It amazes me how much people accept and excuse abuse.
In fact, Mozilla Foundation lost its $300,000,000 yearly income from Google. Now most, or almost all of Mozilla Foundation's money comes from Microsoft, through Yahoo.
Ballmer was the CEO of Microsoft until recently. As I mentioned, Forbes magazine said he was the WORST CEO of a big company in the United States. Slashdot called Bill Gates "The Borg" until he was no longer CEO. Then people called the next CEO, Ballmer, "Monkey Boy". None of those were adequate responses to abuse. Forbes could have documented Ballmer's shortcomings.
My response to this: "You're stretching with the Yahoo thing. Are you feeling okay?" Instead of recognizing abuse, you are letting yourself become an abuser by agreeing with a dominant abuser.
That is common throughout the history of humans. Read the history of Britain's King Henry the Eighth. The British gave excuses rather than fixing their poor political system.
In my opinion, Microsoft is an extremely badly managed and abusive company. I see these issues as supporting that widely shared opinion:
One effect of "upgrading" to Windows 10: Windows Media Center will be deleted.
Microsoft is also apparently trying to kill Windows Media Center software in other versions of Windows, without notice, by stopping providing the TV program schedule (EPG, Electronic Program Guide). That affects hundreds of thousands of users. The issue is not who uses Windows Media Center. The issue is that apparently Microsoft is operating in a sneaky fashion that is extremely anti-customer, and that shows Microsoft is trying to take even more control over its users.
This Microsoft web pages says the TV Guide has been "Updated": https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3078428,
but many Windows Media Center users no longer have a TV schedule, making Windows Media Center worthless because it is very difficult to record without the schedule.
Microsoft is apparently deliberately destroying Windows Media Center, and letting Rovi take the blame. For example, a new installation of Windows Media Center on a fully updated Windows 7 Ultimate computer has several flaws, not just the lack of a TV program guide.
Another loss in Windows 10: Windows Updates will be forced, in some versions. Will there be other lost features, now or later? Will Microsoft extend its control over Windows in other hidden or complicated ways? Online comments say that Microsoft will try to move Windows to a model that requires monthly payments. The issue is not whether technically-knowledgeable users will be able to stop forced updates; the issue is that most people won't know how to regain control over their systems. That control is important because often Microsoft has issued poorly designed updates that have caused problems on user's systems. See this Slashdot story, for example, Windows 10's Automatic Updates For NVidia Drivers Causing Trouble.
More about Microsoft releasing buggy software: The Slashdot story, Windows 10 Launches, says Windows 10 is "buggier than Windows 8.1, 8, 7, or Vista were on their respective launch days" and "During my testing on a variety of hardware, I've run into a lot of bugs and issues -- even with the version that will be released to consumers on launch day".
(At present, the best way to update Windows 7 is to use Autopatcher, because Microsoft's anti-customer "updates" are avoided.)
Firefox: Embraced, "Extended", soon to be Extinguished? Mozilla Foundation now gets most of its money from Microsoft. Microsoft pays Yahoo. Yahoo pays Mozilla Foundation to make "Yahoo search" (actually Microsoft Bing search) the default search engine in Firefox. Most people don't have the technical knowledge to know how they've been manipulated, or how to restore the default search engine to Google search.
Thunderbird and SeaMonkey Composer GUIs: Damaged, apparently deliberately. Every time you do a file save, the newer versions of both ask for a new file name, and don't suggest the last one chosen. The damage was reported several months ago, but has not been fixed. Is t
True. But the good side is that Numion reflects actual experience. Numion visits numerous web sites of big companies and records the speed. That speed is closer to reality than anything that says "gigabit".
The copyright office in the U.S. recently raised its prices for copyright registration enormously. If you submit 2 short articles, that is a now called a "compilation", and the price is raised from $35 to $55, even though the total may be only 2 or 3 pages.
Also, the U.S. Copyright Office takes months to respond, makes frequent mistakes, and has a web site that is in some ways poorly written.
Can you recommend a copyright office in another country?
"AFAICT speedtest measures the best case, it uses a nearby fast test server and it waits for the speed to stabilize to allow for TCP slow start." (slightly edited)
Yes, SpeedTest.net is not giving information that reflects the actual user experience.
That's interesting. I've seen situations like that, also.
My guess is that someone else had already downloaded the same game, and it was being held on your ISPs hard drives. So, it wasn't actually being transferred over the internet.
At OSCON 2015 last week, I talked with several people about technology companies being wildly mis-managed and very poorly communicated.
There is apparently no "Gigabit" service. "Gigabit" only refers to the electrical connection speed. The real speed of actual data delivery is whatever the providers want it to be.
My experience is that speedtest.net exaggerates the actual speed of delivery. Numion is realistic.
One issue is that the French nuclear reactors are badly designed. Areva, the French manufacturer, makes HUGE reactors that require extremely large construction equipment. The size of the reactors creates vendor lock-in. Failures can be far more dangerous.
Construction and maintenance is much easier when there are multiple smaller reactors. See, for example, Small Nuclear Power Reactors.
Or... Maybe the U.S. has become anti-male in ways that are often somewhat hidden. Being anti-male has resulted in women in the U.S. being far less happy.
The first step is gaining complete control over Windows Home users. What is the next step? Windows 10 is not "free". It is apparently a method of increasing control over users.
It is possible to turn off the Firefox and Chrome and Apple update mechanisms. The article says that, for Windows 10 users, it will not be possible to turn off updates.
Quote: "The company I am at is trying to go to windows only."
Title of story: "Windows 10 Home Updates To Be Automatic and Mandatory"
Translation: Microsoft will have COMPLETE control of all your company's Windows computers, at ALL times they are operating and connected to the internet.
Guesses: Microsoft is not subject to anti-monopoly laws because the company has allowed secret agencies of the U.S. federal government to have access to all its customer's computers.
My understanding was that Google didn't interfere with Firefox development.
Apparently Microsoft is interfering. The Thunderbird and SeaMonkey Composer GUIs have been damaged, apparently deliberately. Every time you do a file save, the newer versions of both Thunderbird and SeaMonkey ask for a new file name, and don't suggest the last one chosen.
The damage was reported several months ago, but has not been fixed. Is that another example of Microsoft's Embrace, Extend, Extinguish? People who feel forced away from Thunderbird may choose Microsoft software to replace it. Is that something Microsoft is trying to accomplish?
Google had been paying Mozilla Foundation $300,000,000 each year!! Where did the money go? Did you see that amount of development in Firefox?
Irrelevant question: Why did a Chinese person call himself "Taco" (Mexican) "Cowboy" (American)?
I am one of a 5th generation of a family in the United States. I have had Chinese friends and acquaintances in five countries.
Learning another culture is very difficult. There are many Chinese who aren't able to do it; that's why there are "China towns".
I've known people who were born in other countries, whose parents were from the U.S., who were not able to learn the culture of the country in which they live.
I tried to help a Chinese woman in the U.S. who was married to an American. She is intelligent. She has a master's degree. Her husband wanted a divorce. The underlying problem seemed to be that her mother had been very controlling. Unconsciously, she was being controlling toward her husband in a way that convinced him she didn't care.
Why was the Chinese woman's mother controlling? One of the fundamental historical reasons for parents to be controlling was the lack of full social security in China. Parents felt it was necessary to control their children so that, when the parents were older, they would have financial security provided by their children.
I'm guessing that Ellen Pao has the same kind of problem. There are areas in which Ms. Pao has complete understanding. There are other areas in which she fails to realize her lack of social sophistication.
Exactly. And those are not all the reasons Mayer should be considered incompetent.
For example, I understand that she allowed a deal in which Microsoft pays Yahoo to use Bing search, but dishonestly calls it Yahoo search. (See the title of this web page: Advertise on the Yahoo Bing Network.)
Then, I understand, Marissa Meyer paid Mozilla Foundation to switch the Firefox browser to Yahoo (actually Bing) search during an "update". That was a sneaky trick. Users of Firefox weren't notified. Most of them don't know how to configure Firefox to use Google search again.
To me, that indicates that both Microsoft and Yahoo managers are dishonest and therefore incompetent.
Since Microsoft is now apparently the major way that the Mozilla Foundation makes money, Microsoft essentially owns Firefox, or is in a position to Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.
See the May 12, 2015 Mozilla Foundation article, Update on Digital Rights Management and Firefox
Quoting: "... the Adobe Content Decryption Module (CDM) to play back DRM-wrapped content... will be downloaded from Adobe shortly after you upgrade or install Firefox."
Adobe has a long history of being invasive and abusive and releasing buggy software, in my opinion. Basically, installing new versions of Firefox now appears to give Adobe complete control, even though it is "sandboxed". Mozilla Foundation apparently does not disclose if it was paid by Adobe.
Apparently the idea is that the technically knowledgeable users will get what they want, but most users will be sneakily manipulated, and the technically knowledgeable users will accept that.
See also this May 12, 2015 article: That DRM support in Firefox you never asked for? It's here. Quoting: " The first version of Adobe's CDM for Firefox is only available on Windows Vista and later and then only for 32-bit versions of the browser. Windows XP, OS X, Linux, and 64-bit versions of Firefox are not yet supported, and there's no word yet on when they might be."
Slashdot Mirror
It amazes me how much people accept and excuse abuse.
In fact, Mozilla Foundation lost its $300,000,000 yearly income from Google. Now most, or almost all of Mozilla Foundation's money comes from Microsoft, through Yahoo.
Ballmer was the CEO of Microsoft until recently. As I mentioned, Forbes magazine said he was the WORST CEO of a big company in the United States. Slashdot called Bill Gates "The Borg" until he was no longer CEO. Then people called the next CEO, Ballmer, "Monkey Boy". None of those were adequate responses to abuse. Forbes could have documented Ballmer's shortcomings.
My response to this: "You're stretching with the Yahoo thing. Are you feeling okay?" Instead of recognizing abuse, you are letting yourself become an abuser by agreeing with a dominant abuser.
That is common throughout the history of humans. Read the history of Britain's King Henry the Eighth. The British gave excuses rather than fixing their poor political system.
That's interesting, I didn't know about Macrovision buying the Rovi name, apparently.
I've often appreciated the Rovi movie summaries.
In my opinion, Microsoft is an extremely badly managed and abusive company. I see these issues as supporting that widely shared opinion:
One effect of "upgrading" to Windows 10: Windows Media Center will be deleted. Microsoft is also apparently trying to kill Windows Media Center software in other versions of Windows, without notice, by stopping providing the TV program schedule (EPG, Electronic Program Guide). That affects hundreds of thousands of users. The issue is not who uses Windows Media Center. The issue is that apparently Microsoft is operating in a sneaky fashion that is extremely anti-customer, and that shows Microsoft is trying to take even more control over its users.
Microsoft and thousands of customers are blaming Rovi. Notice, for example, how many times Rovi is mentioned on this Microsoft web page:
https://connect.microsoft.com/site1145/Feedback
This Microsoft web pages says the TV Guide has been "Updated":
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3078428,
but many Windows Media Center users no longer have a TV schedule, making Windows Media Center worthless because it is very difficult to record without the schedule.
Microsoft is apparently deliberately destroying Windows Media Center, and letting Rovi take the blame. For example, a new installation of Windows Media Center on a fully updated Windows 7 Ultimate computer has several flaws, not just the lack of a TV program guide.
Another loss in Windows 10: Windows Updates will be forced, in some versions. Will there be other lost features, now or later? Will Microsoft extend its control over Windows in other hidden or complicated ways? Online comments say that Microsoft will try to move Windows to a model that requires monthly payments. The issue is not whether technically-knowledgeable users will be able to stop forced updates; the issue is that most people won't know how to regain control over their systems. That control is important because often Microsoft has issued poorly designed updates that have caused problems on user's systems. See this Slashdot story, for example, Windows 10's Automatic Updates For NVidia Drivers Causing Trouble.
More about Microsoft releasing buggy software: The Slashdot story, Windows 10 Launches, says Windows 10 is "buggier than Windows 8.1, 8, 7, or Vista were on their respective launch days" and "During my testing on a variety of hardware, I've run into a lot of bugs and issues -- even with the version that will be released to consumers on launch day".
(At present, the best way to update Windows 7 is to use Autopatcher, because Microsoft's anti-customer "updates" are avoided.)
Firefox: Embraced, "Extended", soon to be Extinguished? Mozilla Foundation now gets most of its money from Microsoft. Microsoft pays Yahoo. Yahoo pays Mozilla Foundation to make "Yahoo search" (actually Microsoft Bing search) the default search engine in Firefox. Most people don't have the technical knowledge to know how they've been manipulated, or how to restore the default search engine to Google search.
Thunderbird and SeaMonkey Composer GUIs: Damaged, apparently deliberately. Every time you do a file save, the newer versions of both ask for a new file name, and don't suggest the last one chosen. The damage was reported several months ago, but has not been fixed. Is t
"Veteran IT Journalist Worries That Online Privacy May Not Exist"
Translation: Don't worry about abuse. Just accept it.
True. But the good side is that Numion reflects actual experience. Numion visits numerous web sites of big companies and records the speed. That speed is closer to reality than anything that says "gigabit".
The copyright office in the U.S. recently raised its prices for copyright registration enormously. If you submit 2 short articles, that is a now called a "compilation", and the price is raised from $35 to $55, even though the total may be only 2 or 3 pages.
Also, the U.S. Copyright Office takes months to respond, makes frequent mistakes, and has a web site that is in some ways poorly written.
Can you recommend a copyright office in another country?
Thanks for the list.
"AFAICT speedtest measures the best case, it uses a nearby fast test server and it waits for the speed to stabilize to allow for TCP slow start." (slightly edited)
Yes, SpeedTest.net is not giving information that reflects the actual user experience.
That's interesting. I've seen situations like that, also.
My guess is that someone else had already downloaded the same game, and it was being held on your ISPs hard drives. So, it wasn't actually being transferred over the internet.
"... the oversell model ... CAN deliver UP TO..."
At OSCON 2015 last week, I talked with several people about technology companies being wildly mis-managed and very poorly communicated.
There is apparently no "Gigabit" service. "Gigabit" only refers to the electrical connection speed. The real speed of actual data delivery is whatever the providers want it to be.
My experience is that speedtest.net exaggerates the actual speed of delivery. Numion is realistic.
You two are funny. (It's 5 am. If your brain has not yet started working, he means Fornix 8 would sound like "Fornicate".)
An acquaintance of mine works at The Last Pickle. Yes, really. Apache Cassandra support.
The name "Tomb" is self-defeating. The name implies that the software is already dead.
One issue is that the French nuclear reactors are badly designed. Areva, the French manufacturer, makes HUGE reactors that require extremely large construction equipment. The size of the reactors creates vendor lock-in. Failures can be far more dangerous.
Construction and maintenance is much easier when there are multiple smaller reactors. See, for example, Small Nuclear Power Reactors.
Or... Maybe the U.S. has become anti-male in ways that are often somewhat hidden. Being anti-male has resulted in women in the U.S. being far less happy.
That is moderated down! Someone didn't notice that it is a joke.
The first step is gaining complete control over Windows Home users. What is the next step? Windows 10 is not "free". It is apparently a method of increasing control over users.
It is possible to turn off the Firefox and Chrome and Apple update mechanisms. The article says that, for Windows 10 users, it will not be possible to turn off updates.
"Solving an issue for one platform can help produce better results on others."
Mod parent UP.
Quote: "The company I am at is trying to go to windows only."
Title of story: "Windows 10 Home Updates To Be Automatic and Mandatory"
Translation: Microsoft will have COMPLETE control of all your company's Windows computers, at ALL times they are operating and connected to the internet.
Guesses: Microsoft is not subject to anti-monopoly laws because the company has allowed secret agencies of the U.S. federal government to have access to all its customer's computers.
That's just a guess. Any other guesses?
Have you known con artists? They have MISERABLE lives.
" If a con artist manages to con people out of a lot of money, he's definitely dishonest. However you can't really call him incompetent."
Con artists destroy faith in the company, both inside and outside.
My understanding was that Google didn't interfere with Firefox development.
Apparently Microsoft is interfering. The Thunderbird and SeaMonkey Composer GUIs have been damaged, apparently deliberately. Every time you do a file save, the newer versions of both Thunderbird and SeaMonkey ask for a new file name, and don't suggest the last one chosen.
The damage was reported several months ago, but has not been fixed. Is that another example of Microsoft's Embrace, Extend, Extinguish? People who feel forced away from Thunderbird may choose Microsoft software to replace it. Is that something Microsoft is trying to accomplish?
Google had been paying Mozilla Foundation $300,000,000 each year!! Where did the money go? Did you see that amount of development in Firefox?
Irrelevant question: Why did a Chinese person call himself "Taco" (Mexican) "Cowboy" (American)?
I am one of a 5th generation of a family in the United States. I have had Chinese friends and acquaintances in five countries.
Learning another culture is very difficult. There are many Chinese who aren't able to do it; that's why there are "China towns".
I've known people who were born in other countries, whose parents were from the U.S., who were not able to learn the culture of the country in which they live.
I tried to help a Chinese woman in the U.S. who was married to an American. She is intelligent. She has a master's degree. Her husband wanted a divorce. The underlying problem seemed to be that her mother had been very controlling. Unconsciously, she was being controlling toward her husband in a way that convinced him she didn't care.
Why was the Chinese woman's mother controlling? One of the fundamental historical reasons for parents to be controlling was the lack of full social security in China. Parents felt it was necessary to control their children so that, when the parents were older, they would have financial security provided by their children.
I'm guessing that Ellen Pao has the same kind of problem. There are areas in which Ms. Pao has complete understanding. There are other areas in which she fails to realize her lack of social sophistication.
Exactly. And those are not all the reasons Mayer should be considered incompetent.
For example, I understand that she allowed a deal in which Microsoft pays Yahoo to use Bing search, but dishonestly calls it Yahoo search. (See the title of this web page: Advertise on the Yahoo Bing Network.)
Then, I understand, Marissa Meyer paid Mozilla Foundation to switch the Firefox browser to Yahoo (actually Bing) search during an "update". That was a sneaky trick. Users of Firefox weren't notified. Most of them don't know how to configure Firefox to use Google search again.
To me, that indicates that both Microsoft and Yahoo managers are dishonest and therefore incompetent.
Most people are amazingly ignorant about technology. The effect of forcing monitoring would be to cause terrorists to encrypt their messages.
"Yahoo" search is Bing with modifications in who gets paid. Evidence: The Microsoft article, Advertise on the Yahoo Bing Network - Bing Ads.
Since Microsoft is now apparently the major way that the Mozilla Foundation makes money, Microsoft essentially owns Firefox, or is in a position to Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.
See the May 12, 2015 Mozilla Foundation article, Update on Digital Rights Management and Firefox Quoting: "... the Adobe Content Decryption Module (CDM) to play back DRM-wrapped content ... will be downloaded from Adobe shortly after you upgrade or install Firefox."
Adobe has a long history of being invasive and abusive and releasing buggy software, in my opinion. Basically, installing new versions of Firefox now appears to give Adobe complete control, even though it is "sandboxed". Mozilla Foundation apparently does not disclose if it was paid by Adobe.
A huge problem, apparently, is that technically knowledgeable users will complain intensely. So, Mozilla Launches A New Firefox Version Without DRM Support. (See the U.S. English version 39.0, for example.)
Apparently the idea is that the technically knowledgeable users will get what they want, but most users will be sneakily manipulated, and the technically knowledgeable users will accept that.
See also this May 12, 2015 article: That DRM support in Firefox you never asked for? It's here. Quoting: " The first version of Adobe's CDM for Firefox is only available on Windows Vista and later and then only for 32-bit versions of the browser. Windows XP, OS X, Linux, and 64-bit versions of Firefox are not yet supported, and there's no word yet on when they might be."
Weird.