One minute Supreme Court Judge oops, sorry - forgot she hadn't been paid yet, Judge Collar Cotelly comes out with her "Open Source is not a credible alternative to Microsoft" during her verdict and the next minute M$ are moaning that OSS is forcing them to push their prices down.
Surely this is indicative of the fact that either CKK didn't have a grasp of the facts of the case or other factors were at work during her writing up of the outcome.
Whatever, both scenarios surely show CKKs verdict to be flawed and any lawyers wanting to rack up another big bill should start packing their briefcases immeadiatly. And this time can we have someone who actually understands the terms monopoly and level playing field?
Over here in the UK we've been trying to sell Linux to "cash strapped" schools. The overwhelming impression from talking to ICT teachers is how little they seem to know about computers.
During the summer we had two work experience lads here who were, from the start, well up for it and were hammering out webpages on Bluefish, getting their heads around OpenOffice.org in no time and were just generally fascinated by the inner machinations of networks once you got behind the GUI (KDE which they had no problems with).
The teachers on the other hand seem to understand MS Office, Frontpage and a handful of other packages but bugger all else. When we questioned the lads about their ICT lessons Word, Excel, Publisher and Frontpage seemed to be as far as they went and once bored shitless they entertained themselves by finding ways around the half arsed attempts that had been made at stopping them running "protected" programs and circumventing web filters.
Basically kids don't have a comfort zone and are keen to experiment and investigate while their adult charges are safe and secure in the knowledge that they know what they know and they don't need to know anything more.
I was thinking of becoming an ICT teacher but a) I can't be arsed with the paperwork and b) I enjoy learning more.
I sell Linux servers and workstations and office IS the problem. The one company I have that switched to mainly Linux run OO.org over MySQL, use K-mail with GPG, and are happy as pigs in shit.
Why? Simple, In the year+ that the MD has been running Linux on his desktop he hasn't lost any time due to viruses. With Win98 he had SirCAM, KAK and Klez.h despite subscription updated Norton Anti Virus and lost 5 figure sums in terms of lost productivity.
In the 4 months since Linux was installed across all the office machines, not one has crashed to the point of needing a reboot. There have been one or two app freezes that were easily remedied with XKill but no reboots.
The amount they saved on software licences has enabled them to pay us to set the whole thing up with upgraded PCs and also leaves enough cash for us to kit their second office in Northern England out as well.
The guy is happy, I mean really happy but even with him backing us up and his extensive business contacts getting others to drop Windows and MS Office is soooooooooo bloody difficult you wouldn't believe it.
Office is like the worst kind of crack you'll find anywhere. Not only does it turn users into addicts but it makes them blind as well.
Anyway, to summarise. Small Office 1 server running Mandrake 8.2, 2 desktops with Mandrake 8.2, one desktop running Mandrake 9, one running Win98 (can't give up their accounts package) and a firewall / router running Linux.
If only there were more open minded business people in this country......
1 GW. Bush - "I won't do anything to hurt Americas economy"
2 Microsoft get slap on wrist agreement from DoJ
3 CKK verifies slap on wrist and tells M$ business as usual
This and other things, e.g. steel tariffs, extensive use of WTO to enforce trade agreements that benefit US (can't be arsed to list them, there's just too many) have led to a wide spread belief that the US is empire building.
Now empire building is normal, Britain did it (and was criticised for it by the US during the 20th century), France did it (NB III), Rome did it, Austro Hungary did it and Germany did it (39-45) but the difference between all these and the current US economic Empire is that all the others realised that if you build an empire you will piss more than a few people off and will have to expect some backlash.
Whether the backlash is deserved or not is irrelevant it just happens. So rather than sitting their whinging about "more US bashing" in the tone of a redneck Jerry Springer guest I'd start asking "What are my country and the corporations in it doing that is pissing these people off".
BTW, I've been to America, Nice place, nice people. Shame about the behaviour of the Multi-nationals though.
You seem to have misinterpreted the point of my comment.
Allow me to clarify:
1: I'm British (European in an off the mainland kinda way) and hence have no desire to allow any US based multinational to switch off my business's desktops if they want to flex their economic muscle.
2: It is my hope that the Germans and French (who both have Linux going into their Govt. services) will have the good sense to overcome the sycophantic, multi-national toadying habits of our beloved Prima Donna minister and come down on Microsoft with the full force required to stuff their monopoly where the sun don't shine.
If this is the case I am sure that my self employed life selling Linux systems and services will be eased when businesses discover they can have stable computers and can even open the old M$ docs they've built up over the years. I say this because MS Office file formats are the main block to my business making decent amounts of money.
How so? Few businesses are willing to accept having to port their existing.doc,.xls,.ppt etc. files just to switch office suites. They have better things to do with their time and I'm afraid that until OO.org has a 100% hit rate on file compatability they won't take the leap.
And finally, please, before correcting my spelling......... Goodbye has an 'e' on the end. Just like Dan Quale's potato;)
And theirs no buzzer on the weakest link, just that well known winker Anne Robinson.
After 3 years selling Linux, Open Office being able to open MS Office docs 100% would without a doubt cause many of my customers to dump MS and go Linux.
Reasons:
The one customer I have who has gone 100% Linux, server desktop and all rates it for:
1: Stability - No crashes in months 2: Lack of Viruses - No Viruses in over a year 3: Cost - They couldn't have afforded the network they have with MS licence fees 4: Flexibility - We can write them scripts to do pretty much anything they want. 5: Positive attitude of community to cries for help
Downsides:
1: Had to redo Publisher docs in OO.org Draw 2: Old MS Office docs come out mangled on OO.org if anything beyond text,tables and pics are used.
Messgae to the EU competition commision:
FORCE THE FILE FORMATS INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND THE MONOPOLY WILL BE BROKEN!!!!!!
GWB - We're introducing tariffs on all european products imported into the states!
EU - No your not, we'll do the same to you
"click" (sound of button being pressed to revoke the certificates of every bit of Fritz Chip managed M$ office software in Europe thus effectively switching European business into screwed mode)
Linux has to die on the desktop two days after we swapped the company next doors entire network to Linux, server & desktop included.
I 'spose they'll just have to go back to the expensive and insecure, DRM enforcing, virus prone junk they were trying to get away from when they called us in to do the switch.
It's a real shame really as they seemed to thimk that KDE on Mandrake 8.2 was really easy to use and Open Office did everything they need but they must have been wrong.
I'll tell them tomorrow (monday) morning and see what they say.
The estimate is that 90% of the desktops in the world run M$ therefore 10% are running Linux, BSD, MAC or whatever.
When you find an IE only site bookmark it find a non IE only companies site. purchase whatever you want from them and then mail the IE only webmaster and point out that they lost xx.xx pounds, dollars, euros etc. due to their non standards compliant site. If you can get the CEO's address mail him as well.
Spread the word and when CEOs see how much the 10% of non IE browser users are spending with their competitors they may wake up.
As usual though it all depends on a determined effort. Bit like Open Source.
I've been selling Linux for nearly 3 years and while servers are simple 'cos of Samba the conversation ALWAYS halts at the "will it open my MS Office docs" point. Star Office is fine until they open a doc with macros or other embedded bollocks and it runs into trouble.
Now I know they can convert them but people who use computers as a tool generally don't have the time or the inclination to click through 100 + docs correcting them and saving them from Star Office.
XML should simplify this but until then the killer judgement would be full disclosure of MS file formats. Once you've removed the neccessity for MS Office, Publisher etc to open the old docs I have a LOT of people who would dump MS like a shot and go fully Linux, Server and Desktop purely 'cos there pissed off with crashes, viruses and upgrading MS Office 'cos someone sent them a.doc in a new version format that their Office 97 can't open.
Come on judge, Open them file formats, level the playing field and let me make some bloody money for a change!
"Any policy that favours one thing over another isn't helpful," a Microsoft Europe spokeswoman told the Journal.
WHAT?
IS THIS MAN ON DRUGS OR WHAT!
Doesn't he realise who he works for! I mean bloody hell, his company has basically taken the entire UK government IT sector over (or soon will) and dreams of owning the Internet and lives of all those who use it.
Give us his name and e-mail please I wish to talk with this man to see what bloody planet he's from. Can't be this one.
Linux has a high profile among university IT depts., many academics and free thinking individuals who choose to be different from the crowd.
Historically, communist governments after the revolution, round up academics, intellectuals and free thinkers and shoot the lot - after all, you don't want anyone with a brain interrupting the bleating of those who are stupid enough to do everything their told.
Having suffered years of Microsoft I have only this to say to Comrade Ballmer:
BBBAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOCCCCCCCCCKKK KKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSSS
Slashdot Mirror
Hang on a minute.
One minute Supreme Court Judge oops, sorry - forgot she hadn't been paid yet, Judge Collar Cotelly comes out with her "Open Source is not a credible alternative to Microsoft" during her verdict and the next minute M$ are moaning that OSS is forcing them to push their prices down.
Surely this is indicative of the fact that either CKK didn't have a grasp of the facts of the case or other factors were at work during her writing up of the outcome.
Whatever, both scenarios surely show CKKs verdict to be flawed and any lawyers wanting to rack up another big bill should start packing their briefcases immeadiatly. And this time can we have someone who actually understands the terms monopoly and level playing field?
My lad installed SuSE 7.3 just after his 8th birthday. OK so he needed to be told what to put in network setup wizards but hell, he did it.
A note saying:
Dear Mr. President,
Don't listen to them, we can't risk the damage to the economy that would come from moving away from fossil fuels.
Over here in the UK we've been trying to sell Linux to "cash strapped" schools. The overwhelming impression from talking to ICT teachers is how little they seem to know about computers.
During the summer we had two work experience lads here who were, from the start, well up for it and were hammering out webpages on Bluefish, getting their heads around OpenOffice.org in no time and were just generally fascinated by the inner machinations of networks once you got behind the GUI (KDE which they had no problems with).
The teachers on the other hand seem to understand MS Office, Frontpage and a handful of other packages but bugger all else.
When we questioned the lads about their ICT lessons Word, Excel, Publisher and Frontpage seemed to be as far as they went and once bored shitless they entertained themselves by finding ways around the half arsed attempts that had been made at stopping them running "protected" programs and circumventing web filters.
Basically kids don't have a comfort zone and are keen to experiment and investigate while their adult charges are safe and secure in the knowledge that they know what they know and they don't need to know anything more.
I was thinking of becoming an ICT teacher but a) I can't be arsed with the paperwork and b) I enjoy learning more.
Mmmmmm.... sounds like planetry pool to me.
How about sorting out the Iraq thing, GWB vs Saddam.
Best of three gets the oil
I sell Linux servers and workstations and office IS the problem. The one company I have that switched to mainly Linux run OO.org over MySQL, use K-mail with GPG, and are happy as pigs in shit.
Why? Simple, In the year+ that the MD has been running Linux on his desktop he hasn't lost any time due to viruses. With Win98 he had SirCAM, KAK and Klez.h despite subscription updated Norton Anti Virus and lost 5 figure sums in terms of lost productivity.
In the 4 months since Linux was installed across all the office machines, not one has crashed to the point of needing a reboot. There have been one or two app freezes that were easily remedied with XKill but no reboots.
The amount they saved on software licences has enabled them to pay us to set the whole thing up with upgraded PCs and also leaves enough cash for us to kit their second office in Northern England out as well.
The guy is happy, I mean really happy but even with him backing us up and his extensive business contacts getting others to drop Windows and MS Office is soooooooooo bloody difficult you wouldn't believe it.
Office is like the worst kind of crack you'll find anywhere. Not only does it turn users into addicts but it makes them blind as well.
Anyway, to summarise. Small Office 1 server running Mandrake 8.2, 2 desktops with Mandrake 8.2, one desktop running Mandrake 9, one running Win98 (can't give up their accounts package) and a firewall / router running Linux.
If only there were more open minded business people in this country......
1 GW. Bush - "I won't do anything to hurt Americas economy"
2 Microsoft get slap on wrist agreement from DoJ
3 CKK verifies slap on wrist and tells M$ business as usual
This and other things, e.g. steel tariffs, extensive use of WTO to enforce trade agreements that benefit US (can't be arsed to list them, there's just too many) have led to a wide spread belief that the US is empire building.
Now empire building is normal, Britain did it (and was criticised for it by the US during the 20th century), France did it (NB III), Rome did it, Austro Hungary did it and Germany did it (39-45) but the difference between all these and the current US economic Empire is that all the others realised that if you build an empire you will piss more than a few people off and will have to expect some backlash.
Whether the backlash is deserved or not is irrelevant it just happens. So rather than sitting their whinging about "more US bashing" in the tone of a redneck Jerry Springer guest I'd start asking "What are my country and the corporations in it doing that is pissing these people off".
BTW, I've been to America, Nice place, nice people. Shame about the behaviour of the Multi-nationals though.
You seem to have misinterpreted the point of my comment.
.doc, .xls, .ppt etc. files just to switch office suites. They have better things to do with their time and I'm afraid that until OO.org has a 100% hit rate on file compatability they won't take the leap.
;)
Allow me to clarify:
1: I'm British (European in an off the mainland kinda way) and hence have no desire to allow any US based multinational to switch off my business's desktops if they want to flex their economic muscle.
2: It is my hope that the Germans and French (who both have Linux going into their Govt. services) will have the good sense to overcome the sycophantic, multi-national toadying habits of our beloved Prima Donna minister and come down on Microsoft with the full force required to stuff their monopoly where the sun don't shine.
If this is the case I am sure that my self employed life selling Linux systems and services will be eased when businesses discover they can have stable computers and can even open the old M$ docs they've built up over the years. I say this because MS Office file formats are the main block to my business making decent amounts of money.
How so? Few businesses are willing to accept having to port their existing
And finally, please, before correcting my spelling......... Goodbye has an 'e' on the end. Just like Dan Quale's potato
And theirs no buzzer on the weakest link, just that well known winker Anne Robinson.
After 3 years selling Linux, Open Office being able to open MS Office docs 100% would without a doubt cause many of my customers to dump MS and go Linux.
Reasons:
The one customer I have who has gone 100% Linux, server desktop and all rates it for:
1: Stability - No crashes in months
2: Lack of Viruses - No Viruses in over a year
3: Cost - They couldn't have afforded the network they have with MS licence fees
4: Flexibility - We can write them scripts to do pretty much anything they want.
5: Positive attitude of community to cries for help
Downsides:
1: Had to redo Publisher docs in OO.org Draw
2: Old MS Office docs come out mangled on OO.org if anything beyond text,tables and pics are used.
Messgae to the EU competition commision:
FORCE THE FILE FORMATS INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND THE MONOPOLY WILL BE BROKEN!!!!!!
This includes IE5/6 extensions.
Be positive, what a great opportunity for us Linuxers to make a few quid as self employed consultant / trainers.
Picture the scene,
GWB - We're introducing tariffs on all european products imported into the states!
EU - No your not, we'll do the same to you
"click" (sound of button being pressed to revoke the certificates of every bit of Fritz Chip managed M$ office software in Europe thus effectively switching European business into screwed mode)
EU....... Oh alright then.
Dammit,
Linux has to die on the desktop two days after we swapped the company next doors entire network to Linux, server & desktop included.
I 'spose they'll just have to go back to the expensive and insecure, DRM enforcing, virus prone junk they were trying to get away from when they called us in to do the switch.
It's a real shame really as they seemed to thimk that KDE on Mandrake 8.2 was really easy to use and Open Office did everything they need but they must have been wrong.
I'll tell them tomorrow (monday) morning and see what they say.
The estimate is that 90% of the desktops in the world run M$ therefore 10% are running Linux, BSD, MAC or whatever.
When you find an IE only site bookmark it find a non IE only companies site. purchase whatever you want from them and then mail the IE only webmaster and point out that they lost xx.xx pounds, dollars, euros etc. due to their non standards compliant site. If you can get the CEO's address mail him as well.
Spread the word and when CEOs see how much the 10% of non IE browser users are spending with their competitors they may wake up.
As usual though it all depends on a determined effort. Bit like Open Source.
The "Article" bears more resemblance to an M$ press release than a serious act of journalism.
Anyone know the background to the hack who wrote it?
I've been selling Linux for nearly 3 years and while servers are simple 'cos of Samba the conversation ALWAYS halts at the "will it open my MS Office docs" point. Star Office is fine until they open a doc with macros or other embedded bollocks and it runs into trouble.
.doc in a new version format that their Office 97 can't open.
Now I know they can convert them but people who use computers as a tool generally don't have the time or the inclination to click through 100 + docs correcting them and saving them from Star Office.
XML should simplify this but until then the killer judgement would be full disclosure of MS file formats. Once you've removed the neccessity for MS Office, Publisher etc to open the old docs I have a LOT of people who would dump MS like a shot and go fully Linux, Server and Desktop purely 'cos there pissed off with crashes, viruses and upgrading MS Office 'cos someone sent them a
Come on judge, Open them file formats, level the playing field and let me make some bloody money for a change!
"Any policy that favours one thing over another isn't helpful," a Microsoft Europe spokeswoman told the Journal.
WHAT?
IS THIS MAN ON DRUGS OR WHAT!
Doesn't he realise who he works for! I mean bloody hell, his company has basically taken the entire UK government IT sector over (or soon will) and dreams of owning the Internet and lives of all those who use it.
Give us his name and e-mail please I wish to talk with this man to see what bloody planet he's from. Can't be this one.
Linux has a high profile among university IT depts., many academics and free thinking individuals who choose to be different from the crowd. Historically, communist governments after the revolution, round up academics, intellectuals and free thinkers and shoot the lot - after all, you don't want anyone with a brain interrupting the bleating of those who are stupid enough to do everything their told. Having suffered years of Microsoft I have only this to say to Comrade Ballmer: BBBAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOCCCCCCCCCKKK KKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSSS