I have to disagree with be's definition of anti-competitive practices.
Be alleges that microsoft created exclusive dealing arrangements with PC OEMs prohibiting the sale of PCs with multiple preinstalled operating systems.
As much as I hate saying it, that's just smart business. It's no different from getting an exclusive military contract for developing warplanes, etc. But, in the end, microsoft won this lawsuit. The original charges were requesting 2 billion dollars!
Oh, and if anyone cares, I use GNU/Linux
Imagine, it's Election Day 2004. You enter your polling place and go to cast your vote on a brand new "touch screen" voting machine. The screen says your vote has been counted. As you exit the voting booth, however, you begin to wonder. How do I know if the machine actually recorded my vote? This fact is, you don't. ~ Representative Rush Holt (NJ).
Imagine it's Election Day 2004. You enter your polling place and go to cast your vote on an old fashioned punch ballot. You give it to the attendant up front. As you exit the voting booth, however, you begin to wonder. How do I know if the vote was going to be counted? The fact is, you don't. ~Slashdotter SargeZT (MN)
The simple fact of the matter is, if a human gathers the ballots manually, there is a fare higher chance that the votes will be altered in some way, shape or form.
That's very true. The government may edit that code. Legislation would have to make sure the source available to the public is the same as they are using. But, being open-source does open the possibility of someone finding a vulnerability in the code, and if they didn't have the best intentions in mind, mess up the country in one fell swoop. Just my 00000010 cents.
Nevertheless, most computer professionals are opposed to the DRE machines. One reason is that there is fundamentally no way to audit them: If 600 people vote at a DRE on Election Day and the machine says that 310 voted for the Democratic candidate, who is to say that the number 310 is true? Perhaps only 280 voted Democratic, but the machine was programmed to randomly flip 5 percent of the Republican votes to Democrat before recording them on the computer's hard drive. To make this sort of programmatic tampering harder to detect, perhaps the program was devised so that the flipping would only happen on the first Tuesday in November. On other days--presumably the days when election officials tested the voting machine--no vote flipping would take place. To make it even harder to detect, perhaps the flipping occurs only when the machine discerns that the vote is close; this would avoid the embarrassment of having polls predict one outcome, and having the machines tally another.
This only shows the need for open-source software in the governement. If the source for the voting machines was available to all programmers world-wide, then there would not be this concern! If you used closed source software, then who knows what backdoor's the programmers could put in?
Yes, Microsoft is an innovator and I don't think that is good.
I'd have to disagree that microsoft is an innovator. What has microsoft done?
1. Created the first OS? Far from it. Not much of an innovation.
2. Created the first GUI? Also not true, the Apple Lisa was the first true GUI.
3. Created easy PnP? Definitley not right, OS/2, Amiga, Linux, and a slew of other OS's had PnP support. And to be fair, Windows 95 wasn't really Plug'n'Play.
Microsoft's innovations are limited to trying something someone else does, and hoping it works.
You know, I'm fed up to (pointing well above head) here with lawsuits involving open-source software. Someone should tell SCO that *nix isn't the property of anyone, anything, or any corporation.
I found out a long time ago that I could achieve the same effect as playing Myst in real life by looking at a bunch of photos and making atmospheric noises.
Adding bells and whistles to something dosen't make it better, only bulkier. I'll take my 64mb Rio500 over this new one any day. I mean, come on, who want's an FM Radio in there MP3 Player? Not me atleast. Same with a voice recorder. I have a real recorder, and I guarantee you the sound quality is considerable better.
My 00000010 Cents.
Any country which architecture is build on a foundation which can not be reinforced by private developers, will crumble until, and if, the contractor who built that foundation "patches" that foundation up.
One company governing one extension is no way to run the world. Microsoft used these same principles to take over the computing world. What comes next, PKWare trying to put WinRAR and WinACE out of business for using compression technology that is vaguely related to there own? Stop them now before they start asserting power gained from such a patent.
This is pure R&D People. It's been happening for hundreds if not thousands of years. You have to find out the weaknesses and strength's of an opponent, and improve upon both. Not only has this been happenening for a long time, it has moved our economy ahead by setting a standard for companies to adhere to. If Product A dosen't do as much as Product B, it's obvious Product A is going to win the battle.
I'm sure this will deter conspiracy theorists, just like the release of michael jacksons documentary convinced people he wasn't sexing up the children.
I think he left enough loop holes in his theories, that even if we did find evidence that the theory of relativity is incorrect, quantum physics makes it so that he's wrong and right at the same time!:)
This dosent change the Dynamics of anything. In 3 Days, 802.12.c Will be released! Or some other god damned standard. Who cares about extensions of a soon too die Standard? It's like using Windows on a Server.
News Flash, All IP Addresses except for the Panama Canal's Official Website, has been blocked. Users are trying to coordinate a DDOS Attack on the Panamanian Government, but cannot get a ping from the servers, except for the Panamanian Canal.
That OpenBSD is the most secure OS in the world, but even though it dosent have it's precious packet filter, I still think it whips any other in the security area.
Was an excellent series until Daniele Jackson died, then it just went downhill. I wouldn't be suprised it it was continued, because of the trend that SciFi seems to be taking. But, if they do continue it, I will continue to watch it. KREE!
Nah, Trillian is far more functional then this piece of monkey Doo Doo. I have nothing against Mirabilis, but so much against AOL, thought, I will admit, AOL has satisfied my curiosity of what will happen to a CD when it's microwaved for 3 seconds.
Cartoon Network has done more for anime then all the other networks combined. Just more proof that america's changing, for the worse. I remember watching the thundercats on that way back when (Yes, I know I'm young), and finding out it was made in japan, and so was speed racer. And YuYu Hakusho, God damn, that was the best ever. That sprouted my interest, and then I started renting, discovered ureusi yatsura, Dragonball, Ranma, Those who Hunt Elves, and countless others. 'Tis the end of an era.
Oh, hello mr Shallow. She was british for god's sakes. Screw hotness, its the accent and organs that matter. This in itself is the problem with america. Recall the Debate between Reagan and JFK? (Yes, I suck at history), TV People thought JFK won because he didnt look nervous, while Reagan was sweating his ass off. On the radio side, they thought Reagan won, because he had good arguments, and a strong case. Now let me ask you something. What do you want, a president who looks good, or who will be adequate in office? Thats right, same applies to people. Dont judge me because I'm ugly, judge me as an idiot!
Slashdot Mirror
I have to disagree with be's definition of anti-competitive practices.
Be alleges that microsoft created exclusive dealing arrangements with PC OEMs prohibiting the sale of PCs with multiple preinstalled operating systems.
As much as I hate saying it, that's just smart business. It's no different from getting an exclusive military contract for developing warplanes, etc. But, in the end, microsoft won this lawsuit. The original charges were requesting 2 billion dollars!
Oh, and if anyone cares, I use GNU/Linux
Imagine, it's Election Day 2004. You enter your polling place and go to cast your vote on a brand new "touch screen" voting machine. The screen says your vote has been counted. As you exit the voting booth, however, you begin to wonder. How do I know if the machine actually recorded my vote? This fact is, you don't. ~ Representative Rush Holt (NJ).
Imagine it's Election Day 2004. You enter your polling place and go to cast your vote on an old fashioned punch ballot. You give it to the attendant up front. As you exit the voting booth, however, you begin to wonder. How do I know if the vote was going to be counted? The fact is, you don't. ~Slashdotter SargeZT (MN)
The simple fact of the matter is, if a human gathers the ballots manually, there is a fare higher chance that the votes will be altered in some way, shape or form.
That's very true. The government may edit that code. Legislation would have to make sure the source available to the public is the same as they are using. But, being open-source does open the possibility of someone finding a vulnerability in the code, and if they didn't have the best intentions in mind, mess up the country in one fell swoop. Just my 00000010 cents.
Nevertheless, most computer professionals are opposed to the DRE machines. One reason is that there is fundamentally no way to audit them: If 600 people vote at a DRE on Election Day and the machine says that 310 voted for the Democratic candidate, who is to say that the number 310 is true? Perhaps only 280 voted Democratic, but the machine was programmed to randomly flip 5 percent of the Republican votes to Democrat before recording them on the computer's hard drive. To make this sort of programmatic tampering harder to detect, perhaps the program was devised so that the flipping would only happen on the first Tuesday in November. On other days--presumably the days when election officials tested the voting machine--no vote flipping would take place. To make it even harder to detect, perhaps the flipping occurs only when the machine discerns that the vote is close; this would avoid the embarrassment of having polls predict one outcome, and having the machines tally another.
This only shows the need for open-source software in the governement. If the source for the voting machines was available to all programmers world-wide, then there would not be this concern! If you used closed source software, then who knows what backdoor's the programmers could put in?
Yes, Microsoft is an innovator and I don't think that is good. I'd have to disagree that microsoft is an innovator. What has microsoft done? 1. Created the first OS? Far from it. Not much of an innovation. 2. Created the first GUI? Also not true, the Apple Lisa was the first true GUI. 3. Created easy PnP? Definitley not right, OS/2, Amiga, Linux, and a slew of other OS's had PnP support. And to be fair, Windows 95 wasn't really Plug'n'Play. Microsoft's innovations are limited to trying something someone else does, and hoping it works.
You know, I'm fed up to (pointing well above head) here with lawsuits involving open-source software. Someone should tell SCO that *nix isn't the property of anyone, anything, or any corporation.
I found out a long time ago that I could achieve the same effect as playing Myst in real life by looking at a bunch of photos and making atmospheric noises.
Adding bells and whistles to something dosen't make it better, only bulkier. I'll take my 64mb Rio500 over this new one any day. I mean, come on, who want's an FM Radio in there MP3 Player? Not me atleast. Same with a voice recorder. I have a real recorder, and I guarantee you the sound quality is considerable better. My 00000010 Cents.
Well, thanks. And to that last guy, I was drunk, and multi tasking. Remember everyone, Slashdot+Alcohol=Bad!
Any country which architecture is build on a foundation which can not be reinforced by private developers, will crumble until, and if, the contractor who built that foundation "patches" that foundation up.
At least microsoft dosent make cars!
One company governing one extension is no way to run the world. Microsoft used these same principles to take over the computing world. What comes next, PKWare trying to put WinRAR and WinACE out of business for using compression technology that is vaguely related to there own? Stop them now before they start asserting power gained from such a patent.
</rambling>
This is pure R&D People. It's been happening for hundreds if not thousands of years. You have to find out the weaknesses and strength's of an opponent, and improve upon both. Not only has this been happenening for a long time, it has moved our economy ahead by setting a standard for companies to adhere to. If Product A dosen't do as much as Product B, it's obvious Product A is going to win the battle.
I'm sure this will deter conspiracy theorists, just like the release of michael jacksons documentary convinced people he wasn't sexing up the children.
I think he left enough loop holes in his theories, that even if we did find evidence that the theory of relativity is incorrect, quantum physics makes it so that he's wrong and right at the same time! :)
This dosent change the Dynamics of anything. In 3 Days, 802.12.c Will be released! Or some other god damned standard. Who cares about extensions of a soon too die Standard? It's like using Windows on a Server.
News Flash, All IP Addresses except for the Panama Canal's Official Website, has been blocked. Users are trying to coordinate a DDOS Attack on the Panamanian Government, but cannot get a ping from the servers, except for the Panamanian Canal.
I belive it was a joke, but I could be mistaken. Yes, I understand it is in panama, but if I said PPS, who would understand it?
Banning VoIP? Whats next? Possibly banning email to help the USPS?
That OpenBSD is the most secure OS in the world, but even though it dosent have it's precious packet filter, I still think it whips any other in the security area.
Was an excellent series until Daniele Jackson died, then it just went downhill. I wouldn't be suprised it it was continued, because of the trend that SciFi seems to be taking. But, if they do continue it, I will continue to watch it. KREE!
Nah, Trillian is far more functional then this piece of monkey Doo Doo. I have nothing against Mirabilis, but so much against AOL, thought, I will admit, AOL has satisfied my curiosity of what will happen to a CD when it's microwaved for 3 seconds.
Cartoon Network has done more for anime then all the other networks combined. Just more proof that america's changing, for the worse. I remember watching the thundercats on that way back when (Yes, I know I'm young), and finding out it was made in japan, and so was speed racer. And YuYu Hakusho, God damn, that was the best ever. That sprouted my interest, and then I started renting, discovered ureusi yatsura, Dragonball, Ranma, Those who Hunt Elves, and countless others. 'Tis the end of an era.
Holy Crap! I obviously dont know ANNNNYTHING!
Oh, hello mr Shallow. She was british for god's sakes. Screw hotness, its the accent and organs that matter. This in itself is the problem with america. Recall the Debate between Reagan and JFK? (Yes, I suck at history), TV People thought JFK won because he didnt look nervous, while Reagan was sweating his ass off. On the radio side, they thought Reagan won, because he had good arguments, and a strong case. Now let me ask you something. What do you want, a president who looks good, or who will be adequate in office? Thats right, same applies to people. Dont judge me because I'm ugly, judge me as an idiot!