...and in late breaking news, Microsoft has reexamined their P/L Excel Spreadsheet and announced that the averaged annual profit level of $771M across their 85 Group Companies may actually be overstated at $100000M and should be nearer $65535M
Please do not post links to pirated versions of Office 2007 in full view of the community. In future, please direct them to Office 2003 as it's much simpler to use.
"I would rather them release an ad-ridden version of Microsoft Office 2003 Pro. THEN I'll install the ad-blocker patch that turns up on Teh Internets a few days later"
Well, maybe there's your answer - MS wants to drop backwards compatibility specifically BECAUSE of things like ReactOS.
If Apps manufacturers are forced to follow suit, all new apps will have no (or poor) XP compatibility and thus will not run on the likes of ReactOS - in other words, end-users MUST use Win7 in order to run the latest apps.
Brainstorming meeting at Music Industry meeting - Check
Pathetic way to screw more money out of music-playing customers in the guise of a 'benefit' - Check
There's nothing wrong with your logic - you are just incorrect in assuming that logic and common sense applies at the corporate level of the music sector.
Yes, but that is a very Apple-centric view of the marketplace - when you look wider, there's a plethora of other makes that can do pretty much all that the iTouch can do, and also support a whole range of commercial and free/Open Source apps.
I am by no means a M$ fan, but I do like my HTC Kaiser (Vodafone 1615) running Windows Mobile 6 - it has a touch screen, built in slide-and-tilt keyboard, 'cube' type app if I want to use it, GPS with Tomtom satnav, Word, Excel, PDF reader, video phone and camera. I have PockeTTY installed for SSH to the Linux servers I support, RDP for the Windows servers (fair enough, the panning window is a pain), VNC client, ftp, a wifi scanner/tester, the usual calendar and phone apps, IRC(!) and VoIP. Sure, it's no substitute for a laptop or desktop, but it's totally useable as a mobile office and support tool.
Apple have done a good marketing and styling job on their product, but if punters can stop scoring it highly 'because it's Apple' they have a wide choice of programmable alternatives.
I can recall my school being given a prototype to test - this must have been around 1979-80 and I was about 14.
Up to then we had been using a couple of green-screen Commodore PETs, then one day this large colour TV appeared in the corner of the 'computer room'; it had a large, grey 'keyboard-in-a box' hard-wired to it via a cable about as thick as a vacuum cleaner hose! Test programs were supplied on micro cassettes and we could also download software over-the-air from CEEFAX.
I used to open up the computer room each morning (I somehow managed to acquire a key!) and sit in front of this anonymous, 'not-yet-a-beeb' computer, programming away or using it to read the news on CEEFAX.
"The reason people slam it so much here is because they badly want it to fail. It is predominantly FUD."
Sorry, that's not quite right. I have a negative view about Vista because, having had to install it on a laptop so I can support some of my user base that have Vista, I have had:
1) The laptop screen saver not waking up *sometimes* and so I have to toggle the laptop in and out of standby to carry on working. 2) A wifi driver that blue screens *sometimes* on resuming from standby so if 1) happens I may lose my work in progress. 3) A damn stupid box that pops up every time I run notepad++ warning me about the program. 4) Mysterious periods of disk thrashing. 5) Mysterious periods of wifi not connecting. 6) A need to buy 1GB more RAM to make the thing stop plodding. 7) RDP sessions mysteriously failing and needing a registry key deleted to get things going again
Now, I am sure some of these things are fixable with some tweaking or with some patching, and perhaps the wifi issue is down to the chipset company, but the number of hoops my users I have had to go through to make simple things work is extraordinary and timewasting. Unlike XP (or 2000 or NT), rarely has Vista been an 'out of the box' solution to a new install.
I am very pragmatic when it comes to Vista, but quite simply if you put identical machines running Vista and XP side by side (OK, let's give Vista some more RAM to start) and use them both for a short while, my money's on Vista being more of a PITA to use and less easy to navigate: things that took a few clicks to get to are now buried and we have had to wait for revised or new beta versions of some apps just to get some things going. Some users were on Office 2002 - but Outlook has problems with that so we have had to pay to upgrade some, while others have been moved to a Scalix pilot system.
Sure, Vista is not a train wreck, but it's a bloody big detour on the road to efficient computing with many rough edges and a cost loading. I know it will get better over time, but when it hit the ground running it was still getting dressed and keeps tripping over its pants.
Me: "I have fleshed out our draft spec for the new Web site through a series of phone calls and emails over the last few weeks and the developers say they will be able to meet perhaps 80-90% of what you want by the tight deadline you have set and then they will roll out the remaining features over the next couple of weeks."
Director: "I am really concerned that the developers are so far away in another country"
Me: "Distance is not really a problem these days - and in any case, I have sounded out several of their customers and UK contacts and they have all recommended this team. Overall, they can do the job for a very good fee + offer the after-sales support."
Director: "I will think about it"
Email from Director 3 days later at 8pm one night:
"I have spoken to a friend and he has recommended a local company he knows so I have given them the contract."
So, for 3x the cost and over 8 months late we got a half-assed, closed-sourse site with bits still missing.
Boy do I feel valued round here. Thinking of moving? Funny you should say that...
Bill Gates "The Microsoft MOLPC device embraces, enhances and extends the basic principles and standards already developed to afford the user a greater, more secure and trusted computing environment. When connected to the grid network, the MOLPC device interfaces with the local Exchange server (one per community) in order to provide a local communications hub. A local proxy server (one per community) affords secure, cached Internet access, further enhanced by the use of our specially modified MOLPC browser, user certificate and licensing programme. A community Licence Server (CLS) will ensure that all connected users are protected from non-genuine software and our hi-performance HotMesh2 network includes additional, proprietary protocol layers to ensure that unauthorised users operating with standard TCP/IP-based technologies cannot access the bandwidth. The required MOLPC hardware and software licences will be available from mobile vendors who will tour towns and communities on a scheduled basis in a Microsoft Jeep. Due to the additional security benefits and other enhancements we have added to the original OLPC framework for our MOLPC, some third party equipment may not have the processing power or software technology to operate over the MOLPC grid, but we feel that our approach offers superior returns..er..to the users. There is no truth in the rumour that MOLPC stands for Multiple Operating Licences Per Child."
30 seconds on an 8Mbit connection got me slowly up to 35% and then I bailed out. Whetever they do, they need to fire their Web designer and/or hosting company
Slashdot Mirror
Dunno about Netcraft, but http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ confirmed it for me!
...and in late breaking news, Microsoft has reexamined their P/L Excel Spreadsheet and announced that the averaged annual profit level of $771M across their 85 Group Companies may actually be overstated at $100000M and should be nearer $65535M
Overview of Windows XP Service Pack 3.pdf - 428 KB Download
Overview of Windows XP Service Pack 3.xps - 634 KB Download
Valid use for tinfoil hats found at last.
Please do not post links to pirated versions of Office 2007 in full view of the community. In future, please direct them to Office 2003 as it's much simpler to use.
"I would rather them release an ad-ridden version of Microsoft Office 2003 Pro. THEN I'll install the ad-blocker patch that turns up on Teh Internets a few days later"
FTFY
Let me guess - you work for NASA?
I Dunno about firewire, but 'getting burned' seems possible.
Yep - abbreviated to SCOX .. as in..
http://www.pinksheets.com/pink/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=SCOXQ#getQuote
A solar system with similar features to our own eh? Darl...?
Well, maybe there's your answer - MS wants to drop backwards compatibility specifically BECAUSE of things like ReactOS.
If Apps manufacturers are forced to follow suit, all new apps will have no (or poor) XP compatibility and thus will not run on the likes of ReactOS - in other words, end-users MUST use Win7 in order to run the latest apps.
You don't 'get it' do you?
Music industry - Check
Brainstorming meeting at Music Industry meeting - Check
Pathetic way to screw more money out of music-playing customers in the guise of a 'benefit' - Check
There's nothing wrong with your logic - you are just incorrect in assuming that logic and common sense applies at the corporate level of the music sector.
Yes, but that is a very Apple-centric view of the marketplace - when you look wider, there's a plethora of other makes that can do pretty much all that the iTouch can do, and also support a whole range of commercial and free/Open Source apps.
I am by no means a M$ fan, but I do like my HTC Kaiser (Vodafone 1615) running Windows Mobile 6 - it has a touch screen, built in slide-and-tilt keyboard, 'cube' type app if I want to use it, GPS with Tomtom satnav, Word, Excel, PDF reader, video phone and camera. I have PockeTTY installed for SSH to the Linux servers I support, RDP for the Windows servers (fair enough, the panning window is a pain), VNC client, ftp, a wifi scanner/tester, the usual calendar and phone apps, IRC(!) and VoIP. Sure, it's no substitute for a laptop or desktop, but it's totally useable as a mobile office and support tool.
Apple have done a good marketing and styling job on their product, but if punters can stop scoring it highly 'because it's Apple' they have a wide choice of programmable alternatives.
Possibly, although I left that school in 1981 so it would have been late 1980 max.
Nope - it was definitely hand-built.
The keyboard & logic was in a plain grey plastic 'project' case of the type you'd buy from Maplin/RS/CPC.
Holes for the fan, microdrive etc. were hand cut.
No logos etc.
This machine was certainly not an Atom in terms of the case it was in and (ISTR) it did start up 'BBC Basic'
Didn't a comma give you a one tab spacing, if so it should be:
30 print A$ + " is a wanker!"
I can recall my school being given a prototype to test - this must have been around 1979-80 and I was about 14.
Up to then we had been using a couple of green-screen Commodore PETs, then one day this large colour TV appeared in the corner of the 'computer room'; it had a large, grey 'keyboard-in-a box' hard-wired to it via a cable about as thick as a vacuum cleaner hose! Test programs were supplied on micro cassettes and we could also download software over-the-air from CEEFAX.
I used to open up the computer room each morning (I somehow managed to acquire a key!) and sit in front of this anonymous, 'not-yet-a-beeb' computer, programming away or using it to read the news on CEEFAX.
Yeah, but do they blend?
"The reason people slam it so much here is because they badly want it to fail. It is predominantly FUD."
Sorry, that's not quite right. I have a negative view about Vista because, having had to install it on a laptop so I can support some of my user base that have Vista, I have had:
1) The laptop screen saver not waking up *sometimes* and so I have to toggle the laptop in and out of standby to carry on working.
2) A wifi driver that blue screens *sometimes* on resuming from standby so if 1) happens I may lose my work in progress.
3) A damn stupid box that pops up every time I run notepad++ warning me about the program.
4) Mysterious periods of disk thrashing.
5) Mysterious periods of wifi not connecting.
6) A need to buy 1GB more RAM to make the thing stop plodding.
7) RDP sessions mysteriously failing and needing a registry key deleted to get things going again
Now, I am sure some of these things are fixable with some tweaking or with some patching, and perhaps the wifi issue is down to the chipset company, but the number of hoops my users I have had to go through to make simple things work is extraordinary and timewasting. Unlike XP (or 2000 or NT), rarely has Vista been an 'out of the box' solution to a new install.
I am very pragmatic when it comes to Vista, but quite simply if you put identical machines running Vista and XP side by side (OK, let's give Vista some more RAM to start) and use them both for a short while, my money's on Vista being more of a PITA to use and less easy to navigate: things that took a few clicks to get to are now buried and we have had to wait for revised or new beta versions of some apps just to get some things going. Some users were on Office 2002 - but Outlook has problems with that so we have had to pay to upgrade some, while others have been moved to a Scalix pilot system.
Sure, Vista is not a train wreck, but it's a bloody big detour on the road to efficient computing with many rough edges and a cost loading. I know it will get better over time, but when it hit the ground running it was still getting dressed and keeps tripping over its pants.
or in my case...
Me: "I have fleshed out our draft spec for the new Web site through a series of phone calls and emails over the last few weeks and the developers say they will be able to meet perhaps 80-90% of what you want by the tight deadline you have set and then they will roll out the remaining features over the next couple of weeks."
Director: "I am really concerned that the developers are so far away in another country"
Me: "Distance is not really a problem these days - and in any case, I have sounded out several of their customers and UK contacts and they have all recommended this team. Overall, they can do the job for a very good fee + offer the after-sales support."
Director: "I will think about it"
Email from Director 3 days later at 8pm one night:
"I have spoken to a friend and he has recommended a local company he knows so I have given them the contract."
So, for 3x the cost and over 8 months late we got a half-assed, closed-sourse site with bits still missing.
Boy do I feel valued round here. Thinking of moving? Funny you should say that...
They saw a DESK? WTF!
Bill Gates "The Microsoft MOLPC device embraces, enhances and extends the basic principles and standards already developed to afford the user a greater, more secure and trusted computing environment. When connected to the grid network, the MOLPC device interfaces with the local Exchange server (one per community) in order to provide a local communications hub. A local proxy server (one per community) affords secure, cached Internet access, further enhanced by the use of our specially modified MOLPC browser, user certificate and licensing programme. A community Licence Server (CLS) will ensure that all connected users are protected from non-genuine software and our hi-performance HotMesh2 network includes additional, proprietary protocol layers to ensure that unauthorised users operating with standard TCP/IP-based technologies cannot access the bandwidth. The required MOLPC hardware and software licences will be available from mobile vendors who will tour towns and communities on a scheduled basis in a Microsoft Jeep. Due to the additional security benefits and other enhancements we have added to the original OLPC framework for our MOLPC, some third party equipment may not have the processing power or software technology to operate over the MOLPC grid, but we feel that our approach offers superior returns..er..to the users. There is no truth in the rumour that MOLPC stands for Multiple Operating Licences Per Child."
30 seconds on an 8Mbit connection got me slowly up to 35% and then I bailed out. Whetever they do, they need to fire their Web designer and/or hosting company
It is when you get to the checkout of the supermarket get handed a bill.
(..ok, or your mom does..)