Mmmm.... that's interesting. After reading your post, it occurred to me that Windows is the mp3 of the OS world. Sure mp3's do not have the same audio quality as SACD's, DVD-A's and CD's, but they're convenient. Windows is not as fast, robust or easy to use (for advanced users), but it's preinstalled and supports most mainstream hardware.
So perhaps the Linux camp needs to look inside themselves at why they use mp3 or Ogg Vorbis instead of CD's or the even higher quality SACD's and DVD-A's. The insight gained may help understand why the average user is using Windows, as opposed to any of the superior alternatives.
Hmmm.... tpc.org is an interesting organization. It is a non-profit who is funded by memberships from the hardware/software companies on which it produces benchmarks.
According to their website, "Full Members of the TPC participate in all aspects of the TPC's work, including development of benchmark standards and setting strategic direction. Full Membership costs $15,000 per calendar year."
Wow, a large percentage of the benchmarks are using MS operating systems. Oh look full members get to set benchmark standards. Mmmm, the only pure OS company who is a full member is Microsoft. I wonder what kind of conclusion can be drawn.......
Does it strike you as ironic that this kind of control by the corporations is being instituted by people who grew up in the 60's?
You remember, the era in which all corporations were evil and all we needed in the world was peace and love. Looks like the kids grew up and decided that copyrights on peace and love were a whole lot better than the real thing.
Okay I just had another vision -- man, perhaps I really do need more fiber in my diet. Whatever.
Anyway, imagine the power of controlling a media center pc. All kinds of information flowing through that one device would just be too tempting to attack and manipulate. Imagine rewriting email messages, rewording web pages or even altering news broadcasts to be more favorable to your corporation. How many people get most (if not all) of their news from the internet and tv? Talk about a serious chokepoint to control information dispersal.
A new Outlook virus is running rampant and now, in addition to infecting your computer and propagating itself through your email, it deletes all references to itself from both your email and any news programs you might be watching -- even the live ones!
Essentially the humans would have to go back to voice communication to know what was going on.
In the future, slashdotters will stop posting comments altogether. Everyone will be reposting the article text in a effort to get people to read the article that they didn't, but reposted.
Wow, so what you're saying is that some of these viruses are actually helping Microsoft's bottom line by causing people to go out and buy new machines loaded with the latest Windows OS.
Amazing, isn't it? I mean no wonder Microsoft isn't serious about fixing security holes. Oh wait a sec... you mentioned this only affected Win98 machines. Mmmm.... now who would have an incentive to kill Win98 machines.... who indeed???
I know the point you're trying to make, but there are some subtle differences here that make me feel different than you.
First off in the case of an app I would have much more information. I might have ascii or xml based configuration files and I would know that the app fell into a certain space (ie. webserver, UML design tool, screensaver, etc.). These two pieces of information alone might allow me to at least install and play with the app with minimal investment just to see if I wanted to go further.
So I still get the app for free -- it's just a question of paying for ancillary information (documentation, support, etc.) that will help me use the app more effectively.
In the scenario you propose, you're not giving me the app (information) for free. You're trying to charge me for it -- of course, I'm not interested in it because you're trying to sell me the answer to a question I never asked.
In the case of the app that has little to no free documentation, yes, very few people will try it out. The main ones interested will be the ones who asked the question, what apps out there exist in space x?
Yeah but if this hits the average home user who is clueless, will they:
a) Figure out Opaserv hit them b) Figure Windows went bad again and simply try to reinstall the OS c) Figure their hard drive pooped out and buy a new machine d) Profit!!!
You'd think that virus writers would get pissed off that Microsoft keeps getting credit for all the messed up machines. I mean what does a self respecting cracker need to do nowadays.... provide an EULA so the user clearly sees who owned them?
Well let's see, I can try to figure it out, pay you $100 or simply move on without ever knowing it. Since life is short and there are so many things vying for my time, I think I'll move on.
You can purchase a clue from your friendly Barnes&Noble or Amazon. Start with "Grokking the Gimp" and then move on to more advanced books.
I agree with the other posters - free and open source software reward the intellectual elite. Those who can't figure things out on their own or read source code can easily pay for documentation and support. As a last resort they can use one of the operating systems with training wheels that BillG provides.
Now I couldn't figure out how to use the Gimp, myself. So I went ahead and bought the Grokking book. Do I feel shafted, hell no! I got a kickass program for free, I spent a little bit of money on this book and now I need to spend my time learning how to take advantage of this program. Of course, if this bothered me I could easily pay through the nose for the commercial tools -- but hey, those are the tradeoffs in life.
After slogging 60+ hour work weeks for 10+ years and still not a millionaire, I've learned my lesson.
If I had to do it all over again I would have joined a monopoly. No I'm not talking about Microsoft. I would have been a premed major and let the AMA monopoly stamp me into a money making doctor machine.
Outlook is an application that must balance features likes scripting (which help sell the app) and security (which helps protect the user from viruses). Now Microsoft specifically chose to let the default Outlook support unsafe scripting so it appeared that it had a lot of capability -- this is also the most insecure setting as people are finding out.
Microsoft could have chosen to have scripting off by default and informed the user that they could turn scripting on, but that it might be a security risk. But hey, why burden the user with facts and information when you can divert the blame to someone else.
It worked on you, didn't it?
Oh and by the way, if your house has an insecure access door that is available to thieves will you: a) blame the thieves b) blame the architect c) blame your builder. The question is did you have a expectation that the product you purchased (house or OS) was defaulted to a reasonably secure setting?
Dr. Love thinks that a relationship between bill gates and osama bin laden has a very good chance of being successful
In fact he gives it an 89% chance.
Makes a lot of sense to me. They're both doing their part to kill corporate America. Bin Laden with bombs and Bill G with his monopoly. One has to wonder who is winning between them.
The business model was once good, but times, technology and people's expectations have changed. Now the business model is shit.... let me explain.
First, manufacturing costs have been rapidly dropping. Has that translated into lower prices for end consumers? No. Has that translated into more royalties for the artists? No. So the raw materials suppliers (artists) and retail consumers (you and me) are both wondering where the money is going.
Second, new technologies have opened the door for cheaper distribution methods. The industry has made a step in this direction, but early reviews indicate it is not very sincere. The consumers are clamoring for using computers and networks for music distribution, but the industry doesn't really want to lose their control. Instead of the industry joining with consumers and better integrating music into people's psyche, they are taking an antagonistic view.
Third, new technologies are allowing consumers to integrate music into more parts of their life. Today one can easily listen to their favorite music from the moment they wake up, through their shower, drive to work, etc, until they go to sleep. Has the industry participated in this revolution? No. They have instead been figuring out ways to kill it. Again they are fighting to keep their customers from listening to music on their mp3 players, computers, etc.
Fourth, the marketing plans were born of an era when ideas could be pushed to consumers through a small number of controlled outlets (radio and tv stations). With the internet, consumers can easily talk amongst themselves about what is good and what isn't. It shocks me that the industry is not jumping on the internet and providing a service to match people with artists/songs based on their current listening preferences. Up until now they focused their marketing on a few groups (so as not to confuse the consumers). However with the internet, they can market many more groups to many more customers and in the process increase the amount of music that people listen to.
It's unbelievable. Consumers want to listen to music -- but the record industry doesn't seem interested in actually supplying them with the product they want. On the other side, their raw material suppliers (artists) are actively trying ways to circumvent the media giants and RIAA so they can feel their work is not being taken advantage of.
In any business when you've got both your customers and suppliers by the balls -- you should be commended for your business acumen. But you should also know that your situation is unique and it is only a matter of time before these people come back and break your balls.
The business model is shit because it is adverserial. Work with suppliers, customers and technology to create a win/win for everyone and then I'll say they have a good business model.
I haven't purchased a CD in probably 2 years. Haven't gone to see a movie in the theater in probably 8 months or so. My boycott is part ideological and part because I don't want to pay good money for their shit products.
The only problem is that the RIAA (and soon the MPAA) are attributing their reduced revenues to piracy. After all, that's so much easier for their egos to handle than admitting they have a fucked up business model and are not responsive to their customers.
How about John Carmack? After all, he just implemented everything he learned about bsp's and fps's from his college classes. Oh wait he couldn't have because he dropped out of college. I guess all his peers who stayed in college must have made much bigger contributions to the software gaming industry since they kept learning in school.
How about Srinivas Ramanujan? Self taught and dirt poor, he made substantial mathematical contributions.
All of these guys transcended their environments to achieve greatness even before the advent of/. Just think what the clones will achieve!
Let's say you're trying to improve the work of a painter. Give him a better brush, his strokes look nicer. Give him better paint, his colors look brighter. Give him a CAD system with a robotic painting arm, his paintings look crisper. However, nothing you've done can change the fact that he's still doing velvet Elvis's. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but he isn't churning out a Mona Lisa anytime soon, or ever. You haven't been able to affect the input to the process - his brain. You know the adage, garbage in, garbage out. Well that is the fundamental rule in software.
The big improvement in software productivity will come when we are able to successfully clone human beings. Corporations will create a stable of uber-programmers who they will then clone to be able to mass produce software. In the future, the open source war will be about peoples' genes, the software will be just a downstream product.
Today teams, you're going to have to build an artery clearing, laser cutting, heart pumping cardiac surgery robot!!!
Each team will do three surgeries tomorrow in a head to head competition. The team who spills the least amount of blood and has the most living patients at the end, wins!!!
Okay teams, you have 10 hours to complete your robots. Get ready, set..... go !!!!
Yo Grark ranted... Committee Meeting, Day 1 9:00am
MS: OpenSource Bad OS: Microsoft Bad Japan: Why?
MS&OS: Shit good question.
Committee Meeting, Day 1 6:00pm
OS: If you look to page 3, you'll now see the pie chart showing server breakin percentages. It shows you that running an OS server will mean you have only 10% of the risk of being broken into versus running a MS server product. MS: You know, it's getting kinda late. It's a tough question which one is better, why don't we discuss it further over dinner and drinks... we'll pay, of course.
Committee Meeting, Day 2 9:00am
OS: On page 5 we show a breakdown of virus propagation by operating system. Note how almost all viruses known to man are propagated by MS products. MS: Excuse me, after that hard night of booze and broads, I thought everyone might be hungry so I arranged to have some breakfast catered to our session. Why don't we pick up again after we eat?
Committee Meeting, Day 3 9:00am
OS: Now on page 9 we can compare the cost savings of using free and open source products over proprietary ones. MS: Can I interrupt just a second, I've got an announcement to make. It's come to our attention that Japan is routinely devastated by attacks from Godzilla. Because he's a concerned philanthropist, Bill Gates has decided to donate $100million dollars to Japan towards rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of these tragedies.
Committee Meeting, Day 4 9:00am
OS: On pages 18-26, you'll find a list of technical features that were created by open source products. On pages 27-39 you'll see how Microsoft included those features into their own products and then claimed how innovative their products are. MS: Japan, I see that times are kind of tough right now so I've gone out on a limb and asked Bill if we can get you a deal on our software. We're going to be able to sell you Windows at $100 a license, that's below our cost to make it, but you can have it if you sign a 5 year maintenance agreement. I'd hate for you to miss out on this offer, because otherwise you'll have to pay the higher prices later. By the way, what's the address of your political committee? I want to make sure to contribute to your reelection campaign.
..... Post commission decision....
MS: We're happy to report that the Japanese government found our products to be more innovative, secure and cheaper than open source software. This head to head competition was brutal, but we think the better software won out in the end.
I was like all for the freedom thing, but then someone told me that it wasn't free and that the price was something outrageous like eternal vigilance or something. That's crazy! I mean who needs that when I can watch 'Friends' for free and 'Legally Blonde' at Blockbuster for $4?!?
C'mon, the founding fathers should have thought their marketing plan through a little bit better. Instead of having you pay this big long term fee, they should have made it more a la carte. For example, give the base freedom of the right to breath away for free. Then every month you would get the chance to get an additional freedom by paying a small fee. People would pay extra for the right to speak, the right to pursue happiness, etc, etc. It's quite different than what most are used to, but remember they only pay for what they use and they can the stop the program at any time. And if they act during one of the infomercials, they can get the right to read the freedom EULA free, just for being a loyal customer. How great is that!
be-fan mumbled... It's just that the US is self-sufficient in most things (food, etc) so we have a lot to sell, but not a whole lot to buy.
I guess the fact that we don't have a lot to buy is why we consistently have a trade deficit? Bzzzt. Thanks for playing. Johnny can you tell our contestant about our consolation prize...
Hamstaus blabbed...when I first got into Linux, I took a default install of Red Hat and threw it on there. I had read all sorts of advice that if I wanted a secure server, I should use *nix, so I did. Yeah... rooted. Rebuilt the box, using a way newer distro... rooted.
Simply because you are unable to secure a box does not mean the underlying operating system you are using is any more/less insecure than any other OS. First get your head out of your ass. The default install on most operating systems is not the highly secure one - it is the one that balances security with features. Some OS's tend more toward security, others more towards features.
Secondly, the open source operating systems give you far more flexibility in securing the OS because 1) they actually document what the various services do and 2) they provide clear mechanisms for disabling daemons and services.
Microsoft does an incredibly poor job with the first one. I can't tell you how many friggin services are running on my win2k work computer that I cannot find any information about. What the hell do they do and can I kill them without destablizing my system? Microsoft's method of security through obscurity simply means that I have to leave all of these back orifices open for hackers to probe until they stumble upon a good hack and them I'm owned.
I don't consider myself all that knowledgeable about security, but I've never had any of my Linux boxes owned. These are ones that have run my websites 24/7. Gosh, you must just suck at security.
I ignored the rest of your poor comparison of open source versus proprietary systems. Good day.
Slashdot Mirror
Mmmm.... that's interesting. After reading your post, it occurred to me that Windows is the mp3 of the OS world. Sure mp3's do not have the same audio quality as SACD's, DVD-A's and CD's, but they're convenient. Windows is not as fast, robust or easy to use (for advanced users), but it's preinstalled and supports most mainstream hardware.
So perhaps the Linux camp needs to look inside themselves at why they use mp3 or Ogg Vorbis instead of CD's or the even higher quality SACD's and DVD-A's. The insight gained may help understand why the average user is using Windows, as opposed to any of the superior alternatives.
Hmmm .... tpc.org is an interesting organization. It is a non-profit who is funded by memberships from the hardware/software companies on which it produces benchmarks.
.......
According to their website, "Full Members of the TPC participate in all aspects of the TPC's work, including development of benchmark standards and setting strategic direction. Full Membership costs $15,000 per calendar year."
Wow, a large percentage of the benchmarks are using MS operating systems. Oh look full members get to set benchmark standards. Mmmm, the only pure OS company who is a full member is Microsoft. I wonder what kind of conclusion can be drawn
Does it strike you as ironic that this kind of control by the corporations is being instituted by people who grew up in the 60's?
You remember, the era in which all corporations were evil and all we needed in the world was peace and love. Looks like the kids grew up and decided that copyrights on peace and love were a whole lot better than the real thing.
Okay I just had another vision -- man, perhaps I really do need more fiber in my diet. Whatever.
Anyway, imagine the power of controlling a media center pc. All kinds of information flowing through that one device would just be too tempting to attack and manipulate. Imagine rewriting email messages, rewording web pages or even altering news broadcasts to be more favorable to your corporation. How many people get most (if not all) of their news from the internet and tv? Talk about a serious chokepoint to control information dispersal.
Kinda scary if you ask me.
A new Outlook virus is running rampant and now, in addition to infecting your computer and propagating itself through your email, it deletes all references to itself from both your email and any news programs you might be watching -- even the live ones!
Essentially the humans would have to go back to voice communication to know what was going on.
In the future, slashdotters will stop posting comments altogether. Everyone will be reposting the article text in a effort to get people to read the article that they didn't, but reposted.
Wow, so what you're saying is that some of these viruses are actually helping Microsoft's bottom line by causing people to go out and buy new machines loaded with the latest Windows OS.
... you mentioned this only affected Win98 machines. Mmmm .... now who would have an incentive to kill Win98 machines .... who indeed???
Amazing, isn't it? I mean no wonder Microsoft isn't serious about fixing security holes. Oh wait a sec
I know the point you're trying to make, but there are some subtle differences here that make me feel different than you.
First off in the case of an app I would have much more information. I might have ascii or xml based configuration files and I would know that the app fell into a certain space (ie. webserver, UML design tool, screensaver, etc.). These two pieces of information alone might allow me to at least install and play with the app with minimal investment just to see if I wanted to go further.
So I still get the app for free -- it's just a question of paying for ancillary information (documentation, support, etc.) that will help me use the app more effectively.
In the scenario you propose, you're not giving me the app (information) for free. You're trying to charge me for it -- of course, I'm not interested in it because you're trying to sell me the answer to a question I never asked.
In the case of the app that has little to no free documentation, yes, very few people will try it out. The main ones interested will be the ones who asked the question, what apps out there exist in space x?
Yeah but if this hits the average home user who is clueless, will they:
.... provide an EULA so the user clearly sees who owned them?
a) Figure out Opaserv hit them
b) Figure Windows went bad again and simply try to reinstall the OS
c) Figure their hard drive pooped out and buy a new machine
d) Profit!!!
You'd think that virus writers would get pissed off that Microsoft keeps getting credit for all the messed up machines. I mean what does a self respecting cracker need to do nowadays
Well let's see, I can try to figure it out, pay you $100 or simply move on without ever knowing it. Since life is short and there are so many things vying for my time, I think I'll move on.
Thanks for playing.
You can purchase a clue from your friendly Barnes&Noble or Amazon. Start with "Grokking the Gimp" and then move on to more advanced books.
I agree with the other posters - free and open source software reward the intellectual elite. Those who can't figure things out on their own or read source code can easily pay for documentation and support. As a last resort they can use one of the operating systems with training wheels that BillG provides.
Now I couldn't figure out how to use the Gimp, myself. So I went ahead and bought the Grokking book. Do I feel shafted, hell no! I got a kickass program for free, I spent a little bit of money on this book and now I need to spend my time learning how to take advantage of this program. Of course, if this bothered me I could easily pay through the nose for the commercial tools -- but hey, those are the tradeoffs in life.
After slogging 60+ hour work weeks for 10+ years and still not a millionaire, I've learned my lesson.
If I had to do it all over again I would have joined a monopoly. No I'm not talking about Microsoft. I would have been a premed major and let the AMA monopoly stamp me into a money making doctor machine.
Uhh ... I don't think you understand.
Outlook is an application that must balance features likes scripting (which help sell the app) and security (which helps protect the user from viruses). Now Microsoft specifically chose to let the default Outlook support unsafe scripting so it appeared that it had a lot of capability -- this is also the most insecure setting as people are finding out.
Microsoft could have chosen to have scripting off by default and informed the user that they could turn scripting on, but that it might be a security risk. But hey, why burden the user with facts and information when you can divert the blame to someone else.
It worked on you, didn't it?
Oh and by the way, if your house has an insecure access door that is available to thieves will you: a) blame the thieves b) blame the architect c) blame your builder. The question is did you have a expectation that the product you purchased (house or OS) was defaulted to a reasonably secure setting?
Dr. Love thinks that a relationship between bill gates and osama bin laden has a very good chance of being successful
In fact he gives it an 89% chance.
Makes a lot of sense to me. They're both doing their part to kill corporate America. Bin Laden with bombs and Bill G with his monopoly. One has to wonder who is winning between them.
The business model was once good, but times, technology and people's expectations have changed. Now the business model is shit .... let me explain.
First, manufacturing costs have been rapidly dropping. Has that translated into lower prices for end consumers? No. Has that translated into more royalties for the artists? No. So the raw materials suppliers (artists) and retail consumers (you and me) are both wondering where the money is going.
Second, new technologies have opened the door for cheaper distribution methods. The industry has made a step in this direction, but early reviews indicate it is not very sincere. The consumers are clamoring for using computers and networks for music distribution, but the industry doesn't really want to lose their control. Instead of the industry joining with consumers and better integrating music into people's psyche, they are taking an antagonistic view.
Third, new technologies are allowing consumers to integrate music into more parts of their life. Today one can easily listen to their favorite music from the moment they wake up, through their shower, drive to work, etc, until they go to sleep. Has the industry participated in this revolution? No. They have instead been figuring out ways to kill it. Again they are fighting to keep their customers from listening to music on their mp3 players, computers, etc.
Fourth, the marketing plans were born of an era when ideas could be pushed to consumers through a small number of controlled outlets (radio and tv stations). With the internet, consumers can easily talk amongst themselves about what is good and what isn't. It shocks me that the industry is not jumping on the internet and providing a service to match people with artists/songs based on their current listening preferences. Up until now they focused their marketing on a few groups (so as not to confuse the consumers). However with the internet, they can market many more groups to many more customers and in the process increase the amount of music that people listen to.
It's unbelievable. Consumers want to listen to music -- but the record industry doesn't seem interested in actually supplying them with the product they want. On the other side, their raw material suppliers (artists) are actively trying ways to circumvent the media giants and RIAA so they can feel their work is not being taken advantage of.
In any business when you've got both your customers and suppliers by the balls -- you should be commended for your business acumen. But you should also know that your situation is unique and it is only a matter of time before these people come back and break your balls.
The business model is shit because it is adverserial. Work with suppliers, customers and technology to create a win/win for everyone and then I'll say they have a good business model.
You mean like donating to the kazaa public library?
I haven't purchased a CD in probably 2 years. Haven't gone to see a movie in the theater in probably 8 months or so. My boycott is part ideological and part because I don't want to pay good money for their shit products.
The only problem is that the RIAA (and soon the MPAA) are attributing their reduced revenues to piracy. After all, that's so much easier for their egos to handle than admitting they have a fucked up business model and are not responsive to their customers.
Absolutely true.
- Guns kill people
- Napster pirates mp3's
- Kazaa pirates mp3's, software, movies
- Violent FPS's (Quake, etc.) cause teen violence
- PC's cause copyright theft
- VCR's and PVR's steal tv shows and movies
- Open source code causes security breakins
- Email causes spam
- Slashcode causes misspellings, poor grammar and duplicate story postings
Seeing this list makes me think I've been warped to a planet of f*cking sheep who are controlled by the inanimate objects around them.Well not exactly, I mean the clones would need to grow up on a strict diet of /. -- but that was so obvious I didn't feel it needed to be mentioned.
/. Just think what the clones will achieve!
On the serious side, did Einstein learn his greatness from school?
How about John Carmack? After all, he just implemented everything he learned about bsp's and fps's from his college classes. Oh wait he couldn't have because he dropped out of college. I guess all his peers who stayed in college must have made much bigger contributions to the software gaming industry since they kept learning in school.
How about Srinivas Ramanujan? Self taught and dirt poor, he made substantial mathematical contributions.
All of these guys transcended their environments to achieve greatness even before the advent of
Let's say you're trying to improve the work of a painter. Give him a better brush, his strokes look nicer. Give him better paint, his colors look brighter. Give him a CAD system with a robotic painting arm, his paintings look crisper. However, nothing you've done can change the fact that he's still doing velvet Elvis's. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but he isn't churning out a Mona Lisa anytime soon, or ever. You haven't been able to affect the input to the process - his brain. You know the adage, garbage in, garbage out. Well that is the fundamental rule in software.
The big improvement in software productivity will come when we are able to successfully clone human beings. Corporations will create a stable of uber-programmers who they will then clone to be able to mass produce software. In the future, the open source war will be about peoples' genes, the software will be just a downstream product.
Today teams, you're going to have to build an artery clearing, laser cutting, heart pumping cardiac surgery robot!!!
..... go !!!!
Each team will do three surgeries tomorrow in a head to head competition. The team who spills the least amount of blood and has the most living patients at the end, wins!!!
Okay teams, you have 10 hours to complete your robots. Get ready, set
Committee Meeting, Day 1 6:00pm
OS: If you look to page 3, you'll now see the pie chart showing server breakin percentages. It shows you that running an OS server will mean you have only 10% of the risk of being broken into versus running a MS server product.
MS: You know, it's getting kinda late. It's a tough question which one is better, why don't we discuss it further over dinner and drinks
Committee Meeting, Day 2 9:00am
OS: On page 5 we show a breakdown of virus propagation by operating system. Note how almost all viruses known to man are propagated by MS products.
MS: Excuse me, after that hard night of booze and broads, I thought everyone might be hungry so I arranged to have some breakfast catered to our session. Why don't we pick up again after we eat?
Committee Meeting, Day 3 9:00am
OS: Now on page 9 we can compare the cost savings of using free and open source products over proprietary ones.
MS: Can I interrupt just a second, I've got an announcement to make. It's come to our attention that Japan is routinely devastated by attacks from Godzilla. Because he's a concerned philanthropist, Bill Gates has decided to donate $100million dollars to Japan towards rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of these tragedies.
Committee Meeting, Day 4 9:00am
OS: On pages 18-26, you'll find a list of technical features that were created by open source products. On pages 27-39 you'll see how Microsoft included those features into their own products and then claimed how innovative their products are.
MS: Japan, I see that times are kind of tough right now so I've gone out on a limb and asked Bill if we can get you a deal on our software. We're going to be able to sell you Windows at $100 a license, that's below our cost to make it, but you can have it if you sign a 5 year maintenance agreement. I'd hate for you to miss out on this offer, because otherwise you'll have to pay the higher prices later. By the way, what's the address of your political committee? I want to make sure to contribute to your reelection campaign.
MS: We're happy to report that the Japanese government found our products to be more innovative, secure and cheaper than open source software. This head to head competition was brutal, but we think the better software won out in the end.
Yeah, I'm happy someone's doing it right too.
I was like all for the freedom thing, but then someone told me that it wasn't free and that the price was something outrageous like eternal vigilance or something. That's crazy! I mean who needs that when I can watch 'Friends' for free and 'Legally Blonde' at Blockbuster for $4?!?
C'mon, the founding fathers should have thought their marketing plan through a little bit better. Instead of having you pay this big long term fee, they should have made it more a la carte. For example, give the base freedom of the right to breath away for free. Then every month you would get the chance to get an additional freedom by paying a small fee. People would pay extra for the right to speak, the right to pursue happiness, etc, etc. It's quite different than what most are used to, but remember they only pay for what they use and they can the stop the program at any time. And if they act during one of the infomercials, they can get the right to read the freedom EULA free, just for being a loyal customer. How great is that!
I guess the fact that we don't have a lot to buy is why we consistently have a trade deficit? Bzzzt. Thanks for playing. Johnny can you tell our contestant about our consolation prize
Simply because you are unable to secure a box does not mean the underlying operating system you are using is any more/less insecure than any other OS. First get your head out of your ass. The default install on most operating systems is not the highly secure one - it is the one that balances security with features. Some OS's tend more toward security, others more towards features.
Secondly, the open source operating systems give you far more flexibility in securing the OS because 1) they actually document what the various services do and 2) they provide clear mechanisms for disabling daemons and services.
Microsoft does an incredibly poor job with the first one. I can't tell you how many friggin services are running on my win2k work computer that I cannot find any information about. What the hell do they do and can I kill them without destablizing my system? Microsoft's method of security through obscurity simply means that I have to leave all of these back orifices open for hackers to probe until they stumble upon a good hack and them I'm owned.
I don't consider myself all that knowledgeable about security, but I've never had any of my Linux boxes owned. These are ones that have run my websites 24/7. Gosh, you must just suck at security.
I ignored the rest of your poor comparison of open source versus proprietary systems. Good day.