What do you expect when/. is now nothing more than a web-based "hang-out" for |337 sKriP7 K|ddi3z wH0 th|ink th3y'r3 c00| b3cAu53 th3y run LINUX on their Daddy's PC, or screwed-up mental degenerates who get-off on scatological humor? The moderation system is severely lacking, MS bashing wastes bandwidth because it becomes a Linux-lover's mosh-pit when someone starts bashing Microsoft, as if it's "c00|" to do what everyone else is doing.
Let's look at some hard facts:
1) Microsoft has poured *MILLIONS* of dollars into Apple to help Microsoft's #1 customer with Software Development (can you say "Office"?).
2) Microsoft has brought *MILLIONS* of people, directly (via MSN) and/or indirectly (the inclusion of the TCP/IP stack into Windows), to the Internet. More web developers/designers *might* be using Apple systems to develop their content, and *NIX is the undisputed leader in Web Server population...but Web Servers and Developers don't generate page-hits...USERS DO!
3) When the PC industry started to embrace this thing we call "networking", the Intel/MS segment of the industry embraced practically *every* networking protocol and standard (and some of that embracing was fairly embarrasing...anyone remember "10Net"?)...and Apple had "AppleTalk".
4) If it wasn't for *NIX in all of it's flavors, you wouldn't have the Internet as it is today.
5) You *can* like Linux AND Microsoft and still be "c00|".
You may not like Microsoft because of their business tactics. You may not like Microsoft because IYHO their products don't make the cut. If you take a cold, hard look at the HISTORY of the PC Industry and it's effect on Computing in general, you might even consider cutting Mr. Gates and Microsoft some slack. Microsoft could have let Apple continue in it's downward spiral a few years ago and keep that US$150Million, but they saw the worth in getting Apple out of financial "intensive care".
Just an FYI: I cut my teeth on BSD before it was BSD when I worked at Lawrence Berkeley Lab's Computer Center, operating PDP-11/70's, 11/34's and VAXes back in 1979. I made VisiCalc spreadsheets for businesses back in the late 70's / very-early 80's on Apple IIe's. I coveted an Apple Lisa/20 about 20 years ago. I worked for Microsoft on-and-off as an Independent Contractor on several high-visibility products. I run WindowsXP, Windows 2000 Advanced Server and FreeBSD at my home office. I'm planning on buying some "surplus" SGI boxes in the next six months or so. Why do I say all of this? To explain that I *don't* have any "OS Loyalties" - I use what OS I think best fits the job needed. I can't play Deus Ex on my FreeBSD box. I think, in many ways, Xwindows is superior to MS-Windows. Apple is the best box and OS X is the best OS for Graphic Arts and Multimedia.
Excellent opening. Inflammatory and churlish, but not outrageous. Introduces the reader to your intent very succinctly.
If the shoe fits...
Blah blah blah, Microsoft is maintaining the status quo, so we should embrace them for that, instead of knocking their world-domination schemes at every turn. I don't see the logic in it.
Obviously, you must either be recently-graduated from College and all-full-up on the leftist pablum shoved-down your throat, or you still yearn for your "College Years". Every single business in the world that it worth it's capital spending budget wants to be their "market leader" - if they don't, they're headed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in about 3 years. What business want's to be #17th in their "market"? This is BUSINESS, not Academia. If Microsoft is the dominant player in the Computer Industry, it's because they've done what Ford, GM, Playtex, General Mills and any other company that dominates their market has done: been agressive, pummel the competitiion into submission, and make the consumer pay top-dollar for what they sell so they can increase their investor's share price.
Rather, I see that if we hold the biggest and most abusive company accountable for its actions, then every other company will realize that nobody is above the law or the standards that their customers set. The result is that the marketplace will become less about control and more about producing a good product that people will buy.
Can you say "Tirade"?
Take a college class in Business and learn what Business is about before trying to act like you know something.
The only thing that Microsoft has done that has been identified as "illegal" is using their market dominance to mantain said market dominance - which is again what other market leaders have done and still do today, but Microsoft is more well-known in regards to such business practices because they're a significantly bigger target, and because their presence is felt in nearly ALL segments of high-tech industry. Is it wrong? Maybe. Is it an integral part of Capitalizm? Absolutely. The only way you're going to keep companies like Microsoft from continuing to flex their market dominance is to change our entire economic infrastructure from capitalizm to socialism - and I'm pretty sure that most of the leftists here would LOVE to see that.
But this would require knowledge and vigilance on the part of the consuming public, so I don't hold my breath for it to happen anytime soon. After all, the consumers maintain the status quo too, and become irate when anyone suggests that they should become more politically aware.
You just won "The Pointless Cynic" award for the month! Your free whoopi-cushon is on it's way to you.
How nice of you to be so disingenuous to the "consuming public". Being "politically aware" has absolutely nothing to do with how a business operates - that is, unless you're some pablum-puking, spoon-fed leftist liberal who whines and complains when someone did better than they did in school because they "weren't given enough opportunity". The "consuming public" are vastly more politically savvy than you give them credit - proof is given when a leftist Democrat is voted out of office for a pro-business, conservative Republican.
Nice straw man. Who said the original poster was a filthy immoral pirate?
Try reading the previous comment before your next out-of-context attempt at retort - my comment containd a fairly straight-forward conditional statement - and of course, by taking my comments out-of-context, you showed that you really can't handle the issue or at least respond with any logic other than calling my conditional statement a "straw-man" argument.
Get a clue.
And I don't see why a commercial operating system has to spy on its users (implied by "otherwise, stick with free/open source software"). If more people were aware of what was going on in their system, they might be more concerned about it. But with commercials on TV from MS Marketing being the only avenue from which the typical consumer receives information, how are they supposed to know? It would be much different if there was a competitor in town, because the competitor would be slinging mud all over these "features", and MS would be forced to get rid of this big brother crap or lose marketshare.
The "Windows Activation" process that you alluded to is not Microsoft "spying" on you - it's their legally-protected process of ensuring that no more than ONE copy of their software is installed on only ONE computer. This is the same, tired and old argument that fear-mongers tried to create when Windows 95 came out; remember that when you installed Win9x, that it sent Microsoft a tiny bit of info to Microsoft about what your system configuration was so Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) would be better able to assist you with troubleshooting any future problems you had that required you to call PSS? This is the same-old FUD generated by anti-Microsoft zealots, but now it's wrapped-up in a different color wrapper.
This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. If I'm not willing to give up control of my computer to a 3rd party, what makes you think I'm going to allow them to disable features I've already enjoyed for ages?
"Ages"? Give us all a break!
Firstly, The Fraunhofer Institute only started working on what would become the MP3 audio encoding standard back in 1987, Patented in 1996, and it was not very popular until 1997. If you're calling the timeframe between 1997 and today as an "Age", then I'm Methuselah!
Secondly, I was only applying a similar problem with copyrights (Cassette Recording & Playback, VHS Recording and Playback) to the DRM situation today. If you can't deal with that, then go back to your corner.
That's right, and it's also not political science -- it's an uninformed individual calling for more legislation to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Just because the MPAA and RIAA bleat on and on about how piracy will kill them, doesn't mean that it is true, or that we even have to listen to them. Their business is not to be propped up by legislation in the face of new technology.
Actually, since I'm a member of BMI as a songwriter/performer, I could consider myself to be a fairly "informed" person on the topic of MY RIGHTS as an artist and my rights as a consumer and where both meet. So much for your lame attempt at conjecture and supposition.
More typical "big government is good, and would never hurt me" advocacy. These "hippies" are doing more for your freedom than your stance will ever accomplish. You might reconsider your attitude towards them.
Wrong political affiliation; Democrats & leftist liberals want MORE government in your life, whereas Republicans and right-wing conservatives want LESS government - get your politics correct or clam-up.
I worked at LBL/UCB as a Digital Computer Operator on LBL's CDC 6600 & 7600 "supercomputers" and was a UNIX "hacker" (not "cracker") back in '79 and got my car repeatedly pelted by rocks thrown by the same kind of people with the same mentality (i.e. "Hippies") when I drove up the hill from Shattuck Ave. to the Lab - especiallly during their "No Nukes" protests. They're worthless, lazy and usually smell to high-heaven because they can't handle simple concepts like "personal hygene" and common courtesy - which RMS repeatedly shows that he hasn't got a grasp of when he rambles on-and-on...as if he's the most damn important person at any conference; nothing like "self-importance" to ruin whatever point you're trying to make. He did the same thing on the TechTV interview, and I'm glad that Leo tried to keep RMS focused on the topic and not turning an otherwise interesting interview into a soapbox tirade.
Tell me that you can honestly tell the difference between an MP3 sampled at 96kbps and one sampled at 128kbps, or 160kbps, or even 320kbps when playing in a car stereo. If you can, then submit yourself for research to the RIAA and the AMA, because you're ears are "golden".
90% of your average stereo listener can't tell the difference, so I say to put your CD's in a flippin' CD Player and deal with life's unfortunate circumstances.
His "advertizing" is nothing different than the "penguin fetishists" who sleep with their RedHat CD and their advertisements for Linux and other Free/Open Software.
Microsoft is as evil as any other software company out there. Microsoft has done NOTHING DIFFERENT than any other software company that is dominant in their particular market - Apple.vs Power Computing or ComputerAssociates being the prime examples. The only difference is that Microsoft is a much bigger target than Apple, ComputerAssociates or any other "market leader".
If you don't like an Operating System that checks with it's manufacturer to see if the install you are doing is an infringement on their copyrights, then you should perform a "sanity check" on your morals, or lack thereof, or stick with free/opensource software.
A simple solution to the DRM debacle is this: The reason that "fair use" came into being concering audio casettes and VCRs was that you could *not* get sonic/video quality equal to the original. With digial copying (i.e. "ripping"), I can "rip" a CD on my machine using 320kbps sample-rates and get sonic quality that's as close to the theoretical "perfect" as I can get. The answer is simple: make it illegal to have software that samples anything higher than 96kbps - that way, you're getting about the same degredation in sonic quality as you would get by recording an LP to Cassette (1st generation signal loss). With that schema, you'd never really need DRM, because you could SONICALLY tell the difference between the original recording and a "ripped" copy.
The same procedure could easily apply to DVD-ripping as well - enforce the use of inferior encoding/decoding schemes so that the copy is *not* equal to the original. That way, the "free use" statutes would clearly apply to Digital content.
I don't know why anyone hasn't seen this issue from this angle before - it's not "rocket science".
Concerning RMS - he reminds me too much of the hippies that still hang-out at UC Berkeley and still protest for "free" love and "free" drugs - since you can't get either anymore, "free" software un-naturally fits the criteria for protest; "If THE MAN is keeping you from getting IT, Protest!"
What planet are you from? Practically every set of laws and morals tha we have on this lump of rock we call Earth is derived from laws received from Deity(God) thousands of years ago from 10 laws carved into two slabs of stone - they're call the 10 Commandments, my friend.
Killing is wrong ("Thou Shall Not Kill")
Taking what is not yours is wrong ("Thou Shall Not Kill", "Thou Shall Not Covet", "Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery").
Most of the laws that we have are based on the desire to protect life, liberty, freedom and property - every law that isn't directly related to those two concepts is eventually related to them in some fashion or another.
The old and tired "Harm No One" that all of the wiccan/new-agers want to hang on to is way to simplistic for a modern society. For example, does "harm" deonte pain - and if it is, is a painless death or murder ok if you didn't "Harm" the person?
Ignoring Deity(God) or not believing in the existenct of God does not mean that God does not exist.
Two people were discussing this very topic, and one said to the other: "I don't believe in God because I don't see any hard evidence of his existence". The other person spoke to the first and said "Do you see this fine watch I'm wearing? Do you see the watchmaker when you see it?" The first person said "No...", to whit the second person sait "Then how do you know the watchmaker exists, without seeing him or having proof of his actual existence?" The first person then said "Well, I know that someone must have made this watch, because watches don't just automagically come into existence". The second person then said: "So, you're trusting information given you about the making of watches, but you're not willing to trust information given to you about the Creating of Worlds and who or what caused this World to be created - how odd!!!"
Your supposed model of a "true moral system" is pure fantasy, because people are not all the same, they have different desires and motivations, and some of them are are, for the most part, going to do things that will break what ever "moral code" you create in this "utopia" that you eluded to.
I just checked the site, and the connectivity to it is "shakey" at best. I refreshed once, and I got all the text but no graphics. After 2nd refresh, it appeared that most of the graphics came up.
"...By your token, because I buy a book, I should therefore own all the contents of the book. This is the reason that copyright law exists--to protect the people who create things..."
Incorrect. Copyright law exists to prevent people from making $$$ by claiming the work to be owned by someone other than the originator of the work.
I can make a quadrillion copies of ANY book in the world, and as long as I do NOTHING other than keep them in my personal possession(i.e. not for sale or distribution) there is NOTHING that anyone can do about it. This is the same reasoning that allowed libraries to have photocopiers on the premisis.
Any money earned by CleanFlicks by performin these edits is done under the auspicies of performing a service and are not directly related to the sale and distribution of any movies.
In regards to your "big long books" analogy: If you possess a copy of a work and give that work to someone to "deface" or edit for you, you are absolutely allowed to do that as long as you do not re-sell the work as an Original
Copyright Law is designed to protect the originator/creator of a work from financial loss due to unauthorized reproductions being SOLD under a name other than that of the originator/creator.
How many high school/college textbooks have you seen that have notes in the margins, highlighted sections, etc? How many of those college textbooks are re-sold?
Please put brain in gear before engaging mouth (or, in this case, fingers-on-keyboard)
Stop your blasphemy, or I will send you to the "hell of the upside-down sinners"!!
(grin)
"...the blackest of magic - my soul swims in it..."
"..to the armys and the navy and the battle's they have won - to the red, white, and blue - the colors that never run...may the wings of liberty never lose a feather"
"...and rule the universe from beyond the grave...or check into the Psycho ward - whichever comes first, eh, Lo Pan?"
or, my favorite:
"...the Ram butts his head against the edge, and his horns become...entangled..."
I think someone needs to do a sequel to that classic film...something like "Jack Burton & The Warriors of the Black Blood of the Earth" or something like that. Get "Egg Shen" and the rest of the cast together(minus Kim Catrell, because she's so friggin' stuck-up with her "Softcore-Porn-in-the-City" series that she's got tunnel-vision) and take it to the next level...eh?
If you would take a moment and read the WHOLE EULA, you would see that they are only talking about DOWNLOADING software updates and checking installed software catalogs specific to Microsoft Operating Systems (not even third-party apps) to ensure that the proper updates are downloaded.
Paranoia in this case is so damn pathetic! GROW UP AND STOP THINKING THAT EVERYONE IS GOING TO STEAL YOUR THINGS!!!!!
Here's a translation of what the purported "clause" in the EULA states:
Microsoft can make updated or upgraded versions of the software.
When you install this updated or upgraded software, you are still bound by the EULA unless there is a new EULA.
Microsoft can charge you for the updated or upgraded software.
When you upgrade, you can not use the previous software as if it was brand-new and freshly installed, because it's no longer there.
Remember this important fact: The EULA is in effect when the software is installed, not when you buy/purchase the software - hence, if the previous software has been updated or upgraded, the previous version is gone.
Therefore, your conclusion is utter nonsense, and there is NOTHING in the aformetioned and above exhibited EULA clause that supports your conclusions.
Learn to read what's there instead of trying to read between the non-existent lines - legal documents, like EULAs can't have any by their own definition.
The only time you become this so-called "enemy" is when you're committing a crime.
The reason that your city has as many if not more Law Enforcement is that most of the smart people have moved from what appears to be - by your own description a crime-ridden hell-hole.
The reaons that Law Enforcement Officers now wear body-armor is because the criminal now has accesss to high-powered weaponry that is the equal to or better than what the Law Enforcement Officers are using.
I read the URL you posted, concerning the arrest of "kids" who were in violation of tresspass at a KMart - serves them right to get arrested, since there apparently WAS a previous problem there - why else would the Houston Police Department arrest people if there wasn't a complaint made and evidence found to support the complaint??
Let's dissect this FUD-monster, item by item and see what's inside!
1) No problem there, with the exception that he's installing WinME, which (I must admit) was a lousy product from Microsoft
2) Did your Mandrake Install contain optimized drivers for VIA motherboards? NO! The VIA driver install is NOT needed!
3) Did your Mandrake Install contain anything specific for your SBLive! card, like EAX support? NO! It installed GENERIC DRIVERS that support SB and SB-compatable cards with NO SPECIAL ENHANCEMENTS!
4) Did your Mandrake Install contain any specific drivers for your Epson 740 to allow you to check ink levels, clean the nozzle ports on ink carts or do any color-correction? NO! Your Mandrake Install simply installed GENERIC/dev/lpr or/dev/prn drivers.
5) Were the nVidia RPMs you installed 3rd-party or actual nVidia Drivers? If it was 3rd-party, what are you going to do when your card dies and you try to get an RMA on it from nVidia and they ask you if you're used 3rd-party drivers on the card?
6) Since Realtek is only one of the dozens upon dozens of NIC manufacturers out there, it's a no-brainer that MS would not include drivers for it - and installing NIC drivers is so trivial that it appears that you simply included this step to increase the FUD Factor.
And don't even get me started on that software abortion called OpenOffice!
"...I have yet to find a Windows version (pick a version, any version), installed on the same hardware, that provides a better platform than a Linux install."
Hmmmm...can you quantify "better"?
Simply stating that something is "better" without saying why it is better is just as bad as FUD.
Looks like you've never had to be involved in the Sales Dept. of any company or be a salseperson.
I've been there, and that's what is pumped into you at Sales Meetings:
"Company Y has sold more product than we have for the last quarter: what are we going to do? BURY THEM!"
"Do whatever it takes to get that sale! I don't care if your brother works for the competition - make that sale even if you have to cheat your brother out of it"
I've come to the conclusion that/. is just a bunch of naive school-boys who don't understand how REAL BUSINESS and sales work to make money - they want this all-inclusive "Let's all play nice in the sandbox called 'The World'".
Well, GUESS WHAT??? If it's my sandbox, I'll toss you out of it if I don't like the way you dig tunnels for my cars!!!
Life is NOT fair...everyone breaks rules now and then...no one does the speed limit 100% of the time...no one fudges on their Income Taxes.
I wonder if Scott McNealy ever bullied any companies that had working relationships with Sun?
I wonder if Larry Ellison & Oracle will ever go to Jail or be sued over the fraudulent $95Million contract with the State of California?
So, you just blithely moved your NT install from one PC platform to another, without re-installing? If I'm reading your post wrong, please ignore the advise below.
If you *did* do what I surmised above, I take it that you've never heard of NT's Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)?
If you move your installed and functioning NT Harddrives, etc to a new hardware platform, be prepared for continual BSOD's - the HAL provides a uniform set of hardware interfaces to the OS kernel and services - and there are differences enough in motherboards and CPUs that simply moving your HD's to a new mobo and CPU will cause you nothing but pain until you COMPLETELY RE-INSTALL NT/Win2K.
I used to work for a major Aircraft Manufacturer (you're free to guess which one (grin)) back in 1991, and was there to celebrate that company's 75th Anniversary with a special Air Show near the company's facilities - which culminated with a *very* low, high-speed fly-by of the #2 777.
I was absolutely dumbfounded by this single fly- by - quick, fairly silent (due to the Very-high Bypass Engines) and gracefull...until the pilot pushed the twin-throttles forward to the stops and pulled back on the yoke - I swear it looked like the plane virtually LEAPED into the sky. Everyone around cheered, whooped, yelled and screamed with elation when that beautiful, white plane roared skyward!
The only word I can gather to describe that sight (and sound) is "Breathtaking"!
I received an email from a family member shortly after the attacks on 9/11 which had a JPEG attached to it, with several pictures of various military hardware in the JPEG, and a single caption:
"Mr. Osama Bin Laden: Now that you have acquainted yourself with some of our fine aircraft, please allow us to acquaint you with our other products"
The pictures were of a B-1B, a B-2, F-14 F-15, F-16, FA-18, Cruise Missles, etc.
This is what Inventors, Engineers and Designer-types call...A PROTOTYPE!
This is just the stuff that they have made to further DEVELOP the product or invention. I'm sure that by the time it's ready for consumer use that it will look nice and sleek and appealing to use - along with some stupid "swatch" or Nike-swoosh or even a Coca-Cola logo on it somewhere.
Contrary to what this "Anonymous Moron" thinks, there are plenty of us "Microsoftians" that regularly post to this over-rated BLOG of our own accord to somehow bring some sanity to the rabid Anti-Microsoft propaganda spewed-forth by linux-o-philes and penguin fetishists here.
Everyone knows, and hackers acknowledge that Linux is the preferred OS for hacking, website defacement, DDoS attack GENERATION & CONTROL (notice I specifically said "GENERATION, ORIGINATION & CONTROL") and a host of other plain EVIL things on the Internet.
The volumn of post at/. supporting Microsoft is proportional to as every ad hominem, "rail-splitting" and/or "straw man" attack against Microsoft. Rabid Linux-lovers who get a cheap thrill out of appearing to be some sort of "Digeratti" by attacking Microsoft do more damage to their own cause than to Microsoft, but their left-wing liberalist yen-to-protest-against-the-establishment drives them to such sophomoric attempts at "self-expression" as the creation of the plethora of Microsoft parody websites.
How funny it is that people who constantly blather-on about Bill Gates being the son of Satan, the Anti-Christ or actually being Satan himself laughed-off similar "religiously-toned" Anti-Apple web-sites that appeared recently (sorry - forgot the URL and I can't find it on/.), claiming that Apple was in league with Satan, etc. What's wrong, boys - don't like it when someone gets in your face like you do to others?
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah - I remember those "Tablet" PC's.
NEC Had one back in 1993 - sucked.
c|net raved about some in 1996 - where are they?
Comdex went nuts about them in 1998...1999...2000...I see none of them on the market.
GooRoo - http://www.go-gooroo.com/ - anything on the sensors on this, Mr. Spock?
QBE - http://www.aqcessnet.com/ - It's soooo BIG!
The Fuji 510's are nice, but since they're Win95-era boxes they're kinda limited (Max. RAM = 56MB).
It's a nice idea - but practical?
ScottKin
What do you expect when /. is now nothing more than a web-based "hang-out" for |337 sKriP7 K|ddi3z wH0 th|ink th3y'r3 c00| b3cAu53 th3y run LINUX on their Daddy's PC, or screwed-up mental degenerates who get-off on scatological humor? The moderation system is severely lacking, MS bashing wastes bandwidth because it becomes a Linux-lover's mosh-pit when someone starts bashing Microsoft, as if it's "c00|" to do what everyone else is doing.
Let's look at some hard facts:
1) Microsoft has poured *MILLIONS* of dollars into Apple to help Microsoft's #1 customer with Software Development (can you say "Office"?).
2) Microsoft has brought *MILLIONS* of people, directly (via MSN) and/or indirectly (the inclusion of the TCP/IP stack into Windows), to the Internet. More web developers/designers *might* be using Apple systems to develop their content, and *NIX is the undisputed leader in Web Server population...but Web Servers and Developers don't generate page-hits...USERS DO!
3) When the PC industry started to embrace this thing we call "networking", the Intel/MS segment of the industry embraced practically *every* networking protocol and standard (and some of that embracing was fairly embarrasing...anyone remember "10Net"?)...and Apple had "AppleTalk".
4) If it wasn't for *NIX in all of it's flavors, you wouldn't have the Internet as it is today.
5) You *can* like Linux AND Microsoft and still be "c00|".
You may not like Microsoft because of their business tactics. You may not like Microsoft because IYHO their products don't make the cut. If you take a cold, hard look at the HISTORY of the PC Industry and it's effect on Computing in general, you might even consider cutting Mr. Gates and Microsoft some slack. Microsoft could have let Apple continue in it's downward spiral a few years ago and keep that US$150Million, but they saw the worth in getting Apple out of financial "intensive care".
Just an FYI: I cut my teeth on BSD before it was BSD when I worked at Lawrence Berkeley Lab's Computer Center, operating PDP-11/70's, 11/34's and VAXes back in 1979. I made VisiCalc spreadsheets for businesses back in the late 70's / very-early 80's on Apple IIe's. I coveted an Apple Lisa/20 about 20 years ago. I worked for Microsoft on-and-off as an Independent Contractor on several high-visibility products. I run WindowsXP, Windows 2000 Advanced Server and FreeBSD at my home office. I'm planning on buying some "surplus" SGI boxes in the next six months or so. Why do I say all of this? To explain that I *don't* have any "OS Loyalties" - I use what OS I think best fits the job needed. I can't play Deus Ex on my FreeBSD box. I think, in many ways, Xwindows is superior to MS-Windows. Apple is the best box and OS X is the best OS for Graphic Arts and Multimedia.
You *can* have it all!
ScottKin
...The dominance of the Microsoft Operating Systems is assured.
Question: Hasn't anyone wondered where the "These were not paid actors, but real Apple Users" disclaimer is on those utterly inane "Switch" ads are?
ScottKin
If the shoe fits...
Blah blah blah, Microsoft is maintaining the status quo, so we should embrace them for that, instead of knocking their world-domination schemes at every turn. I don't see the logic in it.
Obviously, you must either be recently-graduated from College and all-full-up on the leftist pablum shoved-down your throat, or you still yearn for your "College Years". Every single business in the world that it worth it's capital spending budget wants to be their "market leader" - if they don't, they're headed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in about 3 years. What business want's to be #17th in their "market"? This is BUSINESS, not Academia. If Microsoft is the dominant player in the Computer Industry, it's because they've done what Ford, GM, Playtex, General Mills and any other company that dominates their market has done: been agressive, pummel the competitiion into submission, and make the consumer pay top-dollar for what they sell so they can increase their investor's share price.
Rather, I see that if we hold the biggest and most abusive company accountable for its actions, then every other company will realize that nobody is above the law or the standards that their customers set. The result is that the marketplace will become less about control and more about producing a good product that people will buy.
Can you say "Tirade"?
Take a college class in Business and learn what Business is about before trying to act like you know something.
The only thing that Microsoft has done that has been identified as "illegal" is using their market dominance to mantain said market dominance - which is again what other market leaders have done and still do today, but Microsoft is more well-known in regards to such business practices because they're a significantly bigger target, and because their presence is felt in nearly ALL segments of high-tech industry. Is it wrong? Maybe. Is it an integral part of Capitalizm? Absolutely. The only way you're going to keep companies like Microsoft from continuing to flex their market dominance is to change our entire economic infrastructure from capitalizm to socialism - and I'm pretty sure that most of the leftists here would LOVE to see that.
But this would require knowledge and vigilance on the part of the consuming public, so I don't hold my breath for it to happen anytime soon. After all, the consumers maintain the status quo too, and become irate when anyone suggests that they should become more politically aware.
You just won "The Pointless Cynic" award for the month! Your free whoopi-cushon is on it's way to you.
How nice of you to be so disingenuous to the "consuming public". Being "politically aware" has absolutely nothing to do with how a business operates - that is, unless you're some pablum-puking, spoon-fed leftist liberal who whines and complains when someone did better than they did in school because they "weren't given enough opportunity". The "consuming public" are vastly more politically savvy than you give them credit - proof is given when a leftist Democrat is voted out of office for a pro-business, conservative Republican.
Nice straw man. Who said the original poster was a filthy immoral pirate?
Try reading the previous comment before your next out-of-context attempt at retort - my comment containd a fairly straight-forward conditional statement - and of course, by taking my comments out-of-context, you showed that you really can't handle the issue or at least respond with any logic other than calling my conditional statement a "straw-man" argument.
Get a clue.
And I don't see why a commercial operating system has to spy on its users (implied by "otherwise, stick with free/open source software"). If more people were aware of what was going on in their system, they might be more concerned about it. But with commercials on TV from MS Marketing being the only avenue from which the typical consumer receives information, how are they supposed to know? It would be much different if there was a competitor in town, because the competitor would be slinging mud all over these "features", and MS would be forced to get rid of this big brother crap or lose marketshare.
The "Windows Activation" process that you alluded to is not Microsoft "spying" on you - it's their legally-protected process of ensuring that no more than ONE copy of their software is installed on only ONE computer. This is the same, tired and old argument that fear-mongers tried to create when Windows 95 came out; remember that when you installed Win9x, that it sent Microsoft a tiny bit of info to Microsoft about what your system configuration was so Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) would be better able to assist you with troubleshooting any future problems you had that required you to call PSS? This is the same-old FUD generated by anti-Microsoft zealots, but now it's wrapped-up in a different color wrapper.
This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. If I'm not willing to give up control of my computer to a 3rd party, what makes you think I'm going to allow them to disable features I've already enjoyed for ages?
"Ages"? Give us all a break!
Firstly, The Fraunhofer Institute only started working on what would become the MP3 audio encoding standard back in 1987, Patented in 1996, and it was not very popular until 1997. If you're calling the timeframe between 1997 and today as an "Age", then I'm Methuselah!
Secondly, I was only applying a similar problem with copyrights (Cassette Recording & Playback, VHS Recording and Playback) to the DRM situation today. If you can't deal with that, then go back to your corner.
That's right, and it's also not political science -- it's an uninformed individual calling for more legislation to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Just because the MPAA and RIAA bleat on and on about how piracy will kill them, doesn't mean that it is true, or that we even have to listen to them. Their business is not to be propped up by legislation in the face of new technology.
Actually, since I'm a member of BMI as a songwriter/performer, I could consider myself to be a fairly "informed" person on the topic of MY RIGHTS as an artist and my rights as a consumer and where both meet. So much for your lame attempt at conjecture and supposition.
More typical "big government is good, and would never hurt me" advocacy. These "hippies" are doing more for your freedom than your stance will ever accomplish. You might reconsider your attitude towards them.
Wrong political affiliation; Democrats & leftist liberals want MORE government in your life, whereas Republicans and right-wing conservatives want LESS government - get your politics correct or clam-up.
I worked at LBL/UCB as a Digital Computer Operator on LBL's CDC 6600 & 7600 "supercomputers" and was a UNIX "hacker" (not "cracker") back in '79 and got my car repeatedly pelted by rocks thrown by the same kind of people with the same mentality (i.e. "Hippies") when I drove up the hill from Shattuck Ave. to the Lab - especiallly during their "No Nukes" protests. They're worthless, lazy and usually smell to high-heaven because they can't handle simple concepts like "personal hygene" and common courtesy - which RMS repeatedly shows that he hasn't got a grasp of when he rambles on-and-on...as if he's the most damn important person at any conference; nothing like "self-importance" to ruin whatever point you're trying to make. He did the same thing on the TechTV interview, and I'm glad that Leo tried to keep RMS focused on the topic and not turning an otherwise interesting interview into a soapbox tirade.
'nuff said!
ScottKin
Tell me that you can honestly tell the difference between an MP3 sampled at 96kbps and one sampled at 128kbps, or 160kbps, or even 320kbps when playing in a car stereo. If you can, then submit yourself for research to the RIAA and the AMA, because you're ears are "golden".
90% of your average stereo listener can't tell the difference, so I say to put your CD's in a flippin' CD Player and deal with life's unfortunate circumstances.
ScottKin
His "advertizing" is nothing different than the "penguin fetishists" who sleep with their RedHat CD and their advertisements for Linux and other Free/Open Software.
Grow up.
ScottKin
Stupid putz!
.vs Power Computing or ComputerAssociates being the prime examples. The only difference is that Microsoft is a much bigger target than Apple, ComputerAssociates or any other "market leader".
Microsoft is as evil as any other software company out there. Microsoft has done NOTHING DIFFERENT than any other software company that is dominant in their particular market - Apple
If you don't like an Operating System that checks with it's manufacturer to see if the install you are doing is an infringement on their copyrights, then you should perform a "sanity check" on your morals, or lack thereof, or stick with free/opensource software.
A simple solution to the DRM debacle is this: The reason that "fair use" came into being concering audio casettes and VCRs was that you could *not* get sonic/video quality equal to the original. With digial copying (i.e. "ripping"), I can "rip" a CD on my machine using 320kbps sample-rates and get sonic quality that's as close to the theoretical "perfect" as I can get. The answer is simple: make it illegal to have software that samples anything higher than 96kbps - that way, you're getting about the same degredation in sonic quality as you would get by recording an LP to Cassette (1st generation signal loss). With that schema, you'd never really need DRM, because you could SONICALLY tell the difference between the original recording and a "ripped" copy.
The same procedure could easily apply to DVD-ripping as well - enforce the use of inferior encoding/decoding schemes so that the copy is *not* equal to the original. That way, the "free use" statutes would clearly apply to Digital content.
I don't know why anyone hasn't seen this issue from this angle before - it's not "rocket science".
Concerning RMS - he reminds me too much of the hippies that still hang-out at UC Berkeley and still protest for "free" love and "free" drugs - since you can't get either anymore, "free" software un-naturally fits the criteria for protest; "If THE MAN is keeping you from getting IT, Protest!"
ScottKin
What planet are you from? Practically every set of laws and morals tha we have on this lump of rock we call Earth is derived from laws received from Deity(God) thousands of years ago from 10 laws carved into two slabs of stone - they're call the 10 Commandments, my friend.
Killing is wrong ("Thou Shall Not Kill")
Taking what is not yours is wrong ("Thou Shall Not Kill", "Thou Shall Not Covet", "Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery").
Most of the laws that we have are based on the desire to protect life, liberty, freedom and property - every law that isn't directly related to those two concepts is eventually related to them in some fashion or another.
The old and tired "Harm No One" that all of the wiccan/new-agers want to hang on to is way to simplistic for a modern society. For example, does "harm" deonte pain - and if it is, is a painless death or murder ok if you didn't "Harm" the person?
Ignoring Deity(God) or not believing in the existenct of God does not mean that God does not exist.
Two people were discussing this very topic, and one said to the other: "I don't believe in God because I don't see any hard evidence of his existence". The other person spoke to the first and said "Do you see this fine watch I'm wearing? Do you see the watchmaker when you see it?" The first person said "No...", to whit the second person sait "Then how do you know the watchmaker exists, without seeing him or having proof of his actual existence?" The first person then said "Well, I know that someone must have made this watch, because watches don't just automagically come into existence". The second person then said: "So, you're trusting information given you about the making of watches, but you're not willing to trust information given to you about the Creating of Worlds and who or what caused this World to be created - how odd!!!"
Your supposed model of a "true moral system" is pure fantasy, because people are not all the same, they have different desires and motivations, and some of them are are, for the most part, going to do things that will break what ever "moral code" you create in this "utopia" that you eluded to.
You sound like a passe` Marxist.
Enjoy the Ride!
ScottKin
I just checked the site, and the connectivity to it is "shakey" at best. I refreshed once, and I got all the text but no graphics. After 2nd refresh, it appeared that most of the graphics came up.
ScottKin
Incorrect. Copyright law exists to prevent people from making $$$ by claiming the work to be owned by someone other than the originator of the work.
I can make a quadrillion copies of ANY book in the world, and as long as I do NOTHING other than keep them in my personal possession(i.e. not for sale or distribution) there is NOTHING that anyone can do about it. This is the same reasoning that allowed libraries to have photocopiers on the premisis.
Any money earned by CleanFlicks by performin these edits is done under the auspicies of performing a service and are not directly related to the sale and distribution of any movies.
In regards to your "big long books" analogy: If you possess a copy of a work and give that work to someone to "deface" or edit for you, you are absolutely allowed to do that as long as you do not re-sell the work as an Original
Copyright Law is designed to protect the originator/creator of a work from financial loss due to unauthorized reproductions being SOLD under a name other than that of the originator/creator.
ScottKin
I guess you've never heard of USED Book Stores.
How many high school/college textbooks have you seen that have notes in the margins, highlighted sections, etc? How many of those college textbooks are re-sold?
Please put brain in gear before engaging mouth (or, in this case, fingers-on-keyboard)
ScottKin
Stop your blasphemy, or I will send you to the "hell of the upside-down sinners"!!
(grin)
"...the blackest of magic - my soul swims in it..."
"..to the armys and the navy and the battle's they have won - to the red, white, and blue - the colors that never run...may the wings of liberty never lose a feather"
"...and rule the universe from beyond the grave...or check into the Psycho ward - whichever comes first, eh, Lo Pan?"
or, my favorite:
"...the Ram butts his head against the edge, and his horns become...entangled..."
I think someone needs to do a sequel to that classic film...something like "Jack Burton & The Warriors of the Black Blood of the Earth" or something like that. Get "Egg Shen" and the rest of the cast together(minus Kim Catrell, because she's so friggin' stuck-up with her "Softcore-Porn-in-the-City" series that she's got tunnel-vision) and take it to the next level...eh?
ScottKin
Pure, rampant red-herring bullcrap!
If you would take a moment and read the WHOLE EULA, you would see that they are only talking about DOWNLOADING software updates and checking installed software catalogs specific to Microsoft Operating Systems (not even third-party apps) to ensure that the proper updates are downloaded.
Paranoia in this case is so damn pathetic! GROW UP AND STOP THINKING THAT EVERYONE IS GOING TO STEAL YOUR THINGS!!!!!
ScottKin
Here's a translation of what the purported "clause" in the EULA states:
Microsoft can make updated or upgraded versions of the software.
When you install this updated or upgraded software, you are still bound by the EULA unless there is a new EULA.
Microsoft can charge you for the updated or upgraded software.
When you upgrade, you can not use the previous software as if it was brand-new and freshly installed, because it's no longer there.
Remember this important fact: The EULA is in effect when the software is installed, not when you buy/purchase the software - hence, if the previous software has been updated or upgraded, the previous version is gone.
Therefore, your conclusion is utter nonsense, and there is NOTHING in the aformetioned and above exhibited EULA clause that supports your conclusions.
Learn to read what's there instead of trying to read between the non-existent lines - legal documents, like EULAs can't have any by their own definition.
ScottKin
Written by what appears to be a true pinko!
The only time you become this so-called "enemy" is when you're committing a crime.
The reason that your city has as many if not more Law Enforcement is that most of the smart people have moved from what appears to be - by your own description a crime-ridden hell-hole.
The reaons that Law Enforcement Officers now wear body-armor is because the criminal now has accesss to high-powered weaponry that is the equal to or better than what the Law Enforcement Officers are using.
I read the URL you posted, concerning the arrest of "kids" who were in violation of tresspass at a KMart - serves them right to get arrested, since there apparently WAS a previous problem there - why else would the Houston Police Department arrest people if there wasn't a complaint made and evidence found to support the complaint??
GET REAL!
ScottKin
More FUD!!!!
/dev/lpr or /dev/prn drivers.
Let's dissect this FUD-monster, item by item and see what's inside!
1) No problem there, with the exception that he's installing WinME, which (I must admit) was a lousy product from Microsoft
2) Did your Mandrake Install contain optimized drivers for VIA motherboards? NO! The VIA driver install is NOT needed!
3) Did your Mandrake Install contain anything specific for your SBLive! card, like EAX support? NO! It installed GENERIC DRIVERS that support SB and SB-compatable cards with NO SPECIAL ENHANCEMENTS!
4) Did your Mandrake Install contain any specific drivers for your Epson 740 to allow you to check ink levels, clean the nozzle ports on ink carts or do any color-correction? NO! Your Mandrake Install simply installed GENERIC
5) Were the nVidia RPMs you installed 3rd-party or actual nVidia Drivers? If it was 3rd-party, what are you going to do when your card dies and you try to get an RMA on it from nVidia and they ask you if you're used 3rd-party drivers on the card?
6) Since Realtek is only one of the dozens upon dozens of NIC manufacturers out there, it's a no-brainer that MS would not include drivers for it - and installing NIC drivers is so trivial that it appears that you simply included this step to increase the FUD Factor.
And don't even get me started on that software abortion called OpenOffice!
ScottKin
Hmmmm...can you quantify "better"?
Simply stating that something is "better" without saying why it is better is just as bad as FUD.
ScottKin
Looks like you've never had to be involved in the Sales Dept. of any company or be a salseperson.
/. is just a bunch of naive school-boys who don't understand how REAL BUSINESS and sales work to make money - they want this all-inclusive "Let's all play nice in the sandbox called 'The World'".
I've been there, and that's what is pumped into you at Sales Meetings:
"Company Y has sold more product than we have for the last quarter: what are we going to do? BURY THEM!"
"Do whatever it takes to get that sale! I don't care if your brother works for the competition - make that sale even if you have to cheat your brother out of it"
I've come to the conclusion that
Well, GUESS WHAT??? If it's my sandbox, I'll toss you out of it if I don't like the way you dig tunnels for my cars!!!
Life is NOT fair...everyone breaks rules now and then...no one does the speed limit 100% of the time...no one fudges on their Income Taxes.
I wonder if Scott McNealy ever bullied any companies that had working relationships with Sun?
I wonder if Larry Ellison & Oracle will ever go to Jail or be sued over the fraudulent $95Million contract with the State of California?
'nuff said!
ScottKin
So, you just blithely moved your NT install from one PC platform to another, without re-installing? If I'm reading your post wrong, please ignore the advise below.
If you *did* do what I surmised above, I take it that you've never heard of NT's Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)?
If you move your installed and functioning NT Harddrives, etc to a new hardware platform, be prepared for continual BSOD's - the HAL provides a uniform set of hardware interfaces to the OS kernel and services - and there are differences enough in motherboards and CPUs that simply moving your HD's to a new mobo and CPU will cause you nothing but pain until you COMPLETELY RE-INSTALL NT/Win2K.
ScottKin
I used to work for a major Aircraft Manufacturer (you're free to guess which one (grin)) back in 1991, and was there to celebrate that company's 75th Anniversary with a special Air Show near the company's facilities - which culminated with a *very* low, high-speed fly-by of the #2 777.
I was absolutely dumbfounded by this single fly- by - quick, fairly silent (due to the Very-high Bypass Engines) and gracefull...until the pilot pushed the twin-throttles forward to the stops and pulled back on the yoke - I swear it looked like the plane virtually LEAPED into the sky. Everyone around cheered, whooped, yelled and screamed with elation when that beautiful, white plane roared skyward!
The only word I can gather to describe that sight (and sound) is "Breathtaking"!
I received an email from a family member shortly after the attacks on 9/11 which had a JPEG attached to it, with several pictures of various military hardware in the JPEG, and a single caption:
"Mr. Osama Bin Laden: Now that you have acquainted yourself with some of our fine aircraft, please allow us to acquaint you with our other products"
The pictures were of a B-1B, a B-2, F-14 F-15, F-16, FA-18, Cruise Missles, etc.
ScottKin
This post looks more like something I'd find in alt.conspiracy.
Can you say "paranoid"?
This is what Inventors, Engineers and Designer-types call...A PROTOTYPE!
This is just the stuff that they have made to further DEVELOP the product or invention. I'm sure that by the time it's ready for consumer use that it will look nice and sleek and appealing to use - along with some stupid "swatch" or Nike-swoosh or even a Coca-Cola logo on it somewhere.
ScottKin
Excuse me?!?!
Taking and/or receiving items that have value without paying the price for such items is THEFT, whether it be a car, software or a "Snickers" bar
I DARE YOU TO PROVE ME WRONG!!!!!
No, I'm being something that the general population of penguin-fetishists avoid like the plague... ...FACTUAL AND HONEST!!!!
Chew on that for a bit!
ScottKin
Contrary to what this "Anonymous Moron" thinks, there are plenty of us "Microsoftians" that regularly post to this over-rated BLOG of our own accord to somehow bring some sanity to the rabid Anti-Microsoft propaganda spewed-forth by linux-o-philes and penguin fetishists here.
/. supporting Microsoft is proportional to as every ad hominem, "rail-splitting" and/or "straw man" attack against Microsoft. Rabid Linux-lovers who get a cheap thrill out of appearing to be some sort of "Digeratti" by attacking Microsoft do more damage to their own cause than to Microsoft, but their left-wing liberalist yen-to-protest-against-the-establishment drives them to such sophomoric attempts at "self-expression" as the creation of the plethora of Microsoft parody websites.
/.), claiming that Apple was in league with Satan, etc. What's wrong, boys - don't like it when someone gets in your face like you do to others?
Everyone knows, and hackers acknowledge that Linux is the preferred OS for hacking, website defacement, DDoS attack GENERATION & CONTROL (notice I specifically said "GENERATION, ORIGINATION & CONTROL") and a host of other plain EVIL things on the Internet.
The volumn of post at
How funny it is that people who constantly blather-on about Bill Gates being the son of Satan, the Anti-Christ or actually being Satan himself laughed-off similar "religiously-toned" Anti-Apple web-sites that appeared recently (sorry - forgot the URL and I can't find it on
Utterly Incredible!!!
ScottKin