This would probably kill all US Federal contracts
on
Lenovo Could Take Over RIM
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· Score: 3, Insightful
After examining how the United States treats Huawei networking gear, I'm sure this would kill all the US (and State/Local) government contracts with RIM.
US Government contracts are one of the few highlights of RIM's business right now.
Doesn't prevent someone from flashing new software and using it on another carrier, but VZW uses CDMA. That limits your options to Sprint, Cricket, and a handful of regional carriers.
FWIW, a few months back, blackboard purchased moodlerooms, which (I believe) manages the open source moodle project.
Obviously, they played lip service to "We're committed to the moodle project blah blah blah..." But honestly, it's too early to tell what will really become if moodle. My guess is that it will morph into blackboard "lite" and they will use it to try and up sell you to their blackboard program.
This whole thing is just a huge dog & pony show by Hollywood and the FBI. Its the exact same tactics they use when they catch someone downloading illegal content.
Early on, they made a huge "example" out of the first offenders. Huge fines, drag them into court, media everywhere, blah blah blah. Now, the majority of the cases settle for a few thousand bucks and everyone moves on.
Well, this is their first hosting provider that they (HollywoodFBI) have gone after, and they want to put on a big show so that everyone else knows they mean business. They'll bring in helicopters & troops & go after your kids and pregnant wife if you don't play by their rules.
Tell that to finance. Or a school board. Or any media "investigative reporter" looking for a ratings bump during sweeps week.
In any public sector, low price almost always wins, because it's safe. Not necessarily for the organization, but definitely for the IT or CIO's job. If shit hits the fan, they can almost always pass the blame and keep their job. Except when it comes to money and (perceived) overspending and waste.
The major Microsoft OEM's really don't have many other options. You can't OEM the Mac OS, and as much as we would all see a major linux distro get more widely adopted, that just not realistic. Especially in the corporate space.
MS can piss off their OEM's to the Nth degree. They still need to sell MS products to move hardware.
In other words, the OEM's need MS more than MS needs the OEM's. Especially now that they've shown (not proven) the ability to design and manufacturer a very decent Windows hardware platform.
Ok, so now that my post was modded down to -1,with 48 replies, I'm going to make another point.
I've obviously touched a nerve with the amount and content of the replies to this post. People are passionate about what they believe, and want to make sure that there is significant discussion around this topic. Yet, the post was modded down to -1. Why? Because it challenges the status quo?
What are we so passionate about defending, yet we're trying to silence critics. If the critics are wrong, lets move their arguments to the forefront and let them stand/fall on their own merit.
Ok, I see these creation vs. evolution stories all the time, and we always assume the creationists are wrong, but what if they aren't? And why is it OK to have multiple points of view in the scientific community, unless you think that the world was created (by a higher power or other means).
The only reason they're trolling is to get some widespread attention. Regardless of the ethics, it works. People are going to see this story, go to their website, read some posts and be influenced by their message.
Usually, trolls get down-voted to (-1 Troll). In this case, however, they made the front page. Not sure how that one worked out.....
Anyone running even a small data center knows that the US government can just walk in the front door and seize whatever they want. Yes, there is the formality of a warrant, but most judges will sign off on anything related to terrorism. (No judge wants to be 'that guy' who didn't help the police catch the Pitt bomber before he kills a bunch of people, etc etc.)
This gives them the ability to intimidate other ISP's & data centers. "Oh, you don't want to cooperate? OK, we'll be back with a warrant. How much are each of those servers to replace? What about that nice SAN over there? Those 10GB switches? Yes, you'll get everything back when we're done. Might be a few years though...."
Yes, it's a game. Yes, its nefarious. But, it works. Is it ethical? Probably not. Is calling in 100 bomb threats ethical? No.
I wonder how much longer until they are bought out by Amazon. They'd probably sell off the retail operations to the highest bidder (I'd speculate Target), and go nuts with the bestbuy.com domain name et al' circuitcity.com
Most likely, this will happen at a bankruptcy auction. Even though BB's # are slipping, they're still pretty substantial. Of course, so are RIM's....
I don't mean to come of as purely cynical, but usually farmers who own large swaths of otherwise undeveloped land benefit pretty significantly if they sign a lease for oil & gas drilling rights.
Maybe they are trying to protect their revenue stream. Low energy prices do have a downside. If they drop enough, energy companies may choose not to exercise their drilling leases, which means no revenue for the landowners who own them. Sure, they may receive money from the wind turbines, but oil revenue's would probably be greater.
You also buy a company if it's a good bargain. The fact that everyone is now selling thin clients really takes away Wyse's competitive edge, so they were probably looking for a buyer. Throw in some nice IP and a distribution network, and an acquisition like this makes a lot of sense, if the price was right.
It seems like all of the links pertaining to this story point back to the Krebs blog as the source for the information. Yet, Krebs provides no 3rd party verification to the story other than a 'source'
Shit like this is how rumors get started. Can anyone verify with a statement from Visa/MC, a bank, etc? I'm not saying it isn't true, but even the WSJ article is referencing the Krebs blog.
So, essentially he argues for a real life denial of service attack. Bombard the system with traffic until it breaks under the load.
I only wonder how the government would push back in such a situation. We've already seen the US government trample over Constitutional in the name of security, terrorism, child pornography, etc. All they need is one case where a child pedo is released due to the systems inability to provide a speedy trial, and we will see another one of our rights taken from us.
In the name of the children... won't you please think of the children?
Sounds like they are taking a page right out of Zynga's playbook. Offer a game for free, get a user addicted, and then convince that user to spend money on "improve their game experience." I know a few people that have spent quite a bit of money on farmville, mafia wars, etc. with in-app purchases. Way more than anyone would spend to download a full version of a game.
I'd rather pay up front for something and have a complete product (or at least, know how much of that product I'm getting). I'm real aversive to Zynga's model, because there is no way, up front, to know how much you are going to spend to get a good experience playing the game. You just have to keep buying more and more credits as time goes on.
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Maybe, but the US State Department banned Lenovo computers from being used for Classified work back in 2006.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/19/state-dpartment-bans-lenovo-pcs-from-classified-work/
After examining how the United States treats Huawei networking gear, I'm sure this would kill all the US (and State/Local) government contracts with RIM.
US Government contracts are one of the few highlights of RIM's business right now.
So has Verizon Wireless.
Doesn't prevent someone from flashing new software and using it on another carrier, but VZW uses CDMA. That limits your options to Sprint, Cricket, and a handful of regional carriers.
FWIW, a few months back, blackboard purchased moodlerooms, which (I believe) manages the open source moodle project.
Obviously, they played lip service to "We're committed to the moodle project blah blah blah..." But honestly, it's too early to tell what will really become if moodle. My guess is that it will morph into blackboard "lite" and they will use it to try and up sell you to their blackboard program.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/education/blackboard-buys-moodlerooms-and-no-this-isnt-an-early-april-fools/4866
This whole thing is just a huge dog & pony show by Hollywood and the FBI. Its the exact same tactics they use when they catch someone downloading illegal content.
Early on, they made a huge "example" out of the first offenders. Huge fines, drag them into court, media everywhere, blah blah blah. Now, the majority of the cases settle for a few thousand bucks and everyone moves on.
Well, this is their first hosting provider that they (HollywoodFBI) have gone after, and they want to put on a big show so that everyone else knows they mean business. They'll bring in helicopters & troops & go after your kids and pregnant wife if you don't play by their rules.
Tell that to finance. Or a school board. Or any media "investigative reporter" looking for a ratings bump during sweeps week.
In any public sector, low price almost always wins, because it's safe. Not necessarily for the organization, but definitely for the IT or CIO's job. If shit hits the fan, they can almost always pass the blame and keep their job. Except when it comes to money and (perceived) overspending and waste.
The major Microsoft OEM's really don't have many other options. You can't OEM the Mac OS, and as much as we would all see a major linux distro get more widely adopted, that just not realistic. Especially in the corporate space.
MS can piss off their OEM's to the Nth degree. They still need to sell MS products to move hardware.
In other words, the OEM's need MS more than MS needs the OEM's. Especially now that they've shown (not proven) the ability to design and manufacturer a very decent Windows hardware platform.
"...the creationists have created a definition for evolution that is not what the true concept is..."
Can you elaborate on this a little more? How is the creationist view of evolution different from the general scientific consensus?
Ok, so now that my post was modded down to -1,with 48 replies, I'm going to make another point.
I've obviously touched a nerve with the amount and content of the replies to this post. People are passionate about what they believe, and want to make sure that there is significant discussion around this topic. Yet, the post was modded down to -1. Why? Because it challenges the status quo?
What are we so passionate about defending, yet we're trying to silence critics. If the critics are wrong, lets move their arguments to the forefront and let them stand/fall on their own merit.
Ok, I see these creation vs. evolution stories all the time, and we always assume the creationists are wrong, but what if they aren't? And why is it OK to have multiple points of view in the scientific community, unless you think that the world was created (by a higher power or other means).
I'm sure it's legit. And secure. Legitimately & securely transmits your info to China....
The only reason they're trolling is to get some widespread attention. Regardless of the ethics, it works. People are going to see this story, go to their website, read some posts and be influenced by their message.
Usually, trolls get down-voted to (-1 Troll). In this case, however, they made the front page. Not sure how that one worked out.....
Megaupload had two primary centers, one in Virginia and the other in the Netherlands. I've heard they had a few other smaller colo's as well.
Megaupload, as a corporation, wasn't even based in the US. The US government successfully shut them down.
Intimidation.
Anyone running even a small data center knows that the US government can just walk in the front door and seize whatever they want. Yes, there is the formality of a warrant, but most judges will sign off on anything related to terrorism. (No judge wants to be 'that guy' who didn't help the police catch the Pitt bomber before he kills a bunch of people, etc etc.)
This gives them the ability to intimidate other ISP's & data centers. "Oh, you don't want to cooperate? OK, we'll be back with a warrant. How much are each of those servers to replace? What about that nice SAN over there? Those 10GB switches? Yes, you'll get everything back when we're done. Might be a few years though...."
Yes, it's a game. Yes, its nefarious. But, it works.
Is it ethical? Probably not. Is calling in 100 bomb threats ethical? No.
Do two lefts make a right? No, but three do.
I wonder how much longer until they are bought out by Amazon. They'd probably sell off the retail operations to the highest bidder (I'd speculate Target), and go nuts with the bestbuy.com domain name et al' circuitcity.com
Most likely, this will happen at a bankruptcy auction. Even though BB's # are slipping, they're still pretty substantial. Of course, so are RIM's....
1. Build a simple app.
2. Generate a substantial user base.
3. Make facebook feel threatened.
4. Profit!
I don't mean to come of as purely cynical, but usually farmers who own large swaths of otherwise undeveloped land benefit pretty significantly if they sign a lease for oil & gas drilling rights.
Maybe they are trying to protect their revenue stream. Low energy prices do have a downside. If they drop enough, energy companies may choose not to exercise their drilling leases, which means no revenue for the landowners who own them. Sure, they may receive money from the wind turbines, but oil revenue's would probably be greater.
You also buy a company if it's a good bargain. The fact that everyone is now selling thin clients really takes away Wyse's competitive edge, so they were probably looking for a buyer. Throw in some nice IP and a distribution network, and an acquisition like this makes a lot of sense, if the price was right.
The oil companies, and oil producing nations, have been doing this since the 70's.
This type of behavior, although devious, isn't new to either business or government.
Nor should they be presumed correct.
Credible sources are still fallible.
It seems like all of the links pertaining to this story point back to the Krebs blog as the source for the information. Yet, Krebs provides no 3rd party verification to the story other than a 'source'
Shit like this is how rumors get started. Can anyone verify with a statement from Visa/MC, a bank, etc? I'm not saying it isn't true, but even the WSJ article is referencing the Krebs blog.
Right, it was also their network with their IP address.
So, essentially he argues for a real life denial of service attack. Bombard the system with traffic until it breaks under the load.
I only wonder how the government would push back in such a situation. We've already seen the US government trample over Constitutional in the name of security, terrorism, child pornography, etc. All they need is one case where a child pedo is released due to the systems inability to provide a speedy trial, and we will see another one of our rights taken from us.
In the name of the children ... won't you please think of the children?
Sounds like they are taking a page right out of Zynga's playbook. Offer a game for free, get a user addicted, and then convince that user to spend money on "improve their game experience." I know a few people that have spent quite a bit of money on farmville, mafia wars, etc. with in-app purchases. Way more than anyone would spend to download a full version of a game.
I'd rather pay up front for something and have a complete product (or at least, know how much of that product I'm getting). I'm real aversive to Zynga's model, because there is no way, up front, to know how much you are going to spend to get a good experience playing the game. You just have to keep buying more and more credits as time goes on.