Good comparison, but there's one important thing to consider: Win 2000/XP is going to perform a hell of a lot better on the same hardware than OSX does. This machine is a monster of a PC unless you have some kind of special needs. This is the lowest-end OSX machine.
You sound like you'd agree with the Administration when they were confronted with having secret torture camps around the world. They weren't apologizing for torturing people in secret... they were pissed off that somebody told! Holy shit... there are secrets that should be kept, and secrets that should NOT be kept. Most of what has been divulged during this administration have been things that needed to be uncovered FOR THE SAKE OF NATIONAL SECURITY. It's not terrorists that you should be worried about... it's the President and his people.
A new feature in IE 7 will be a thingy that flags possible phishing sites, so that if a user is using IE, and clicks on a link that looks like a bank site, but isn't, IE 7 should be able to help out with that. I haven't seen it myself... just read the reviews.
I can cope with it just fine. Expecting a regular person to know or understand that in order to use a computer is completely unrealistic in this day and age. Most people don't even know how to type a "~".
Sorry, but a machine with AGP isn't what I'd consider "budget". I don't have ANY PC's with AGP in them. I need a regular ol' PCI card. That's "budget".
Frontpage is a separate product, I'm pretty sure. They're aiming at *everybody* that uses Word. Not too many people use Frontpage, I don't think... Besides, most people don't even know what Frontpage is. It's too intimidating for a regular person. Word really isn't.
Of course, MS can do no right with the Slashdot crowd. I think that this is a reasonably cool feature for people who can't write HTML or FTP. Why the anger? If you don't want to use the feature, don't use it? somehow, I'm imagining lots of OSS drones complaining about how stupid this feature is, while working feverishly to get it into OpenOffice and Star Office.
If any sweeping legislation does get through, who's going to enforce it?
Your friendly, neighborhood, TelCo, of course. After all, they're already "fighting terrorism" by giving the feds complete records of all of your calls. Besides, this might help them implement the tiered service they're dying to implement. Fuckers.
I don't know what kind of corporations you're talking about, but here in the US, corporations are perfectly democratic: one share, one vote. That's more democratic than the US gov't.
One also wonders how much of a dent this will actually make in the amount counterfeit DVDs and movie piracy in general.
Not much. But what it will make a dent in is my use of FedEx for my mail-order business. I'm paying Fed Ex a lot to ship packages, and what I ship is none of their damn business (it's all legit). But knowing that FedEd treats its customers this way, makes me say: "Bye Bye FedEx. Hello UPS!"
The thing is that quality is not an issue. I have one server that runs my point of sale software, my accounting software, a big database, a few web sites, a mail server, and it has NO down time. The last time it was down was 45 days ago, when the last patch was applied. It's simply not an issue for me. All of our PC's have -zero- problems, and the only special thing I did was to tell all of my employees not to install stuff. The OS's work just fine. Hell, they work *well*. You can tell me that you have problems until you're blue in the face, but the truth is that I simply don't have problems, so that doesn't convince me in any way, whatsoever.
Any worrying about large vendors like Microsoft, Oracle, and Intuit suddenly changing things so that my current software doesn't work isn't a practical thing to worry about. Along those same lines, you could also worry about what Toyota is doing with you car's computer's data, and what Apple is doing with your iPod's information. Maybe committing to buying a vacuum with proprietary vacuum cleaner bags is dangerous, because one day, you might not be able to buy the bags from Hoover. These things are equally realistic. Sure, what you're talking about is possible, but so incredibly unlikely, that it's really not worth worrying about (unless you have nothing better to do).
It's all about costs and benefits... risks and rewards... That's business. Obsessing over file formats and secret things that Windows could be doing with my purchase orders isn't practical or realistic. You're talking about absctract, academic, theoretical ideas that will probably never happen.
You had a salesperson call you trying to sell a product. It has nothing to do with this article, is a completely normal practice, and it happens every day. Calm down and breathe. You're a bit hysterical about nothing at all.
There's even a hell of a lot out there that actually love Microsoft products (they're an American company, wave flag, etc.), and another very large set that just likes the idea that a single source solution tends to play pretty well with itself.
Count me in as one of those. I have yet to read one compelling argument to convince me that their so-called "monopoly" is a bad thing. As is, I buy Ms software, I use it, and my business runs. It's that simple. High ideas about "freedom" don't pay my bills, and at this point, my brain turns off when I hear some zealot spouting off about it. I'm a regular person with problems that are much more immediate and much more compelling than any fluffy idea such as "freedom" when it has to do with software (which is a misnomer, anyway). I know that academics pooh-pooh people like myself as being ignorant. I'd suggest that academics pushing their "Freedom FUD" are simply naive.
People should be made aware of the choice they're making
That's as unrealistic as people telling you that not only should you be aware where each item of your clothes are made, but all of the components that went into it. The t-shirt you're wearing now... where was it sewn? Where was the cotton grown that went into it? Who was the cotton wholesaler? Where was it dyed? Where did the dye come from? Who made the thread that holds it together? Who made the tag? Who made the ink for the logo on it? Who made the cardboard box that it was shipped in? Who made the oil that powered the ship that shipped it over here from China? Who made the ship that it came in? Who was the trucking company that got it from the ship to the wholesaler? Who was the wholesaler?
C'mon... it's a nice thought, but there are so many hours int he day, and in this day and age, most people are worried about how they're going to be able to buy their next meal, not the licensing of their computer's software.
Nice idea. When was the last time you tried getting a message to a decision maker in a company like this? I've tried time and time again, and the only thing that I get is either an automated message, or a response back from some guy in India. I'm planning on voting with my wallet, since that's the only thing that companies like this pay attention to.
It has nothing to do with "how I look". I play games by myself. The simple fact is that stuff like Mario and Zelda in no way appeals to me. You can call it being an adult or maturity, but I'm also not interested in flipping on the Teletubbies (is that still on TV?), no matter how pretty the colors are. If you like the kid stuff, then good for you. I'm saying that it in no way appeals to me, and I think that there are a lot of other adults with a similar feeling. That's why Nintendo is never going to make headways in the game market as long as they keep catering to both children, and those who lke children's games.
I'm waiting for my ISP (currently, BellSouth) to do this. I will take all of my business Net service (a decent amount... a lot more than a residential service) elsewhere. All it's going to take to kill this is for people to be aware, and for people to be willing to vote with their wallets. I know that I am. I'm even willing to pay more.
See, that's the thing... no matter how fun "Mario Cart" is, I couldn't bring myself to play something like that. Would you play a "Rainbow Brite" game if it was really good? How about "Power Rangers"? See, the way I see it is if you're playing "Mario Cart", then you're just playing for the twitch action, and ignoring the content. I kind of want BOTH when I play a game. I'm not an obsessive gamer, but I still haven't run out of good PS2 games that offer good action AND content.
I play for content as well. That's why I haven't ever considered a Nintendo, since "Nintendo"... I can't bring myself to play games that all seem to be made for 10 year olds and anime freaks. I'm still waiting for the PS3 because their games seem the most geared for grown-ups.
If you think that it's a "wonder" that changing OS's is a headache, no matter what platform, then I've got some belly button lint that may "amaze" you!
1. Stock price has little to nothing to do with the profitability of a company.
2. The question was about OSS and making money, which is still argely unproven. Whether or not OSS provides better advancement in software in general is a point that can be argued, but whether or not it can make money can't be argued at this point: By and large, OSS does NOT make money.
Nobody has said that they're making any money, or will make any money in the future. This is just a press-release (paid?) for a service that they may provide in the future. Very little money has been made with OSS across the entire industry up to this point, and the failure rate has been phenomenal. As of yet, this is still an unproven "model".
Slashdot Mirror
Good comparison, but there's one important thing to consider: Win 2000/XP is going to perform a hell of a lot better on the same hardware than OSX does. This machine is a monster of a PC unless you have some kind of special needs. This is the lowest-end OSX machine.
You sound like you'd agree with the Administration when they were confronted with having secret torture camps around the world. They weren't apologizing for torturing people in secret... they were pissed off that somebody told! Holy shit... there are secrets that should be kept, and secrets that should NOT be kept. Most of what has been divulged during this administration have been things that needed to be uncovered FOR THE SAKE OF NATIONAL SECURITY. It's not terrorists that you should be worried about... it's the President and his people.
That $300 drive is paid for with just 5-6 "backups". That's a small price to pay.
A new feature in IE 7 will be a thingy that flags possible phishing sites, so that if a user is using IE, and clicks on a link that looks like a bank site, but isn't, IE 7 should be able to help out with that. I haven't seen it myself... just read the reviews.
I can cope with it just fine. Expecting a regular person to know or understand that in order to use a computer is completely unrealistic in this day and age. Most people don't even know how to type a "~".
OK, how about explaining the difference between ~/Applications and /Applications?
Another one that missed the point completely...
Sorry, but a machine with AGP isn't what I'd consider "budget". I don't have ANY PC's with AGP in them. I need a regular ol' PCI card. That's "budget".
Frontpage is a separate product, I'm pretty sure. They're aiming at *everybody* that uses Word. Not too many people use Frontpage, I don't think... Besides, most people don't even know what Frontpage is. It's too intimidating for a regular person. Word really isn't.
Of course, MS can do no right with the Slashdot crowd. I think that this is a reasonably cool feature for people who can't write HTML or FTP. Why the anger? If you don't want to use the feature, don't use it? somehow, I'm imagining lots of OSS drones complaining about how stupid this feature is, while working feverishly to get it into OpenOffice and Star Office.
Go ahead, mod me down.
If any sweeping legislation does get through, who's going to enforce it?
Your friendly, neighborhood, TelCo, of course. After all, they're already "fighting terrorism" by giving the feds complete records of all of your calls. Besides, this might help them implement the tiered service they're dying to implement. Fuckers.
I don't know what kind of corporations you're talking about, but here in the US, corporations are perfectly democratic: one share, one vote. That's more democratic than the US gov't.
...with each upgrade costing as much as a new console. I'll stick with consoles, thanks.
One also wonders how much of a dent this will actually make in the amount counterfeit DVDs and movie piracy in general.
Not much. But what it will make a dent in is my use of FedEx for my mail-order business. I'm paying Fed Ex a lot to ship packages, and what I ship is none of their damn business (it's all legit). But knowing that FedEd treats its customers this way, makes me say: "Bye Bye FedEx. Hello UPS!"
The thing is that quality is not an issue. I have one server that runs my point of sale software, my accounting software, a big database, a few web sites, a mail server, and it has NO down time. The last time it was down was 45 days ago, when the last patch was applied. It's simply not an issue for me. All of our PC's have -zero- problems, and the only special thing I did was to tell all of my employees not to install stuff. The OS's work just fine. Hell, they work *well*. You can tell me that you have problems until you're blue in the face, but the truth is that I simply don't have problems, so that doesn't convince me in any way, whatsoever.
Any worrying about large vendors like Microsoft, Oracle, and Intuit suddenly changing things so that my current software doesn't work isn't a practical thing to worry about. Along those same lines, you could also worry about what Toyota is doing with you car's computer's data, and what Apple is doing with your iPod's information. Maybe committing to buying a vacuum with proprietary vacuum cleaner bags is dangerous, because one day, you might not be able to buy the bags from Hoover. These things are equally realistic. Sure, what you're talking about is possible, but so incredibly unlikely, that it's really not worth worrying about (unless you have nothing better to do).
It's all about costs and benefits... risks and rewards... That's business. Obsessing over file formats and secret things that Windows could be doing with my purchase orders isn't practical or realistic. You're talking about absctract, academic, theoretical ideas that will probably never happen.
You had a salesperson call you trying to sell a product. It has nothing to do with this article, is a completely normal practice, and it happens every day. Calm down and breathe. You're a bit hysterical about nothing at all.
There's even a hell of a lot out there that actually love Microsoft products (they're an American company, wave flag, etc.), and another very large set that just likes the idea that a single source solution tends to play pretty well with itself.
Count me in as one of those. I have yet to read one compelling argument to convince me that their so-called "monopoly" is a bad thing. As is, I buy Ms software, I use it, and my business runs. It's that simple. High ideas about "freedom" don't pay my bills, and at this point, my brain turns off when I hear some zealot spouting off about it. I'm a regular person with problems that are much more immediate and much more compelling than any fluffy idea such as "freedom" when it has to do with software (which is a misnomer, anyway). I know that academics pooh-pooh people like myself as being ignorant. I'd suggest that academics pushing their "Freedom FUD" are simply naive.
People should be made aware of the choice they're making
That's as unrealistic as people telling you that not only should you be aware where each item of your clothes are made, but all of the components that went into it. The t-shirt you're wearing now... where was it sewn? Where was the cotton grown that went into it? Who was the cotton wholesaler? Where was it dyed? Where did the dye come from? Who made the thread that holds it together? Who made the tag? Who made the ink for the logo on it? Who made the cardboard box that it was shipped in? Who made the oil that powered the ship that shipped it over here from China? Who made the ship that it came in? Who was the trucking company that got it from the ship to the wholesaler? Who was the wholesaler?
C'mon... it's a nice thought, but there are so many hours int he day, and in this day and age, most people are worried about how they're going to be able to buy their next meal, not the licensing of their computer's software.
Nice idea. When was the last time you tried getting a message to a decision maker in a company like this? I've tried time and time again, and the only thing that I get is either an automated message, or a response back from some guy in India. I'm planning on voting with my wallet, since that's the only thing that companies like this pay attention to.
It has nothing to do with "how I look". I play games by myself. The simple fact is that stuff like Mario and Zelda in no way appeals to me. You can call it being an adult or maturity, but I'm also not interested in flipping on the Teletubbies (is that still on TV?), no matter how pretty the colors are. If you like the kid stuff, then good for you. I'm saying that it in no way appeals to me, and I think that there are a lot of other adults with a similar feeling. That's why Nintendo is never going to make headways in the game market as long as they keep catering to both children, and those who lke children's games.
I'm waiting for my ISP (currently, BellSouth) to do this. I will take all of my business Net service (a decent amount... a lot more than a residential service) elsewhere. All it's going to take to kill this is for people to be aware, and for people to be willing to vote with their wallets. I know that I am. I'm even willing to pay more.
See, that's the thing... no matter how fun "Mario Cart" is, I couldn't bring myself to play something like that. Would you play a "Rainbow Brite" game if it was really good? How about "Power Rangers"? See, the way I see it is if you're playing "Mario Cart", then you're just playing for the twitch action, and ignoring the content. I kind of want BOTH when I play a game. I'm not an obsessive gamer, but I still haven't run out of good PS2 games that offer good action AND content.
I play for content as well. That's why I haven't ever considered a Nintendo, since "Nintendo"... I can't bring myself to play games that all seem to be made for 10 year olds and anime freaks. I'm still waiting for the PS3 because their games seem the most geared for grown-ups.
If you think that it's a "wonder" that changing OS's is a headache, no matter what platform, then I've got some belly button lint that may "amaze" you!
1. Stock price has little to nothing to do with the profitability of a company.
2. The question was about OSS and making money, which is still argely unproven. Whether or not OSS provides better advancement in software in general is a point that can be argued, but whether or not it can make money can't be argued at this point: By and large, OSS does NOT make money.
Nobody has said that they're making any money, or will make any money in the future. This is just a press-release (paid?) for a service that they may provide in the future. Very little money has been made with OSS across the entire industry up to this point, and the failure rate has been phenomenal. As of yet, this is still an unproven "model".