"...he can now look forward to 18-36 months behind bars and -- shades of Kevin Mitnick's phantom damages -- may be expected to pay millions in restitution."
"The US and Europe consider MS to be a monopoly. Japan looks like they will come to that conclusion too. How many more countries need to declare them a monopoly before it becomes true?"
It's a delicate situation to deal with seeing as how it's a de-facto monopoly.
"why not have a PDA with a cellular interface card?"
1 device instead of 2.
" I don't see anyone trying to turn an ethernet card into a PC."
A.) They're not trying to turn it into a PC. They're trying to turn it into a PDA, and frankly they're not doing that bad of job.
B.) Since a cell phone goes with people everywhere it is a PERFECT device to put some useful functionality. You won't get the best experience in the world, but at least you won't look like a Borg when you've got your PDA, digital camera, Mp3 player, Game Boy, and tape recorder stuffed into the appropriate pockets.
"This is why a phone needs to be just a bloody phone."
No, it's not. There are actually people out there who would like their phone to be a PDA / Web browser / game machine. I don't know when it became popular opion here that cell phones shouldn't do the cool things we all want a PDA to do, but I can't believe this type of comment is being modded up. I don't recall people getting modded up for saying viruses are a reason why computers shouldn't be able to get on the net.
"First, its not a virus since it cant spread on its own. Its a trojan if its anything. Second, since this only effects people who steal software, why should i care?"
You should care because not stealing software will not immunize you from being infected by a variant.
"BINGO!! That's probably the smartest thing anybody's said so far!"
Yeah, and if you did't have a net connection to your computer, you wouldn't get viruses, trojans, or worms. That'd be the effective way to secure PCs. I don't like the internet, therefore I think this solution is perfect for everybody else that uses PCs.
"do i sue the phone manufacturer or my provider for flaws in their product that cause me financial loss ?"
No. They didn't cause your financial loss, somebody with malicious intent did. It's fun to think about busting the companies that shoulda musta made their product perfect, but the truth is that holding them responsible for people making malicious use of defects won't do any good. First, there's the whole question of liability. Who's gonna wanna make anything if they could be sued over somebody else's creativity? Second, there's the matter of stopping the true problem: People intentionally causing these things to happen. Third, anything can be misused. Where do you draw the line?
I agree that companies should hold quality to a higher standard, but suing them for every little defect in the OS is not going to do any good.
"YOU WILL be held responsible if you products are faulty"
Not likely. A simple chat with your service provider will get it cleared up. Cell phone companies do not mess with you on things like that.
"Is it just me or have expos like SIGGRAPH gotten less exciting over the years?"
Yes. It's harder and harder to wow people. Running out of new stuff to make people 'holy shit!' with. In all honesty, short of a truely innovative 3d modelling/painting program (ZBrush 2.0 if any of you are curious) I didn't see anything that made me gasp. Nearly everything I saw in an earlier generation in 01. They didn't even have as many booth babes.:(
"You failed to read my comments closely. I expect a company to hire qualified Linux professionals, not the first monkey that walks through the door... There is no truth to the campaign, period."
You just pointed out the 'truth' of it. (Note: Grain here, grain.) Don't be so quick to deny what I'm saying. There actually is value in making something easy to set up and get running.
"In summary, Microsoft has been paying some big names to use them as poster children of their "Linux is too messy and difficult adn thus expensive campaign"."
That campaign wouldn't work if there wasn't a grain of truth to it. You're only kidding yourself if you think things like Sendmail are intuitive to set up without needing to hit the web rather often to figure out the right commands to poke in. In the case of Sendmail, for example, it's a right pain in the ass compared to Exchange to get running.
"You can already do this with a laptop... Plus have GPS, Cellular internet and WIFI connectivity."... fit it in your tool box, work for 10-20 hours on a single charge, buy one for $70....
"That doesn't change the fact that the story posted has nothing to do with online rights. Rights to work maybe, but online certainly doesn't factor into it."
Oh.. you're RIGHT!!! I hope somebody got fired for that one!
"Obligatory "This has nothing to do with my rights online, so why is it in YRO?" post."
Um ok. If you have chosen a profession and gotten really really good at it, how can ya not work for a competitor when you leave a company? "I had to flip burgers for 2 years."
"It definately helps to have object examples of good, legal use."
It could totally backfire if MS says "we dint give you permission to do that." MS has made murmurs before about limiting SP's to only verified serial #s. (I don't remember what the outcome of that was. A refresher would be appreciated.) If the SP's given out when MS is trying to control it, then you'll have made MS an enemy of it. Bad news.
... if it wasn't for the fact that MS's hosting services have totally blown away every connection I've thrown at it. I've seriously gotten 500KB/s from them before. (Bytes, not bits.)
Slashdot Mirror
" ...he can now look forward to 18-36 months behind bars and -- shades of Kevin Mitnick's phantom damages -- may be expected to pay millions in restitution."
Great! When do I get my check?
'He could have been shot at dawn under trumped up terrorism charges."
So are you saying that the gov't has the power to be abusive, or isn't being abusive?
"Anyway, were I in 4th grade, I'd submit "nibbler."
I would too, just for the faint hope that it'll bait a lawsuit from Matt Groenig!
"The US and Europe consider MS to be a monopoly. Japan looks like they will come to that conclusion too. How many more countries need to declare them a monopoly before it becomes true?"
It's a delicate situation to deal with seeing as how it's a de-facto monopoly.
"Besides the release of SP2, what has Microsoft done recently to actually boost its image?"
My TabletPc is pretty damn cool.
"why not have a PDA with a cellular interface card?"
1 device instead of 2.
" I don't see anyone trying to turn an ethernet card into a PC."
A.) They're not trying to turn it into a PC. They're trying to turn it into a PDA, and frankly they're not doing that bad of job.
B.) Since a cell phone goes with people everywhere it is a PERFECT device to put some useful functionality. You won't get the best experience in the world, but at least you won't look like a Borg when you've got your PDA, digital camera, Mp3 player, Game Boy, and tape recorder stuffed into the appropriate pockets.
"I can't do that, because the product I want has been bloated and gadget-i-fied by marketing PHB's."
It's been 'bloated' by supply and demand. You caaaan't always geeeeeeeeeet what you waaaaaaaaant!
"I mean, if Doom 3 started calling 1-900 numbers because I had to crack it since..."
"That's just another reason why computers shouldn't have modems!!!!!!!" (Score 5, Insightful)
"This is why a phone needs to be just a bloody phone."
No, it's not. There are actually people out there who would like their phone to be a PDA / Web browser / game machine. I don't know when it became popular opion here that cell phones shouldn't do the cool things we all want a PDA to do, but I can't believe this type of comment is being modded up. I don't recall people getting modded up for saying viruses are a reason why computers shouldn't be able to get on the net.
"I don't like cell phones, mod me up!"
"First, its not a virus since it cant spread on its own. Its a trojan if its anything. Second, since this only effects people who steal software, why should i care?"
You should care because not stealing software will not immunize you from being infected by a variant.
"BINGO!! That's probably the smartest thing anybody's said so far!"
Yeah, and if you did't have a net connection to your computer, you wouldn't get viruses, trojans, or worms. That'd be the effective way to secure PCs. I don't like the internet, therefore I think this solution is perfect for everybody else that uses PCs.
"do i sue the phone manufacturer or my provider for flaws in their product that cause me financial loss ?"
No. They didn't cause your financial loss, somebody with malicious intent did. It's fun to think about busting the companies that shoulda musta made their product perfect, but the truth is that holding them responsible for people making malicious use of defects won't do any good. First, there's the whole question of liability. Who's gonna wanna make anything if they could be sued over somebody else's creativity? Second, there's the matter of stopping the true problem: People intentionally causing these things to happen. Third, anything can be misused. Where do you draw the line?
I agree that companies should hold quality to a higher standard, but suing them for every little defect in the OS is not going to do any good.
"YOU WILL be held responsible if you products are faulty"
Not likely. A simple chat with your service provider will get it cleared up. Cell phone companies do not mess with you on things like that.
"Yet another reason I'm glad I have my cell phone that ... OH YEA! Just makes calls. Who'd have thunk"
Good for you. However, some of us like those extra features in our phones and would prefer they make them more secure.
"Is it just me or have expos like SIGGRAPH gotten less exciting over the years?"
:(
Yes. It's harder and harder to wow people. Running out of new stuff to make people 'holy shit!' with. In all honesty, short of a truely innovative 3d modelling/painting program (ZBrush 2.0 if any of you are curious) I didn't see anything that made me gasp. Nearly everything I saw in an earlier generation in 01. They didn't even have as many booth babes.
"You failed to read my comments closely. I expect a company to hire qualified Linux professionals, not the first monkey that walks through the door... There is no truth to the campaign, period."
You just pointed out the 'truth' of it. (Note: Grain here, grain.) Don't be so quick to deny what I'm saying. There actually is value in making something easy to set up and get running.
"In summary, Microsoft has been paying some big names to use them as poster children of their "Linux is too messy and difficult adn thus expensive campaign"."
That campaign wouldn't work if there wasn't a grain of truth to it. You're only kidding yourself if you think things like Sendmail are intuitive to set up without needing to hit the web rather often to figure out the right commands to poke in. In the case of Sendmail, for example, it's a right pain in the ass compared to Exchange to get running.
"Should SETI Be Looking For Lasers Instead?"
Additionally? Sure. Instead? No, jack ass. We haven't met any aliens yet. We should be looking for everything.
"You can already do this with a laptop... Plus have GPS, Cellular internet and WIFI connectivity." ... fit it in your tool box, work for 10-20 hours on a single charge, buy one for $70....
Are you going to complain about that in every topic? Why doesn't life just go on?
"The don't prevent a worker from working in general. The worker is free to take a job that doesn't compete with the original."
Glad I'm not a specialist.
"That doesn't change the fact that the story posted has nothing to do with online rights. Rights to work maybe, but online certainly doesn't factor into it."
Oh.. you're RIGHT!!! I hope somebody got fired for that one!
"Obligatory "This has nothing to do with my rights online, so why is it in YRO?" post."
Um ok. If you have chosen a profession and gotten really really good at it, how can ya not work for a competitor when you leave a company? "I had to flip burgers for 2 years."
"Why would I want to download SP2 for Mac or Linux?"
So you can be another host and help with the cause?
"Honestly, if the machine you want to install it on doesn't have access to the internet then why do you need the security changes of SP2?"
Sadly, if you install XP and get it on the net, the odds are good you'll pick up a worm. So.. disconnect from the net, download the updates elsewhere.
"It definately helps to have object examples of good, legal use."
It could totally backfire if MS says "we dint give you permission to do that." MS has made murmurs before about limiting SP's to only verified serial #s. (I don't remember what the outcome of that was. A refresher would be appreciated.) If the SP's given out when MS is trying to control it, then you'll have made MS an enemy of it. Bad news.
Bit risky if you ask me.
... if it wasn't for the fact that MS's hosting services have totally blown away every connection I've thrown at it. I've seriously gotten 500KB/s from them before. (Bytes, not bits.)