Kill the customer. Goes amazingly well, they never complain and as long as you are in undertaking, the money will just roll in.
A peacock's tail feathers are an evolution
on
Becoming Agile
·
· Score: 1
A peacock's tail feathers are an evolution. Doesn't mean they are useful, or don't turn the bird into a far easier (if hard to pluck) meal.
Evolution does NOT always lead to perfection. The cheetah is so agile, so fast that it has lost all strength and stamina to defend its kills and the animal is dying out.
A lot of people get evolution wrong, they still see it as having some kind of goal, a finish line. An end result that is perfection.
There have been a lot of changes in IT and a lot of meaningless marketing drivel has been used to make them seem fancy and frankly, nothing changes really.
Go SCRUM and AGILE if you like, the rest of us are far to busy doing our job well to need to implement yet another fancy method to make us do our job well.
In the dutch free newspaper "De pres" there was an article today about a British atheist/Muslim (he is an atheist but he is the son of Muslim immigrants).
Basically, he claims things went wrong when the left embraced the idea of a multi-cultural society. Suddenly people were no longer judged on who they were but on their background. So, you were no longer poor or rich, but Muslim or white. And then the old labels were still applied, all Muslims are poor and uneducated and all whites are rich and went to university. A silly notion but VERY true and not just with the PC crowd. Years ago I worked as a cleaner and I was asked by other cleaners who were all imigrants, why a white person was working there. Because it paid decent and they didn't care about qualifications, hold a mob the right way up on the second try and they paid you.
Rather then judge people on who they are, we know judge you on the group we label you as and damned if you don't fit that label. Not all fat people are lazy and not all skinny people got an eating disorder thank you very much.
By seemingly allowing people to be of a different culture we are in a way enforcing them to remain in that culture. In the movie "radioland murders" there is a simple gag, we see a radio play being recorded with a black and a white actor, then we HEAR but not SEE, some weird lingo being spoken, obviously some language by primitive bush people, THEN the camera pans back JUST as the hero starts say in posh english "easy for you to say, what". Joke: it is the black guy who says this, looking for everything but his skin color like an English noble man.
The multicultural society is very open to Muslims, as long as they act like proper Muslims. Claim: all Muslims in Denmark were against the cartoons. One Muslim: not all, I am not. Response: Oh yeah, but you are not a proper Muslim. It is the same with blacks, fine if they act black, but if they act white, they are sell outs, uncle Toms and what not. Blacks should listen to Rap music, that is good and shows a respect for the others culture, listening to Bach is NOT. Be honest with yourself, how would you react if a black guy strutted out and started playing a violin? How tolerant would you be?
We need to get back to our old ideals, judge people who they are, and be willing to say, "No, those believes/attitudes do NOT have a place in our culture". Multi-culturalism is dead, it could never exist. A true multi-cultural would HAVE to accept one culture destroying all the others because to deny that first culture is to deny that culture its right to exist. A multi-cultural would let pedo's room free because having sex with children is also a culture.
We need to get back to a honest open society were we judge all religions the same and all extremist the sames. So, no religious symbols in public spaces since there is separation of church and state. But this is a hard sell, especially since some parties, like the christians want to introduce their own extreme views by the efforts of Muslims. Prayers for Muslims open the door wide to prayers for Christians without ever the Christians having to lift a finger. Very convenient.
The left needs to give up the idea of a multi-cultural society and go back to its root. A society of one for all and all for one. Were you can be different as an individual but not as a group expect to be treated different.
It will be a hard change to make, as it takes real guts but right now right wing extremist are on the increase. Either the left deals with the problems or the right comes with their own solutions, and we all know how that tends to work out.
MWAHAA! Forget the LHC, move over 2012. I am going to destroy the earth by creating a paradox that sucks up the entire internet and moves us back to the stone ages of about two decades ago when dinosaurs ruled the earth!
There is more to being a developer then being a good coder and as someone who had only partial training, I know the difference.
Knowing the theory doesn't make you a good coder, but not knowing the theory makes being a good developer a lot harder. NOT because you might not have the actual skills, but because you can't talk the talk, although you can walk that walk.
The bee does not how it can fly, it just does. The scientist knows not only how the bee flies, but birds and other insects as well, yet he shall never fly under his own power as long as he lives. Who is greater? The bee or the scientist?
Michael Schumacher is famous for both being a record smashing F1 driver AND not knowing much about cars unlike many of his competitors who despite their better knowledge were slower.
But then again, as said, being a developer is more then pumping out code, you got to be able to communicate what you do to others if you want the big bugs and there the theory helps, it helps in the simplest way because you will share a common set of words.
I have only a partial education but it has helped me to "know" that there is more out there. I might not have the full sets of skills but at least I know there are skills out to be learned, if I need them and that helps.
But yeah, I suppose that this debade will go on forever as us "blue collar" developers can name so many examples of "white collar" developers who ain't worth shit. At least the blue collar has proven himself over the years, many graduates have yet to do that.
That is why any good boss will take diploma's as nothing more then a hint. The proof is in the actual work produced.
The scientific implications of this are staggering. 4% of people called into a show they couldn't see when asked to call in on said show. HOW! We NEED TO KNOW! Why is the government trying to cover this up!
Bioware has done it again... and that as I will try to make clear is not entirely a compliment.
Dragon Age is the fantasy RPG from Bioware that is NOT D&D. As you may know, Baldur Gate and Neverwinter Nights were both based in this universe. And to be honest, after having the same exact skillset for over a decade, it was time for something new. Anyway, Bioware no longer got the license so they set out to create a bright new world with dragons and dungeons and elves and dwarves and magic...
So what is new in this brave new world? No magic arrow and colored spray. Everything else is the same. Oh okay, not exactly the same, stats are simpler but if you played Baldur's Gate, you will have a strong sensation of Deja Vu. But then you should be used to it, because you had the same sensation in Neverwinter Nights.
So it is more of what we come to expect, is this bad?
Yes.
Why? It is NOT because we got dwarfs and elves and such. Their are enough subtle changes to make it interesting while at the same time giving us that warm feeling of a familiar place.
The problem is that the game STILL plays the same. You will STILL need a rogue who is useless in combat because they need to be specced to the max to detect the traps that are only in a few dungeons but then are so numerous you can't move an inch. You STILL get locked wooden chests that this time you can't even bash, even with a golem around. You STILL only get 1 ingredient from said locked chest that is 1/5 of a potion. You STILL get said chests in the end game where you are fighting for your life and stop the entire war to pick a chest that then has a shield that never was of any use during the entire game.
Some, like me, might have hoped Bioware had gotten past this, that the endless looting of chests all over the place every 2 meters, the idiotic loot drops etc had just been part of D&D. But that is not true. No dungeon master would do that. Loot goes at the end of the game, the dragon horde. Not every 30 seconds.
Will I like the game
Yes: if you want Baldur's Gate 3.
No: if you are sick to death of the same game OVER and OVER.
A brief walktrhough
You choose a race, a class and a origin. This bit is actually very well done, you can really see the different stories blend in with the main storyline and they are interesting enough. It is once you get on the main story that you get another MAJOR and disappointing Deja Vu moment. Bla bla bla, world in danger from an enemy, unite the races, all three races want you to do something for them, gain a force, give them better equipment, assault the enemy in a final battle. Been there, DONE that. It was TWICE in Neverwinter Nights.
Is it REALLY that hard to come with a new story type? Apparently it is for Bioware.
Remember please Bioware, people play your games multiple times, so we have united armies and equipped them dozens of times before. COME UP WITH SOMETHING NEW PLEASE! And no, collecting 3 items to create a weapon is NOT NEW.
But how is the combat
Messy and idiotic.
One of the most braindead decisions by Bioware is to limit you to four, to make story dependant on who you pick (only people in your part comment and get affected by choices) and to LIMIT their AI settings based on skill points you NEED for other things.
So unless you cheat, you are either going to have to do without skills like herb and tracking or do without a full list of ai options.
The idea is that you can create a very simple "if this, then do that" list for your party members. It works, it takes some thinking but it really does work. Provided you pick your own because the ones Bioware has cooked up suck donkey balls. Oh, and you got to cheat.
Let me explain:
The ideal foursome in DAO would be a tank who can gain agro, a DPS who shoots the crap out of enemies, a disabler who disables stuff you ain't ready to deal with and a healer.
And NOBODY cared in early cars that the steering wheels and control knobs were sharp metal spikes ready to impale a driver who didn't even have the option of a seatbelt. In fact, seatbelts it was argued by someone in a desert would kill more people because it would take them longer to escape if their car went into water, the driver remarked, surrounded by nothing but sand for hundreds of miles in any direction.
People are idiots, no solution has yet been found to this dilemma.
The real problem, is that there is no simple answer. Only a complex one.
Is capitalism or socialism the answer? Yes.
Yes, because BOTH are the answer, at the same time.
Allow me to try to explain this, before you explode.
There are things government does well and things private individuals do well, but they are NOT restricted each to a field.
This means that private individuals should be free to engage in business, but not without any controls and limitations. And government should be allowed to interfere if it serves society as a whole better.
You had a little while ago the laughable story about the US press. You saw several posts commenting that either a state run media or a company run media are the only alternatives.
How idiotic, everyone knows that in Europe, BOTH exists, besides each other, fighting each other tooth and nail. THAT is how you get progress. If you think a state run media alone can be independent, you are insane, although not nearly as insane as the idea that company run media will be independent. Fox News is company owned. Case closed.
The US needs to accept that you need a healthy balance between the state and the individual and that this balance can NEVER be achieved, you always will end up with a pendulum swinging back and forth. Things only go wrong if the pendulum is either hanging still or doesn't swing back.
The problem is that you can't get elected with this policy. You need to pick a side and that means in the US that the pendulum can be pulled to far of the center. That is what happened with the credit crisis, to many administrations, from both sides, who did not excersise the control of the state on the financial institutions.
We need to get away from the idea that their is ONE ideology that is the answer. Uncontrolled financial markets are clearly not the answer but neither is total control. What you need to have is the right control at the right time but that can't be achieved, so you need to accept the situation that sometimes there is a bit to much control and sometimes to little without going to extremes.
This middle path is NOT taking the road of least resistance, on the contrary, you will face opposition from all sides, but it is the only one that has been proven to work.
There are PLENTY of women here close to or over 2 meters. Do you know how hard it is to stare down at a woman's tits when they are above you? I got to carry a stepladder around JUST so I can I look down on women.
MS Office is hurting, not from competition but from the fact that old versions are good enough. Countless very large companies simply no longer bother to upgrade. It is even worse with governments. MS Office competes with its older versions, it is a unique thing about software because software doesn't degrade like physical products.
The newer office versions simply have no compelling features that people MUST have.
As for DirectX, that must be one of the most poorly run businesses in the world. MS constantly is shifting its focus from Windows is not for gaming, to pushing its console and back to Windows. As for doing it for the entire industry, I presume you are leaving out the PS3, Wii, DS and PSP here? Oh and the biggest PC game, WoW runs perfectly fine on the mac, where there is no DirectX.
Sorry mate, but try again.
This article is not about MS doing badly but not doing as well as they could have done. MS could have pushed the envelope, and they didn't. That products like Open Office and KDE even come close to a billion dollar company says it all.
Just how can it be that Firefox, Opera, Chrome AND Safari are ALL better, faster and more capable browsers then IE? Where is all that R&D going?
They didn't write the basic compiler, it was copied and badly copied at that.
And then there is the real joke that shows you have no clue whatsoever about computer history. It was Compaq that created the IBM-clone. MS had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Next time you read up on history, don't do it at microsoft.com.
The press is indeed the watchdog. So watches the media moguls? The journalists paid by those moguls?
Why do you think you see so little info in the big media controlled press about copyright abuses by big media? Gosh, I wonder why.
Amazing, you can spot that it is a bad idea for the press to be owned by anyone but only think it is bad if the government is the one doing the owning. My complements to your brainwasher, he did a wonderful job, especially considering how delicate it is to wash such a small brain.
So basically, you went to a restaurant and paid for a burger, and they served you a shit burger. Then to wash the foul taste away, you pay them for another burger.
There is a lesson to be learned here about humanity, but I can't think of it because I am huddled under my desk cradling a shotgun, crying.
Oh wait. They didn't. Apple ain't stupid, they don't have an extensive range of MP3 players beside their smartphone just for the hell of it.
Or how cameraphones replaced camera's. Oh wait. They didn't.
Or how that really big black guy with the huge smile has totally replaced me in my gf's affections? Oh wait, she is telling me to get of the phone, Bubba needs his rest.
No wife has EVER had a problem criticizing her husband. Ever. Not once. Eve opened her eyes after god created her and gave Adam an earful about how this was the best rib he had to spare and all.
Slashdot Mirror
Has no books at all, except possibly the ones he wrote. God did not read a manual.
Kill the customer. Goes amazingly well, they never complain and as long as you are in undertaking, the money will just roll in.
A peacock's tail feathers are an evolution. Doesn't mean they are useful, or don't turn the bird into a far easier (if hard to pluck) meal.
Evolution does NOT always lead to perfection. The cheetah is so agile, so fast that it has lost all strength and stamina to defend its kills and the animal is dying out.
A lot of people get evolution wrong, they still see it as having some kind of goal, a finish line. An end result that is perfection.
There have been a lot of changes in IT and a lot of meaningless marketing drivel has been used to make them seem fancy and frankly, nothing changes really.
Go SCRUM and AGILE if you like, the rest of us are far to busy doing our job well to need to implement yet another fancy method to make us do our job well.
Why isn't there a mission if MS flight simulator to crash a plane in a building?
Why aren't there carpet bombing missions in MS combat flight simulator over vietnam and cambodja on civilian targets?
Why don't you get to kill american troops in America's Army?
The US calls other thin skinned when they censor themselves silly about themselves.
In the dutch free newspaper "De pres" there was an article today about a British atheist/Muslim (he is an atheist but he is the son of Muslim immigrants).
Basically, he claims things went wrong when the left embraced the idea of a multi-cultural society. Suddenly people were no longer judged on who they were but on their background. So, you were no longer poor or rich, but Muslim or white. And then the old labels were still applied, all Muslims are poor and uneducated and all whites are rich and went to university. A silly notion but VERY true and not just with the PC crowd. Years ago I worked as a cleaner and I was asked by other cleaners who were all imigrants, why a white person was working there. Because it paid decent and they didn't care about qualifications, hold a mob the right way up on the second try and they paid you.
Rather then judge people on who they are, we know judge you on the group we label you as and damned if you don't fit that label. Not all fat people are lazy and not all skinny people got an eating disorder thank you very much.
By seemingly allowing people to be of a different culture we are in a way enforcing them to remain in that culture. In the movie "radioland murders" there is a simple gag, we see a radio play being recorded with a black and a white actor, then we HEAR but not SEE, some weird lingo being spoken, obviously some language by primitive bush people, THEN the camera pans back JUST as the hero starts say in posh english "easy for you to say, what". Joke: it is the black guy who says this, looking for everything but his skin color like an English noble man.
The multicultural society is very open to Muslims, as long as they act like proper Muslims. Claim: all Muslims in Denmark were against the cartoons. One Muslim: not all, I am not. Response: Oh yeah, but you are not a proper Muslim. It is the same with blacks, fine if they act black, but if they act white, they are sell outs, uncle Toms and what not. Blacks should listen to Rap music, that is good and shows a respect for the others culture, listening to Bach is NOT. Be honest with yourself, how would you react if a black guy strutted out and started playing a violin? How tolerant would you be?
We need to get back to our old ideals, judge people who they are, and be willing to say, "No, those believes/attitudes do NOT have a place in our culture". Multi-culturalism is dead, it could never exist. A true multi-cultural would HAVE to accept one culture destroying all the others because to deny that first culture is to deny that culture its right to exist. A multi-cultural would let pedo's room free because having sex with children is also a culture.
We need to get back to a honest open society were we judge all religions the same and all extremist the sames. So, no religious symbols in public spaces since there is separation of church and state. But this is a hard sell, especially since some parties, like the christians want to introduce their own extreme views by the efforts of Muslims. Prayers for Muslims open the door wide to prayers for Christians without ever the Christians having to lift a finger. Very convenient.
The left needs to give up the idea of a multi-cultural society and go back to its root. A society of one for all and all for one. Were you can be different as an individual but not as a group expect to be treated different.
It will be a hard change to make, as it takes real guts but right now right wing extremist are on the increase. Either the left deals with the problems or the right comes with their own solutions, and we all know how that tends to work out.
I write my comments in swahili, if the comment was hard to write, it should be hard to read.
MWAHAA! Forget the LHC, move over 2012. I am going to destroy the earth by creating a paradox that sucks up the entire internet and moves us back to the stone ages of about two decades ago when dinosaurs ruled the earth!
We all agree, nobody would want to date anyone who even remotely resembles you.
Luckily, on slashdot, you are not alone. Welcome brother/sister.
There is more to being a developer then being a good coder and as someone who had only partial training, I know the difference.
Knowing the theory doesn't make you a good coder, but not knowing the theory makes being a good developer a lot harder. NOT because you might not have the actual skills, but because you can't talk the talk, although you can walk that walk.
The bee does not how it can fly, it just does. The scientist knows not only how the bee flies, but birds and other insects as well, yet he shall never fly under his own power as long as he lives. Who is greater? The bee or the scientist?
Michael Schumacher is famous for both being a record smashing F1 driver AND not knowing much about cars unlike many of his competitors who despite their better knowledge were slower.
But then again, as said, being a developer is more then pumping out code, you got to be able to communicate what you do to others if you want the big bugs and there the theory helps, it helps in the simplest way because you will share a common set of words.
I have only a partial education but it has helped me to "know" that there is more out there. I might not have the full sets of skills but at least I know there are skills out to be learned, if I need them and that helps.
But yeah, I suppose that this debade will go on forever as us "blue collar" developers can name so many examples of "white collar" developers who ain't worth shit. At least the blue collar has proven himself over the years, many graduates have yet to do that.
That is why any good boss will take diploma's as nothing more then a hint. The proof is in the actual work produced.
Enough with the goddamn excuse culture. You want respect, you earn respect. You want a second chance, then PROVE you deserve it first.
These guys killed someone and now they want the world to pretend it has never happened. Does NOT happen.
For all the so called negative press religion gets, it sure seems to be on the increase. Make of that what you will.
So is NASA, their buildings on earth are just a movie prop to fool the gullible, like you.
The scientific implications of this are staggering. 4% of people called into a show they couldn't see when asked to call in on said show. HOW! We NEED TO KNOW! Why is the government trying to cover this up!
Bioware has done it again... and that as I will try to make clear is not entirely a compliment.
Dragon Age is the fantasy RPG from Bioware that is NOT D&D. As you may know, Baldur Gate and Neverwinter Nights were both based in this universe. And to be honest, after having the same exact skillset for over a decade, it was time for something new. Anyway, Bioware no longer got the license so they set out to create a bright new world with dragons and dungeons and elves and dwarves and magic...
So what is new in this brave new world? No magic arrow and colored spray. Everything else is the same. Oh okay, not exactly the same, stats are simpler but if you played Baldur's Gate, you will have a strong sensation of Deja Vu. But then you should be used to it, because you had the same sensation in Neverwinter Nights.
So it is more of what we come to expect, is this bad?
Yes.
Why? It is NOT because we got dwarfs and elves and such. Their are enough subtle changes to make it interesting while at the same time giving us that warm feeling of a familiar place.
The problem is that the game STILL plays the same. You will STILL need a rogue who is useless in combat because they need to be specced to the max to detect the traps that are only in a few dungeons but then are so numerous you can't move an inch. You STILL get locked wooden chests that this time you can't even bash, even with a golem around. You STILL only get 1 ingredient from said locked chest that is 1/5 of a potion. You STILL get said chests in the end game where you are fighting for your life and stop the entire war to pick a chest that then has a shield that never was of any use during the entire game.
Some, like me, might have hoped Bioware had gotten past this, that the endless looting of chests all over the place every 2 meters, the idiotic loot drops etc had just been part of D&D. But that is not true. No dungeon master would do that. Loot goes at the end of the game, the dragon horde. Not every 30 seconds.
Will I like the game
Yes: if you want Baldur's Gate 3.
No: if you are sick to death of the same game OVER and OVER.
A brief walktrhough
You choose a race, a class and a origin. This bit is actually very well done, you can really see the different stories blend in with the main storyline and they are interesting enough. It is once you get on the main story that you get another MAJOR and disappointing Deja Vu moment. Bla bla bla, world in danger from an enemy, unite the races, all three races want you to do something for them, gain a force, give them better equipment, assault the enemy in a final battle. Been there, DONE that. It was TWICE in Neverwinter Nights.
Is it REALLY that hard to come with a new story type? Apparently it is for Bioware.
Remember please Bioware, people play your games multiple times, so we have united armies and equipped them dozens of times before. COME UP WITH SOMETHING NEW PLEASE! And no, collecting 3 items to create a weapon is NOT NEW.
But how is the combat
Messy and idiotic.
One of the most braindead decisions by Bioware is to limit you to four, to make story dependant on who you pick (only people in your part comment and get affected by choices) and to LIMIT their AI settings based on skill points you NEED for other things.
So unless you cheat, you are either going to have to do without skills like herb and tracking or do without a full list of ai options.
The idea is that you can create a very simple "if this, then do that" list for your party members. It works, it takes some thinking but it really does work. Provided you pick your own because the ones Bioware has cooked up suck donkey balls. Oh, and you got to cheat.
Let me explain:
The ideal foursome in DAO would be a tank who can gain agro, a DPS who shoots the crap out of enemies, a disabler who disables stuff you ain't ready to deal with and a healer.
The only decent tank is Shale, a golem
Bet it gets annoying when people constantly make wooshing noises at you and you have no idea why they are doing it.
Woosh!
Free will? Try, freedom. Now everyone who has the same gene, is labeled a murderer in potentia with nothing they can do about it.
Can you hear that? That is the gas-chambers starting up.
And NOBODY cared in early cars that the steering wheels and control knobs were sharp metal spikes ready to impale a driver who didn't even have the option of a seatbelt. In fact, seatbelts it was argued by someone in a desert would kill more people because it would take them longer to escape if their car went into water, the driver remarked, surrounded by nothing but sand for hundreds of miles in any direction.
People are idiots, no solution has yet been found to this dilemma.
The real problem, is that there is no simple answer. Only a complex one.
Is capitalism or socialism the answer? Yes.
Yes, because BOTH are the answer, at the same time.
Allow me to try to explain this, before you explode.
There are things government does well and things private individuals do well, but they are NOT restricted each to a field.
This means that private individuals should be free to engage in business, but not without any controls and limitations. And government should be allowed to interfere if it serves society as a whole better.
You had a little while ago the laughable story about the US press. You saw several posts commenting that either a state run media or a company run media are the only alternatives.
How idiotic, everyone knows that in Europe, BOTH exists, besides each other, fighting each other tooth and nail. THAT is how you get progress. If you think a state run media alone can be independent, you are insane, although not nearly as insane as the idea that company run media will be independent. Fox News is company owned. Case closed.
The US needs to accept that you need a healthy balance between the state and the individual and that this balance can NEVER be achieved, you always will end up with a pendulum swinging back and forth. Things only go wrong if the pendulum is either hanging still or doesn't swing back.
The problem is that you can't get elected with this policy. You need to pick a side and that means in the US that the pendulum can be pulled to far of the center. That is what happened with the credit crisis, to many administrations, from both sides, who did not excersise the control of the state on the financial institutions.
We need to get away from the idea that their is ONE ideology that is the answer. Uncontrolled financial markets are clearly not the answer but neither is total control. What you need to have is the right control at the right time but that can't be achieved, so you need to accept the situation that sometimes there is a bit to much control and sometimes to little without going to extremes.
This middle path is NOT taking the road of least resistance, on the contrary, you will face opposition from all sides, but it is the only one that has been proven to work.
There are PLENTY of women here close to or over 2 meters. Do you know how hard it is to stare down at a woman's tits when they are above you? I got to carry a stepladder around JUST so I can I look down on women.
MS Office is hurting, not from competition but from the fact that old versions are good enough. Countless very large companies simply no longer bother to upgrade. It is even worse with governments. MS Office competes with its older versions, it is a unique thing about software because software doesn't degrade like physical products.
The newer office versions simply have no compelling features that people MUST have.
As for DirectX, that must be one of the most poorly run businesses in the world. MS constantly is shifting its focus from Windows is not for gaming, to pushing its console and back to Windows. As for doing it for the entire industry, I presume you are leaving out the PS3, Wii, DS and PSP here? Oh and the biggest PC game, WoW runs perfectly fine on the mac, where there is no DirectX.
Sorry mate, but try again.
This article is not about MS doing badly but not doing as well as they could have done. MS could have pushed the envelope, and they didn't. That products like Open Office and KDE even come close to a billion dollar company says it all.
Just how can it be that Firefox, Opera, Chrome AND Safari are ALL better, faster and more capable browsers then IE? Where is all that R&D going?
First, since when has MS EVER promoted standards?
They didn't write the basic compiler, it was copied and badly copied at that.
And then there is the real joke that shows you have no clue whatsoever about computer history. It was Compaq that created the IBM-clone. MS had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Next time you read up on history, don't do it at microsoft.com.
The press is indeed the watchdog. So watches the media moguls? The journalists paid by those moguls?
Why do you think you see so little info in the big media controlled press about copyright abuses by big media? Gosh, I wonder why.
Amazing, you can spot that it is a bad idea for the press to be owned by anyone but only think it is bad if the government is the one doing the owning. My complements to your brainwasher, he did a wonderful job, especially considering how delicate it is to wash such a small brain.
So basically, you went to a restaurant and paid for a burger, and they served you a shit burger. Then to wash the foul taste away, you pay them for another burger.
There is a lesson to be learned here about humanity, but I can't think of it because I am huddled under my desk cradling a shotgun, crying.
Oh wait. They didn't. Apple ain't stupid, they don't have an extensive range of MP3 players beside their smartphone just for the hell of it.
Or how cameraphones replaced camera's. Oh wait. They didn't.
Or how that really big black guy with the huge smile has totally replaced me in my gf's affections? Oh wait, she is telling me to get of the phone, Bubba needs his rest.
No wife has EVER had a problem criticizing her husband. Ever. Not once. Eve opened her eyes after god created her and gave Adam an earful about how this was the best rib he had to spare and all.