PDF lends itself to that wonderful "omniscient" feeling. When reading them, I always get the feeling that everything contained within is absolutely true.
This student, OTOH, broke this w/o profit and without breaking any copyrights.
That brings up an interesting point.
With all the hoopla about software integrity - especially the operating system, you'd think Microsoft and the other cash-riddled companies would pay the smart people (like this guy) to find the flaws before product release.
A good example is Windows 2000. I remember that Microsoft set up a "Crash This Server and Win Nothing" site to test integrity. But wouldn't it have been in Microsoft's best interest to put some money into the game? Perhaps a jackpot that increases on a daily basis.
Not only would this have been VERY good PR, but it would made Windows 2000 a more secure platform "out of the box". While Bill Gates is a remarkable businessman (thats good and bad), he always manages to shoot himself in the foot.
The proliferation of cheap web pads will change this. As soon as I can curl up with a nice e-book in bed, on the couch or the toilet, I will start reading in electronic format.
The only entity that has the power to strong-arm things like this out of existence is the same company that facilitates it.
Microsoft is very large and although I do not agree with every facet of the company, I *really* believe that they do hold the power to eliminate things like this. But why do they just turn their heads?
The Code Red thing was interesting in the respect that, if it had worked, it would reveal just how *evil* homogeneity is. In nature, it leads to plagues and/or like disasters.
When you can assure Microsoft that they will get paid for every installed copy of their software, then I will see your point. From my experience, Microsoft is losing TONS of money from piracy. Big business, little business, consumers, etc.
Hell... I guess you could sell the damn software with a hardware key. But then it would be possible to have several computers in use at different times with the same license. Technically this is legal (since your not using them at the same time), its just not profitable for Microsoft. I never said that they weren't looking out for themselves.
I won't buy it, use it, or recommend it either. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter. The uneducated consumer is going to be the deciding factor here. They will buy XP in the form of a new PC and it will take seconds for them to activate it. Since I don't see too many upgrades that will affect the activation, I don't see too many mad consumers. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large quantities. Witness AOL: Today, everyone would be crying as much about AOL's schemes as they are about this XP activation. However, today it is commonplace to see these same uneducated fools paying a premium for the service. Thats all that counts in AOL's book (and Microsoft's too). A few squeaky wheels will never make a difference.
While businesses may want a profitable internet (they *are* businesses and thus exist only for profit), the bulk of consumers do not want to touch anything to do with online commerce. Sure, they will pay their AOL bill every month, but unless your dishing out pr0n, you'd better think of a real, fail safe, free method of getting the cash from the consumer to the businesses.
Hell... I considered myself exempt from such blind thinking but then I rec'd a message from the CEO of egghead.com stating that their customer database was breached by a hacker and that my card may have been exposed. Gasp...
make them call us every time they add new hardware to their system or try to reinstall the OS
Everyone sees this as a huge problem. Unforturnately, your not looking as far into the future as Microsoft is. Actually, you don't have to look far at all. Maybe a year or two.
Give Moore's law a bit more time and all of a sudden, we have integrated PCs that you really won't need to change around. Sure, parts may break but Microsoft seems to know that, in the end, it really won't be worth replacing them.
Disposable...
Today, you can buy a 700mhz processor for well under $30. This processor will run the operating system for Joe Consumer just fine. Combine this with a $60 integrated motherboard, complete with sound, networking and 3D video, and you have a remarkably cheap basis for a PC. These types of PCs are becoming prevalent today but what happens when Moore's law takes over and all-of-a-sudden we have remarkably powerful and cheap, integrated solutions?
If you take that 700mhz processor and eliminate the pins in favor of a ball grid array, you have just eliminated a large chunk of the cost/complexity required to get the processor onto the motherboard. Why bother with upgradability when the cost is so low? The same goes for the RAM. Get rid of the DIMMs in favor of soldered-to-the-board RAM. Hell, it only costs a couple of bucks for 256 or 512 megs on the stick. You can cut costs/complexity even more by putting the chips right on the motherboard. What about those pesky PCI slots? Get rid of 'em and create a firewire/usb expansion standard (think: a bay with power and a firewire or USB connection). Its not cost effective to have such redundancy these days - especially with the other, cheaper standards getting so fast (please note that I am thinking high-volume consumer PCs).
What your left with is a cheap, powerful and "disposable" motherboard. In two months, that $30 processor will be faster. In a year, faster yet. And the possibility of integration improves all the time. The nForce chipset (Real Soon Now) offers a remarkable number of features in a very small package - 2 chips. In time, this will be one chip (and better performance too). Whats to keep them from integrating the package with an entire x86 package? Perhaps this is why they are so buddy with AMD?
So here we are, two years from now and every consumer PC is shipping with WindowsXP and not a single complaint about this "pesky activation" from the trillions of installed base. When it breaks or you need to upgrade, throw it away and buy a new one for under $100 bucks (the PC, not Windows XP).
Yes, I hate the idea of Microsoft too but I use their software everyday because there isn't anything close at this point. For *me*, its either dabble with Linux, get raped by Apple, or work with Microsoft.
Slashdot Mirror
Ironically, Windows is probably required to view this but here is a C|NET video clip of an IBM engineer ripping on Bill Gates right in front of him.
My favorite part is the little geek "high five" to the coworker next to him. Looks like they planned this.
PDF lends itself to that wonderful "omniscient" feeling. When reading them, I always get the feeling that everything contained within is absolutely true.
Is it just me?
This student, OTOH, broke this w/o profit and without breaking any copyrights.
That brings up an interesting point.
With all the hoopla about software integrity - especially the operating system, you'd think Microsoft and the other cash-riddled companies would pay the smart people (like this guy) to find the flaws before product release.
A good example is Windows 2000. I remember that Microsoft set up a "Crash This Server and Win Nothing" site to test integrity. But wouldn't it have been in Microsoft's best interest to put some money into the game? Perhaps a jackpot that increases on a daily basis.
Not only would this have been VERY good PR, but it would made Windows 2000 a more secure platform "out of the box". While Bill Gates is a remarkable businessman (thats good and bad), he always manages to shoot himself in the foot.
When and where can I buy a wireless card that will do this automatically?
The proliferation of cheap web pads will change this. As soon as I can curl up with a nice e-book in bed, on the couch or the toilet, I will start reading in electronic format.
Until then, the newspaper is good enough for me!
Does this mean no more AGP?
In all seriousness,
The only entity that has the power to strong-arm things like this out of existence is the same company that facilitates it.
Microsoft is very large and although I do not agree with every facet of the company, I *really* believe that they do hold the power to eliminate things like this. But why do they just turn their heads?
Yalla!!!
The Code Red thing was interesting in the respect that, if it had worked, it would reveal just how *evil* homogeneity is. In nature, it leads to plagues and/or like disasters.
It turns out that computing may prove similar.
Different is good!
Why does MS care about what hardware I use?
When you can assure Microsoft that they will get paid for every installed copy of their software, then I will see your point. From my experience, Microsoft is losing TONS of money from piracy. Big business, little business, consumers, etc.
Hell... I guess you could sell the damn software with a hardware key. But then it would be possible to have several computers in use at different times with the same license. Technically this is legal (since your not using them at the same time), its just not profitable for Microsoft. I never said that they weren't looking out for themselves.
I won't buy it, use it, or recommend it either. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter. The uneducated consumer is going to be the deciding factor here. They will buy XP in the form of a new PC and it will take seconds for them to activate it. Since I don't see too many upgrades that will affect the activation, I don't see too many mad consumers. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large quantities. Witness AOL: Today, everyone would be crying as much about AOL's schemes as they are about this XP activation. However, today it is commonplace to see these same uneducated fools paying a premium for the service. Thats all that counts in AOL's book (and Microsoft's too). A few squeaky wheels will never make a difference.
Unfortunately,
While businesses may want a profitable internet (they *are* businesses and thus exist only for profit), the bulk of consumers do not want to touch anything to do with online commerce. Sure, they will pay their AOL bill every month, but unless your dishing out pr0n, you'd better think of a real, fail safe, free method of getting the cash from the consumer to the businesses.
Hell... I considered myself exempt from such blind thinking but then I rec'd a message from the CEO of egghead.com stating that their customer database was breached by a hacker and that my card may have been exposed. Gasp...
make them call us every time they add new hardware to their system or try to reinstall the OS
Everyone sees this as a huge problem. Unforturnately, your not looking as far into the future as Microsoft is. Actually, you don't have to look far at all. Maybe a year or two.
Give Moore's law a bit more time and all of a sudden, we have integrated PCs that you really won't need to change around. Sure, parts may break but Microsoft seems to know that, in the end, it really won't be worth replacing them.
Disposable...
Today, you can buy a 700mhz processor for well under $30. This processor will run the operating system for Joe Consumer just fine. Combine this with a $60 integrated motherboard, complete with sound, networking and 3D video, and you have a remarkably cheap basis for a PC. These types of PCs are becoming prevalent today but what happens when Moore's law takes over and all-of-a-sudden we have remarkably powerful and cheap, integrated solutions?
If you take that 700mhz processor and eliminate the pins in favor of a ball grid array, you have just eliminated a large chunk of the cost/complexity required to get the processor onto the motherboard. Why bother with upgradability when the cost is so low? The same goes for the RAM. Get rid of the DIMMs in favor of soldered-to-the-board RAM. Hell, it only costs a couple of bucks for 256 or 512 megs on the stick. You can cut costs/complexity even more by putting the chips right on the motherboard. What about those pesky PCI slots? Get rid of 'em and create a firewire/usb expansion standard (think: a bay with power and a firewire or USB connection). Its not cost effective to have such redundancy these days - especially with the other, cheaper standards getting so fast (please note that I am thinking high-volume consumer PCs).
What your left with is a cheap, powerful and "disposable" motherboard. In two months, that $30 processor will be faster. In a year, faster yet. And the possibility of integration improves all the time. The nForce chipset (Real Soon Now) offers a remarkable number of features in a very small package - 2 chips. In time, this will be one chip (and better performance too). Whats to keep them from integrating the package with an entire x86 package? Perhaps this is why they are so buddy with AMD?
So here we are, two years from now and every consumer PC is shipping with WindowsXP and not a single complaint about this "pesky activation" from the trillions of installed base. When it breaks or you need to upgrade, throw it away and buy a new one for under $100 bucks (the PC, not Windows XP).
Yes, I hate the idea of Microsoft too but I use their software everyday because there isn't anything close at this point. For *me*, its either dabble with Linux, get raped by Apple, or work with Microsoft.
Darren
Sklyarov should go free because the law is flawed and because Adobe used it against him, they are too.
Its as simple as that. Nothing to write a manifesto about. Make better software - not more laws.
I may be a pool man, but I am f@#*&ng Jon Bon Jovi's pool man!!!
So do you work with Jon Bon Jovi's pool man or do you just sleep with him?