These would be better suited behind the counter. So that a sales person could get somebody stuff in response to questions.
Of course it means that salespeople would have to actually have a clue! rather than being glorified greeter/stockboys they would have to know their stuff and be able to sell it. It'd be a great tool for "penny profits" sales from selling those share ware tools we all use along with accessories like scanners, cameras, etc...rather than pointing customers to ONLY the $400 photoshop for family pics.
In short the machine fills a niche...but not one that's useful for a Mega-store. It would be a Godsend to a local shop that doen't want inventory though...and it'd get customers in the doors again!
Actually I've had that idea for a while now..only these need to be in your local "screwdriver" shop. they're not much use for the CompUSAs of the world because they're just wanting to cut their cost of overpriced stuff to begin with.
On the other hand one of these connected to sourceforge [or other oss sources] could be a real boon for OSS. The trouble with adopting Linux right now is that for "normal" users downloads are huge. You're right about the $5 price point too. You might get away with up to say $20 before you got into people not wanting to buy anymore. Having printed manuals or at least cheat sheets would be great too.
You could do some really cool stuff with customizing software...imaging getting a customized Linux ISO complete with cheatsheets all ready for your system! You could also print pretty labels on the CD's or even burn "keyed" disks for the dreaded copy protection. A tool like that is definately in the wrong hands...but it also requires some know-how from the sales people too. I'd even go so far as to keep the machine behind the counter and assign a dedicated person to man it....removing the "confusion" factor. Preferably, it should be near the "buile-it-yourself" parts for hobbiests rather than thrown out there for passers-by. Software is moving to a craft rather than off the shelf. The money is in using your knowlage to get somebody the right solution...for them. This machine could help that!
if you take the case that Stockholders are the true owners and the mangement are just employees then you have a much different means of punishing the company. On that note, I think that the courts should take 150% of MS cash on hand and force the stockholders to take it as dividends. that way the real owners of the company are not being fined, but rather simply being told they can't keep their money there. In addition to that eliminate all purchase of other companies, IP, and any other "exclusive" deals for 5 years. Lastly, force the OS and Office products to be sold to all people equally without any other agreements allowed...make them just like all the other monopolies...nobody gets special treatment and everybody pays the same! [to bad Dell!] Just for kix have the price be fixed for 2 years at current retail!
That combination of things would eliminate MS as a monopoly overnight. The fixed pricing would drive away the casual consumer in droves...and force at least a few of the big guys to find another alternative...and fast. The Cash issue fixes the key problem of MS...like we all say the burn off cash to buy the customer's love and politician's favor. Take that all away and they have to focus on making profit, not their lame attempts at world domination. One key point is to give the money to the stockholders. First, it helps to build accountability and it actually improves personal property rights over those of corporations...while putting the fear of God in the corps that they could potentially be "disbanded" if they get out of line. Second, it puts MS on the other side of the "wonder kid" fence for a change.. All that money's gotta go somewhere. Much of MS money is made "selling MS" to Wall Street...once they smell money, everybody will want MS shares. But once the checks are written, those "investors" won't give a rats' arse that they once got rich... They'll look at the gutted company and not see easy money and dump stock like cow piles!
Frankly, my opinion is that MS and Co have more money than God right now...it's time for them to stop trying to control everyone's lives and simply go a way and be obcenely rich. It's time to shake up the market and let somebody else get a shot a some money. It's like the third time Michael Jordan came back from "retirment"...it was nice, but we came to watch the new kids play...stop hogging the spotlight old man!!!
Because X is running a real interactive session on the host machine...similar to how telnet works. When you loose the connection, the computer frees up those resources again unless you have authority to run the applications under a "master" account. That's nothing new, it's how mainframes and minicomputers were built to operate. VNC on the other hand "takes over" the actual X window on the machine as if you are sitting at that machine's keyboard. So when you log off the VNC session you mearly "stepped away" for coffee as far as the computer cares...
Terminal services on Windows is a lame attempt to be like Unix. Windows isn't designed for multiple users CONTROLING the same system...It's meant for users to call program APIs not have seperate sessions. So terminal services tries to recreate another desktop for the additional users...meaning it has to recreate much of the MS windows overhead in order to keep everything stright.
Really, it's not good or bad, it's just that Windows is simply not designed to be an efficent multiuser system...it's designed to be a 1 user-at-a-time end station. Linux is having growing pains with being a desktop because desktop effeciency directly conflicts with having good design to serve many users at once. Single station users drag from keeping all that multi-user overhead going...it's all about the right tool for the job!
Exactly, they're saying that MS is better than X other company...
Bosses response...really, we oughta check them out!!
oops. MS openly fighting OSS is a BAD idea. The only reason most people don't at least look into stuff like Linux and OO.org is that they haven't really heard of it thru "reputable" sources. There aren't many "normal" people that have heard about it...that's all about to change!!!
The key problem with the USB and Firewire HDDs is that once you have 2 PCs its a pain to share them between PCs. Sure most/.rs can do it with ease, but most home with 2 PC have some form of neworking already...typically one of those Linksys wired or wireless routers. I know I've got 2 empty ports on mine and this would be a great tool.
Also, it's a great plan for OSS adoption! These types of products are exactly what we need more of...because they're not reliant on machine specific drivers!!!
At the time the ads were published Apple's G5 WAS the fastest PC on the planet. True, Dell has some models NOW that are faster...but they're not "PCs" that's the key difference. At the time of the G5 release even the PC sites backed up that claim. Sure it was close, and didn't win every benchmark against DUAL XEONS or OPTERONS, but again the G5 is sold as a desktop PC...not as a server or workstation class PC.
Apple had the claim to fame for a few months fair and square. They don't run those commercials anymore anyway...and again why does Dell care...they don't sell AMD chips either!!!
A better requirement would be to require any software modules that generate data to have at least 3 independant sources capable of reading that data type properly. That's how very many other govt contracts are meeted out...even if the govt has to pay patent license so the second company can make the parts. Much DOD research work is specifically seperated into design and manufacture steps for just that purpose to prevent the govt being "held hostage" to increasing prices. MS Software and a few other lucrative markets are the only ones that don't play by "normal" government procurment rules.
Actually they get to introduce some cool plot points leading up to Ep 3! As far as I know it's sancioned by 'the man' himself. Lucas Licensing has a much better grasp of Star Wars Cannon than Lucas himself does...the licensing group has worked very hard over the last 15 years to closely coordinate all the games, comics, novels, and roleplaying supplaments to make it "look" like it's all cannon. They've upset some authors by too closely reinging in their stories [i.e. Tim Zahn] but most of the authors approve of the coordination and put lots of effort into working together. Again, Lucas is just catching on to the fact that it's a Community...not just HIS anymore.
That's the real reason Ep 1 & 2 sucked...they were an attempt to pick up from Return of the Jedi from 1983, not at all in touch with how Star Wars has "grown up" as the story has been kept alive for 10 years by other authors and fans..
There'll be 20 5 minute episodes...just about 2 full hours worth back to back.
I'd personally like to see the DVD include some extra animation to tie the whole series together rather than having to watch it in pieces. It would flow much better that way...and animation compresses on DVD so well
It will probably be on all weekend. That was the point of making it so short...they sneak it into commercial break spaces several times a day for each episode! Great marketing idea...
but at least they didn't ruin it by adding crappy dialogue!
Having sat thru the whole 11 mini eps again it is really close to a "Star Wars" feel. A few things are too "Samauri Jack" particularly some of the architecture, but that's part of Genndy's feel for the piece.
I still think that for over all "Star Wars experience" the Clone Wars mini-eps hit closer to home than George's own stuff. I'd love to see Genndy do something like Dark Empire...he's somebody who could do it justice!!
yep, you've hit the head on the nail. The problem is converting a MS shop over to OSS instead of continuing to shell out for MS solutions and wasting tons of time supporting them.
When I was at a small shop I was wanting to do the same thing. Most small companies have dozens of Win98 boxes as workgroups...which is fine except that there's always those 1 or 2 pesky Windows-only apps that some manager HAS to have.
The key would be to start where it will hurt your customers most...if it's a small job shop start with linux on shop user's PCs. Most of them only use them as dumb terminals anyway. convert the front office document systems to Openoffice.org. Don't toss the MS stuff, just get management to agree to use the free stuff...even if you just use OO.org to make.docs! Try for OSS on the back end...firewalls, email, web servers, etc. all the ugly stuff that only you see normaly. Also try to learn unix-style systems management. Then you can make YOURSELF money by not having to run around putting out fires. Realize that you won't ever get MS entirely out of most business, but try to set up the idea that MS is "Deluxe Computing" for management types and that the drones need something cheaper and hassle-free.
It's about Freedom...to make more money, to be more efficent, and also to fall on your fact with no body else to blame!
I think 90% of the time I have better luck with Google than phone support for just about anything with any number of users. Heck Google is even better at searching MS own site than MS own agents are!
And because OSS is almost exclusively on line nearly everything is "googleable". If they're going to expect you to use google anyway...why bother to PAY them lots of money? That's the real question to ask.
You know how much setup you have to do in a MS back office?
My boss is sitting on a Win2k3 site license for a dozen and a half servers because installing it will require nearly 200 hours of his schedule simply to ensure everything is working properly before he turns it live...that's a heck of a lot of money!!! Not to mention all the software he'll loose because it's simply not compatible with the new version and have to buy MORE stuff.
but of course Linux is too difficult and untested to give it even a small shot. Gotta love those blinders!!!
If OSS is going to be adopted, it will have to come from the bottom up. Big companies have too many software solutions already. Most of the medium to large companies are barely keeping their MS solutions bandaged together...WITH offical support!!! They all changed from nice simple mainframes because MS was supposed to be "easier". Now most companies just want to leave well enough alone and simply cut costs as much as they can by cutting IT labor and using old versions until they break.
The problem is that MS has got everybody fooled that simply updating the OS from 1 version to another is "porting" their systems. I never understood how MS has got away with it for so long. Look at the IBM AS400. Most companies have had 10 year old plus software running on these things and simply "upgrade" by "restoring" the old software from backup and continue on their merry way. We just moved and entire company from one box at our location to another box at the new company overnight! and they kept running on monday morning...try that MS!!!
Everthing smaller than an electron breaks the "rules" of Newtonian physics. Electrons in orbit of an atom don't move in manners perscribed by "normal" mathmatics....they do follow the basic 3 laws of thermodynamics, but the very basics of electron exicitation...i.e the lightbulb and spectroscopy of the sun show distinct energy levels emmited at certian key points. i.e. electrons jump between tracks exactly they're never in between levels when according to Newton there should be a "smooth" transition between electron states and emmited photons of all colors....
but sub atomic physics still follows definable, predictible rules...just not the SAME rules...there's gotta be a reason...we just can't understand it yet!!!
I'd agree with comparing software to plumbing...it's very much the same. I've often thought the same thing that Software will become a Craft again rather than a "job".
To take your example one step further, programmers should be going after business, techinical or other skills that compliment their programming. The REAL power of programming is to provide the service of automating some task for the end user! The neat boundaries of OS developer, System Administrator, Programmer, User are quickly going away... programming is moving to something that "just needs to be done" rather than some "ivory tower" task for gurus. I think OSS will help this because it moves the cost of the "toolbox" down to very cheap, meaning more people can get in the pool of developing solutions rather than simply paying money for "half useful" pre-fabed manufactured solutions.
It's the difference between Knowlage and Wisdom. Information is simply Knowlage...any body can go to the library and get "knowlage"
Business is about Applying that Knowlage to your current situation. Your situation is always changing...it's a more like a living thing that has different needs all the time. Hence there will always be the need to employ people to find new knowlage and apply it to make you more money than the other guy!
Software fits this model because rarely is software simply "used". We don't still drive around in Model T's even though they are still great cars...our needs and wants have progressed past that level of auto...we also don't still use DOS because we demand more from software not because DOS is broken. That's a key difference!! Software is different because it's always in use..never finished. Business software is espically subject to this model because applying knowlage is key to business competition and software is a fundamental ingredient in capturing more knowlage and making better use of the knowlage you already got.
In reality software IS business nowdays. Proper use of software adds "wisdom" to your business so that you follow the knowlage and direction of the managers of the operation...it's a pain more MBAs aren't taught those priciples..
I always thought the DOJ should have simply stopped squabbling over tie-ins and browsers and went straight for the cash! A really good Antitrust settlement would go after 120% of their cash!!!! That would force MS to stop price dumping and sell stuff at "fair value". If you wanted to be fair, you could force them to give it to the stockholders...then ban them from selling anymore for several years.
People have to see that MS cash is it's life. They make outrageous expendatures trying to wipe out any competition. Wipe out the cash and you can curb much of MS influance!!!
This is Bill's plan all along. It's not that he has a problem with "independant" developers, it's just that he thinks MS should reserve the right to add ANYTHING ANYBODY develops with ANY MS tool into windows...for free...[or an amount of money insignificant to Bill's checkbook]
Bill's viewpoint is that other companies exist to write the stuff Ms doesn't want too...if they get too big [or too popular] it's their "responsibility" to sell out to MS...for the greater good of cheap stuff!
Actually BT works just like TCP/IP networking does. BT takes advantage of the same basic packet technology as TCP by dividing a program into chunks and sending them out. As soon as you get a chunk you can resend it! It's already been assigned a packet number and error checked. Just like how some of your packets go thru different internet routers BT does the same thing with files to download.
What Konspire does would work more nicely for a Push type situation...But again, you don't really gain anything from it because you still have to have your computer shareing the ENTIRE file all over again.
How would YOU personally share a file. Lets say you made a great program and wanted everyone to have it for free. Just giving it away on a website costs $100s per version!!! Any time you get over 5-10 GB of bandwidth per month on a site, you're paying premium business rates.
It's so popular on slashdot because we all know how badly sites we like get hit. People put up websites so everybody can see them....the problem is when EVERYBODY shows up at once. then the $$$$$$$$ start rolling. And that's not fair to the people we like but there's no better way to distribute stuff. Enter BT. If we can just figure out how to build BT type features in to something like slashdot...or a way for the sites we post to "donate" their pages for BT to share then slashdot will be ALL blessing without the curse of bandwith bills in the morning!!!
Slashdot Mirror
Of course it means that salespeople would have to actually have a clue! rather than being glorified greeter/stockboys they would have to know their stuff and be able to sell it. It'd be a great tool for "penny profits" sales from selling those share ware tools we all use along with accessories like scanners, cameras, etc...rather than pointing customers to ONLY the $400 photoshop for family pics.
In short the machine fills a niche...but not one that's useful for a Mega-store. It would be a Godsend to a local shop that doen't want inventory though...and it'd get customers in the doors again!
On the other hand one of these connected to sourceforge [or other oss sources] could be a real boon for OSS. The trouble with adopting Linux right now is that for "normal" users downloads are huge. You're right about the $5 price point too. You might get away with up to say $20 before you got into people not wanting to buy anymore. Having printed manuals or at least cheat sheets would be great too.
You could do some really cool stuff with customizing software...imaging getting a customized Linux ISO complete with cheatsheets all ready for your system! You could also print pretty labels on the CD's or even burn "keyed" disks for the dreaded copy protection. A tool like that is definately in the wrong hands...but it also requires some know-how from the sales people too. I'd even go so far as to keep the machine behind the counter and assign a dedicated person to man it....removing the "confusion" factor. Preferably, it should be near the "buile-it-yourself" parts for hobbiests rather than thrown out there for passers-by. Software is moving to a craft rather than off the shelf. The money is in using your knowlage to get somebody the right solution...for them. This machine could help that!
That combination of things would eliminate MS as a monopoly overnight. The fixed pricing would drive away the casual consumer in droves...and force at least a few of the big guys to find another alternative...and fast. The Cash issue fixes the key problem of MS...like we all say the burn off cash to buy the customer's love and politician's favor. Take that all away and they have to focus on making profit, not their lame attempts at world domination. One key point is to give the money to the stockholders. First, it helps to build accountability and it actually improves personal property rights over those of corporations...while putting the fear of God in the corps that they could potentially be "disbanded" if they get out of line. Second, it puts MS on the other side of the "wonder kid" fence for a change.. All that money's gotta go somewhere. Much of MS money is made "selling MS" to Wall Street...once they smell money, everybody will want MS shares. But once the checks are written, those "investors" won't give a rats' arse that they once got rich... They'll look at the gutted company and not see easy money and dump stock like cow piles!
Frankly, my opinion is that MS and Co have more money than God right now...it's time for them to stop trying to control everyone's lives and simply go a way and be obcenely rich. It's time to shake up the market and let somebody else get a shot a some money. It's like the third time Michael Jordan came back from "retirment"...it was nice, but we came to watch the new kids play...stop hogging the spotlight old man!!!
Terminal services on Windows is a lame attempt to be like Unix. Windows isn't designed for multiple users CONTROLING the same system...It's meant for users to call program APIs not have seperate sessions. So terminal services tries to recreate another desktop for the additional users...meaning it has to recreate much of the MS windows overhead in order to keep everything stright.
Really, it's not good or bad, it's just that Windows is simply not designed to be an efficent multiuser system...it's designed to be a 1 user-at-a-time end station. Linux is having growing pains with being a desktop because desktop effeciency directly conflicts with having good design to serve many users at once. Single station users drag from keeping all that multi-user overhead going ...it's all about the right tool for the job!
Bosses response...really, we oughta check them out!!
oops. MS openly fighting OSS is a BAD idea. The only reason most people don't at least look into stuff like Linux and OO.org is that they haven't really heard of it thru "reputable" sources. There aren't many "normal" people that have heard about it...that's all about to change!!!
Also, it's a great plan for OSS adoption! These types of products are exactly what we need more of...because they're not reliant on machine specific drivers!!!
Apple had the claim to fame for a few months fair and square. They don't run those commercials anymore anyway...and again why does Dell care...they don't sell AMD chips either!!!
A better requirement would be to require any software modules that generate data to have at least 3 independant sources capable of reading that data type properly. That's how very many other govt contracts are meeted out...even if the govt has to pay patent license so the second company can make the parts. Much DOD research work is specifically seperated into design and manufacture steps for just that purpose to prevent the govt being "held hostage" to increasing prices. MS Software and a few other lucrative markets are the only ones that don't play by "normal" government procurment rules.
That's the real reason Ep 1 & 2 sucked...they were an attempt to pick up from Return of the Jedi from 1983, not at all in touch with how Star Wars has "grown up" as the story has been kept alive for 10 years by other authors and fans..
I'd personally like to see the DVD include some extra animation to tie the whole series together rather than having to watch it in pieces. It would flow much better that way...and animation compresses on DVD so well
It will probably be on all weekend. That was the point of making it so short...they sneak it into commercial break spaces several times a day for each episode! Great marketing idea...
Actually it's just the rest of the story...it's really the same 'season' it was all laid out at once, just split up to make the $$$ come in longer.
Having sat thru the whole 11 mini eps again it is really close to a "Star Wars" feel. A few things are too "Samauri Jack" particularly some of the architecture, but that's part of Genndy's feel for the piece.
I still think that for over all "Star Wars experience" the Clone Wars mini-eps hit closer to home than George's own stuff. I'd love to see Genndy do something like Dark Empire...he's somebody who could do it justice!!
The writing is MUCH better than Ep1 or 2!!
Comercials are over...
When I was at a small shop I was wanting to do the same thing. Most small companies have dozens of Win98 boxes as workgroups...which is fine except that there's always those 1 or 2 pesky Windows-only apps that some manager HAS to have.
The key would be to start where it will hurt your customers most...if it's a small job shop start with linux on shop user's PCs. Most of them only use them as dumb terminals anyway. convert the front office document systems to Openoffice.org. Don't toss the MS stuff, just get management to agree to use the free stuff...even if you just use OO.org to make .docs! Try for OSS on the back end...firewalls, email, web servers, etc. all the ugly stuff that only you see normaly. Also try to learn unix-style systems management. Then you can make YOURSELF money by not having to run around putting out fires. Realize that you won't ever get MS entirely out of most business, but try to set up the idea that MS is "Deluxe Computing" for management types and that the drones need something cheaper and hassle-free.
It's about Freedom...to make more money, to be more efficent, and also to fall on your fact with no body else to blame!
And because OSS is almost exclusively on line nearly everything is "googleable". If they're going to expect you to use google anyway...why bother to PAY them lots of money? That's the real question to ask.
My boss is sitting on a Win2k3 site license for a dozen and a half servers because installing it will require nearly 200 hours of his schedule simply to ensure everything is working properly before he turns it live...that's a heck of a lot of money!!! Not to mention all the software he'll loose because it's simply not compatible with the new version and have to buy MORE stuff.
but of course Linux is too difficult and untested to give it even a small shot. Gotta love those blinders!!!
The problem is that MS has got everybody fooled that simply updating the OS from 1 version to another is "porting" their systems. I never understood how MS has got away with it for so long. Look at the IBM AS400. Most companies have had 10 year old plus software running on these things and simply "upgrade" by "restoring" the old software from backup and continue on their merry way. We just moved and entire company from one box at our location to another box at the new company overnight! and they kept running on monday morning...try that MS!!!
but sub atomic physics still follows definable, predictible rules...just not the SAME rules...there's gotta be a reason...we just can't understand it yet!!!
To take your example one step further, programmers should be going after business, techinical or other skills that compliment their programming. The REAL power of programming is to provide the service of automating some task for the end user! The neat boundaries of OS developer, System Administrator, Programmer, User are quickly going away ... programming is moving to something that "just needs to be done" rather than some "ivory tower" task for gurus. I think OSS will help this because it moves the cost of the "toolbox" down to very cheap, meaning more people can get in the pool of developing solutions rather than simply paying money for "half useful" pre-fabed manufactured solutions.
Business is about Applying that Knowlage to your current situation. Your situation is always changing...it's a more like a living thing that has different needs all the time. Hence there will always be the need to employ people to find new knowlage and apply it to make you more money than the other guy!
Software fits this model because rarely is software simply "used". We don't still drive around in Model T's even though they are still great cars...our needs and wants have progressed past that level of auto...we also don't still use DOS because we demand more from software not because DOS is broken. That's a key difference!! Software is different because it's always in use..never finished. Business software is espically subject to this model because applying knowlage is key to business competition and software is a fundamental ingredient in capturing more knowlage and making better use of the knowlage you already got.
In reality software IS business nowdays. Proper use of software adds "wisdom" to your business so that you follow the knowlage and direction of the managers of the operation...it's a pain more MBAs aren't taught those priciples..
People have to see that MS cash is it's life. They make outrageous expendatures trying to wipe out any competition. Wipe out the cash and you can curb much of MS influance!!!
Bill's viewpoint is that other companies exist to write the stuff Ms doesn't want too...if they get too big [or too popular] it's their "responsibility" to sell out to MS...for the greater good of cheap stuff!
What Konspire does would work more nicely for a Push type situation...But again, you don't really gain anything from it because you still have to have your computer shareing the ENTIRE file all over again.
It's so popular on slashdot because we all know how badly sites we like get hit. People put up websites so everybody can see them....the problem is when EVERYBODY shows up at once. then the $$$$$$$$ start rolling. And that's not fair to the people we like but there's no better way to distribute stuff. Enter BT. If we can just figure out how to build BT type features in to something like slashdot...or a way for the sites we post to "donate" their pages for BT to share then slashdot will be ALL blessing without the curse of bandwith bills in the morning!!!