Oh yeah, and you don't lose anything in the process. What's the problem with that?
WHAT? We've lost about $6000, because WE had to self support us (hire someone knowlegeable). The prodcut didn't specify it was not Sendmail 8.12 compatible, not that it wouldn't run on anything other than RedHat, nor that SSL was unplanned. I ve'd have known on advance this wasn't support we would have found a better solution.
In fact, we had a RedHat server and was more trouble than installing it under Slackware.
I contribute to free solutions and am happy to help when something does not work. For a paid, supported product, i expect a profesional answer and a working solution.
Trend had a bunch of customers unable to use the product when they upgraded to sendmail 8.12, and the solution must come from us? NOT SO. Hire someone and solve the customers problem.
Makes sense, but as already pointed out, it's not really practical. We want to sign messages, we want to authenticate the origin of those and many other things. OTP are great for secrecy, but not for buying stuff or providing some legal relevance to things we say or do online.
I know OPT are great, but i'm looking into the practical side for everyday use. If i where doing something really bad, i'd be using random OTPs.
I just want to login to my server securely, and be sure messages my friends send me are not tampered. And buy some stuff online. Will there exist a perfect solution for this?
Also, OTPs advange may be in fact a disadvantage. That's not OTP failure of course. Perfect encryption means "you'll never know for sure", but "_sometimes_" you NEED to need something "safe" but reversable.
We sound a problem (ie: the antivirus forced us to use a compromised Sendmail version, no SSL and the NEED to use Red Hat). After solving all the issue ourselves (slackware, sendmail 8.12 and ssl where "unsopported") they wanted us to send them all the answers. Is this what we expect to receive from paid services or software?
I'd rather preffer using free solutions. I'd have contributed back if the haven't charged us $900 for 1 year use of this product.
From: Byron Go (TS-PH) To: Federico Subject: RE: InterScan VirusWall Date: 03 Mar 2002 12:47:34 +0800 Dear Federico,
Greetings.
I know that this may sound inappropriate but is it possible for you to send me the sendmail.cf, submit.cf, sendmail.cf.delivery and submit.cf.delivery? I have been trying some things out but I am not sure what I'm missing. I am hoping that your 'assistance' could help me create the appropriate sandwich configuration for VirusWall with Sendmail 8.12.
Thank you very.
Sincerely, Sincerely, Byron James Go Trend Product Support Gateway Team TrendLabs
-----Original Message----- From: Byron Go (TS-PH) Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2002 10:37 AM To: Federico Subject: RE: InterScan VirusWall
Dear Federico,
Thank you for the reply. I will have to be honest with you.. We have been encountering the 8.12 problem since the sandwich config is only for the 8.9 to 8.11. The startup for the 8.12 is different and so far, only linux consultants and gurus have been able to let it start correctly. I will personally study the startup scripts for 8.12 and work out a sandwich configuration document that can properly start sendmail 8.12 to be disseminated in trend.
Regarding SSL, this is a current limitation in the v3.6 of VirusWall. v3.6 doesn't have the 'internal' capability of supporting SSL. However, I will make a feature request for that. Whether it is already be implemented to v3.7, which will be released in a month or two, or will be implemented in the future, I'll let you know.
I hope this reflects a positive action for trend.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely, Byron James Go Trend Product Support Gateway Team TrendLabs
This is highly speculative and relates to economic science, so please disregard the comment if you don't see my point. Here it is...
I think the US economy needs it's people to pay $20 for 1 or 2 songs on each almbum that they like. They need you to spent $600 on office. In fact, they need you to spend most of your money on high profit consumer goods.
Why? You that you can earn such a high income as a society. Because they can sell you 100^20 copies of office, 100^20 madonna CDs, and 100^20 CPUs without pushing the real sources much. On the other hand, real resources (food, houses, cars) can't grow much easily. They have a lower profit and really limited resources.
So you can earn $20.000 a month, but if you don't spend much of it in stupid stuff (high profit = low marginal cost) then prices of real stuff would LIKE IT OR NOT, skyrocket. And you'll find you are all poor guys like in many countries. So to be rich, you need to HAVE TO PAY $20 a CD, $600 for office, $500 for photoshop and $20 a DVD. Then that money goes back to some coporations that buy REAL resources aboard. And you can then dominate.
So my conclusion is that people in the US are better off buying CDs at $15 or $20 a piece, and paying a lot for software and anything that has huge profit margins. That dilutes the REAL spendings (low profit stuff, pushing resource limits) and allows the dolar and the US to "_expect_ this and that" from the rest of the world "or face the consecuences".
Bottom line: don't complain, it's in your best interest to pay a lot for what IS CHEAP.
If it where not a computer, how could you run Linux? Of course it's not impressive. When you run Linux on a palm it's interesting, when you run it on cash register it's not? Why?
Yes, i really agree with your point of view. It's not important to be the expert in "null pointers with void random whatever foo", because that may change suddently and you are left "uneducated" from a practical perspective.
The times that one could say "I know computers" and only be able to make some VB scripts in Excel are over. That's one of the positive sides of the dot-bomb crash:-)
Makes me happy. People need to really understand the fields where they work. And the dot com era clearly showed nobody had a clue about it. Yet, Internet will move huge amounts of money. They just spent 1000000x more than needed in the dot.com boom, now they are spending less than optimal, and the ones that position themselves today will play an important role in the future.
If it's a real tech problem you can solve it using ssh shell and motely fixing what is wrong, asuming the support people are talented. If it's a client problem thing unrelated to you (can read friends email), then it's a PR thing. You answer because you care about your ignorant customer, but it's not really your fault, nor Windows nor Linux.
Well, yes. If you are comparing the career versus a MSCE like "training", you are 101% correct. Nevertheless, i was talking about applied computing, because at sime time, pure computer science alone may reach a point where only a small portion will be able to find a real (good) job.
Where I live there is no much distinction between someone that REALLY knows what he is doing, and a guy that behaves as if he really knows what he is doing, and he doesn't know squat:). So unless you know something else, you became a self-marketing monster only to find out that the rest sells (apparently) the same "knoledge" for 1/3 the money (that ends up costing the company 50x what they should have spent).
I not pro anything in particular, i don't play a role. I'm just saying that while your argument is fine, you do pay a (HUGE) price when using violence. It always comes back to you in the long term. It's not revenge or payback (you = whoever). Regarding the military politics, i don't know, i don't work in that field.
And, as the limit of "business effecnicy" improves as the function of X approches 100%, who's left with money to buy anything?
This is kind of offtopic (so i'll delete the +1 bonus), yet it's quite interesting. You have to outcomes. You are either someone owning one of those companies or you are not. If you are not, then you are dead (more precicely, death by starvation). If you do own "capital" (deposits, stocks) then you have no problem. When X approaches to 100% what you'll see is that 100% of the goods produced will be targeted at the "survivors" products demand, else you won't be able to sell the product or service.
That's following your extreme example logic, but there is a variation: food gets so cheap in terms of costs that you are better of "simulating" average Joes are usefull, so you don't have your streets poluted with dying children, or civil wars. But for them to earn that food, they must work A LOT, and not be able to "enter into the survivors elite" in huge numbers. Just the ilusion of it, some guys doing great fortunes (like a lottery thing).
The exact opposite view is also thinkable, but unlikely to happen ("survivors" know when to do some giveaways and how): when everything gets automated and X approaches 100% efficiency, then you won't have any more need for rich people, saving money, etc.
(note: i do really understand things don't work conciously in this way. But it's true. Jobs are lost everyday arround the globe and creating new ones is hard because there is no real need. If you don't have a job you don't earn the right to eat. So they can't sell anything to you. If you have capital, then you really don't NEED to work). So eventually, jobs are lost everyday and recreated artificially because it makes sense to the capital owners to show capitalism is THE way. It IS the way, it works. But it's not perfect. It barely works because people are people. If we though of ourselves us things then a lot of us would have been terminated long ago.)
I agree. That's why i studied economics but work in the IT field:)... anyway i think your conclusion is a bit exagerated. My advice would be as follows:
If you are basing your future income in learning Windows administration, you'll be definetly out of luck, because it has no permanent value. It will change all time, automated, "asimilated". You'll be relearning your basic skills every 5 years, and everything else you know will be "history".
On the other hand, if you learn what "persists" through time (like programming or knowing CAD basics, or generic databasing skills) then you will be able to focus on problem solving in hundreds of areas. If you combine these skills with that of an unrelated career which is likely to benefit from computing and comunications (internet), then best of both worlds.
My opinion though. I may also be the case where for some reason unknown to me, things turn very different with HUGE specialization and very narrow scope of view for each individual.
I agree. But the problem is NOT Linux nor Open Source. The problem is sometimes you don't have that "app" you use in Windows yet. Meaning you don't have something as good as the Windows version. For example, there's nothing like CoolEdit Pro, 3D Max or Ilustrator.
So the source of your problem is no Linux not beign ready for the desktop, but that some apps are still missing or incomplete (say stuff similar to Ilustrator, Powerpoint, Cooledit Pro, 3D Max, etc).
Another problem is when you don't know what program is what you need. For example, mplayer may be what you are looking for, provided you can find a usable GUI for it. But that's a temporary problem as distro's job is, partially, to preselect the stuff you'll probably want or need to use.
Well, i have read your troll post and i agree it's not a troll's post. Nonetheless, i do not agree with the fact that a good user interface is "something new", something "radicaly different" or even "a nice methafor".
Things (IMHO) are usable when you know how to acomplish some task you need done. Launching a program or doing a calculation or sending a photo.
Thnigs are easy to use, when you can acomplish the task with little effort. That's 99% of the value of an interface. Just a new control (say a number-changer bar) that's easy to manipulate and understand can be a great adition to an interface.
Things are easy to learn when they are intuitive, that is, when you can figure out the what and how by thinking, not reading a manual.
So in the end, i think a nice interface has to do with this issues and methaphoring everything just leads to confusion. After all (for example) people don't put their letters and printed docs using "the town and cities methaphor" or whatever you like, they just put them into envelopes or folders inside drawers!
Wow you are SO SMART. You need a 250 billion budget "just incaze, so you don't have to hurry". GREAT. Beacause anthung might happen, and the US may have to nuke Japan again, or WHO KNOWS WHAT!!!!!
Two words, and belive me, i only say these when forced to, as am very polite 99% of the time: FUCK YOU. Kill whoever you want, do what ever you want, but DON'T ever think you won't pay for what you do in the long run, because (believe me), YOU WILL.
I'll give you the WRONG reason, which still is a important one though: because Microsoft is a monopoly and nobody will fight against it unless some other bigger entity comes to play. You can start a company with $1000.000.000 and still you will fail miserably at competing with Microsoft. Why? They can make "WHATEVER" you sell a "free" feature off their OS, an then you are out of business no matter what or how good you where performing. If Microsoft wants to kill you, you are dead. It's AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
That strategy works for EVERYTHING partial, that is anything that is not the HOLE THING. And GPLd software are the hole thing!!!!! And that's why Microsoft is bringing new strategy to the pool: their can't kill it by making the thing free! It'd me a free windows and they can't do it yet! And they realize the only way to do it is dot.net! Give Windows for free. Charge the companies that do ebusiness (or bussines). That's the entire story up so far, and they are making progress!
Then again, what are they selling? The program or the a lockyoudown product? If they are trying to lock you down, then OBVIOUSLY don't have a use for GPLd software. They in fact would probably be against anything nonuserlocking. How's that good for the goverment or the citizens of any country?
They can always use it if left unchanged or if the meesage pass to the program, which IS A LOT, and still keep ALL their propietary stuff closed to anyone no matter how much of it was goverment funded.
"And Gates' point is that governments shouldn't subsidize copylefted software, not that free software should be outlawed or anything like that."
The problem is the term "subsidy" sounds bad, but paying money cash sounds good. They are saying pay hunder millions a year for this. But those millions ARE a subsidy of the next-in-cicle product. So in fact, they are subsidizing a monopolist. That happens anytime you have a near-zero marginal cost product. For cars it's a little different, because the profit per car is much less than the 100% software has.
Will they ever realize people don't like extreme miniatures. That's why chocolates are thin to maximize surface, or shipped software cames in boxes, etc.
We now know WHO really started it all. From the press release:
"Blue Gene/L will also be a part of IBM's research in "autonomic computing", an initiative to design computer systems that are self-healing, self-managing and self-configuring."
Compact flash is great. What do you have against compact flash? They save my day and it's size is hard to beat. If they where ANY smaller I'd be losing all arround.
Price has been going down for years and the trend continues. And I can read them directly from my Laptop, which is kind of interesting. THAT's why they don't like CF. The content industry hates computers. I i can see why. Nevertheless, their battle is over and they have lost. But the war is still going on.
When the day comes where i cannot use something without breaking a law will be the day I'll become a silent rebel.
Your ideas use the concept of extrapolation. Well, i'm sorry to pop your bubble, by the analogy doesn't work for good not "washing machine" like. These include cars, houses, dolls and everything that has a high variable cost "material" cost.
I don't agree with the Disney's crusade, but you must grant him that people all arround the globe are listening to music and movies of all kinds which they haven't paid for. In the other hand, i do not see many people driving Porche's and doing their laundry for free. At least, not near where i live.
So fo me the point is more a practical and ethical one. Is it fair to have to spend $20 on a record and not be able to use it the way you like, and that the author only gets like $1 from me? IT IS NOT.
Untill they don't solve that real issue (ie: another way of selling music), then the thing is not settled. In the end, what we are seeing is fight against people and record labels ( say Content Controlers). Labels want to control the content as much as posible. The golden years beign the CD era before CDRs arrived. People want to use their music and pay directly to the authors, and once they paid for the MUSIC (not the media), then they can use it anywhere they like (car, mp3 player, CD or karaoke).
Slashdot Mirror
WHAT? We've lost about $6000, because WE had to self support us (hire someone knowlegeable). The prodcut didn't specify it was not Sendmail 8.12 compatible, not that it wouldn't run on anything other than RedHat, nor that SSL was unplanned. I ve'd have known on advance this wasn't support we would have found a better solution.
In fact, we had a RedHat server and was more trouble than installing it under Slackware.
I contribute to free solutions and am happy to help when something does not work. For a paid, supported product, i expect a profesional answer and a working solution.
Trend had a bunch of customers unable to use the product when they upgraded to sendmail 8.12, and the solution must come from us? NOT SO. Hire someone and solve the customers problem.
Makes sense, but as already pointed out, it's not really practical. We want to sign messages, we want to authenticate the origin of those and many other things. OTP are great for secrecy, but not for buying stuff or providing some legal relevance to things we say or do online.
I know OPT are great, but i'm looking into the practical side for everyday use. If i where doing something really bad, i'd be using random OTPs.
I just want to login to my server securely, and be sure messages my friends send me are not tampered. And buy some stuff online. Will there exist a perfect solution for this?
Also, OTPs advange may be in fact a disadvantage. That's not OTP failure of course. Perfect encryption means "you'll never know for sure", but "_sometimes_" you NEED to need something "safe" but reversable.
Federico
We sound a problem (ie: the antivirus forced us to use a compromised Sendmail version, no SSL and the NEED to use Red Hat). After solving all the issue ourselves (slackware, sendmail 8.12 and ssl where "unsopported") they wanted us to send them all the answers. Is this what we expect to receive from paid services or software?
I'd rather preffer using free solutions. I'd have contributed back if the haven't charged us $900 for 1 year use of this product.
From: Byron Go (TS-PH)
To: Federico
Subject: RE: InterScan VirusWall
Date: 03 Mar 2002 12:47:34 +0800
Dear Federico,
Greetings.
I know that this may sound inappropriate but is it possible for you to send me the sendmail.cf, submit.cf, sendmail.cf.delivery and submit.cf.delivery?
I have been trying some things out but I am not sure what I'm missing. I am hoping that your 'assistance' could help me create the appropriate sandwich configuration for VirusWall with Sendmail 8.12.
Thank you very.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
Byron James Go
Trend Product Support
Gateway Team
TrendLabs
-----Original Message-----
From: Byron Go (TS-PH)
Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2002 10:37 AM
To: Federico
Subject: RE: InterScan VirusWall
Dear Federico,
Thank you for the reply. I will have to be honest with you.. We have been encountering the 8.12 problem since the sandwich config is only for the
8.9 to 8.11. The startup for the 8.12 is different and so far, only linux consultants and gurus have been able to let it start correctly. I will personally study the startup scripts for 8.12 and work out a sandwich configuration document that can properly start sendmail 8.12 to be disseminated in trend.
Regarding SSL, this is a current limitation in the v3.6 of VirusWall. v3.6 doesn't have
the 'internal' capability of supporting SSL. However, I will make a feature request for that. Whether it is already be implemented to v3.7, which will be released in a month or two, or will be implemented in the future, I'll let you know.
I hope this reflects a positive action for trend.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Byron James Go
Trend Product Support
Gateway Team
TrendLabs
This is highly speculative and relates to economic science, so please disregard the comment if you don't see my point. Here it is...
I think the US economy needs it's people to pay $20 for 1 or 2 songs on each almbum that they like. They need you to spent $600 on office. In fact, they need you to spend most of your money on high profit consumer goods.
Why? You that you can earn such a high income as a society. Because they can sell you 100^20 copies of office, 100^20 madonna CDs, and 100^20 CPUs without pushing the real sources much. On the other hand, real resources (food, houses, cars) can't grow much easily. They have a lower profit and really limited resources.
So you can earn $20.000 a month, but if you don't spend much of it in stupid stuff (high profit = low marginal cost) then prices of real stuff would LIKE IT OR NOT, skyrocket. And you'll find you are all poor guys like in many countries. So to be rich, you need to HAVE TO PAY $20 a CD, $600 for office, $500 for photoshop and $20 a DVD. Then that money goes back to some coporations that buy REAL resources aboard. And you can then dominate.
So my conclusion is that people in the US are better off buying CDs at $15 or $20 a piece, and paying a lot for software and anything that has huge profit margins. That dilutes the REAL spendings (low profit stuff, pushing resource limits) and allows the dolar and the US to "_expect_ this and that" from the rest of the world "or face the consecuences".
Bottom line: don't complain, it's in your best interest to pay a lot for what IS CHEAP.
If it where not a computer, how could you run Linux? Of course it's not impressive. When you run Linux on a palm it's interesting, when you run it on cash register it's not? Why?
Yes, i really agree with your point of view. It's not important to be the expert in "null pointers with void random whatever foo", because that may change suddently and you are left "uneducated" from a practical perspective.
:-)
The times that one could say "I know computers" and only be able to make some VB scripts in Excel are over. That's one of the positive sides of the dot-bomb crash
Makes me happy. People need to really understand the fields where they work. And the dot com era clearly showed nobody had a clue about it. Yet, Internet will move huge amounts of money. They just spent 1000000x more than needed in the dot.com boom, now they are spending less than optimal, and the ones that position themselves today will play an important role in the future.
If it's a real tech problem you can solve it using ssh shell and motely fixing what is wrong, asuming the support people are talented. If it's a client problem thing unrelated to you (can read friends email), then it's a PR thing. You answer because you care about your ignorant customer, but it's not really your fault, nor Windows nor Linux.
Well, yes. If you are comparing the career versus a MSCE like "training", you are 101% correct. Nevertheless, i was talking about applied computing, because at sime time, pure computer science alone may reach a point where only a small portion will be able to find a real (good) job.
:). So unless you know something else, you became a self-marketing monster only to find out that the rest sells (apparently) the same "knoledge" for 1/3 the money (that ends up costing the company 50x what they should have spent).
Where I live there is no much distinction between someone that REALLY knows what he is doing, and a guy that behaves as if he really knows what he is doing, and he doesn't know squat
I not pro anything in particular, i don't play a role. I'm just saying that while your argument is fine, you do pay a (HUGE) price when using violence. It always comes back to you in the long term. It's not revenge or payback (you = whoever).
Regarding the military politics, i don't know, i don't work in that field.
And, as the limit of "business effecnicy" improves as the function of X approches 100%, who's left with money to buy anything?
This is kind of offtopic (so i'll delete the +1 bonus), yet it's quite interesting. You have to outcomes. You are either someone owning one of those companies or you are not. If you are not, then you are dead (more precicely, death by starvation). If you do own "capital" (deposits, stocks) then you have no problem. When X approaches to 100% what you'll see is that 100% of the goods produced will be targeted at the "survivors" products demand, else you won't be able to sell the product or service.
That's following your extreme example logic, but there is a variation: food gets so cheap in terms of costs that you are better of "simulating" average Joes are usefull, so you don't have your streets poluted with dying children, or civil wars. But for them to earn that food, they must work A LOT, and not be able to "enter into the survivors elite" in huge numbers. Just the ilusion of it, some guys doing great fortunes (like a lottery thing).
The exact opposite view is also thinkable, but unlikely to happen ("survivors" know when to do some giveaways and how): when everything gets automated and X approaches 100% efficiency, then you won't have any more need for rich people, saving money, etc.
(note: i do really understand things don't work conciously in this way. But it's true. Jobs are lost everyday arround the globe and creating new ones is hard because there is no real need. If you don't have a job you don't earn the right to eat. So they can't sell anything to you. If you have capital, then you really don't NEED to work). So eventually, jobs are lost everyday and recreated artificially because it makes sense to the capital owners to show capitalism is THE way. It IS the way, it works. But it's not perfect. It barely works because people are people. If we though of ourselves us things then a lot of us would have been terminated long ago.)
I agree. That's why i studied economics but work in the IT field :) ... anyway i think your conclusion is a bit exagerated. My advice would be as follows:
If you are basing your future income in learning Windows administration, you'll be definetly out of luck, because it has no permanent value. It will change all time, automated, "asimilated". You'll be relearning your basic skills every 5 years, and everything else you know will be "history".
On the other hand, if you learn what "persists" through time (like programming or knowing CAD basics, or generic databasing skills) then you will be able to focus on problem solving in hundreds of areas. If you combine these skills with that of an unrelated career which is likely to benefit from computing and comunications (internet), then best of both worlds.
My opinion though. I may also be the case where for some reason unknown to me, things turn very different with HUGE specialization and very narrow scope of view for each individual.
I agree. But the problem is NOT Linux nor Open Source. The problem is sometimes you don't have that "app" you use in Windows yet. Meaning you don't have something as good as the Windows version. For example, there's nothing like CoolEdit Pro, 3D Max or Ilustrator.
So the source of your problem is no Linux not beign ready for the desktop, but that some apps are still missing or incomplete (say stuff similar to Ilustrator, Powerpoint, Cooledit Pro, 3D Max, etc).
Another problem is when you don't know what program is what you need. For example, mplayer may be what you are looking for, provided you can find a usable GUI for it. But that's a temporary problem as distro's job is, partially, to preselect the stuff you'll probably want or need to use.
Well, i have read your troll post and i agree it's not a troll's post. Nonetheless, i do not agree with the fact that a good user interface is "something new", something "radicaly different" or even "a nice methafor".
Things (IMHO) are usable when you know how to acomplish some task you need done. Launching a program or doing a calculation or sending a photo.
Thnigs are easy to use, when you can acomplish the task with little effort. That's 99% of the value of an interface. Just a new control (say a number-changer bar) that's easy to manipulate and understand can be a great adition to an interface.
Things are easy to learn when they are intuitive, that is, when you can figure out the what and how by thinking, not reading a manual.
So in the end, i think a nice interface has to do with this issues and methaphoring everything just leads to confusion. After all (for example) people don't put their letters and printed docs using "the town and cities methaphor" or whatever you like, they just put them into envelopes or folders inside drawers!
Now it's funny...
The post is great, but isit really funny? If it where for me i'd leave it at +1....
Wow you are SO SMART. You need a 250 billion budget "just incaze, so you don't have to hurry". GREAT. Beacause anthung might happen, and the US may have to nuke Japan again, or WHO KNOWS WHAT!!!!!
Two words, and belive me, i only say these when forced to, as am very polite 99% of the time: FUCK YOU. Kill whoever you want, do what ever you want, but DON'T ever think you won't pay for what you do in the long run, because (believe me), YOU WILL.
I dont know if you post is in the side of irony, but INDEED!!!!!!!!
I'll give you the WRONG reason, which still is a important one though: because Microsoft is a monopoly and nobody will fight against it unless some other bigger entity comes to play. You can start a company with $1000.000.000 and still you will fail miserably at competing with Microsoft. Why? They can make "WHATEVER" you sell a "free" feature off their OS, an then you are out of business no matter what or how good you where performing. If Microsoft wants to kill you, you are dead. It's AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
That strategy works for EVERYTHING partial, that is anything that is not the HOLE THING. And GPLd software are the hole thing!!!!! And that's why Microsoft is bringing new strategy to the pool: their can't kill it by making the thing free! It'd me a free windows and they can't do it yet! And they realize the only way to do it is dot.net! Give Windows for free. Charge the companies that do ebusiness (or bussines). That's the entire story up so far, and they are making progress!
Then again, what are they selling? The program or the a lockyoudown product? If they are trying to lock you down, then OBVIOUSLY don't have a use for GPLd software. They in fact would probably be against anything nonuserlocking. How's that good for the goverment or the citizens of any country?
They can always use it if left unchanged or if the meesage pass to the program, which IS A LOT, and still keep ALL their propietary stuff closed to anyone no matter how much of it was goverment funded.
"And Gates' point is that governments shouldn't subsidize copylefted software, not that free software should be outlawed or anything like that."
The problem is the term "subsidy" sounds bad, but paying money cash sounds good. They are saying pay hunder millions a year for this. But those millions ARE a subsidy of the next-in-cicle product. So in fact, they are subsidizing a monopolist. That happens anytime you have a near-zero marginal cost product. For cars it's a little different, because the profit per car is much less than the 100% software has.
Will they ever realize people don't like extreme miniatures. That's why chocolates are thin to maximize surface, or shipped software cames in boxes, etc.
We now know WHO really started it all. From the press release:
"Blue Gene/L will also be a part of IBM's research in "autonomic computing", an initiative to design computer systems that are self-healing, self-managing and self-configuring."
Compact flash is great. What do you have against compact flash? They save my day and it's size is hard to beat. If they where ANY smaller I'd be losing all arround.
Price has been going down for years and the trend continues. And I can read them directly from my Laptop, which is kind of interesting. THAT's why they don't like CF. The content industry hates computers. I i can see why. Nevertheless, their battle is over and they have lost. But the war is still going on.
When the day comes where i cannot use something without breaking a law will be the day I'll become a silent rebel.
Your ideas use the concept of extrapolation. Well, i'm sorry to pop your bubble, by the analogy doesn't work for good not "washing machine" like. These include cars, houses, dolls and everything that has a high variable cost "material" cost.
I don't agree with the Disney's crusade, but you must grant him that people all arround the globe are listening to music and movies of all kinds which they haven't paid for. In the other hand, i do not see many people driving Porche's and doing their laundry for free. At least, not near where i live.
So fo me the point is more a practical and ethical one. Is it fair to have to spend $20 on a record and not be able to use it the way you like, and that the author only gets like $1 from me? IT IS NOT.
Untill they don't solve that real issue (ie: another way of selling music), then the thing is not settled. In the end, what we are seeing is fight against people and record labels ( say Content Controlers). Labels want to control the content as much as posible. The golden years beign the CD era before CDRs arrived. People want to use their music and pay directly to the authors, and once they paid for the MUSIC (not the media), then they can use it anywhere they like (car, mp3 player, CD or karaoke).
40+ Billions to sink a boat once in a while? Oh that's really expensive.