If microsoft really was as evil as a monopoly as you say they are, then why do they continue to innovate?
Simple. Because they manufacture a product that lasts forever and doesn't wear out. There are only two ways to persuade people to buy the product. Either persuade them they need more units (ie they need more computers) or change the product and persuade people that the new version is somehow bigger/better/faster than the old version.
That's why they want to convert their business to a subscription model. They won't need to "innovate" any more if the money rolls in anyway.
You can't make everything yourself, others have to learn what you want to make it for you.
True, but largely irrelevant. This can be (is) done by collecting statistics about what has been sold. And I'm perfectly capable of asking for goods that aren't on sale I do this fairly often; usually met with something along the lines of "Oh no, there's no demand for it around here." The old chestnut that follows this is usually "You're the 20th person I've told today.". I've never heard anything like it in real life, but I often get the feeling my asking is an interruption to the more important work of the information-desk person. Perhaps if the stores started listening to what their customers really want instead of trying to guess what they want from what they bought before, they might do more business.
If I want something badly enough that isn't in stock, I can order what I want specially, or find a shop that does stock them, or even (in extreme circumstances) ask someone to make one especially for me.
I would still argue that any information that I give in order to make a particular transaction should only be used for purposes which I've expressly authorised, and the only purpose that is by default authorised is the given transaction. You may well feel otherwise - that's your decision and your information.
BRITANNUS etc.
Astute observation, But it's interesting to note that payment by electronic means has been enthusiastically accepted by the Brits, and credit/debit cards are almost universally accepted. I'm currently living in Germany, where cash is still an important way of life.
Not too many years ago, many petrol stations on the autobahns didn't accept credit cards. If you come here, don't expect to be able to pay by CC everywhere. The bank payment cards are more likely
to be accepted, but it's far from universal. I'm beginning to think the German people have the right idea.
I mean, you can hardly complain about companies knowing what you buy and companies not knowing what you want at the same time.
I'm perfectly capable of deciding what I want, thank you. I don't need any company (profit-making or not) attempting to do that for me.
When I give them information for a purpose, I expect that information to be used for that purpose and for no other. So you see, I am reasonable about letting out the information I want distributed. It's just that there isn't any of it.
(However, the fact that someone bought such-and-such isn't my information, it's theirs.)
This isn't really much to do with the internet either. It also applies to traditional mail order companies and to high-street shops.
DMCA is simply an implementation of the WIPO treaty
No it isn't. The WIPO treaty is bad enough, but the DMCA is far more onerous.
Is Germany a signing nation on the WIPO treaty?
Directly - I don't know. But indirectly through the EU - yes. But the EU directive resulting from the treaty hasn't been made law yet (AFAIK) in any member states.
My father (also not a techie, and been "retired" for a few years) recently took a "Computers for
Retired Dummies" course at the local technical college.
Usual stuff - MS-Word basics, internet access etc.
Then he discovered that the college was running similar courses for the visually handicapped and needed a volunteer teaching assistant, so he took the post. We all joke about "the blind leading the
blind", but he gets his bandwidth free and doesn't
need to maintain a PC at home.
You need to find something that you enjoy and just do it.
Interesting observation: computer programming is one of the few jobs where you are priveleged to get paid for doing your hobby. But maybe a change would be refreshing.
You worked all your life, now work to have fun!
Couldn't agree more. That's exactly what I intend to do, although it's a few years away yet - too early to make any decisions anyway. But woodwork is appealing.
The rule says 75% by weight. Cement has a pretty high density, and by the look of thinks the rest of the solids ought to have a very low density. So 80% by weight, bit maybe only 20% by volume.
is it not both esthetically pleasing and rhetorically valuable to (sparingly) use somewhat uncommon (and therefore precise) words and phrases?
In the right place - yes. These phrases aren't English by any stretch of the imagination - as the author pretty well admitted by italicising them. And using an obscure word or phrase (English or otherwise) in the wrong place can cloud your meaning.
what does 'ad mortem bibendum' mean?
I believe it's "Let us drink until death", but it might be dog-Latin - that is, made-up Latin like
"Illegitimi nil tatum carborundum" (Don't let the bastards grind you down). "Usque ad mortem bibendum" was the motto of a pub I occasionally visited in my youth (Fox & Firkin in Lewisham). But I'm rambling, and nested several deep in an off-topic thread in an old discussion, so I'll stop.
[Replying n levels deep in an old thread, rather pointless really]
The strength of English, as well as its bane, is its eager incorporation of ideas, words, and entire phrases from other languages.
I agree with you, but phrases like ab initio and a propos don't (yet) have the status of being incorporated into the language, unlike et cetera, which has even become contracted into the nwo English word "etcetera". What's more, by italicising the foreign phrase you are pointing out that you know it's foreign, but you're going to use it anyway. That's just pretentious. "Look, here's a foreign phrase. Aren't I clever?"
In English, glorious English, there's more than one way to say something.
My point exactly. So why choose a different language?
Anyway, this is already an old thread, so if you want to continue discussion, use e-mail. My real address is on my user's page; don't use Pogue.Mahone@altavista.com because I hardly ever check that.
That is the equivilant of 542,580,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00 0,000 1Ghz CPU's.
A
Don't worry, Bill's already got it covered.
Windows2200 will use every one of those GHz computing what the brainsaver (cranial-implant version of the screensaver) will show next.
Go and read some of the recent WIPO treaties. They
specifically talk about the moral rights of the
authors, performers, etc. Funny that none of these
"rights" ever makes it into law. If you carefully
revoked all of the legal "rights" that the publishing corporations have bought for themselves, while strengthening the moral rights that are currently ignored, you might end up with a better system.
According to Gates, GPLd software "makes it impossible for a commercial company to use any of that work or build on any of that work.
Wrong! If Bill wants to use my GPL'd software under another license, he's quite welcome to negotiate terms with me. It might cost him some money, though, and he wouldn't have an automatic right to bug fixes and additions contributed by others.
If you owned the sucks.com domain, you also own
*.sucks.com, so you can say what you like about anyone at all, and they can't force any court to strip you of (say) bloomberg.sucks.com because it's a subdomain of sucks.com.
Won't stop them coming after you for defamation, TM-infringement, etc., though, but that's another story and another court.
Slashdot Mirror
Who he?
--
Simple. Because they manufacture a product that lasts forever and doesn't wear out. There are only two ways to persuade people to buy the product. Either persuade them they need more units (ie they need more computers) or change the product and persuade people that the new version is somehow bigger/better/faster than the old version.
That's why they want to convert their business to a subscription model. They won't need to "innovate" any more if the money rolls in anyway.
--
True, but largely irrelevant. This can be (is) done by collecting statistics about what has been sold. And I'm perfectly capable of asking for goods that aren't on sale I do this fairly often; usually met with something along the lines of "Oh no, there's no demand for it around here." The old chestnut that follows this is usually "You're the 20th person I've told today.". I've never heard anything like it in real life, but I often get the feeling my asking is an interruption to the more important work of the information-desk person. Perhaps if the stores started listening to what their customers really want instead of trying to guess what they want from what they bought before, they might do more business.
If I want something badly enough that isn't in stock, I can order what I want specially, or find a shop that does stock them, or even (in extreme circumstances) ask someone to make one especially for me. I would still argue that any information that I give in order to make a particular transaction should only be used for purposes which I've expressly authorised, and the only purpose that is by default authorised is the given transaction. You may well feel otherwise - that's your decision and your information.
BRITANNUS etc.
Astute observation, But it's interesting to note that payment by electronic means has been enthusiastically accepted by the Brits, and credit/debit cards are almost universally accepted. I'm currently living in Germany, where cash is still an important way of life. Not too many years ago, many petrol stations on the autobahns didn't accept credit cards. If you come here, don't expect to be able to pay by CC everywhere. The bank payment cards are more likely to be accepted, but it's far from universal. I'm beginning to think the German people have the right idea.
--
I'm perfectly capable of deciding what I want, thank you. I don't need any company (profit-making or not) attempting to do that for me.
When I give them information for a purpose, I expect that information to be used for that purpose and for no other. So you see, I am reasonable about letting out the information I want distributed. It's just that there isn't any of it.
(However, the fact that someone bought such-and-such isn't my information, it's theirs.)
This isn't really much to do with the internet either. It also applies to traditional mail order companies and to high-street shops.
--
Got one of those ... /dev/random > /dev/hda1 ;-)
cat
There, that's "managed" it
(Don't try this at home folks)
--
They must be the ones that Mozilla keeps asking me about.
--
[Hands up] Me! Me! I can! It's George Bush! No, wait, it's George W Bush. He's added a letter - does that mean he's a trademark infringement?
--
No it isn't. The WIPO treaty is bad enough, but the DMCA is far more onerous.
Is Germany a signing nation on the WIPO treaty?
Directly - I don't know. But indirectly through the EU - yes. But the EU directive resulting from the treaty hasn't been made law yet (AFAIK) in any member states.
--
While he was driving, of course...
--
You need to find something that you enjoy and just do it.
Interesting observation: computer programming is one of the few jobs where you are priveleged to get paid for doing your hobby. But maybe a change would be refreshing.
You worked all your life, now work to have fun!
Couldn't agree more. That's exactly what I intend to do, although it's a few years away yet - too early to make any decisions anyway. But woodwork is appealing.
Anyway, whatever you do, have fun.
--
The rule says 75% by weight. Cement has a pretty high density, and by the look of thinks the rest of the solids ought to have a very low density. So 80% by weight, bit maybe only 20% by volume.
--
There probably isn't any news
--
No doubt you wanted to be the first ;-)
--
Good question. The people who speak it, I guess.
is it not both esthetically pleasing and rhetorically valuable to (sparingly) use somewhat uncommon (and therefore precise) words and phrases?
In the right place - yes. These phrases aren't English by any stretch of the imagination - as the author pretty well admitted by italicising them. And using an obscure word or phrase (English or otherwise) in the wrong place can cloud your meaning.
what does 'ad mortem bibendum' mean?
I believe it's "Let us drink until death", but it might be dog-Latin - that is, made-up Latin like "Illegitimi nil tatum carborundum" (Don't let the bastards grind you down). "Usque ad mortem bibendum" was the motto of a pub I occasionally visited in my youth (Fox & Firkin in Lewisham). But I'm rambling, and nested several deep in an off-topic thread in an old discussion, so I'll stop.
--
What I want to know is: why don't we British have an independence day?
--
The strength of English, as well as its bane, is its eager incorporation of ideas, words, and entire phrases from other languages.
I agree with you, but phrases like ab initio and a propos don't (yet) have the status of being incorporated into the language, unlike et cetera, which has even become contracted into the nwo English word "etcetera". What's more, by italicising the foreign phrase you are pointing out that you know it's foreign, but you're going to use it anyway. That's just pretentious. "Look, here's a foreign phrase. Aren't I clever?"
In English, glorious English, there's more than one way to say something.
My point exactly. So why choose a different language?
Anyway, this is already an old thread, so if you want to continue discussion, use e-mail. My real address is on my user's page; don't use Pogue.Mahone@altavista.com because I hardly ever check that.
--
Hey, that's my name. Use yer own. ;-)
--
prima facie --- Phooey
ad mortem bibendum [...]
Why can't you guys just use plain English or the approximation thereof that is the customary language of Slashdot? l
--
But you're gonna get one soon, so watch out!
--
A Don't worry, Bill's already got it covered.
Windows2200 will use every one of those GHz computing what the brainsaver (cranial-implant version of the screensaver) will show next.
--
Go and read some of the recent WIPO treaties. They specifically talk about the moral rights of the authors, performers, etc. Funny that none of these "rights" ever makes it into law. If you carefully revoked all of the legal "rights" that the publishing corporations have bought for themselves, while strengthening the moral rights that are currently ignored, you might end up with a better system.
--
What? Are you saying it isn't
Well, OK, mcdonalds+hollywood+cocacola+microsoft
--
Wrong! If Bill wants to use my GPL'd software under another license, he's quite welcome to negotiate terms with me. It might cost him some money, though, and he wouldn't have an automatic right to bug fixes and additions contributed by others.
--
Anyway, looks more & more like they're really rattled about Linux. ;-)
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*.sucks.com, so you can say what you like about anyone at all, and they can't force any court to strip you of (say) bloomberg.sucks.com because it's a subdomain of sucks.com.
Won't stop them coming after you for defamation, TM-infringement, etc., though, but that's another story and another court.
--