Not only is this story over 2 months old but it isn't even original! This Guy did it over a year ago while the current guys story was featured on ABC back in March.
There's an episode of "The Simpson's" Homer's Enemy where one of Homer's co-workers at the nuclear plant throughout the episode tries to expose Homer as incompetent. He eventually goes nuts and ends up electrocuted to death. I think that pretty much sums it up.
QDOS -> MSDOS - out of commission Your kidding right? I still regularly work on dedicated systems which still rely on MSDOS.
Spyglass -> IE - there's no Spyglass code remaining It doesn't matter if any code remains. The original IE was just a rebranded Spyglass.
BSD TCPIP stack -> Spider stack -> Windows NT stack - from XP onwards, MSFT uses their own TCP/IP stack. They always "said" they were using their own stack but we know that wasn't true.
JAVA -> J+ -> J# - There are superficial syntax similarities, but runtimes could not be more different. Microsoft has a superior runtime. Flash -> Silverlight - Again, there are conceptual similarities, but silverlight app is more similar to, say a Java applet or an ActiveX control than Flash.
Umm....J++ (or Microsoft Virtual Machine) was "supposed" to be Microsoft's JAVA client for Windows. It was "supposed" to work exactly like JAVA worked on other platforms. Microsoft was found guilty of trying to use its monopoly influence on the desktop to subvert the JAVA spec the way it had done with ActiveX and IE against Netscape. They were forced to discontinue their client and license a client from Sun IIRC. For years they have tried to get a foothold back into the JAVA world and now that Flash is gaining in popularity Silverlight appears to be more of the same. Not needed in the industry but crucial for Microsoft to regain market dominance on the web.
You missed the point of the entire post anyway. Of course many of the items I listed are no longer based on the code they were derived from but I suspect if the original program is still around it doesn't contain a whole lot of the code it did back then either.
Smaller companies hit on a good idea all of the time. Every once in a while, the idea appeals to a very large group of consumers. Big companies just wait. Sometimes for quite a while.
You mean like IBM and HP did when Jobs and Woz developed the Apple?
If it weren't for IBM's missteps Microsoft would never have gotten their foot in the door. Just think if IBM had picked up QDOS what the PC landscape would look like now. We'd probably still be doing everything from the command line like those poor Linux users;)
The problem is your experience (and mine when I bought my house) is the exception not the rule. The bulk of realtors I know act as if they are ALL knowing when it comes to property buying and selling. Donald Trump is a perfect template for a typical realtor IMO. If you want to offend a realtor just mention you are thinking of using buyowner. As far as most realtors are concerned mortals are incapable of comprehending the "complexities" of buying a house. The truth is that most of the "complexities" are industry created to protect their industry so if you don't use them you avoid 1/3 to 1/2 of these complexities. There seems to be a bit of collusion with the other players in the game as well. I refinanced my home a few years ago and when we went to closing I was going over the paperwork and discovered that the title insurance company had charged me the full fee for researching the deed to the property. The problem was I used the same title insurance company when I originally purchased the house specifically to avoid the full fee. I mean they had already done the research 5 years ago and it was in my file. What research was I being charged for? My point is when you go to closing every entity involved is going to pile on every fee they can legally get away with and it is the buyers or sellers responsibility to go over each and every page of the 300+ pages of forms to find and dispute the "massage at spa due to stress $120" fee that's in there.
The problem is that Apple doesn't make a similar computer.
That's the point. Apple has always been about the boutique high end. They want nothing to do with a commodity product which is what the Psystar aims to be. Apple doesn't want to fight for scraps because they would go bankrupt with such a relatively small base. They do need to defend their exclusivity or some of the faithful might wander which is why they will eventually respond.
How do you compete with a convicted but not really punished monopoly? Take a page from their play book. You know the one "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish". Get your product on their product ANY way you can and make sure it is impossible to uninstall (office 95 anyone?) Once users get used to using your product they begin to accept the shortcomings (BSOD, hangs) because it is easier to reboot than to actually fix. Then you leak a rumor that your product actually works much better in its native OS and users get curious and switch one by one until they are a statistical up tick in your market share.
Regardless of my personal views I think that is rather harsh. While I have witnessed many religious groups slowly become cults there is a glaring difference of note.
Having worked at or been related to someone who worked for each of the afore mentioned companies here is my take on their "cultures"
HP - Quality engineering with attention to the details (That culture is all but dead now). I think the venerable HP LJ III is a shining example of that culture. I still have clients who refuse to give up their LJ IIIs.
Compaq - Their culture evolved over the years and not for the better. In the early years they were the scrappy David to IBM's Goliath and they could do anything. Free sodas flowed freely to offset the mandatory overtime shifts and it was very exciting. Because Compaq grew so quickly I believe there were management positions filled with less than qualified people which led to a protectionist mentality of much of the middle management. As a result good people got bounced just in case they had their eye on the middle manager's job. This slowly drove a wedge between workers and management which ultimately led to their demise. I worked there in the early years and during the handover to hp. My supervisor (badge number 35) was released shortly before my project was suspended.
Digital - Many subcultures that never really got along. You had the geek set which did not understand business and a business culture that didn't know how to market what the geeks produced and a marketing and sales group who thought that the VAX would take them to retirement. Very smart people with vary narrow vision.
IBM - They have embraced their white shirt, black tie image in their current advertising campaign which is fitting because that was entirely their culture. My uncle retired from the Air Force after 20 and went straight to work on IBM BIG IRON. Up the same time every day, same clothes, hair style, etc. A very bland life by most accounts but it was fulfilling for him.
I totally agree with you. Parents need to be parents and not biological donors. However truancy is no longer about education but revenue. In Texas if your child is out for the day they will hunt the child down and make sure they have a "legitimate" excuse. If, on the other hand, the child comes to school and ditches at lunch time they hardly notice. Why? because after 10 AM if the child is marked as being present the state gets their welfare check from Uncle Sammy for that child.
They should have chosen a better vehicle. Perhaps something like this they could have integrated the screen into the console and made it a really sweet ride. Somebody want to gift one to me so I can build it and post the results?
my personal favorite: Getting the drinking age raised to 21. Gotta love the irony -- you can get married, join the military, sign a contract and borrow money from the bank -- but you can't legally purchase booze.
Consider the outcome of these transactions under the influence.
I envisions it something like this........
You just woke up with a splitting headache to find you're handcuffed to a wildebeest and have a wedding ring on your finger. You are in a Botswana village and wearing the uniform of the French Foreign Legion. You signed up for a twenty year deployment. During the night someone robbed you of the $50,000 you had just borrowed from an "Italian" bank at 50% interest.
Slashdot Mirror
Not only is this story over 2 months old but it isn't even original! This Guy did it over a year ago while the current guys story was featured on ABC back in March.
There's an episode of "The Simpson's" Homer's Enemy where one of Homer's co-workers at the nuclear plant throughout the episode tries to expose Homer as incompetent. He eventually goes nuts and ends up electrocuted to death. I think that pretty much sums it up.
The entire room of 50" Plasmas all tuned to the open. We even had a training session during the last 2 holes but I doubt anybody learned anything.
They could, though, be willing to invest in a few tweaks to make it run on an emulator
WINE Is Not an Emulator
QDOS -> MSDOS - out of commission
Your kidding right? I still regularly work on dedicated systems which still rely on MSDOS.
Spyglass -> IE - there's no Spyglass code remaining
It doesn't matter if any code remains. The original IE was just a rebranded Spyglass.
BSD TCPIP stack -> Spider stack -> Windows NT stack - from XP onwards, MSFT uses their own TCP/IP stack.
They always "said" they were using their own stack but we know that wasn't true.
JAVA -> J+ -> J# - There are superficial syntax similarities, but runtimes could not be more different. Microsoft has a superior runtime.
Flash -> Silverlight - Again, there are conceptual similarities, but silverlight app is more similar to, say a Java applet or an ActiveX control than Flash.
Umm....J++ (or Microsoft Virtual Machine) was "supposed" to be Microsoft's JAVA client for Windows. It was "supposed" to work exactly like JAVA worked on other platforms. Microsoft was found guilty of trying to use its monopoly influence on the desktop to subvert the JAVA spec the way it had done with ActiveX and IE against Netscape. They were forced to discontinue their client and license a client from Sun IIRC. For years they have tried to get a foothold back into the JAVA world and now that Flash is gaining in popularity Silverlight appears to be more of the same. Not needed in the industry but crucial for Microsoft to regain market dominance on the web.
You missed the point of the entire post anyway. Of course many of the items I listed are no longer based on the code they were derived from but I suspect if the original program is still around it doesn't contain a whole lot of the code it did back then either.
Why doesn't Microsoft just use their huge amounts of money and work for it, where is their internal drive and passion?
QDOS -> MSDOS
MAC OS -> Windows
Spyglass -> IE
BSD TCPIP stack -> Spider stack -> Windows NT stack
JAVA -> J+ -> J#
Flash -> Silverlight
You must be REALLY new here!
Smaller companies hit on a good idea all of the time. Every once in a while, the idea appeals to a very large group of consumers. Big companies just wait. Sometimes for quite a while.
;)
You mean like IBM and HP did when Jobs and Woz developed the Apple?
If it weren't for IBM's missteps Microsoft would never have gotten their foot in the door. Just think if IBM had picked up QDOS what the PC landscape would look like now. We'd probably still be doing everything from the command line like those poor Linux users
I'm holding off judgment until I hear what Sharon Stone has to say about this!
Hillary Clinton is the Whore of Babylon
Are you sure it wasn't Bill?
The problem is your experience (and mine when I bought my house) is the exception not the rule. The bulk of realtors I know act as if they are ALL knowing when it comes to property buying and selling. Donald Trump is a perfect template for a typical realtor IMO. If you want to offend a realtor just mention you are thinking of using buyowner. As far as most realtors are concerned mortals are incapable of comprehending the "complexities" of buying a house. The truth is that most of the "complexities" are industry created to protect their industry so if you don't use them you avoid 1/3 to 1/2 of these complexities. There seems to be a bit of collusion with the other players in the game as well. I refinanced my home a few years ago and when we went to closing I was going over the paperwork and discovered that the title insurance company had charged me the full fee for researching the deed to the property. The problem was I used the same title insurance company when I originally purchased the house specifically to avoid the full fee. I mean they had already done the research 5 years ago and it was in my file. What research was I being charged for? My point is when you go to closing every entity involved is going to pile on every fee they can legally get away with and it is the buyers or sellers responsibility to go over each and every page of the 300+ pages of forms to find and dispute the "massage at spa due to stress $120" fee that's in there.
The problem is that Apple doesn't make a similar computer.
That's the point. Apple has always been about the boutique high end. They want nothing to do with a commodity product which is what the Psystar aims to be. Apple doesn't want to fight for scraps because they would go bankrupt with such a relatively small base. They do need to defend their exclusivity or some of the faithful might wander which is why they will eventually respond.
How do you compete with a convicted but not really punished monopoly? Take a page from their play book. You know the one "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish". Get your product on their product ANY way you can and make sure it is impossible to uninstall (office 95 anyone?) Once users get used to using your product they begin to accept the shortcomings (BSOD, hangs) because it is easier to reboot than to actually fix. Then you leak a rumor that your product actually works much better in its native OS and users get curious and switch one by one until they are a statistical up tick in your market share.
Profit
This is news for nerds. It didn't become news until they started killing computers. Now we're incensed!
Glad I live in North Houston. The buggers will never get past Pasadena! Nothing survives Pasadena.....for very long.
Regardless of my personal views I think that is rather harsh. While I have witnessed many religious groups slowly become cults there is a glaring difference of note.
Cults are absent of the betterment of the individual person but rather than leader only. Cults try to subvert the human will with total and complete obedience to the leader of a group or sect.
Any religious group can become a cult if it elevates an individual over the greater good of the group but that doesn't make every religion a cult.
BTW, if you can read this thank a religious monk.
Why they didn't write one portable VBA engine for Windows and Mac I don't know.
You must be new here.
Having worked at or been related to someone who worked for each of the afore mentioned companies here is my take on their "cultures"
HP - Quality engineering with attention to the details (That culture is all but dead now). I think the venerable HP LJ III is a shining example of that culture. I still have clients who refuse to give up their LJ IIIs.
Compaq - Their culture evolved over the years and not for the better. In the early years they were the scrappy David to IBM's Goliath and they could do anything. Free sodas flowed freely to offset the mandatory overtime shifts and it was very exciting. Because Compaq grew so quickly I believe there were management positions filled with less than qualified people which led to a protectionist mentality of much of the middle management. As a result good people got bounced just in case they had their eye on the middle manager's job. This slowly drove a wedge between workers and management which ultimately led to their demise. I worked there in the early years and during the handover to hp. My supervisor (badge number 35) was released shortly before my project was suspended.
Digital - Many subcultures that never really got along. You had the geek set which did not understand business and a business culture that didn't know how to market what the geeks produced and a marketing and sales group who thought that the VAX would take them to retirement. Very smart people with vary narrow vision.
IBM - They have embraced their white shirt, black tie image in their current advertising campaign which is fitting because that was entirely their culture. My uncle retired from the Air Force after 20 and went straight to work on IBM BIG IRON. Up the same time every day, same clothes, hair style, etc. A very bland life by most accounts but it was fulfilling for him.
I totally agree with you. Parents need to be parents and not biological donors. However truancy is no longer about education but revenue. In Texas if your child is out for the day they will hunt the child down and make sure they have a "legitimate" excuse. If, on the other hand, the child comes to school and ditches at lunch time they hardly notice. Why? because after 10 AM if the child is marked as being present the state gets their welfare check from Uncle Sammy for that child.
Well I'll be! I always thought that Z80 sticker meant it came with a copy of Zork 8.0 :-)
Glad I never got one. I would have been SO pissed!
They should have chosen a better vehicle. Perhaps something like this they could have integrated the screen into the console and made it a really sweet ride. Somebody want to gift one to me so I can build it and post the results?
it is so modular and low-level that the end result is as crappy as you want it to be, but not as VxWorks have made you crap it.
Say Wha?!
They will throw them in the BIG HOUSE!
Did anyone besides me think the question in the title was about actual zebras and whether their stripes were an effective camouflage?
my personal favorite: Getting the drinking age raised to 21. Gotta love the irony -- you can get married, join the military, sign a contract and borrow money from the bank -- but you can't legally purchase booze.
Consider the outcome of these transactions under the influence.
I envisions it something like this........
You just woke up with a splitting headache to find you're handcuffed to a wildebeest and have a wedding ring on your finger. You are in a Botswana village and wearing the uniform of the French Foreign Legion. You signed up for a twenty year deployment. During the night someone robbed you of the $50,000 you had just borrowed from an "Italian" bank at 50% interest.
Non-helpdesk experienced guys tend to be jackass know-it-alls who think they're better than everyone, especially the end users.
I am not a jackass!
HDI certifications are a joke.
Here let me fix that for you
HDI certifications are a cruel, joke.