And with the basis of your utopia being that consultation is worth more than development, don't be surprised when consultants are making big buucks while programmers have to take jobs on the side. Also, don't be surprised when programs are intentionally made difficult to use, so as to drive up the necessity for consulting/customization and the fees incurred from that.
Preventing Microsoft from being one of the bidders only hurts OEMs, as a smaller bidder pool results in smaller bids. You would have Dell settle for 5 million from Google, when they could've gotten 6 million from Microsoft, or 7 million from Google having to outbid Microsoft (for example).
Just to follow up on my own post (though it's bad form to replay to one's self lol), you can see in Microsoft's official statement: Windows Principles: Twelve Tenets to Promote Competition that they cite the USDOJ and the provisions of the US antitrust settlement again and again; never do they cite the European Commision's Kafka-esque kangaroo court.
You clearly didn't read the full story (which is much larger than the BS slashdot summary regarding search engines), which includes "no punishment" to OEMs. (Not that there's been "punishment" for OEMs bundling other OSes; there were "incentives" (i.e. discounts on Windows) not do so in the past.)
As far as the EU, I don't think Microsoft "fears" the EU, though they are sick of their bullshit, and want to be done dealing with them. That said, I don't think it has much to do with the EU. For the EU, Microsoft would just make an "N" version of Vista. No, this has more to do with the USDOJ, which has a constructive relationship with Microsoft on these issues (as evidenced by the mutual agreement to extend the antitrust oversight agreement beyond Nov 2007 (when it was due to expire) to 2012 and beyond), rather than the confrontational relationship that the EU prefers. And the EU has gotten nothing but "N" XP (rejected by the populace) and a couple of fines, because MS has no respect for the EU's (actually, just the EC's) process. The USDOJ is getting real results, the results that you guys have been clamouring for for years.
You can easier attract flies with honey than flypaper (or something like that lol). A constructive relationship based on mutual respect gets more results than confrontationl tactics based on mutual enmity.
That's all well and good, and I imagine that OEMs will offer the default media player, search engine, browser, etc to the highest bidder.
However, to be fair, Microsoft should not be prohibited from being one of those bidders. For example, if Google, Firefox, and Real offer Dell millions to make Google, Firefox, and Real the default search, browser, and media player, respectively, Microsoft should be allowed to outbid Google, Firefox, and/or Real to make Live.com, IE, and WMP the default search, browser, and/or media player.
Considering that slashdot gleefully bashed Microsoft for removing Vista features and/or backporting previously Vista-exclusive features to XP (thus lessening incentive to upgrade to Vista), it's hypocritical for slashdot to criticize Microsoft for keeping DX10 a Vista-exclusive feature.
Good point. I have one yahoo account that goes unused. I have three hotmail accounts, two of which go nearly unused. I have two gmail accounts, one of which goes unused and the other nearly so.:-)
Novel's Gnumeric is already supporting OpenXML's spreadheet format, so if you're trying to imply that OpenXML is only an MS thing, your being intellectually dishonest. Unless you're also willing to call ODF, OO.o XML or some such. ODF, the native format of OO.o 2.0 is derived from OO.o 1.x's XML format and is very much tied to OO.o's code structure and design.
You mean, like OO.o already has? OO.o has extended ODF for its own purposes since the ODF spec itself is incomplete (e.g. lack of a standard for storing spreadsheet formulas).
And how about this little gem? http://opendocumentfellowship.org/applications/kof fice "Our tests show that OpenOffice and KOffice have some problems opening each other's OpenDocument files. Also, support for drawings is a bit incomplete."
I wouldn't be surprised if MS ends up with better ODF support (i.e. more compliant to the spec, as opposed to just trying to mimic whatever OO.o does) than most ODF-native suites.
The reason the fine is less than what had been threatened in the press is because in late March 2006, Microsoft met with the EU Trustee Neil Barrett, who "clarified the requirements for the documents". Barrett also provided Microsoft with "aggressive series of deadlines" for providing the documentation in accordance with the clarified requirements.
Since that time, Microsoft has been working overtime to provide the documentation, including rehiring retirees that are more familiar with the issues, pulling people off of other projects such as Vista, staying up till 3AM, etc. And Microsoft has met all milestones in the "series of deadlines" laid down by Barrett. The seventh and final deadline is July 18, which Microsoft expects to meet.
So, since March, Micrsosoft has been acting in good faith, the EU knows this, so there's no need for the harsher fines that had been predicted. And don't hold your breath hoping for larger fines down the road. Why? Because even if the new documentation is still lacking in some manner, the EU knows that Microsoft provided the new documentation in good faith, and they'll just work with Microsoft to address any further deficiencies.
OSX Tiger's supposed "slam-dunk" features were Spotlight and Widgets, and Vista has its own versions of those. So those of you that were orgasming over Tiger (and many here and in the media did just that) should find Vista compelling as well.
(Doesn't apply to me, as I found Tiger underwhelming and am still running OSX Panther.)
I loathe Ellison, but that's the way the OSS model works. That's the risk you take when giving away your software and hope to make money on support. Someone else just might be able to support your software better than you, so you spend money developing the code and give it away, while others that haven't spent any money at all on the code, packaging, or distribution reap the rewards. This is what you guys have been advocating for years now. This is your utopia in full effect.
I don't like it, because the underlying theory is that software isn't worth paying for, but support is. Which leads to the theory thta programmers aren't worth paying, but consultants are. (Or, at least programmers won't be paid nearly as well as consultants, and why should they be? After all, programmers are choosing to work for free anyway). It's backwards thinking, but so many programmers are caught up in that utopian thinking, so that's where the industry is headed. Makes me glad I retired while programmers were still valued over consultants.
But this Oracle story is poetic justice, in a way. Red Hat execs have been using the OSS/support business model to make millions off of unpaid programming labor force. The execs get the fancy clothes, jets, sports cars, while the programmers get an "'Atta boy!!" Well, now that same OSS/support business model is allowing the likes of Oracle to potentially make more money off of Red Hat's product than Red Hat itself.
The ad campaign is not racist, but it is lame. Correlating PSP colors to race is not intelligent, not clever, not original, just lame. Sony got some elite "artsy" guy to come up with this idea, and they all thought it was clever and "edgy". It's just lame. What, if Sony releases red and yellow PSPs, they're going to depict Native Americans and Asians fighting each other? It's stupid. And it's not going to sell PSPs.
That Microsoft-produced video was already posted multiple times in this thread, Einstein.
Anyway, look for the box to be simple like the Xbox 360. Why? Because Robbie Bach, head of the Xbox division, is leading this portable music player project.
If "dumping" is illegal, what is OSS? Look for Microsoft to sue OO.o for dumping its product in the office suite market; you can't get much more anti-competitive than what OO.o does.
"High school kids that listen to AM radio? I bet the lack of HAM radio support is also a negative."
When I was in high school, we listened to AM, not for music, but for sports. For example, it was very nice to have a radio broadcasting a big-league baseball game on AM, while playing softball, or at a picnic, or at the swimming pool, or whatever.
Slashdot Mirror
And with the basis of your utopia being that consultation is worth more than development, don't be surprised when consultants are making big buucks while programmers have to take jobs on the side. Also, don't be surprised when programs are intentionally made difficult to use, so as to drive up the necessity for consulting/customization and the fees incurred from that.
Preventing Microsoft from being one of the bidders only hurts OEMs, as a smaller bidder pool results in smaller bids. You would have Dell settle for 5 million from Google, when they could've gotten 6 million from Microsoft, or 7 million from Google having to outbid Microsoft (for example).
It's not just search. The slashdot summary is woeful in its shallowness.
Check out Microsoft's official statement:
Windows Principles: Twelve Tenets to Promote Competition
Just to follow up on my own post (though it's bad form to replay to one's self lol), you can see in Microsoft's official statement:
Windows Principles: Twelve Tenets to Promote Competition that they cite the USDOJ and the provisions of the US antitrust settlement again and again; never do they cite the European Commision's Kafka-esque kangaroo court.
You clearly didn't read the full story (which is much larger than the BS slashdot summary regarding search engines), which includes "no punishment" to OEMs. (Not that there's been "punishment" for OEMs bundling other OSes; there were "incentives" (i.e. discounts on Windows) not do so in the past.)
As far as the EU, I don't think Microsoft "fears" the EU, though they are sick of their bullshit, and want to be done dealing with them. That said, I don't think it has much to do with the EU. For the EU, Microsoft would just make an "N" version of Vista. No, this has more to do with the USDOJ, which has a constructive relationship with Microsoft on these issues (as evidenced by the mutual agreement to extend the antitrust oversight agreement beyond Nov 2007 (when it was due to expire) to 2012 and beyond), rather than the confrontational relationship that the EU prefers. And the EU has gotten nothing but "N" XP (rejected by the populace) and a couple of fines, because MS has no respect for the EU's (actually, just the EC's) process. The USDOJ is getting real results, the results that you guys have been clamouring for for years.
You can easier attract flies with honey than flypaper (or something like that lol). A constructive relationship based on mutual respect gets more results than confrontationl tactics based on mutual enmity.
That's all well and good, and I imagine that OEMs will offer the default media player, search engine, browser, etc to the highest bidder.
However, to be fair, Microsoft should not be prohibited from being one of those bidders. For example, if Google, Firefox, and Real offer Dell millions to make Google, Firefox, and Real the default search, browser, and media player, respectively, Microsoft should be allowed to outbid Google, Firefox, and/or Real to make Live.com, IE, and WMP the default search, browser, and/or media player.
You must be one piss-poor "game developer" to be so utterly ignrant of the technology.
Considering that slashdot gleefully bashed Microsoft for removing Vista features and/or backporting previously Vista-exclusive features to XP (thus lessening incentive to upgrade to Vista), it's hypocritical for slashdot to criticize Microsoft for keeping DX10 a Vista-exclusive feature.
"If you write applications for Windows Mobile OS's then this interesting. Otherwise... **yawn**... "
So why did you bother to post?
You took time to post about a story that you're not interested in, merely to say that you're not interested in it?
Truly, I can't think of bigger bunch of whiners than IT guys (web devs come close).
Good point. :-)
I have one yahoo account that goes unused.
I have three hotmail accounts, two of which go nearly unused.
I have two gmail accounts, one of which goes unused and the other nearly so.
Novel's Gnumeric is already supporting OpenXML's spreadheet format, so if you're trying to imply that OpenXML is only an MS thing, your being intellectually dishonest. Unless you're also willing to call ODF, OO.o XML or some such. ODF, the native format of OO.o 2.0 is derived from OO.o 1.x's XML format and is very much tied to OO.o's code structure and design.
The ad wasn't intentionally racist, but Sony that that correlating PSP colors with skin color (race) was clever, when it's not; it's just lame.
You mean, like OO.o already has?
f fice
OO.o has extended ODF for its own purposes since the ODF spec itself is incomplete (e.g. lack of a standard for storing spreadsheet formulas).
And how about this little gem?
http://opendocumentfellowship.org/applications/ko
"Our tests show that OpenOffice and KOffice have some problems opening each other's OpenDocument files. Also, support for drawings is a bit incomplete."
I wouldn't be surprised if MS ends up with better ODF support (i.e. more compliant to the spec, as opposed to just trying to mimic whatever OO.o does) than most ODF-native suites.
The reason the fine is less than what had been threatened in the press is because in late March 2006, Microsoft met with the EU Trustee Neil Barrett, who "clarified the requirements for the documents". Barrett also provided Microsoft with "aggressive series of deadlines" for providing the documentation in accordance with the clarified requirements.
Since that time, Microsoft has been working overtime to provide the documentation, including rehiring retirees that are more familiar with the issues, pulling people off of other projects such as Vista, staying up till 3AM, etc. And Microsoft has met all milestones in the "series of deadlines" laid down by Barrett. The seventh and final deadline is July 18, which Microsoft expects to meet.
So, since March, Micrsosoft has been acting in good faith, the EU knows this, so there's no need for the harsher fines that had been predicted. And don't hold your breath hoping for larger fines down the road. Why? Because even if the new documentation is still lacking in some manner, the EU knows that Microsoft provided the new documentation in good faith, and they'll just work with Microsoft to address any further deficiencies.
See Microsoft Scrambles to Meet EU Demands, for details on the above.
OSX Tiger's supposed "slam-dunk" features were Spotlight and Widgets, and Vista has its own versions of those. So those of you that were orgasming over Tiger (and many here and in the media did just that) should find Vista compelling as well.
(Doesn't apply to me, as I found Tiger underwhelming and am still running OSX Panther.)
I keep hearing that Microsoft removed all of the features from Vista, but I can only think of WinFS. What are the other removed features?
Too much spin/speculation, not enough facts.
I'll wait for real info, thanks.
I loathe Ellison, but that's the way the OSS model works. That's the risk you take when giving away your software and hope to make money on support. Someone else just might be able to support your software better than you, so you spend money developing the code and give it away, while others that haven't spent any money at all on the code, packaging, or distribution reap the rewards. This is what you guys have been advocating for years now. This is your utopia in full effect.
I don't like it, because the underlying theory is that software isn't worth paying for, but support is. Which leads to the theory thta programmers aren't worth paying, but consultants are. (Or, at least programmers won't be paid nearly as well as consultants, and why should they be? After all, programmers are choosing to work for free anyway). It's backwards thinking, but so many programmers are caught up in that utopian thinking, so that's where the industry is headed. Makes me glad I retired while programmers were still valued over consultants.
But this Oracle story is poetic justice, in a way. Red Hat execs have been using the OSS/support business model to make millions off of unpaid programming labor force. The execs get the fancy clothes, jets, sports cars, while the programmers get an "'Atta boy!!" Well, now that same OSS/support business model is allowing the likes of Oracle to potentially make more money off of Red Hat's product than Red Hat itself.
The ad campaign is not racist, but it is lame. Correlating PSP colors to race is not intelligent, not clever, not original, just lame. Sony got some elite "artsy" guy to come up with this idea, and they all thought it was clever and "edgy". It's just lame. What, if Sony releases red and yellow PSPs, they're going to depict Native Americans and Asians fighting each other? It's stupid. And it's not going to sell PSPs.
That Microsoft-produced video was already posted multiple times in this thread, Einstein.
Anyway, look for the box to be simple like the Xbox 360. Why? Because Robbie Bach, head of the Xbox division, is leading this portable music player project.
If "dumping" is illegal, what is OSS?
Look for Microsoft to sue OO.o for dumping its product in the office suite market; you can't get much more anti-competitive than what OO.o does.
"High school kids that listen to AM radio? I bet the lack of HAM radio support is also a negative."
When I was in high school, we listened to AM, not for music, but for sports. For example, it was very nice to have a radio broadcasting a big-league baseball game on AM, while playing softball, or at a picnic, or at the swimming pool, or whatever.
"Anti-competitive"?
Seems very competitive to me.