Thanks for the tank of gas comparison. It really puts things into perspective.
In South Africa, it's a different matter. Only now with the the introduction of the new Mac Mini are Macs becoming more affordable. Previously, it was not uncommon to shell out R20,000 for a Mac system, roughly the equivalent of 100 tanks of gas here. Some people can even afford to buy low cost government housing for that money.
I saw a post in which reference is made to a legal situation in which a judge ruled in favour of MS to be able to use a graphical interface for an OS (in a ruling against Apple), because of the competition aspect; similar in some ways to this scenario. Let's hope that there are people in positions of power who are wise enough to counter this of trend.
In another vein: MS is stockpiling IP - why? Are they planning to stop innovating software and just make money from lawsuits like other industry dinosaurs?
I forgot to add: This sounds like an interesting plot for a new Indiana Jones movie. Pity that the title "Raiders of the Lost Ark" has already been used (and the fact that Harrison Ford is getting a tad old:)
It is rumoured that a the remains of the Ark were found by a biplane flying over mount Ararat at the end of World War I. The remains were supposedly removed by the American government (and hidden in Area 51, no doubt).
Correction: If you read through most of the replies to this post, you will see that the respondents do everything but tend away from religion. They are certainly not neutral about it. If that were the case, I would not have a problem with these discussions.
I disparage this thing that I disagree with: Deriding other peoples beliefs.
I understand that people with no religious background mock and insult Jesus (as you see many of the respondents doing), but I still stand by what I have said: It doesn't belong on Slashdot.
I am rather disappointed by the reaction to this post. I understand that most of Slashdot readers are movie buffs besides being geeks and open source followers, and Monty Python has a strong following among them. However, considering the reaction this post has drawn, much of it disrespectful to the Christian faith, I wonder: What has this got to do with open source and the open source community (remember - OSDN)? That is the main reason I read Slashdot, and is what I understand to be the main purpose for Slashdot. I understand Micheal posted this with informative intent, but I think there are more appropriate websites for these kind of announcements.
I am sure that the reason why as many as one third of the site's visitors respond to such solicitation is that it is a rather novel idea. I'm sure the novelty will wear off very soon.
I am in the same position as you, looking after my parents' IT needs. I will shortly need to replace my parents current computer with a newer one, and am looking at a solution comprising a user-friendly Linux distro (such as ArkLinux) with OpenOffice for productivity. This should cater for most people's computing needs; you can surf the web, write email, type documents, do your budgets and more!
This move by MS may draw or keep customers in the short term, but it may also be a bridge for migration to *NIX systems in the long run. My reasoning is that, once customers integrate *NIX components into their Windows environment (using the tools provided by MS), they are only firming their dependency on *NIX, so the next logical step for many would be to completely migrate away from Windows-based products.
Are MS shooting themselves in the foot?
Slashdot Mirror
Thanks for the tank of gas comparison. It really puts things into perspective. In South Africa, it's a different matter. Only now with the the introduction of the new Mac Mini are Macs becoming more affordable. Previously, it was not uncommon to shell out R20,000 for a Mac system, roughly the equivalent of 100 tanks of gas here. Some people can even afford to buy low cost government housing for that money.
I saw a post in which reference is made to a legal situation in which a judge ruled in favour of MS to be able to use a graphical interface for an OS (in a ruling against Apple), because of the competition aspect; similar in some ways to this scenario. Let's hope that there are people in positions of power who are wise enough to counter this of trend.
In another vein: MS is stockpiling IP - why? Are they planning to stop innovating software and just make money from lawsuits like other industry dinosaurs?
I forgot to add: This sounds like an interesting plot for a new Indiana Jones movie. Pity that the title "Raiders of the Lost Ark" has already been used (and the fact that Harrison Ford is getting a tad old :)
It is rumoured that a the remains of the Ark were found by a biplane flying over mount Ararat at the end of World War I. The remains were supposedly removed by the American government (and hidden in Area 51, no doubt).
There is a simple solution to this problem: Simply delay the audio by 60ms as well.
Correction: If you read through most of the replies to this post, you will see that the respondents do everything but tend away from religion. They are certainly not neutral about it. If that were the case, I would not have a problem with these discussions.
I disparage this thing that I disagree with: Deriding other peoples beliefs.
I understand that people with no religious background mock and insult Jesus (as you see many of the respondents doing), but I still stand by what I have said: It doesn't belong on Slashdot.
Here is the real spoiler - He rises again from the dead! Bet you didn't see that coming!
I am rather disappointed by the reaction to this post. I understand that most of Slashdot readers are movie buffs besides being geeks and open source followers, and Monty Python has a strong following among them. However, considering the reaction this post has drawn, much of it disrespectful to the Christian faith, I wonder: What has this got to do with open source and the open source community (remember - OSDN)? That is the main reason I read Slashdot, and is what I understand to be the main purpose for Slashdot. I understand Micheal posted this with informative intent, but I think there are more appropriate websites for these kind of announcements.
I am sure that the reason why as many as one third of the site's visitors respond to such solicitation is that it is a rather novel idea. I'm sure the novelty will wear off very soon.
Fighting Free software with free software.
(Okay, I know they are two different types of free; hence the capitalization).
I am in the same position as you, looking after my parents' IT needs. I will shortly need to replace my parents current computer with a newer one, and am looking at a solution comprising a user-friendly Linux distro (such as ArkLinux) with OpenOffice for productivity. This should cater for most people's computing needs; you can surf the web, write email, type documents, do your budgets and more!
I think Larry Norman said it best:
"...and if there's life on other planets, then I'm sure that He must know. And He's been there once already, and has died to save their souls".
Someone else made a good quip: "Is there intelligent life out there? Yes, God!"
This move by MS may draw or keep customers in the short term, but it may also be a bridge for migration to *NIX systems in the long run. My reasoning is that, once customers integrate *NIX components into their Windows environment (using the tools provided by MS), they are only firming their dependency on *NIX, so the next logical step for many would be to completely migrate away from Windows-based products.
Are MS shooting themselves in the foot?
Perhaps visually impaired people.