conf file (smb.conf) and it is easy to move and modify that config file around from server to server as needed. It was a point, not a slam, not an attempt to prove something and not an attempt to get anyone to switch, just a tidbit of info for my co workers who are not familiar with Samba.
Just by reading your post, I can make a good guess of why you are always trying to defend yourself and I can say it probably has little to do with your choice of computer.
So what has access to that data besides some type of OS? Can you describe how this data is maintained "secure" from the OS accessing that data? I can think of some type of hardware write protect but that is hardly a reasonable compromise in almost every situation. Maybe I missed your point.
I went to the link with our Verizon business DSL and the site seemed to have worked fine. I did not understand your point at all until I read the sibling posts and tried again from our own company network and got different results.
I guess the checks and balances of provider/consumer/web site operator will all work out in the end.
My method is not the geekiest way but it works great, is reliable, is cheap, and not bound to any specific hardware.
/home is just tarred and compressed. I even have enough space left over on the "backup" drives to allow my Windows and Linux workstations to backup themselves to a computer specific shared directory setup via Samba (share is path = /mnt/hdh1/pcbackup/%m). Depending on the space, you can even rotate the resulting backups just like the system logs.
Back up data one HD to another on a schedule that fits your need. You can use rsync or if the data can compress well use tar with a compression option.
I have been using this method for years on my home network and it has saved me at least 3 times. My Samba server has 2 200GB drives ($90 each now) that get synced up in one way shape or form with other drives in the system (2 other 200GB drives and a 1GB drive that contains the entire OS) via some basic scripts run via cron. An example being my mp3 collection uses rsync and my
I know, not sexy, not chic, but for a reference point of under $200, I have 400gb of backup that is very flexible and not tied to any specific hardware or software raid setup and config. I guess I could expand it with another elcheapo PCI ATA card and more drives until I hit a limit with the PS. The machine is only a headless P3 so I have some power and space to spare.
I'm not a specific Apple fan but I'd love for ANYONE to break the US carriers from their "our phone, our network, our service plan" business model scam they have going now. I believe that either the FCC, a senator, or a few state attorney generals will eventually start the ball rolling but it will be a slow and painful process fighting with those big old grumpy carriers.
RTFA, I haven't formed an opinion on the situation yet but the linked article from the story covers what the function is for and there is a possibility that it does not work the way it is supposed to which leads to his theory that it may be a back door.
You've just about the same thing several times so far and it seems you are actively deploying some type of defense mechanism and purposely avoiding the real point of people questioning the practice. iTunes suggestions are based on files that you have on your computer available to iTMS. Not just songs you've bought from iTMS. If song files are on your computer and iTMS can see them, it sends that information back to Apple. This is not the same as tracking purchases or tracking songs you've searched for yourself inside iTMS and has nothing to do with your IP getting logged in a web server that you visited.
You are replying to all of these different people and not including important pieces of the process. You are not comparing Apples to Apples.
Now if Google searches were also tracking your local Windows file searches and tracking url's you entered in Word documents or your browsing history, it would be a problem. Imagine if Googles servers had your browsing history and suggested searches based on that as a service? I know Apples collection from iTunes are not that intrusive and I know it can be shut off and I know you don't have to use iTunes. The point is, information unrelated to the normal course of using iTMS and purchasing and browsing from iTMS was being transferred back to Apple and people were obviously unaware of that and questioned it. Everyone knows their IP and user account information can be tracked when the visit a web site or use something like Gmail, this is common and expected and assumed. IMHO, the practice of the iTunes suggest function transmitting information on items that may or may not be from Apple is not just assumed.
I personally don't care about the whole thing really, I'd probably shut that function off though. I did the same in MS Media player.
So it is a delicate balance between pissing them off with a delay and pissing them off with a potentialy broken fix. They can address reduce the toal amount of pissed of user in two ways.
1- Produce and test a fix faster. I'll assume that since this is Microsoft and they have a lot of money in the bank, they could afford a few more coders and testers.
2- Release a work around/fix with some simple testing and only release the official patch after some amount of testing has been completed. This allows the system administrators to make a choice and weigh the risk. Of course, that might not go over to well as it would require more IT managers to think.... The way it is now, the IT managers can always blame it on MS, but there was no patch, what was I supposed to do!!!
This certain issue does not bother me but I can understand it would bother others.
Substiture Apple in your blurb with Gator|MS|Doubleclick|ads.somesite.com|your insurance company|your bank and I think you would understand why some people have some concerns. As hard as it may seem to some, not everyone feels a certain connection with Apple or any company for that matter and just "trusts them".
This is one good thing in my mind with the big three US automakers. For almost every model, replacement parts are relatively cheap and easy to find. There is always the exception and the odd ball half shaft or maybe an air conditioning part though.
Most of the parts are the same across each parent companies model lines which makes it easy for the aftermarket companies to cover a wider range of cars with less parts. I used my old ignition coil from my 5.0l Mustang in my 2.9l v6 Bronco II. I can use the rotors and calipers from a Lincoln Mark VII in the front and the axles and brakes from a Bronco or Ranger in the back if I wanted to change the car from 4 to 5 lug rims. I think all 5.0l/302 Ford engines used the same distributor cap, starter, alternator, and water pump for like for 25 years. You can swap intake manifolds or heads on your Mercury Cougar or Explorer 5.0l from a Mustang (although they offer different performance levels). The 4.6l offers much of the same swapability with other 4.6l engines. Over time this concept of interchangability seems to be less and less each year but still an advantage if and when you may need a repair.
Even if a company does not share many parts between models or if the model was a good seller, you will find cheaper replacement parts as well, like for a Civic or Accord. If you get stuck with a Geo Metro (made by ?) or Ford Aspire (made by Kia) that were not made very long, did not sell well, and did not have similar siblings across the other daughter companies, it gets a little tough. I know Daewoo tanked and Suzuki has some newer models and I bet parts for those are not cheap if and when you can find them.
Roll your eyes all you want but not all of us forget the past and curent practices of MS.
MS restrictions did not cover every piece of software and every licensee but it was a common practice and still would be today if it had not have been specifically restricted by the DOJ. Do you really think MS would have had a change of heart on their own?
Here is a clip from Computerworld
Microsoft today said that it built a clause into the recent licensing changes that forces PC makers to include the MSN icon alongside any third-party ones. Varma said that requirement was just an extension of a 6-year-old contract Microsoft's hardware partners are required to sign.
Another link here
The MSN icon issue referenced above was one that recieved the most attention but the licenses restricted the changes and software third parties could add.
The plans of preventing unwanted third party apps and icons was going full speed ahead until this:
Here is the actual ruling sent down from the district court regarding this issue, search or go to "C. Microsoft shall not restrict by agreement any OEM licensee from exercising any of the following options or alternatives:" in that page if you do not want to read the whole thing.
I guess you have not followed the issues in Europe with the bundling of MS Media Player and lack of choice by vendors either have you? Here are some links.
How do you define PR genius? I've heard about quite a few of the strange schemes and promotions for the Segway and it seems to continue to be nothing but a flop in the actual sales and usage numbers. Far from the numbers that those with a financial interest in the company had thought it would be several years ago.
Counting lines? I've done that while driving. I assume most interstates have roughly the same layout but I counted 142 lines per mile somewhere in North Carolina on I77 about 10 years ago. I used the mile markers on the side of the road for the distance. Well actually, I counted the road surface mounted reflectors at 71 per mile and there is one reflector every other line. My count may not be accurate as I was running out of ideas to try to stay somewhat alert after sticking my head out of the drivers window at 80mph with an outside temp hovering around 30F was not working anymore.
An even further off topic note.. If you are traveling down an interstate and you notice the surface mount reflectors are red and not orange, you might want to turn around. In many places, they are red on the other side!
Changing the subject but I followed your link to the Polybrominated biphenyls. I find this sentence as very odd:
In 1973, however, several thousand pounds of PBBs were accidentally mixed with livestock feed that was distributed to farms in West Central Michigan, USA.
I found more about it here, what an odd chain of events. I'm sure those with tin foil hats would have a different opinion of what really happened.
Actually it is a little deeper then that. MS also tries to leverage licensing and purchase power to prevent third parties (Dell, HP, Toshiba etc.) from adding specific additional software that competes with a MS version or removing software that MS included.
Getting off topic here but aside from the contract deals preventing mucking with what MS thinks every Windows PC should have on it, they are tackling the problem from a technical end as well. Most "features" are integrated the core OS and turns the system into a big glob of must haves. Almost an all or nothing situation.