Almost nobody needs it, but every poor sucker who buys a new PC gets stuck with it. The only people who need it are half-blind old people who can't see the small icons in XP.
The problem with Linux is that there are roughly a vigintillion distros, and if try one, then go online asking for help, a bunch of unsociable dorks and dweebs in their mothers' basements tell you what an idiot you are, and that you have no business being within a mile of a computer. Linux is only for them. Sick of Windows? Get a Mac.
These mega-corporations could easily hare mafia hit men, and have the patent trolls killed. That would have quite a chilling effect on patent trolling. Make 'em sleep with the fishes, and the problem will go away, Capiche?
Sadly, all I can do for most people who say they feel lost is recommend the "For Dummies" line of books. If they have to have Windows because that is what work or school uses, Mac and Linux are not options. Microsoft needs to do better. I could quickly put together a focus group that would give them an earful, but I doubt that they care.
"Microsoft argued that it provided detailed information on the sticker program and that it was the customers' fault for not educating themselves before purchasing their new computers."...
Microsoft should know that 98% of the computer-owning public knows nothing about computers except that they need one for work, and the kids need one for school. Instead, they have proven that they are out of touch.
Every version since Windows 95 has forgotten the user at every turn. Taking people's icons away and forcing them to use the start menu confuses users. Changing the names and locations of things with every new version so people have to learn all over again is an ordeal.
It's not only windows. Internet Explorer 7 took away "History" unless you want to clutter up your screen with an explorer bar. Where did the history pull-down go. Parents want to check up on where their kids have been surfing. Why the hell would they take a feature away? It boggles the mind!
Microsoft has made computing more complicated and confusing for the average user at every turn when they need to make it simpler. It is a shame they are still in business.
Microsoft can't take this market from Apple through innovation, so they are trying to do it through litigation. They are behind this action. It won't take long for following the money to show that.
The public is not going to understand this until the idiot box stops working. Trying to explain it to them causes even more confusion for the average idiot. Here is a scenario...
TV Expert: Analog TV is going off the air in February of next year, if you use a TV antenna you will need a converter box. You can get a coupon for $40 off of one on the web.
Public guy: Really! Cable uses converter boxes. All I gots to do is buy me one, then I get cable TV, and I can even get 40 bucks off? Woo-hoo! Sign me up!
TV Expert: No, I am not talking about cable. Now, there is analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting. In a year, there will only be digital. If your TV does not have a digital tuner, you will need the converter box. Then, you will be able to watch digital TV.
Public guy: OK, now I get it. My buddy down the street has digital, comes off that little satellite dish outside he pays for every month, but all I need is this converter, and they'll give me 40 dollars off, then I gets satellite tv free? Woo-hoo! Sign me up!
TV Expert: No, I'm not talking about satellite either. I am talking about over the air TV that you pick up with an antenna. Do any of your friends have HDTV? It will work like that.
Public guy: Yeah. My rich-ass brother in law has high definition. It looks great! I don't even have to buy a new TV to get it, I just need that converter box? Woo-Hoo!...
Just give up trying to explain it. They will not understand.
This conspiracy is much bigger than he knows. It's not just the DOD. The gaming industry is also in cahoots with The Council on Foreign Relations, The Trilateral Commission, The Order of the Illuminati, the Masons, The UN Security Council, Israeli intelligence, Vladimir Putin, The Fnords, Martians and organized crime. It's a monster like the Hydra!! OH NOES!
Jack Thompson will never take this down alone. It's a shame Ronald Reagan is gone. There is nothing he couldn't do.
Wal-mart is for people convinced that the cheapest is the best. I doubt that any of those people read magazine reviews before shopping. Everyone who bought that PC got what they paid for. Unless you are part of the cheap is good skinflint crowd, you aren't going to find anything worth having at the redneck mall. Duh!
In much of the world where people are starving, the notion that vapor has any value whatsoever is too absurd even to consider. Perhaps the rich nations of the world could learn something from the wisdom of those more grounded in the realities of seeking food, clothing and shelter.
I don't know. Do you want more DRM crap from Hollywood and the recording racketeers without anything at all in it for you?
There are too many things wrong with Vista to fix with a service pack. It is a lemon like ME and Microsoft should have just scrapped it.
Starving African children don't need a damn computer any more than they need a copy of the King James Bible that missionaries give them instead of something to eat. They need food! Ditch the whole project and use the money on Plumpy'nut.
No one in this thread, ones at Fark, Digg or anywhere else seems to be saying that they are sad to learn that CompUSA is going away or that they will miss it. Considering that, it is a wonder they lasted this long.
Computers are so mysterious to most people that they might as well be from Mars. They have no way of knowing whether or not the kid down the street who says he knows computers is pro quality or not. All they know is that he knows more than they do.
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I can has settlement monees now, Pleez?
No! You can not has settlement moneez. Not yours!
RIAA is an acronym for Recording Industry Association of America. Niether "A" stands for artists. Sorry suckers!
Almost nobody needs it, but every poor sucker who buys a new PC gets stuck with it. The only people who need it are half-blind old people who can't see the small icons in XP.
The problem with Linux is that there are roughly a vigintillion distros, and if try one, then go online asking for help, a bunch of unsociable dorks and dweebs in their mothers' basements tell you what an idiot you are, and that you have no business being within a mile of a computer. Linux is only for them. Sick of Windows? Get a Mac.
Ha Ha! Those wacky Pakis. Will civilization ever be established in Muslim countries, or will they be savages forever?
That's nice, but I'd rather have a big Snickers.
When did France put nuclear missiles right off of our coast, aimed right at our cities?
These mega-corporations could easily hare mafia hit men, and have the patent trolls killed. That would have quite a chilling effect on patent trolling. Make 'em sleep with the fishes, and the problem will go away, Capiche?
Sadly, all I can do for most people who say they feel lost is recommend the "For Dummies" line of books. If they have to have Windows because that is what work or school uses, Mac and Linux are not options. Microsoft needs to do better. I could quickly put together a focus group that would give them an earful, but I doubt that they care.
"Microsoft argued that it provided detailed information on the sticker program and that it was the customers' fault for not educating themselves before purchasing their new computers."... Microsoft should know that 98% of the computer-owning public knows nothing about computers except that they need one for work, and the kids need one for school. Instead, they have proven that they are out of touch. Every version since Windows 95 has forgotten the user at every turn. Taking people's icons away and forcing them to use the start menu confuses users. Changing the names and locations of things with every new version so people have to learn all over again is an ordeal. It's not only windows. Internet Explorer 7 took away "History" unless you want to clutter up your screen with an explorer bar. Where did the history pull-down go. Parents want to check up on where their kids have been surfing. Why the hell would they take a feature away? It boggles the mind! Microsoft has made computing more complicated and confusing for the average user at every turn when they need to make it simpler. It is a shame they are still in business.
RIAA: Recording Industrialists Against Artists.
This case is yet another example of how "Muslim civilization" is a contradiction.
Bosses may think multitaskers are efficient, but chickens with their heads cut off are anything but.
Microsoft can't take this market from Apple through innovation, so they are trying to do it through litigation. They are behind this action. It won't take long for following the money to show that.
These nanobots would be a lot like a submarine: long and hard and full of semen.
The public is not going to understand this until the idiot box stops working. Trying to explain it to them causes even more confusion for the average idiot. Here is a scenario...
TV Expert: Analog TV is going off the air in February of next year, if you use a TV antenna you will need a converter box. You can get a coupon for $40 off of one on the web.
Public guy: Really! Cable uses converter boxes. All I gots to do is buy me one, then I get cable TV, and I can even get 40 bucks off? Woo-hoo! Sign me up!
TV Expert: No, I am not talking about cable. Now, there is analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting. In a year, there will only be digital. If your TV does not have a digital tuner, you will need the converter box. Then, you will be able to watch digital TV.
Public guy: OK, now I get it. My buddy down the street has digital, comes off that little satellite dish outside he pays for every month, but all I need is this converter, and they'll give me 40 dollars off, then I gets satellite tv free? Woo-hoo! Sign me up!
TV Expert: No, I'm not talking about satellite either. I am talking about over the air TV that you pick up with an antenna. Do any of your friends have HDTV? It will work like that.
Public guy: Yeah. My rich-ass brother in law has high definition. It looks great! I don't even have to buy a new TV to get it, I just need that converter box? Woo-Hoo!...
Just give up trying to explain it. They will not understand.
This conspiracy is much bigger than he knows. It's not just the DOD. The gaming industry is also in cahoots with The Council on Foreign Relations, The Trilateral Commission, The Order of the Illuminati, the Masons, The UN Security Council, Israeli intelligence, Vladimir Putin, The Fnords, Martians and organized crime. It's a monster like the Hydra!! OH NOES!
Jack Thompson will never take this down alone. It's a shame Ronald Reagan is gone. There is nothing he couldn't do.
Wal-mart is for people convinced that the cheapest is the best. I doubt that any of those people read magazine reviews before shopping. Everyone who bought that PC got what they paid for. Unless you are part of the cheap is good skinflint crowd, you aren't going to find anything worth having at the redneck mall. Duh!
In much of the world where people are starving, the notion that vapor has any value whatsoever is too absurd even to consider. Perhaps the rich nations of the world could learn something from the wisdom of those more grounded in the realities of seeking food, clothing and shelter.
If incandescent light bulbs go away, so will "screw in a lightbulb" jokes. Can comedy survive?
I don't know. Do you want more DRM crap from Hollywood and the recording racketeers without anything at all in it for you? There are too many things wrong with Vista to fix with a service pack. It is a lemon like ME and Microsoft should have just scrapped it.
I agree with Dvorak.
Starving African children don't need a damn computer any more than they need a copy of the King James Bible that missionaries give them instead of something to eat. They need food! Ditch the whole project and use the money on Plumpy'nut.
No one in this thread, ones at Fark, Digg or anywhere else seems to be saying that they are sad to learn that CompUSA is going away or that they will miss it. Considering that, it is a wonder they lasted this long.
Computers are so mysterious to most people that they might as well be from Mars. They have no way of knowing whether or not the kid down the street who says he knows computers is pro quality or not. All they know is that he knows more than they do.
Yo! Yo! You feds be illin'. Your stupid subpeona I be killin'.
Fo shizzle!
I am a troll, so I am really getting a kick out of most of these replies.
Some of you guys are very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking about.
But trust me.... You don't.
I think you just want to make yourself sound smart, when in reality you don't know what you are talking about.
This is how bad info gets passed around.
If you don't know about the topic, don't make yourself sound like you do.
Cuz some Slashdotters believe anything they hear.