na, I noticed several other good things about iPod mini. First, it looks like they were careful to not break too many accessories this time..good. It also looks like they were careful to include the ability to run all the third-party iPod "apps" that have been hacked together by the community...many iPods are actually stealing market from Palm...as supertanker PDAs...good. Also, a miniPod lets them jack the price of the big brother iPods back up and prevents them from having to compete in a price war in the next year! They can price compete on minis if they don't sacerfice features, and throw them away if there's too much competition. That keeps them Profitable so they can keep cranking out new stuff! I wonder if these USB enabled ones can work as PC boot devices on mobos that allow it....That would be the ultimate Linux tool!! here comes my iKnoppix!!
And what does a "Competent" windows admin cost? Probably more than an average Unix admin. Realize that MS isn't selling "competent admins" they are selling the industry average price MSCE. [and they flooded the market...get it] Unix on the other hand has long history of what is necessary in a good admin, and few tools for "quick cheaters" like Windows...nor is it expected to be quick and easy.
I wouldn't say that Mr. Bush is a fascist, but he is not an active defender of the principles of the Constitution either....he doesn't REALLY BELIEVE the oath he took. He's not paying careful attention to what he's being told. That is a bigger problem. Like so many American Executives, his policy is made by a combination of opportunistic speech writers writing to get ratings, and fist-shaking shouts to those liberals on CNN. That's more dangerous than being openly hostile...because when pushed by the media, he turns around and backs up the stupid comments rather than stopping to think of the long term effects in the first place, or explaining to americans that he really CAN'T DO THAT!
many of the comments I've heard are equivelant to slashdot posts...and nearly as raw and unedited...that has no place comming from the mouth of the prez! He's got to be smarter than that. After all, PATRIOT was actually the product of years of planning and waiting for just the right moment to get passed by certian parties. They waited for something really bad to happen, then gained support from the "good intentions" by very improper comments made...like the moral fasions in the article earlier "what not to say"! Then the prez made comments he simply shouldn't have made to get it thru...he may have been smart, but not wise...that's the problem. "Good intentions" mixed with a little spite have a way of doing far more damage than a shooting war with bullets does. It's a slippery slope. That's the problem with the Bush Administration right now: They aren't ACTIVELY TRYING NOT to be totalitarian!
on the opposite note, how about those crosses on top of churches! After all, the cross was the symbol of absolute Roman oppression for several hundred years AD...it's equivenant to putting an electric chair up there! Just noting it can work both way...not alway banning symbols, but also adopting them irrationally too.
IT is more like Industrial engineering, Quality systems & ISO/QS/AS 9000 [or management!] than like manufacturing. There are lots of factories that run without IEs or ISO too...but nobody who's a serious player does. Unfourtunately, IT is being treated as a cost center rather than a management/R&D function. I find most managers are more than willing to slap down $$$ for new shiny hardware, but won't give 2 cents to actually thinking about how to USE it! That's what the problem is right now.
One of the solutions is for IT to start developing ISO 9000 type protocols for installing, managing, staffing IT in small and medium companies. The biggest liability right now is the "wild west" factor...which management loves when it's bull, but runs from when it's bear.
This would be a great opportunity for some open source efforts!!!! What's needed is a 3 prong approach: IT staff, executives, and users. For executives, there's no common standard for why then need IT, and what to expect...written so THEY CAN UNDERSTAND IT. They understand that they need to have computers, and to connect them, but not even the basics of how or why....and what their IT guy should be doing FOR them! Same to a lesser extent with users. There needs to be more and better online education aimed squarely at users. As simple as "this is what a user's job is" type stuff. A reasonable, well indexed and documented list of what a user should be able to do...and who they should turn to for help.
ISO type systems are what created the Japenese auto monster in the 80's. not just working harder, but smarter, with more attention to the end results. Now's the time to get the same push going for IT.
This is what we should be striving for now: Onboard Shuttle Group! because nobody without decades of experience and ingenuity in management and quality control of information can pull such stuff off...yet. That is our US advantage!
Actually, Social security, medicare, unemployment, workers comp....are all added additionally to your employer's share based on your wage...that's money they spend that you don't ever see on your W-2. Generally, they figure 1.5-2x your per hour wage as what the company actually pays out for you.
really, like I said, I was trying to get a power supply [common accross all models for well over a year at dell] and it was custom, non-standard ATX! for a Dell machine that was still in/ just barely out of 3 year warranty....I eventually got it, but it wasn't easy...even with the part number. I'd be better off going to the local shop...because if the parts are retail off-the-shelf then you know they're compatible even if they change every year.
My point is that after a year or two if I can't fix it myself or get a hold of the custom dell parts, then what's the point...most smaller companies use 4-5 year old computers routinely!
but if there's only 1 IT guy then this isn't an "IT orgainization" , it's some other kind of business that just uses computers. That's my beef with MS. Sure if you have a staff of programmers or sys admins for 1000 users, salary is more that the cost of software. In small shops, most IT guys are "it"...programming, sys admin, security, support, etc... MS tools are simply way to expensive for those people...and they represent a good 25-50% of all IT positions!!! He was talking about 60-120 users...unless you by the full MS hook up for 10-20K you don't get any benifits from buying MS! Plus you have to train all the users, and spend 6 months learning the stuff yourself...by that point MS comes out with something new and you start all over! It's a waste of his time, company money, and user fustration...
To a certian extent I agree with you and try to do those things on my system but...
I don't really have to do all that to my DVD, or VCR, or gamecube, phone, toaster, etc...and that's the real issue here that this guy's making it think. simply running a computer shouldn't be all that work. Now I will admit that running a computer isn't like a DVD player...you're always changing the software & hardware for new games, web pages, security patches, printers, etc, but it should be better than it is!
About that point is when I talked my bosses out of buying dells and started buying from a local shop! After spending 8-10 hours of my time trying to get a replacement dell power supply out of them that I knew was bad had the part number and wanted to pay for, but couldn't get directly from their website, I said "hang it"! That was entirely unacceptable. Now I buy from my local shop...everything's standard, and it takes less time and money [and time == $$!] to simply drive to the store and get another, than waste even 2 hours on the phone with them! After all, I'm cheap as far as IT goes but 2 hours is still $60+ for my employeer...and unpaid OT for me because of what I'm NOT getting done while playing with their "support". It may be a "cheap" PC, but if a single support call costs you 8-10 hours, you could have bought half a new PC for what you're paying your IT guy to sit on the phone. That's not cheap at all!
But the most expensive part of your cheeseburger is actually making it! the burger itself is cheap. figure even a minimum wage worker really costs $10+ per hour after you add taxes, work comp, etc...If you have a staff of 6 workers that means you need to sell 60 $1 burgers just to pay for them to stand there...then sell some more for overhead, LICENSE fees, rent, etc...
That said, too much retailing in general is after the "walmart" model of selling way to close to the break even point and opening stores everywhere. many of the corps in involved in the resturant business started opening stores just like walmart in every little town...but those stores don't actually make enough profits to justify being there [actual profits per store have fell by alomost half in real $$ in the last 10 years!]...but it's the workers/ franchisers at the stores that take the brunt...the corps get the license/accounting/rent fees "off the top" whether the store actually makes a profit or not. Most chains business models are about real estate and licensing, not actually selling stuff!
The joke of "walmart" is that it creates deflation! After all, if the workers make less real money, then the stores have to sell cheaper and cheaper to sell stuff to them. It's the dirty secret of the "recession"...it wasn't a recession at all, but an attempt by the fed and wall street to prevent their stock portfoilos from going down approperiately like everyone else's paychecks did! After all, when interest rates went down faster than the fed rate, you know you have problems. But figure that $100K actually buys MORE right now than 2-3 years ago and that's deflation...the top cats just want to make more $$ and buy more stuff and ignore that!
Simple, stop working in the state! If enough service people simply stop doing their work when this goes into effect, people will complain and it will be fixed. If say, both UPS and FedEx simply halted all deliveries in CA in protest, I'm sure it would get fixed quite quickly...
right on....and judging from our operations in Iraq, even those highly trained pilots can barely keep their copters in the air while being shot at...witness how many have crashed vs. shot down! They get to fly in controlled airspace where the next copter is 50-100' away! far less distracting circumstances that your local commute on the superfreeway.
True, you may be a skeptic, but stop and thing what people are saying for a moment...
many people are drinking a 2 liter of pop, pot of coffee, etc or more! on a daily basis...just not water. so they are fufilling their body's "need" but not adaquately, because the body has to process all the extra junk like caffeine, sugar, etc so much of the water goes to flush out your system...
I find from personal experience that 8 glasses of water are pretty easy to drink if that's all you have...and you don't have to pee all the time either. Like people mentioned above, it takes training your body to work properly for at least a month to undo all the bad habits you've taught it and to purge all the nasty stuff out. I went thru several months where I walked 3 miles a day, and ate mostly good food and limited pop...it really made a huge difference...but it's hard to sustain in our busy world that thrives on seeing how "extreme" you can be
Yeah, but you have to adjust your lifestyle too...espically with caffeine.
Like the guy above who bragged about only needing 4 hours sleep...that's unnatural! the other problem with caffine is that it's typically tied to sugar...in other words, you are skipping good meals with proper mental vitamins by grabbing a 'dew and slamming out code for another 4 hours. That's not healthy. I've run into my own problems, and even on the days I have pop, limit myself to only 2x20oz, or I'll start getting sick from all the sugar. Seriously, get your system accustom to going without caffeine, sugar, and other nasty stuff, and you will feel and work much better, think much clearer, rest better, and actually code better! It's the difference between beign awake and alert and simply working with a whip to your back.
Because the indians don't have a real economic advantage, they are just newbies to the field that don't know how much they're worth. Realize that it's not INDIANS creating and marketing software TO US companies, but US companies & managers simply finding cheaper workers...and willing to pay large startup fees to move our tech advantage overseas!
That's the real reason that the auto industry was so upset in the 70's! It was the companies they set up to make THEM cheap parts that rebelled and started selling their own cars. That's why you won't hear about it in the software field, because it's the american businessmen that are pulling the strings in most of SE Asia. Why it's OK for Asus & Abit to outsource to mainland china, but NOT OK for Hynix [korean ram maker] to compete with Micron[americans]...get it. As long as the US companies make more money selling out their own workers they will do it.
No, he related his own experiences...and that with fair and equal offers put out, the indians were rasing prices, americans lowering, and that moving to india was no substitue for having american workers that understand HIS needs. Understanding saves money, more than actual wages. He was commenting that he sees it becoming a trend, and more work should start "coming back" when CEOs stop chasing the dream of small $$$.
It's simple economics! MS has simply put too many people out of work, raised prices to its good customers, and generally been a bad player all around. They never got their 100% lock on the market and whole industries [i.e. OSS] have sprung up around emulating/copying windows because it is economically/socially viable to do so.
MS business is built on becomming ever larger, unlike Apple who just wants to have a nice profit at the end of the year. In a sense, Bill has succeded in putting a PC in every home...everyone that wants one can get one. It's time for MS to move on. It's product is common, like laundry detrergent or Mac& cheese.
But basicly, there's a lot of hungry people that want what they've got...and either can't afford it [customers] or have been shut out of selling on MS platform [netscape, be, palm, apple...] In a lot of ways, it would be better to do nothing, but it's hard to get a court directive to "hang MS out" so to speak...they always seem to win the small battles in court that reinforce their market position/ product lockins.
Well hey, they want to be monopoly right...getting that last 1% for total world domination takes hard work and sacrfice....MS is just being typical American slackers on this! Only whoosies settle for 99% that's why the chinese and japanese are beating us at everything lately.
like you said, people are so busy, they put all their notes on slides and end up simply reading off them...but on a more sinistar note, Many executives consider Powerpoint skills to be very important...sort of like spelling on/.! [and react just about as professionally to presentation glitches] Sad but true...I've personally sat in meetings where no actal meeting took place because everybody was more worried about the presentation media than what the presentor was actually saying!!! That is the real menace of PP!
It's not that I'm a shill for the IP industry, it's just that there is a way to get mass media and computers to play nicely that doesn't open the flood gates to pirating. I think the "analog hole" is vastly underrated!
Simple things, like why do I have to rip my CD collection to make it practical on my PC? Why can't I just plug in my 100CD changer and pipe the audio to my SB live inputs directly? Why can't i pipe the analog video from my 5disc DVD changer to my PC and "remote control" from my desktop? Simple things like that should be happening out-of-the-box on PCs...it also neatly avoids some of the more heavy-handed DRM approaches that *IAAs are after.
Exploiting the "analog hole" would make things a little more inconvienant for/.rs that know what they're doing, but the majority of the unwashed masses simply don't know how to behave with recent advances and are ruining it for the rest of us. A little help from the electronics companies could smooth the wrinkles a little and make things easier, but not as "pure", for the masses, and call off the dogs like the *IAA & MS that want to take away our PCs!
Yeah, like the electronics and televison companies to do their jobs and release it properly already....the deadline used to be back in 1997! It's been extended twice already. If they can sell a DVD player for $50, then a settop box is a piece of cake...they just don't want to! Hollywood has got their mits in creating "new" tech and everybody involved has got greedy...just like all the other cool 90's inventions...Tivo, WEB, cell phones...
If you just want a book with your name on it check out places like bookprinter.com they're just a printer, but have decent prices for only a few copies. That said, printing anything professionally, covered and bound is 300-500 just to set up the proof copy...you get a better deal if you buy at least 1000. Of course you're looking at $2k-$5k minimum...if you can't get published, consider it an expensive hobby!
but CE is more suited to the Xbox ecosystem than XP is... you don't need to play games...It's an Xbox, so all you really need is a quick way to get web browsers, email, productiviy apps, etc. I suspect that MS may even look the other way on this one...it would increase Ce share, because you can BUY CD based apps in most computer stores now days! Xbox having a HDD, you'd have something to sync too...for cheap college kids, or teens it'd make a great tool for simple things like email or reports...Xbox can even use PC monitors out-of-the-box with no hacking! Get USB printing and other devices working (remember that CE has some ability to use "normal" Win32 drivers!) and you could even print, scan, digital camera, etc. and you've got decent CE apps to run on it.
I'm only surprised MS hasn't released something like this sooner. That said, using the actual XDK might be useful even with restrictions...I'm sure that XboxOS is VERY CLOSE to WinCE under the hood...probably more than MS would ever admit to. this project may be easier than he's making it!
Slashdot Mirror
na, I noticed several other good things about iPod mini. First, it looks like they were careful to not break too many accessories this time..good. It also looks like they were careful to include the ability to run all the third-party iPod "apps" that have been hacked together by the community...many iPods are actually stealing market from Palm...as supertanker PDAs...good. Also, a miniPod lets them jack the price of the big brother iPods back up and prevents them from having to compete in a price war in the next year! They can price compete on minis if they don't sacerfice features, and throw them away if there's too much competition. That keeps them Profitable so they can keep cranking out new stuff! I wonder if these USB enabled ones can work as PC boot devices on mobos that allow it....That would be the ultimate Linux tool!! here comes my iKnoppix!!
And what does a "Competent" windows admin cost? Probably more than an average Unix admin. Realize that MS isn't selling "competent admins" they are selling the industry average price MSCE. [and they flooded the market...get it] Unix on the other hand has long history of what is necessary in a good admin, and few tools for "quick cheaters" like Windows...nor is it expected to be quick and easy.
I wouldn't say that Mr. Bush is a fascist, but he is not an active defender of the principles of the Constitution either....he doesn't REALLY BELIEVE the oath he took. He's not paying careful attention to what he's being told. That is a bigger problem. Like so many American Executives, his policy is made by a combination of opportunistic speech writers writing to get ratings, and fist-shaking shouts to those liberals on CNN. That's more dangerous than being openly hostile...because when pushed by the media, he turns around and backs up the stupid comments rather than stopping to think of the long term effects in the first place, or explaining to americans that he really CAN'T DO THAT!
many of the comments I've heard are equivelant to slashdot posts...and nearly as raw and unedited...that has no place comming from the mouth of the prez! He's got to be smarter than that. After all, PATRIOT was actually the product of years of planning and waiting for just the right moment to get passed by certian parties. They waited for something really bad to happen, then gained support from the "good intentions" by very improper comments made...like the moral fasions in the article earlier "what not to say"! Then the prez made comments he simply shouldn't have made to get it thru...he may have been smart, but not wise...that's the problem. "Good intentions" mixed with a little spite have a way of doing far more damage than a shooting war with bullets does. It's a slippery slope. That's the problem with the Bush Administration right now: They aren't ACTIVELY TRYING NOT to be totalitarian!
on the opposite note, how about those crosses on top of churches! After all, the cross was the symbol of absolute Roman oppression for several hundred years AD...it's equivenant to putting an electric chair up there! Just noting it can work both way...not alway banning symbols, but also adopting them irrationally too.
One of the solutions is for IT to start developing ISO 9000 type protocols for installing, managing, staffing IT in small and medium companies. The biggest liability right now is the "wild west" factor...which management loves when it's bull, but runs from when it's bear.
This would be a great opportunity for some open source efforts!!!! What's needed is a 3 prong approach: IT staff, executives, and users. For executives, there's no common standard for why then need IT, and what to expect...written so THEY CAN UNDERSTAND IT. They understand that they need to have computers, and to connect them, but not even the basics of how or why....and what their IT guy should be doing FOR them! Same to a lesser extent with users. There needs to be more and better online education aimed squarely at users. As simple as "this is what a user's job is" type stuff. A reasonable, well indexed and documented list of what a user should be able to do...and who they should turn to for help.
ISO type systems are what created the Japenese auto monster in the 80's. not just working harder, but smarter, with more attention to the end results. Now's the time to get the same push going for IT.
This is what we should be striving for now: Onboard Shuttle Group! because nobody without decades of experience and ingenuity in management and quality control of information can pull such stuff off...yet. That is our US advantage!
Actually, Social security, medicare, unemployment, workers comp....are all added additionally to your employer's share based on your wage...that's money they spend that you don't ever see on your W-2. Generally, they figure 1.5-2x your per hour wage as what the company actually pays out for you.
My point is that after a year or two if I can't fix it myself or get a hold of the custom dell parts, then what's the point...most smaller companies use 4-5 year old computers routinely!
but if there's only 1 IT guy then this isn't an "IT orgainization" , it's some other kind of business that just uses computers. That's my beef with MS. Sure if you have a staff of programmers or sys admins for 1000 users, salary is more that the cost of software. In small shops, most IT guys are "it"...programming, sys admin, security, support, etc... MS tools are simply way to expensive for those people...and they represent a good 25-50% of all IT positions!!! He was talking about 60-120 users...unless you by the full MS hook up for 10-20K you don't get any benifits from buying MS! Plus you have to train all the users, and spend 6 months learning the stuff yourself...by that point MS comes out with something new and you start all over! It's a waste of his time, company money, and user fustration...
I don't really have to do all that to my DVD, or VCR, or gamecube, phone, toaster, etc...and that's the real issue here that this guy's making it think. simply running a computer shouldn't be all that work. Now I will admit that running a computer isn't like a DVD player...you're always changing the software & hardware for new games, web pages, security patches, printers, etc, but it should be better than it is!
About that point is when I talked my bosses out of buying dells and started buying from a local shop! After spending 8-10 hours of my time trying to get a replacement dell power supply out of them that I knew was bad had the part number and wanted to pay for, but couldn't get directly from their website, I said "hang it"! That was entirely unacceptable. Now I buy from my local shop...everything's standard, and it takes less time and money [and time == $$!] to simply drive to the store and get another, than waste even 2 hours on the phone with them! After all, I'm cheap as far as IT goes but 2 hours is still $60+ for my employeer...and unpaid OT for me because of what I'm NOT getting done while playing with their "support". It may be a "cheap" PC, but if a single support call costs you 8-10 hours, you could have bought half a new PC for what you're paying your IT guy to sit on the phone. That's not cheap at all!
That said, too much retailing in general is after the "walmart" model of selling way to close to the break even point and opening stores everywhere. many of the corps in involved in the resturant business started opening stores just like walmart in every little town...but those stores don't actually make enough profits to justify being there [actual profits per store have fell by alomost half in real $$ in the last 10 years!]...but it's the workers/ franchisers at the stores that take the brunt...the corps get the license/accounting/rent fees "off the top" whether the store actually makes a profit or not. Most chains business models are about real estate and licensing, not actually selling stuff!
The joke of "walmart" is that it creates deflation! After all, if the workers make less real money, then the stores have to sell cheaper and cheaper to sell stuff to them. It's the dirty secret of the "recession"...it wasn't a recession at all, but an attempt by the fed and wall street to prevent their stock portfoilos from going down approperiately like everyone else's paychecks did! After all, when interest rates went down faster than the fed rate, you know you have problems. But figure that $100K actually buys MORE right now than 2-3 years ago and that's deflation...the top cats just want to make more $$ and buy more stuff and ignore that!
Simple, stop working in the state! If enough service people simply stop doing their work when this goes into effect, people will complain and it will be fixed. If say, both UPS and FedEx simply halted all deliveries in CA in protest, I'm sure it would get fixed quite quickly...
right on....and judging from our operations in Iraq, even those highly trained pilots can barely keep their copters in the air while being shot at...witness how many have crashed vs. shot down! They get to fly in controlled airspace where the next copter is 50-100' away! far less distracting circumstances that your local commute on the superfreeway.
many people are drinking a 2 liter of pop, pot of coffee, etc or more! on a daily basis...just not water. so they are fufilling their body's "need" but not adaquately, because the body has to process all the extra junk like caffeine, sugar, etc so much of the water goes to flush out your system...
I find from personal experience that 8 glasses of water are pretty easy to drink if that's all you have...and you don't have to pee all the time either. Like people mentioned above, it takes training your body to work properly for at least a month to undo all the bad habits you've taught it and to purge all the nasty stuff out. I went thru several months where I walked 3 miles a day, and ate mostly good food and limited pop...it really made a huge difference...but it's hard to sustain in our busy world that thrives on seeing how "extreme" you can be
Like the guy above who bragged about only needing 4 hours sleep...that's unnatural! the other problem with caffine is that it's typically tied to sugar...in other words, you are skipping good meals with proper mental vitamins by grabbing a 'dew and slamming out code for another 4 hours. That's not healthy. I've run into my own problems, and even on the days I have pop, limit myself to only 2x20oz, or I'll start getting sick from all the sugar. Seriously, get your system accustom to going without caffeine, sugar, and other nasty stuff, and you will feel and work much better, think much clearer, rest better, and actually code better! It's the difference between beign awake and alert and simply working with a whip to your back.
Actually, only A&W is caffeine free..."Barq's has bite!" i.e. the "bite" is the bitterness of caffeine.
That's the real reason that the auto industry was so upset in the 70's! It was the companies they set up to make THEM cheap parts that rebelled and started selling their own cars. That's why you won't hear about it in the software field, because it's the american businessmen that are pulling the strings in most of SE Asia. Why it's OK for Asus & Abit to outsource to mainland china, but NOT OK for Hynix [korean ram maker] to compete with Micron[americans]...get it. As long as the US companies make more money selling out their own workers they will do it.
No, he related his own experiences...and that with fair and equal offers put out, the indians were rasing prices, americans lowering, and that moving to india was no substitue for having american workers that understand HIS needs. Understanding saves money, more than actual wages. He was commenting that he sees it becoming a trend, and more work should start "coming back" when CEOs stop chasing the dream of small $$$.
MS business is built on becomming ever larger, unlike Apple who just wants to have a nice profit at the end of the year. In a sense, Bill has succeded in putting a PC in every home...everyone that wants one can get one. It's time for MS to move on. It's product is common, like laundry detrergent or Mac& cheese.
But basicly, there's a lot of hungry people that want what they've got...and either can't afford it [customers] or have been shut out of selling on MS platform [netscape, be, palm, apple...] In a lot of ways, it would be better to do nothing, but it's hard to get a court directive to "hang MS out" so to speak...they always seem to win the small battles in court that reinforce their market position/ product lockins.
Well hey, they want to be monopoly right...getting that last 1% for total world domination takes hard work and sacrfice....MS is just being typical American slackers on this! Only whoosies settle for 99% that's why the chinese and japanese are beating us at everything lately.
like you said, people are so busy, they put all their notes on slides and end up simply reading off them...but on a more sinistar note, Many executives consider Powerpoint skills to be very important...sort of like spelling on /.! [and react just about as professionally to presentation glitches] Sad but true...I've personally sat in meetings where no actal meeting took place because everybody was more worried about the presentation media than what the presentor was actually saying!!! That is the real menace of PP!
Simple things, like why do I have to rip my CD collection to make it practical on my PC? Why can't I just plug in my 100CD changer and pipe the audio to my SB live inputs directly? Why can't i pipe the analog video from my 5disc DVD changer to my PC and "remote control" from my desktop? Simple things like that should be happening out-of-the-box on PCs...it also neatly avoids some of the more heavy-handed DRM approaches that *IAAs are after.
Exploiting the "analog hole" would make things a little more inconvienant for /.rs that know what they're doing, but the majority of the unwashed masses simply don't know how to behave with recent advances and are ruining it for the rest of us. A little help from the electronics companies could smooth the wrinkles a little and make things easier, but not as "pure", for the masses, and call off the dogs like the *IAA & MS that want to take away our PCs!
Yeah, like the electronics and televison companies to do their jobs and release it properly already....the deadline used to be back in 1997! It's been extended twice already. If they can sell a DVD player for $50, then a settop box is a piece of cake...they just don't want to! Hollywood has got their mits in creating "new" tech and everybody involved has got greedy...just like all the other cool 90's inventions...Tivo, WEB, cell phones...
If you just want a book with your name on it check out places like bookprinter.com they're just a printer, but have decent prices for only a few copies. That said, printing anything professionally, covered and bound is 300-500 just to set up the proof copy...you get a better deal if you buy at least 1000. Of course you're looking at $2k-$5k minimum...if you can't get published, consider it an expensive hobby!
I'm only surprised MS hasn't released something like this sooner. That said, using the actual XDK might be useful even with restrictions...I'm sure that XboxOS is VERY CLOSE to WinCE under the hood...probably more than MS would ever admit to. this project may be easier than he's making it!