> "The article really has it wrong. Falling HW prices make paying the "MS tax" more palatable."
The article has it right. Microsoft got their start playing Monopoly by selling a $50 DOS package for $2000 - $6000 computers. Just the retail sales taxes were more than DOS.
Then the price of computers started to fall... not much, because the hardware requirements went up, for running Windows. Still, $1500 - $3000 for a decent computer, and $100 for an OS - the sales taxes were still more of a consideration than the price of the OS.
Now they have a problem - the cost of the OS is more than any single other component in most systems... so you can either continue to buy Microsoft, or you can get double your money's worth buying naked boxes and slapping linux on them.
For most people, that naked box does everything they need. The money they save can buy a Wii, and STILL come out ahead.
Now if you also add the cost of Microsoft Office, the equation is even worse...
No wonder Balmer throws chairs - his competition is Economics 101.
>:Hey, I can put Windows on a machine, and watch a movie after it is installed. Can't do that with Linux, now, can you?
Sure you can... as long as you don't live in the USA, or (if you do) you know which repositories to add...
> : As a developer, I have a choice of APIs for sound on Windows, and amazingly, they all work.
You also have a choice of.doc formats for Windows, also. Word for Windows 2.0, Word 6, Word 97, Word 2000, Word whatever_the_flavor_of_the_day... but nothing open to sharing with others using other OSes or hardware...
Back on topic - let IBM patent this - its not like the patent will hold up except in the US, so watch how quickly everyone else uses it...
It's time to start rewarding whistle-blowers, or at least giving them *SOME* legal protection. Yes, it may be abused, but firing someone for a good-faith reporting of something that is either illegal, morally indefensible, or a danger to people's physical or financial well-being, is also abuse. What ever happened to the idea of "checks and balances?" Or is it now "whoever can write the biggest check, wins in the balance."
Of course, since this is Paris, Texas, we can next expect to read that one or both sides beat a hasty retreat:-)
I am against the Mono project, and always have been. Its stupid to implement YANCPoSfM (Yet Another Crappy Piece of Software From Microsoft). We don't have to play catch-up to Microsoft, when we should be leading with our strengths.
I'm not worried for Red Hat. Linux needs more than one major distro - we've seen what happens when one company has a virtual monopoly. Products stagnate.
Microsoft may have an agenda, but that agenda is impossible to realize. They can no more control and kill of open source than King Kanute could hold back the tide by ordering it. Nothing can stop an idea who's time has come, especially when that idea has a lot of support internationally.
> "Then why did Balmer verbally threaten all other Linux distros?"
Because that's all he could do. When asked to name even ONE patent, he couldn't. Sort of like their now-dead sock puppet SCO.
Didn't work then, doesn't work now. Microsoft is the new BSD - its dying. But like a dinosaur, its going to take a long time for the message to get to the head. The rot is well in place, though.
I'm an *cough* old *cough* slackware fan myself, but like most of us, I've made the rounds. Slackware, Caldera (before they were evil), Corel, Mandrake, RedHat, and now Suse. As far as I'm concerned, whatever floats an individual's boat...
When I have some spare time (and when Seagate takes their heads out of their collective rear ends and agrees to replace the two brand new drives that failed so I can set up my RAID1), I'll probably try out my complimentary copy of Solaris on a spare drive. Its always good to try alternatives.
I'm not worried about tivoization - as long as the source is available, I'm happy. If enough people get fed up with drm and other restrictions, they'll do something about it. Until then, if they don't want to squawk, or vote with their dollars and time, they get what they deserve, because ultimately, drm is a political, not technical, problem. Just my 2 cents.
This was a cross-licensing deal that had NOTHING to do with any patents in linux. Read the bottom - its about Mono (which has nothing to do with linux) and virtualization technologies:
Q. By making it easy to run Windows virtualized on Linux, isn't Novell undercutting its own Mono project, which shares a similar goal?
Mono provides developers a way to run applications designed using Microsoft.NET technologies to run on Linux and other platforms. Its main focus is the Linux desktop, where Mono has been leveraged to build a series of new services, including search, music playback, and more. Virtualization focuses on maximizing the value of server hardware by running multiple operating systems. It is used for server consolidation, workload balancing and other corporate needs. So while both approaches are designed to give customers flexibility in their IT systems, their focuses are quite different.
Q. What does the patent agreement cover with regard to Mono and OpenOffice?
Under the patent agreement, customers will receive coverage for Mono, Samba, and OpenOffice.org as well as.NET and Windows Server. All of these technologies will be improved upon during the five years of the agreement and there are some limits on the coverage that would be provided for future technologies added to these offerings. The collaboration framework we have put in place allows us to work on complex subjects such as this where intellectual property and innovation are important parts of the conversation.
Now lets see... is MONO part of the linux kernel? Nope. Is Samba part of the linux kernel? Nope. Is OpenOffice part of the linux kernel? Nope. Is.NET part of the linux kernel? Nope. Is Windows Server part of the linux kernel? Nope. And those last two are what Microsoft is paying Novell for (which is why the net flow of money is from Microsoft to Novell, and not vice verse. Microsoft uses a LOT of Novell's IP).
So, there is not a SINGLE part of the agreement that has anything to do with linux, and most of it is money from Microsoft for Novell IP in Windows Server and.NET.
Not a single Microsoft patent in linux, and the agreement doesn't say otherwise. The only one saying so is Balmer, and the "useful fools" who believe what he says; show ONE Microsoft patent in linux. Microsoft has had a year to do it. They can't. Neither can you; the deal was not for "patent coverage for linux."
Novell's seen ther linux income grow to $250 million the last quarter, and that includes $100 million of licensing directly from the MS deal.
As you point out, they're spending countless millions in the SCO case, and it looks like "the money's all gone" in the $25 - $30 million they owe SCO. They also put out a decent linux (hey, it configures all 3 video cards in my box first time around, I'm impressed) and they contribute heavily to linux development.
Then I look at the people slagging them - they all have agendas. FSF wrt the GPLv3, (esp. when actual cases prove that the GPLv2 isn't broken), and the buy-in to MS fud from the community at large. Its a wonder they don't just pull an Apple and say "with friends like this, f*** it - lets grab a copy of BSD and put our efforts into that instead."
Its the same with SUN - "SUN is eviiil" - even though we really like the free stuff like OpenOffice (Sun paid $50 million for StarOffice, then released the code) and Java.
> "Novell effectively admitted fault that the entire Linux community had infringed on patents, and if you hadn't signed a deal, you could be in trouble. I'd argue that severely hurt Linux and the F/OSS community."
Quit the bullshit - they publicly repudiated the patent crap Microsoft was saying immediately after the Balminator said it.
What REALLY hurts the Linux and F/OSS community is people who continue to spread the lies - look in a mirror.
Its the same with everyone who is in such a rush to push the GPLv3, when GPLv2 isn't broken.
No, I don't have any connection to Novell, except that I've been using openSuse for a while, and like it a hell of a lot better than Ubuntu. Dumbing down linux the way Ubuntu does it is... well, dumb.
412. Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for infringement
In any action under this title, other than an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A (a), an action for infringement of the copyright of a work that has been preregistered under section 408 (f) before the commencement of the infringement and that has an effective date of registration not later than the earlier of 3 months after the first publication of the work or 1 month after the copyright owner has learned of the infringement, or an action instituted under section 411 (b), no award of statutory damages or of attorney's fees, as provided by sections 504 and 505, shall be made for--
(1) any infringement of copyright in an unpublished work commenced before the effective date of its registration; or
(2) any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration, unless such registration is made within three months after the first publication of the work.
So, unless it was first published less than 3 months ago and they now go running to the copyright office to register, or they originally registered it within 3 months of publishing, they can forget statutory damages...
My bet is they never registered the copyright within the deadlines.
I don't think you can get statutory damages unless you previously registered the copyright; if you didn't. you can only get proven damages. In this case, $0.00.
And what's so wrong about bringing someone into compliance publicly? It helps deter others.
What peeves me is that when you go to save something, click "New folder" and type in a directory name, you lose the file name in the file save dialog. Same stupid crap as happens in firefox under linux. The only thing that keeps me on firefox rather than switching everything to opera is firebug (and a bunch of bookmarks I'm too lazy/busy to clean up before I transfer them).
And there are about a million devices worldwide that use java - from cell phones to computers to whatever
... and C# is used where....? Windows boxes.
And no, mono doesn't count. It sucks (but then again, so does C3).
So, to put it back into the context - the CRIA wanted a guaranteed revenue stream by taxing blank CDs... it no longer works in their favour, so they want to change the rules of the game. Sounds a LOT like Microsoft. The only thing left is for them to start throwing chairs, and secretly funding other groups to sue people a la SCO.
That's because they originally asked for the tax when you could only fit 10 - 15 songs on a cd, cd burners cost $700, and blank media were $35 a piece.
Now you can fit hundreds of mp3s on a cd, cd burners cost less than $20, and blank media are... gee, at less than half a buck a piece, they're mostly tax nowadays... dvd blanks, at 20 cents a piece, are now half the price of cd blanks.
"You think it is a good idea for children to risk missing out on some of their education when they are kicked out of school just because you disagree with a policy (which does have valid reasons)? Clearly you are quite dense if you believe this."
Nobody can "require" that you use only their system. Just like your boss at work can't require that you use only their internet access.
You'd probably also agree to school-issue music players that don't allow "subversive" song content (Feel like banning that old Woodstock album? Weird Al? Everything popular since 1930? Make everyone listen to Pat Boone or the Moron Tabernacle Choir?)
o Canada was the only G7 country in surplus in 2006, according to OECD estimates.
o The OECD projects that Canada will be the only G7 country to record a surplus in both 2007 and 2008.
o Canada's total government net debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio, which has been the lowest in the G7 since 2004, is estimated at 27.6 per cent for 2006. The OECD expects Canada's debt burden to continue to decline in future years.
o Canada is on track to eliminate its net debt by 2021. By doing so, Canada will be able to count itself among the very few OECD countries that are in a net asset position.
This annex also compares the fiscal situation of the federal governments in Canada and the United States:
o In 2005-06, the Canadian federal government posted a surplus of C$13.2 billion or 1.0 per cent of GDP, while the U.S. federal government incurred an on-budget deficit of US$434 billion or 3.3 per cent of GDP.
o For 2006-07, the Canadian federal government is forecasting a surplus of C$9.2 billion or 0.6 per cent of GDP, while the U.S. government is projecting an on-budget deficit of US$427 billion or 3.1 per cent of GDP.
o The federal market debt-to-GDP ratio in Canada has been below the U.S. figure since 2003-04, with the gap expected to widen further in 2006-07.
27.6%, not 64.5%.
That's what running surpluses for 10 years does.
And unlike the US, which doesn't include the debts owed to Social Security, etc., this includes the Canada and Quebec pension plans, and universal medicaire.
We'll be net asset positive in 2021 - 15 years. (In other words, the government will have more cash on hand than debt). Same as Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.
Sanctions had Saddam contained. 10 years, it worked, and eventually, he would have died or been offed, or Iran would have invaded, and that would have been the end of that. One of the reasons the US acted was because they didn't want Iran to become a regional superpower.
FFS, read what the original post was about. It was some jerk-off saying that nobody should comment on Bush's leadership if they weren't American citizens.
Nobody asked you to go to Iraq - quite the contrary, world opinion was that sanctions and inspections were working. Iraqis want you out - NOW. And forget about Iran... you haven't got the money to go to war - the US is broke, and the countries that hold half your debt (China, Japan) are slowly selling it off because your dollar is going down the tubes.
Current statutory debt limit: 8.965 trillion. Current debt: 9,009,410,075,859.67. Source - the treasury department : http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?applicat ion=np The US government has been "more than broke" since August 13th. Then again,. its been morally bankrupt since before it first took office.
We're not mad at the American people - its not like people actually voted Bush into office....
Is http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/ this worth it? These soldiers died because you have a criminal for a commander-in-chief. They deserved better leadership.
I wouldn't know if they still do anywhere, but when I make a decision to boycott something, I stick with it. I don't think I'm missing out on anything (except maybe a heart attack) by boycotting McDonalds.
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> "The article really has it wrong. Falling HW prices make paying the "MS tax" more palatable."
The article has it right. Microsoft got their start playing Monopoly by selling a $50 DOS package for $2000 - $6000 computers. Just the retail sales taxes were more than DOS.
Then the price of computers started to fall ... not much, because the hardware requirements went up, for running Windows. Still, $1500 - $3000 for a decent computer, and $100 for an OS - the sales taxes were still more of a consideration than the price of the OS.
Now they have a problem - the cost of the OS is more than any single other component in most systems ... so you can either continue to buy Microsoft, or you can get double your money's worth buying naked boxes and slapping linux on them.
For most people, that naked box does everything they need. The money they save can buy a Wii, and STILL come out ahead.
Now if you also add the cost of Microsoft Office, the equation is even worse ...
No wonder Balmer throws chairs - his competition is Economics 101.
> :Hey, I can put Windows on a machine, and watch a movie after it is installed. Can't do that with Linux, now, can you?
Sure you can ... as long as you don't live in the USA, or (if you do) you know which repositories to add ...
> : As a developer, I have a choice of APIs for sound on Windows, and amazingly, they all work.
You also have a choice of .doc formats for Windows, also. Word for Windows 2.0, Word 6, Word 97, Word 2000, Word whatever_the_flavor_of_the_day ... but nothing open to sharing with others using other OSes or hardware ...
Back on topic - let IBM patent this - its not like the patent will hold up except in the US, so watch how quickly everyone else uses it ...
It's time to start rewarding whistle-blowers, or at least giving them *SOME* legal protection. Yes, it may be abused, but firing someone for a good-faith reporting of something that is either illegal, morally indefensible, or a danger to people's physical or financial well-being, is also abuse. What ever happened to the idea of "checks and balances?" Or is it now "whoever can write the biggest check, wins in the balance."
Of course, since this is Paris, Texas, we can next expect to read that one or both sides beat a hasty retreat :-)
I am against the Mono project, and always have been. Its stupid to implement YANCPoSfM (Yet Another Crappy Piece of Software From Microsoft). We don't have to play catch-up to Microsoft, when we should be leading with our strengths.
I'm not worried for Red Hat. Linux needs more than one major distro - we've seen what happens when one company has a virtual monopoly. Products stagnate.
Microsoft may have an agenda, but that agenda is impossible to realize. They can no more control and kill of open source than King Kanute could hold back the tide by ordering it. Nothing can stop an idea who's time has come, especially when that idea has a lot of support internationally.
> "Then why did Balmer verbally threaten all other Linux distros?"
Because that's all he could do. When asked to name even ONE patent, he couldn't. Sort of like their now-dead sock puppet SCO.
Didn't work then, doesn't work now. Microsoft is the new BSD - its dying. But like a dinosaur, its going to take a long time for the message to get to the head. The rot is well in place, though.
I'm an *cough* old *cough* slackware fan myself, but like most of us, I've made the rounds. Slackware, Caldera (before they were evil), Corel, Mandrake, RedHat, and now Suse. As far as I'm concerned, whatever floats an individual's boat ...
When I have some spare time (and when Seagate takes their heads out of their collective rear ends and agrees to replace the two brand new drives that failed so I can set up my RAID1), I'll probably try out my complimentary copy of Solaris on a spare drive. Its always good to try alternatives.
I'm not worried about tivoization - as long as the source is available, I'm happy. If enough people get fed up with drm and other restrictions, they'll do something about it. Until then, if they don't want to squawk, or vote with their dollars and time, they get what they deserve, because ultimately, drm is a political, not technical, problem. Just my 2 cents.
This was a cross-licensing deal that had NOTHING to do with any patents in linux. Read the bottom - its about Mono (which has nothing to do with linux) and virtualization technologies:
Now lets see ... is MONO part of the linux kernel? Nope. Is Samba part of the linux kernel? Nope. Is OpenOffice part of the linux kernel? Nope. Is .NET part of the linux kernel? Nope. Is Windows Server part of the linux kernel? Nope. And those last two are what Microsoft is paying Novell for (which is why the net flow of money is from Microsoft to Novell, and not vice verse. Microsoft uses a LOT of Novell's IP).
So, there is not a SINGLE part of the agreement that has anything to do with linux, and most of it is money from Microsoft for Novell IP in Windows Server and .NET.
Not a single Microsoft patent in linux, and the agreement doesn't say otherwise. The only one saying so is Balmer, and the "useful fools" who believe what he says; show ONE Microsoft patent in linux. Microsoft has had a year to do it. They can't. Neither can you; the deal was not for "patent coverage for linux."
Grow the fuck up. They did NOT pay for any patents in linux. Name ONE patent. Just ONE. Oh, you can't. Neither can Microsoft. So stop with the FUD.
Microsoft can say anything they want - doesn't make it true. Microsoft lies. All the time.
Just grow the fuck up, okay? Stop believing that Microsoft tells the truth. Your naivety is sickening.
oops - typo - they're owed by SCO ... $25 million, plus interest ...
Novell's seen ther linux income grow to $250 million the last quarter, and that includes $100 million of licensing directly from the MS deal.
As you point out, they're spending countless millions in the SCO case, and it looks like "the money's all gone" in the $25 - $30 million they owe SCO. They also put out a decent linux (hey, it configures all 3 video cards in my box first time around, I'm impressed) and they contribute heavily to linux development.
Then I look at the people slagging them - they all have agendas. FSF wrt the GPLv3, (esp. when actual cases prove that the GPLv2 isn't broken), and the buy-in to MS fud from the community at large. Its a wonder they don't just pull an Apple and say "with friends like this, f*** it - lets grab a copy of BSD and put our efforts into that instead."
Its the same with SUN - "SUN is eviiil" - even though we really like the free stuff like OpenOffice (Sun paid $50 million for StarOffice, then released the code) and Java.
> "Novell effectively admitted fault that the entire Linux community had infringed on patents, and if you hadn't signed a deal, you could be in trouble. I'd argue that severely hurt Linux and the F/OSS community."
Quit the bullshit - they publicly repudiated the patent crap Microsoft was saying immediately after the Balminator said it.
What REALLY hurts the Linux and F/OSS community is people who continue to spread the lies - look in a mirror.
Its the same with everyone who is in such a rush to push the GPLv3, when GPLv2 isn't broken.
No, I don't have any connection to Novell, except that I've been using openSuse for a while, and like it a hell of a lot better than Ubuntu. Dumbing down linux the way Ubuntu does it is ... well, dumb.
Thanks for reminding me - we're out of vodka and rum at the office. Can you pick some up on the way in? And maybe some ice?
>"Might explain all the buggy sotware, which I always attributed to too much coffee..."
Well, one way to reduce the bug count is to fire the 51% who AREN'T sleeping on the job - they're obviously the ones writing the buggy code!
>"Like many others, I have mastered the fine art of sleeping with my eyes open during management meetings."
Now you know why you're always the loser at bullshit bingo and have to buy the donuts.
I checked, and my memory is correct - there is NO award of statutory damages if copyright isn't registered.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000412----000-.html
So, unless it was first published less than 3 months ago and they now go running to the copyright office to register, or they originally registered it within 3 months of publishing, they can forget statutory damages ...
My bet is they never registered the copyright within the deadlines.
I don't think you can get statutory damages unless you previously registered the copyright; if you didn't. you can only get proven damages. In this case, $0.00.
And what's so wrong about bringing someone into compliance publicly? It helps deter others.
What peeves me is that when you go to save something, click "New folder" and type in a directory name, you lose the file name in the file save dialog. Same stupid crap as happens in firefox under linux. The only thing that keeps me on firefox rather than switching everything to opera is firebug (and a bunch of bookmarks I'm too lazy/busy to clean up before I transfer them).
And there are about a million devices worldwide that use java - from cell phones to computers to whatever
And no, mono doesn't count. It sucks (but then again, so does C3).
So, to put it back into the context - the CRIA wanted a guaranteed revenue stream by taxing blank CDs ... it no longer works in their favour, so they want to change the rules of the game. Sounds a LOT like Microsoft. The only thing left is for them to start throwing chairs, and secretly funding other groups to sue people a la SCO.
That's because they originally asked for the tax when you could only fit 10 - 15 songs on a cd, cd burners cost $700, and blank media were $35 a piece.
Now you can fit hundreds of mp3s on a cd, cd burners cost less than $20, and blank media are ... gee, at less than half a buck a piece, they're mostly tax nowadays ... dvd blanks, at 20 cents a piece, are now half the price of cd blanks.
The person who was defrauded doesn't live in the US. No local EFF-BEE-EYE office.
"You think it is a good idea for children to risk missing out on some of their education when they are kicked out of school just because you disagree with a policy (which does have valid reasons)? Clearly you are quite dense if you believe this."
Nobody can "require" that you use only their system. Just like your boss at work can't require that you use only their internet access.
You'd probably also agree to school-issue music players that don't allow "subversive" song content (Feel like banning that old Woodstock album? Weird Al? Everything popular since 1930? Make everyone listen to Pat Boone or the Moron Tabernacle Choir?)
"My first computer was in a Cornflakes box, you insensitive clod!"
My first computer was a Cornflakes box, you insensitive clod!
Your figures for Canada's debt ratio are really out of date. http://www.budget.gc.ca/2007/bp/bpa2e.html
27.6%, not 64.5%.
That's what running surpluses for 10 years does.
And unlike the US, which doesn't include the debts owed to Social Security, etc., this includes the Canada and Quebec pension plans, and universal medicaire.
We'll be net asset positive in 2021 - 15 years. (In other words, the government will have more cash on hand than debt). Same as Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.
Sanctions had Saddam contained. 10 years, it worked, and eventually, he would have died or been offed, or Iran would have invaded, and that would have been the end of that. One of the reasons the US acted was because they didn't want Iran to become a regional superpower.
FFS, read what the original post was about. It was some jerk-off saying that nobody should comment on Bush's leadership if they weren't American citizens.
Also, the US did NOT have a mandate from the UN. Quite the contrary.So go f*ck yourself back. Oh, sorry, you already did. fortunately, China and Japan won't fund your Iran ambitions ... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&si d=aNgW4Fu_8.tI&refer=home
Nobody asked you to go to Iraq - quite the contrary, world opinion was that sanctions and inspections were working. Iraqis want you out - NOW. And forget about Iran ... you haven't got the money to go to war - the US is broke, and the countries that hold half your debt (China, Japan) are slowly selling it off because your dollar is going down the tubes.
Current statutory debt limit: 8.965 trillion. Current debt: 9,009,410,075,859.67. Source - the treasury department : http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?applicat ion=np The US government has been "more than broke" since August 13th. Then again,. its been morally bankrupt since before it first took office.
We're not mad at the American people - its not like people actually voted Bush into office ....
Is http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/ this worth it? These soldiers died because you have a criminal for a commander-in-chief. They deserved better leadership.
I wouldn't know if they still do anywhere, but when I make a decision to boycott something, I stick with it. I don't think I'm missing out on anything (except maybe a heart attack) by boycotting McDonalds.