You have successfully waded through all the bullshit in this thread and hit the nail firmly on the head. The software application is the companies IP, but what I create with their software is MY IP. By locking their file formats to the degree that this article implies (no I did not read the article, but instead deal with Autodesk interoperability on a daily basis) is Autodesks way of asserting ownership of YOUR property. Software companies continue to grow more souless with each passing day. They have performed the largest snow job in history with the creation of the EULA/Software is licensed not owned business model. Now they want to do the same with the user created output of their software.
It is like renting a hammer, building a house and then the hammer manufacturer telling you what you can do with the house. It truly boggles the mind.
I am not sure which planet you read Slashdot on, but on planet Earth what you are saying is either completely wrong, or you are not correctly verbalizing you argument. In deference to you extremely low/.ID# I am hoping that it is the latter.
"But no way in hell can AutoDesk deny interoperability with their file formats."
I have been using CADD for way longer then I would like to admit, but lets just say I started when CADD was invented/initially commercially available. Autodesk has always been the stinky 600 pound gorilla in the room. I have used ACADD among many other competing products, I personally find ACCAD to be very difficult and counter intuitive from a UI standpoint. However; that is not why I am replying to you ridiculous statement.
As a matter of fact AutoDesk ROUTINELY denies interoperability with their file formats. I currently use VisualCADD for 2D drafting, mainly preparing details for the gas stations we build for our customers. VisualCADD is a competing product that is actively being developed. I constantly receive ACADD DWG files from engineers which I can NO LONGER open if the engineering firm is on the latest version of ACADD (I think it is release 14). When contacting VisualCADD support about this, they informed me that this is standard operating procedure for Autodesk on every release. They change the file formats and all competing products must stumble around until a import filter is built. It is complete and utter bullshit.
I should not have to be forced to buy a multi thousand dollar application to do simple drawings. Further more, the Engineer/Customer of the Engineer owns the drawing and SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT to do with their IP what they want. It is like a pencil manufacturer putting restrictions on anything you create with their pencil.
I think his comment goes a bit further then his one sentence reiteration, I believe one of his main points is that he thinks that mankind should not all be on the same planet to ensure propagation.
Let's say we clean this planet to the standards you refer to, then everyone is happy until a large meteor hits the planet and either wipes out mankind or our civilization (along with its technical ability to go into space).
He is thinking much deeper then a knee jerk liberal reaction to global warming and polution.
hmmm, where indeed. If we take your analogy out a bit more, I guess you were also buying books on how to make speed and also on laundering money. Oh, you weren't? let's take for face value that she had the files on her computer that are mentioned in the article. When the police came and questioned you, you could rightful say "I had no idea" and they had no evidence to the contrary. When the question this lady, and she says "I have no idea what they are up to" but then they find these files on her computer? I believe that is called incriminating evidence. They probably also had a reasonable suspicion, kind of like they did with you and your ex-speed friend.
Oh, wait, this is/. we don't need to worry about the "law", we can just spout off whatever nonsense we want.
but States and other government bodies do this all the time. Take PA for instance they control all the liquor stores state wide, and make profit from sales of booze. Then they arrest you if you drink too much. In the business of both Vice and Punishment for Vice. Another fine example of this duality is lottery sales. I guess the bottom line is that if you are big enough you can represent both sides of the coin.
How am I supposed to hear rampant rumor and speculation when the subject of the story is posting the truth? This is Slashdot after all; there is a tradition to uphold here people.
I for one welcome our... ahh never mind that won't work here.
That is not an entirely fair statement. You have relieved the user an all responsibility. Yes MS has problems and but even with a good setup , ie... hardware firewall/router, software firewall, AV software, it is still possible for a persistent user (ie.. clueless user) to infect himself with all kinds of junk. So what you are saying is that MS should fix and continually fix all these computers for free? I don't buy it.
Everyone so far has commented on "why should I upgrade, if XP is fine, etc..." The real question is, and we should start a pool, "When will you be forced to upgrade to Vista?" It starts slowly, with DirectX 10 not going into XP. From there it is only a matter of time till all games will soon require DirectX 10. I am picking 7/1/2007 for my pool date.
1. the measly billion or so the get out of Lenovo as an investor (measly is relative here, it is a major world government)
2. the ability to place computers in governments all over the world, and the potential to spy.
put yourself in the shoes of someone who does espionage work before you answer this question.
I am not saying that the right answer is to unilaterly block all Lenovo PC sales, that is just a typical knee JERK politician reaction. What I am saying is that it should be questioned, and the PC's should all be tested prior to operation in sensitive government installations. This reaction is only punitive against Lenovo.
As a site question: is it possible for a NIC manufacturer to embed a low level (ie.. before the OS) keylogger that could send data to a remote location?
The article claims that the Chinese government owns a 28% stake in the company. At the end of the article a Lenovo spokesman says that the "government is only a minority stakeholder"
Well call me naive, but look at the power our government has over influencing companies where they own 0%. ie.. the whole NSA call monitoring thing, DOJ over MS, etc... Not to mention we have a much 'nicer' government then Chinas.
So I would hardly classify a government that owns 28% of a company a "minority stakeholder". Can you imagine the board meeting where the Lenovo CEO tell the "minority" stakeholder no.
You should rephrase what you said to "this sounds like buying most commoditized items".... Any industry that is not forced to make single digit margins can afford to pay salespeople that care.
nothing like being late to a party.... but of all the comments here, the parent is dead on with:
"They wanted everyone to be rushing the stores to buy one just like it actually went down. The problem is that Microsoft screwed up and didn't have the stock they needed."
This has to be one of the biggest PR flops, they spent millions to drive demand and in the end they could not satisfy the demand they created.
I so wanted to use my moderation points in this thread, but instead will post.
In my opion, Ebay is the closest thing in the history of man to a truly free market, meaning that the true value of a product is determined by the forces of scale, and supply and demand. On the other hand we have music sales, which again in my opion, is a market that is basically a monopoly and artificully maintained.
What we are seeing here is the the true value of a song, somewhere around $.03. I recall previous discussion of iTunes pricing structure of.99 and how they had found the sweet spot. We are still deluding ourselves at that number. I am not attacking Apple, because I realize there price is dictacted heavily by the monopoly of the "labels".
It is very fascinating to observe, this collision of market idealogies.
They guy may or may not be an idiot. MS knows that the Xbox generates heat, this is addressed in the manual. following the manuals recommendations should allow for the unit to function properly. If it does not then there is a problem with the unit, which could be from many different sources. At this point the customer should seek remedy under the warranty of the product, not sue the manufacturer. MS will replace the entire unit for FREE (you will not even be charged with shipping costs). I my opion this guy is being very unreasonable.
I do believe MS should be sued, but not for product instability/heat issues. They should be sued for hyping demand and not being able to meet supply. Unfortunatley that would be very difficult to prove/win.
"Anone with even the slightest technical skill, or just curiosity, can get a crack to any game."
You are very optimistic about people, either that or you are very insular in your circle of friends. Don't underestimate the number of stupid people out there.
Slashdot Mirror
You have successfully waded through all the bullshit in this thread and hit the nail firmly on the head. The software application is the companies IP, but what I create with their software is MY IP. By locking their file formats to the degree that this article implies (no I did not read the article, but instead deal with Autodesk interoperability on a daily basis) is Autodesks way of asserting ownership of YOUR property. Software companies continue to grow more souless with each passing day. They have performed the largest snow job in history with the creation of the EULA/Software is licensed not owned business model. Now they want to do the same with the user created output of their software.
It is like renting a hammer, building a house and then the hammer manufacturer telling you what you can do with the house. It truly boggles the mind.
DK
I am not sure which planet you read Slashdot on, but on planet Earth what you are saying is either completely wrong, or you are not correctly verbalizing you argument. In deference to you extremely low /.ID# I am hoping that it is the latter.
"But no way in hell can AutoDesk deny interoperability with their file formats."
I have been using CADD for way longer then I would like to admit, but lets just say I started when CADD was invented/initially commercially available. Autodesk has always been the stinky 600 pound gorilla in the room. I have used ACADD among many other competing products, I personally find ACCAD to be very difficult and counter intuitive from a UI standpoint. However; that is not why I am replying to you ridiculous statement.
As a matter of fact AutoDesk ROUTINELY denies interoperability with their file formats. I currently use VisualCADD for 2D drafting, mainly preparing details for the gas stations we build for our customers. VisualCADD is a competing product that is actively being developed. I constantly receive ACADD DWG files from engineers which I can NO LONGER open if the engineering firm is on the latest version of ACADD (I think it is release 14). When contacting VisualCADD support about this, they informed me that this is standard operating procedure for Autodesk on every release. They change the file formats and all competing products must stumble around until a import filter is built. It is complete and utter bullshit.
I should not have to be forced to buy a multi thousand dollar application to do simple drawings. Further more, the Engineer/Customer of the Engineer owns the drawing and SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT to do with their IP what they want. It is like a pencil manufacturer putting restrictions on anything you create with their pencil.
DK
I think his comment goes a bit further then his one sentence reiteration, I believe one of his main points is that he thinks that mankind should not all be on the same planet to ensure propagation.
Let's say we clean this planet to the standards you refer to, then everyone is happy until a large meteor hits the planet and either wipes out mankind or our civilization (along with its technical ability to go into space).
He is thinking much deeper then a knee jerk liberal reaction to global warming and polution.
DK
hmmm, where indeed. If we take your analogy out a bit more, I guess you were also buying books on how to make speed and also on laundering money. Oh, you weren't? let's take for face value that she had the files on her computer that are mentioned in the article. When the police came and questioned you, you could rightful say "I had no idea" and they had no evidence to the contrary. When the question this lady, and she says "I have no idea what they are up to" but then they find these files on her computer? I believe that is called incriminating evidence. They probably also had a reasonable suspicion, kind of like they did with you and your ex-speed friend.
/. we don't need to worry about the "law", we can just spout off whatever nonsense we want.
Oh, wait, this is
DK
no habla englase
but States and other government bodies do this all the time. Take PA for instance they control all the liquor stores state wide, and make profit from sales of booze. Then they arrest you if you drink too much. In the business of both Vice and Punishment for Vice. Another fine example of this duality is lottery sales. I guess the bottom line is that if you are big enough you can represent both sides of the coin.
DK
How am I supposed to hear rampant rumor and speculation when the subject of the story is posting the truth? This is Slashdot after all; there is a tradition to uphold here people.
I for one welcome our... ahh never mind that won't work here.
DK
I read Enders Game twice
So then what you are saying is that the story is true?
It is about time some of these ideas are seeing the light of day.
Sorry, could not help myself
DK
Better to hear that, then:
"He shoots,... and he misses"
That is not an entirely fair statement. You have relieved the user an all responsibility. Yes MS has problems and but even with a good setup , ie... hardware firewall/router, software firewall, AV software, it is still possible for a persistent user (ie.. clueless user) to infect himself with all kinds of junk. So what you are saying is that MS should fix and continually fix all these computers for free? I don't buy it.
DK
Everyone so far has commented on "why should I upgrade, if XP is fine, etc..." The real question is, and we should start a pool, "When will you be forced to upgrade to Vista?" It starts slowly, with DirectX 10 not going into XP. From there it is only a matter of time till all games will soon require DirectX 10. I am picking 7/1/2007 for my pool date.
DK
what is more important to the Chinese government?
1. the measly billion or so the get out of Lenovo as an investor (measly is relative here, it is a major world government)
2. the ability to place computers in governments all over the world, and the potential to spy.
put yourself in the shoes of someone who does espionage work before you answer this question.
I am not saying that the right answer is to unilaterly block all Lenovo PC sales, that is just a typical knee JERK politician reaction. What I am saying is that it should be questioned, and the PC's should all be tested prior to operation in sensitive government installations. This reaction is only punitive against Lenovo.
As a site question: is it possible for a NIC manufacturer to embed a low level (ie.. before the OS) keylogger that could send data to a remote location?
DK
I don't trust them.
The article claims that the Chinese government owns a 28% stake in the company. At the end of the article a Lenovo spokesman says that the "government is only a minority stakeholder"
Well call me naive, but look at the power our government has over influencing companies where they own 0%. ie.. the whole NSA call monitoring thing, DOJ over MS, etc... Not to mention we have a much 'nicer' government then Chinas.
So I would hardly classify a government that owns 28% of a company a "minority stakeholder". Can you imagine the board meeting where the Lenovo CEO tell the "minority" stakeholder no.
DK
You should rephrase what you said to "this sounds like buying most commoditized items".... Any industry that is not forced to make single digit margins can afford to pay salespeople that care.
nothing like being late to a party.... but of all the comments here, the parent is dead on with:
"They wanted everyone to be rushing the stores to buy one just like it actually went down. The problem is that Microsoft screwed up and didn't have the stock they needed."
This has to be one of the biggest PR flops, they spent millions to drive demand and in the end they could not satisfy the demand they created.
DK
Get AVG, it is free, small and stable. Norton and McAfee are both bloatware
I so wanted to use my moderation points in this thread, but instead will post.
.99 and how they had found the sweet spot. We are still deluding ourselves at that number. I am not attacking Apple, because I realize there price is dictacted heavily by the monopoly of the "labels".
In my opion, Ebay is the closest thing in the history of man to a truly free market, meaning that the true value of a product is determined by the forces of scale, and supply and demand. On the other hand we have music sales, which again in my opion, is a market that is basically a monopoly and artificully maintained.
What we are seeing here is the the true value of a song, somewhere around $.03. I recall previous discussion of iTunes pricing structure of
It is very fascinating to observe, this collision of market idealogies.
DK
They guy may or may not be an idiot. MS knows that the Xbox generates heat, this is addressed in the manual. following the manuals recommendations should allow for the unit to function properly. If it does not then there is a problem with the unit, which could be from many different sources. At this point the customer should seek remedy under the warranty of the product, not sue the manufacturer. MS will replace the entire unit for FREE (you will not even be charged with shipping costs). I my opion this guy is being very unreasonable.
I do believe MS should be sued, but not for product instability/heat issues. They should be sued for hyping demand and not being able to meet supply. Unfortunatley that would be very difficult to prove/win.
DK
I thought Linux was invented to get away from the 'bad' stuff of computing.
Can't wait to get the torrent for that show
Yes it did, I didn't see it. You must not have bought the CD! Lozer
"geometrically (unless you have no friends)"
haha, it finally pays off. err.... wait a minute.
"Anone with even the slightest technical skill, or just curiosity, can get a crack to any game."
You are very optimistic about people, either that or you are very insular in your circle of friends. Don't underestimate the number of stupid people out there.
DK