Government licensing programs are an attempt by various groups to get the government to give their members a monopoly and interfere with their competition. Occasionally they're done with good intentions, but they're still offensive to a free society. Certification is a different matter - if I'm hiring someone to do something life-threatening or risky, I'd want a skilled professional to do it, and certifications by professional organizations can help me make that decision.
As much of an anarchist as I am, I have to disagree with you. When my partner and I registered our business with the state of Washington, it was just a matter of declaring our classification, stating our size, and giving a physical address and other contact information. The reason? So the state government can send out tax filing information, so they can make sure they get their chunk. In order to do business, you have to let the government know you're doing business, and that's all the license amounts to.
In other businesses, though, the license includes a lot more important shit. For instance, not anyone can go into the mechanic business. You have to demonstrate that you can dispose of used oil and other fluids in an environmentally safe fashion (dumping them down the toilet is unacceptable). In the food business you have to demonstrate that you can prepare, cook, and serve food without giving out food poisoning as a seasoning.
In the state of california, I can see a definite interest for the government to try to filter out shysters in the earthquake business. Ever yell earthquake in a movie theater? Well, start up a business and pass yourself off as a geologist and start selling people "earthquake insurance" because your methods have accurately predicted a 6 point earthquake in the next 6 months. After 6 months of work, pack up and go to a different county or something.
Now, I don't like the idea of having a master list of who's allowed to do business in a given area, but with people screaming left and right about how this or that business fucked 'em over, what's the state to do? Have you got a better idea?
I know, the state shouldn't have to protect people from their own stupidity, but a good shyster does his damndest to convince people no matter who they are. And just for the record, I don't much care for the fact that states protect people from their own stupidity as much as possible.
How many of us happen to put pictures of our terminal windows up on our websites?
Gee, I wonder how many desktop themes I've looked at that say "Look how great a terminal window looks in this them!". I know for a fact that MPlayerhq has terminal windows in some screenshots.
Hm, I wonder how many of us don't put pictures of our terminal windows up on our websites? That's probly a smaller number than the one you're looking for....
I am surprized they don't send all the thread letters to *everyone*. Sortof like junk mail. Either they scare someone into buying licences/ taking down a server or they won't. No risks, no problem.
Can we say class action? I don't know what grounds the suit could be based on, but when you threaten the entire population of the world, the laws of statistics pretty say flat out that you'll be coldbloodedly slaughtered in the wee hours of a moonless night....
Microsoft would never think of a no-charge license for *some* of the source with a non-disclosure agreement, and keep the national-security sensitive stuff to themselves?
If they do that, and China can't build a binary distro of it that matches the binaries that MS provided for them, then how is China to know they're OS is secure? There would still be code in their installed base that they haven't seen. Therefore, the move would be worthless to them.
It is for this reason that I think this is all PR and spin and shit. I don't think MS will let China see all the source, because after their testimony about National Security and Windows they'd get into a whole hell-hole of trouble by releasing the source anyway, to a rival.
Relations with China are irrelevant. The fact taht they're Communist, and currently opposing Bush in the war on Iraq makes this a significant thing. Our US government has taken a very low view of communism over the years, and anybody who works with them. McCarthyism is over for now, but Ashcroft may start it back up again any day now.
Since it's unlikely MS will put themselves in a position where the government will have to do serious punishment to them (as opposed to the antitrust suit), then I'll bet we see the deal with China fizzle when the Chinese realize that MS is holding back the buggy stuff.
I used to write automated call software (incoming and outgoing) and I worked with this all the time. It used to REALLY piss off people who have their caller ID blocked (or have used *67) yet have their number recognized anyway. Hehehe.
In fact, I used to work for a guy that would hold a grudge against everybody that ever quit the job, and he would literally call them and harass them and do all kinds of weird shit. So, when I quit working for him, I quit answering the phone. He was also paranoid and had his call ID blocked, so nobody could see his number when he calls them. The first time he called (idiot, he left a message so I knew it was him) I waited until the answering machine finished, and then I picked up the phone and blocked his number. You don't have to know the number you're blocking, you just have to be able to block it right after they call.
He was confused, and it took him something close to a week to figure out that he should call from another phone. Heh. Then he didn't harass me, saying something about respecting me for figuring out how to block his phone. Idiot.
You are only regarding the stereotype that the media portrays to you. The period after WWI was quite rough for America, and we were still recovering from this when WWII started.
As a matter of fact, the specific model of explorer involved tended to wear the outer edges of the tires more than the inner edges. You know, the wear pattern you look that indicates underinflation? The Explorers would wear that way with the tires underinflated by only 5 PSI. Couple that with the driving habits and you've got trouble. Now, the average motorist checks his air only when he gets oil changes, if that often, but you can easily lose 5 PSI in 2 summer months, 2-4 weeks if you have a cold winter month.
It was that reason, in fact, that Ford and Firestone were both so shitty about the situation at first, because their warranties read that the warranty is invalid if you don't maintain recommended tire pressure. I believe the question revolved around whether or not it was a manufacturing defect, and the decision was made solely on the basis of how many people were flipping on the highway as a result of the tires rather than an objective examination of the vehicle. It's my opinion that if they had actually examined the vehicle they may well have decided to make Ford pull the entire class off the road. They got off easy, they shouldn't have behaved so poorly over it.
To Ford's credit, though, they bounced back much quicker than Firestone did.:)
Their front suspensions on the trucks haven't changed much until the most recent production models. The Explorers that were flipping were using a variation of the old I-beam suspension, still.:) You're right, big pita! I did enjoy doing quick $50/side shock changes. I'd make $100 in 10 minutes.:) But if you had to do the rears, man, you were screwed. Take off the spare tire....
You are only regarding the stereotype that the media portrays to you. The period after WWI was quite rough for America, and we were still recovering from this when WWII started.
Actually, I'm basing my response on a fictional novel.:) Oops. Um, Sail into the Sunset? The one by Heinlein that tells Lazarus Long's mothers story. Heinlein has a tendency to distort facts and make shit up. That's why his work is classed as "fiction". Heh.
A former roommate of mine used to work at the neighborhood head shop in college. She explained the law to me like this: A bong is only parphenelia (thus, illegal) when used for smoking something illegal out of it. If they profess to use it for tobacco, or don't tell you WHAT they'll be using it for, then its (at least, used to be) technically legal.
Now that you mention it, I had a buddy who bought a pipe and walked to catch the bus. A cop stopped to harass him, managed to get a search on him, and found the pipe. Since he didn't find anything else, and the pipe had never been used, he had to let my buddy go.
Personally, I got arrested once and charged with possession of paraphernelia, and they called the pipe and the bag paraphernelia. The weed itself, though, was a separate charge. So I got a class C misdemeanor, a $50 fine (laid out in the hole, 30 hours), and was set free. They never charged me for the weed itself. I wonder if it actually made it back to the cop shop.....;)
Uh no, I said that I didn't agree that just having egg on your face in front of your peers was better or more incentive than a similar corporate situation combined with a financial incentive. I'm sure you've met many OSS developers with great work ethic. I've met many corp. developers that had great work ethic, and I've met many that had crap work ethic who didn't care WHO saw their code.
Perhaps I read work ethic into it.:) I have to agree with your statement based on the followup you just posted.:)
I must agree because, as a rule, I generally don't really give a shit what people think about me. I let my actions speak for themselves, and if people don't like it, fuck 'em. Most of the time, people find they like it, however. In any case, as you say, getting egg on my face in front of my peers is irrelevant to me, but fixing bugs is part of my work ethic. I stand by my work, even if the GPL says I'm not liable for it, I still stand by it and fix it when it breaks, and this is true among many OSS developers.
Finally, I also have to agree that OSS isn't perfect either. The difference, I think, and it's a big difference, is that OSS strives every day to be better than it was the day before (there are exceptions, let's ignore those:) ). Corporate development frequently involves deadlines, marketing, and internal politics (sometimes even external politics, ref: Microsoft, Israel, the Mac, and Office). OSS politics also affects OSS projects, in many cases. Each system has advantages and disadvantages. OSS has proven itself a valid development model, but has yet to prove itself better than others. While we can point to all the great, wonderful, and successful projects, for every one of these there's at least 10 that failed somehow.
Bottom line, though, is that there is always a need for an incentive for people to do things. Money works for some, work ethic works for many, money + work ethic works the best for me.:) Vanity (which is essentially what the original poster was talking about) also works for some. Any other incentives that work, that you know about?
That's a good point. Let's not only legalize marijuana, but also prostitution and gambling in every State.
I'm with you on that. I'm sick of laws being passed purely for morality reasons, because they don't always jive with other people's morality. While I wouldn't pay a whore (married:) ), I don't see any reason why someone else shouldn't be able to. It's not like their predatory or anything... (Imagine Gates' wife having a monopoly in the prostitution industry)
In my opinion, for something to be criminal, there must be a victim. And I don't mean I'm my own victim. I make up my own mind on the matter, and do what I want. I can victimize you, you can victimize me, but I can't victimize me and you can't victimize you.
"Organized crime" rose from the government's inability to fight crime during the post-war depression of the 1920s. How convenient is it that the depression coincides so nicely with the Prohibition period!
You're on crack! the roaring twenties were a very prosperous time for the country, much like the '90s. Decadence, everybody had money, ending with a stock market crash. The depression started in 1929, dude, late at that.
I've never bought a mod chip either, but I have bought bongs before. I was firmly instructed by the hottie behind the counter that I fill up the bottom, put my tobacco in the bowl, cover up this little hole with my thumb, then inhale until the top chamber fills, move my thumb, and suck down the rest.
I couldn't get over her for days after that.
They also had a no-return policy. Once you smoke something in it, they don't even want to hear about it.:)
Man, that was years ago. I didn't know those things were still legal....;)
It wasn't funny. The all your base thing ceased to be funny on its own about 2 years ago.... Then the variations on it.... even saying stuff like "All your funny are belong to 2 years ago" and "Someone set up us the dead horse" stopped being funny about a year ago....
This stuff is good shit, dude! It's some of the funniest stuff I've seen in a while.
Dude, when it's time to railroad, you railroad. It's irrelevant *who* does it, it will just be done. That was the time, it was just time to railroad. If MS had fought the internet too much, then we'd have an Apple monopoly (Commodore had gone down already). But it was time to railroad. I saw it coming in '91 when I first signed onto the internet from my Amiga, and it came.
I'm sorry I don't share your belief that having others find your blunders is somehow "better" (or just as good as) having financial incentive. Plus in the corp world, there is BOTH the risk of having someone find your broken code and the financial slap on the wrists.
Let's see if I've got this straight. You seem to be saying that if a person doesn't have financial incentive they won't exercise a work ethic? Do you work for the government or one of its contractors?
There's no excuse for having a shitty work ethic, and the poster was just saying that Free Software developers have a work ethic. I agree with the generalization, I know many free software developers and haven't yet met one with a shitty work ethic.
Financial incentive is no substitute for work ethic.
Oh, that's fantastic. I now get modded down for attacking Microsoft.
This is just plain stupid, dude. I think the problem isn't that you like microsoft, but rather that you're a smart guy. If you were dumb, they'd've modded you up. Since you're not dumb, they're scared you'll turn people away from Free Software.
Also, you provided a real criticism of Microsoft, it wasn't just random bitching and whining like we usually see from people who haven't run windows since KDE 0.1 came out.
Usually I wanna tangle with you, as much as we philosophically disagree, though, you're on the level.
Hey Visaris, now that I'm in a roll and the mods are coming in hard and fast, let's talk some more. If I'm going to be modded down for calling you on your bullshit, I'd just as well have some fun.
lol
Usually I have reason to bitch at you, but this time I'm with you all the way man. I feel for ya.;)
Microsoft installs all/most of their drivers these days because people got tired of having to go look for the CD, and this is significantly faster, plus the drivers all had to be compressed, and to save maximum space they are compressed into a single CAB, which is cumbersome to access on CD.
I don't know that there's really anything wrong with this, either.
As an example, I've got on my harddrive the downloaded ISOs of Mandrake LInux 9.0, and I've got urpmi looking there instead of for the CDs. They're mounted up as read-only loopback filesystems. It's on my server! So whenever I need an application from anywhere on my network, I ssh to my server and run drakconf to see if it's on the distro. If not, I do something else. If so, I install it. Beats the hell out of spending 30 minutes looking for the damn CDs everytime, and then having to go into my bedroom to install the shit, possibly waking up wife and/or kids.
Slashdot Mirror
I copied+pasted the definitions that may have applied more correctly to the premise of law
Demonstrating you're a pussy doesn't classify as "practicing gynecology", Anonymous Coward.
I copied+pasted the definitions that may have applied more correctly to the premise of law
Um, did you make sure you were licensed to do that with the content they provided you? Or is that covered by fair use? :)
Laugh, it's a joke.
Government licensing programs are an attempt by various groups to get the government to give their members a monopoly and interfere with their competition. Occasionally they're done with good intentions, but they're still offensive to a free society. Certification is a different matter - if I'm hiring someone to do something life-threatening or risky, I'd want a skilled professional to do it, and certifications by professional organizations can help me make that decision.
As much of an anarchist as I am, I have to disagree with you. When my partner and I registered our business with the state of Washington, it was just a matter of declaring our classification, stating our size, and giving a physical address and other contact information. The reason? So the state government can send out tax filing information, so they can make sure they get their chunk. In order to do business, you have to let the government know you're doing business, and that's all the license amounts to.
In other businesses, though, the license includes a lot more important shit. For instance, not anyone can go into the mechanic business. You have to demonstrate that you can dispose of used oil and other fluids in an environmentally safe fashion (dumping them down the toilet is unacceptable). In the food business you have to demonstrate that you can prepare, cook, and serve food without giving out food poisoning as a seasoning.
In the state of california, I can see a definite interest for the government to try to filter out shysters in the earthquake business. Ever yell earthquake in a movie theater? Well, start up a business and pass yourself off as a geologist and start selling people "earthquake insurance" because your methods have accurately predicted a 6 point earthquake in the next 6 months. After 6 months of work, pack up and go to a different county or something.
Now, I don't like the idea of having a master list of who's allowed to do business in a given area, but with people screaming left and right about how this or that business fucked 'em over, what's the state to do? Have you got a better idea?
I know, the state shouldn't have to protect people from their own stupidity, but a good shyster does his damndest to convince people no matter who they are. And just for the record, I don't much care for the fact that states protect people from their own stupidity as much as possible.
How many of us happen to put pictures of our terminal windows up on our websites?
Gee, I wonder how many desktop themes I've looked at that say "Look how great a terminal window looks in this them!". I know for a fact that MPlayerhq has terminal windows in some screenshots.
Hm, I wonder how many of us don't put pictures of our terminal windows up on our websites? That's probly a smaller number than the one you're looking for....
I am surprized they don't send all the thread letters to *everyone*. Sortof like junk mail. Either they scare someone into buying licences/ taking down a server or they won't. No risks, no problem.
Can we say class action? I don't know what grounds the suit could be based on, but when you threaten the entire population of the world, the laws of statistics pretty say flat out that you'll be coldbloodedly slaughtered in the wee hours of a moonless night....
Microsoft would never think of a no-charge license for *some* of the source with a non-disclosure agreement, and keep the national-security sensitive stuff to themselves?
If they do that, and China can't build a binary distro of it that matches the binaries that MS provided for them, then how is China to know they're OS is secure? There would still be code in their installed base that they haven't seen. Therefore, the move would be worthless to them.
It is for this reason that I think this is all PR and spin and shit. I don't think MS will let China see all the source, because after their testimony about National Security and Windows they'd get into a whole hell-hole of trouble by releasing the source anyway, to a rival.
Relations with China are irrelevant. The fact taht they're Communist, and currently opposing Bush in the war on Iraq makes this a significant thing. Our US government has taken a very low view of communism over the years, and anybody who works with them. McCarthyism is over for now, but Ashcroft may start it back up again any day now.
Since it's unlikely MS will put themselves in a position where the government will have to do serious punishment to them (as opposed to the antitrust suit), then I'll bet we see the deal with China fizzle when the Chinese realize that MS is holding back the buggy stuff.
Imagine what would happen when the next hole revealed by a Slammer-type bug can't be patched 'cause Microsoft's not around.
Exactly the same thing that would happen with them around!
I used to write automated call software (incoming and outgoing) and I worked with this all the time. It used to REALLY piss off people who have their caller ID blocked (or have used *67) yet have their number recognized anyway. Hehehe.
In fact, I used to work for a guy that would hold a grudge against everybody that ever quit the job, and he would literally call them and harass them and do all kinds of weird shit. So, when I quit working for him, I quit answering the phone. He was also paranoid and had his call ID blocked, so nobody could see his number when he calls them. The first time he called (idiot, he left a message so I knew it was him) I waited until the answering machine finished, and then I picked up the phone and blocked his number. You don't have to know the number you're blocking, you just have to be able to block it right after they call.
He was confused, and it took him something close to a week to figure out that he should call from another phone. Heh. Then he didn't harass me, saying something about respecting me for figuring out how to block his phone. Idiot.
Would it make a difference if it were Natalie Portman, Shania Twain, Marrisa Tomei, Nicole Kidman, or Jennifer Lopez? How about "Hot Nekkid Chick"?
Only if it was a video phone.
And people still fork out $5 a month for CLI
Am i the only one whos first thought was "Command Line Interface?"
Nope, and I'm still trying to figure out what the fuck it means. :(
You are only regarding the stereotype that the media portrays to you. The period after WWI was quite rough for America, and we were still recovering from this when WWII started.
As a matter of fact, the specific model of explorer involved tended to wear the outer edges of the tires more than the inner edges. You know, the wear pattern you look that indicates underinflation? The Explorers would wear that way with the tires underinflated by only 5 PSI. Couple that with the driving habits and you've got trouble. Now, the average motorist checks his air only when he gets oil changes, if that often, but you can easily lose 5 PSI in 2 summer months, 2-4 weeks if you have a cold winter month.
It was that reason, in fact, that Ford and Firestone were both so shitty about the situation at first, because their warranties read that the warranty is invalid if you don't maintain recommended tire pressure. I believe the question revolved around whether or not it was a manufacturing defect, and the decision was made solely on the basis of how many people were flipping on the highway as a result of the tires rather than an objective examination of the vehicle. It's my opinion that if they had actually examined the vehicle they may well have decided to make Ford pull the entire class off the road. They got off easy, they shouldn't have behaved so poorly over it.
To Ford's credit, though, they bounced back much quicker than Firestone did. :)
Their front suspensions on the trucks haven't changed much until the most recent production models. The Explorers that were flipping were using a variation of the old I-beam suspension, still. :) You're right, big pita! I did enjoy doing quick $50/side shock changes. I'd make $100 in 10 minutes. :) But if you had to do the rears, man, you were screwed. Take off the spare tire....
You are only regarding the stereotype that the media portrays to you. The period after WWI was quite rough for America, and we were still recovering from this when WWII started.
Actually, I'm basing my response on a fictional novel. :) Oops. Um, Sail into the Sunset? The one by Heinlein that tells Lazarus Long's mothers story. Heinlein has a tendency to distort facts and make shit up. That's why his work is classed as "fiction". Heh.
A former roommate of mine used to work at the neighborhood head shop in college. She explained the law to me like this: A bong is only parphenelia (thus, illegal) when used for smoking something illegal out of it. If they profess to use it for tobacco, or don't tell you WHAT they'll be using it for, then its (at least, used to be) technically legal.
Now that you mention it, I had a buddy who bought a pipe and walked to catch the bus. A cop stopped to harass him, managed to get a search on him, and found the pipe. Since he didn't find anything else, and the pipe had never been used, he had to let my buddy go.
Personally, I got arrested once and charged with possession of paraphernelia, and they called the pipe and the bag paraphernelia. The weed itself, though, was a separate charge. So I got a class C misdemeanor, a $50 fine (laid out in the hole, 30 hours), and was set free. They never charged me for the weed itself. I wonder if it actually made it back to the cop shop..... ;)
Uh no, I said that I didn't agree that just having egg on your face in front of your peers was better or more incentive than a similar corporate situation combined with a financial incentive. I'm sure you've met many OSS developers with great work ethic. I've met many corp. developers that had great work ethic, and I've met many that had crap work ethic who didn't care WHO saw their code.
Perhaps I read work ethic into it. :) I have to agree with your statement based on the followup you just posted. :)
I must agree because, as a rule, I generally don't really give a shit what people think about me. I let my actions speak for themselves, and if people don't like it, fuck 'em. Most of the time, people find they like it, however. In any case, as you say, getting egg on my face in front of my peers is irrelevant to me, but fixing bugs is part of my work ethic. I stand by my work, even if the GPL says I'm not liable for it, I still stand by it and fix it when it breaks, and this is true among many OSS developers.
Finally, I also have to agree that OSS isn't perfect either. The difference, I think, and it's a big difference, is that OSS strives every day to be better than it was the day before (there are exceptions, let's ignore those :) ). Corporate development frequently involves deadlines, marketing, and internal politics (sometimes even external politics, ref: Microsoft, Israel, the Mac, and Office). OSS politics also affects OSS projects, in many cases. Each system has advantages and disadvantages. OSS has proven itself a valid development model, but has yet to prove itself better than others. While we can point to all the great, wonderful, and successful projects, for every one of these there's at least 10 that failed somehow.
Bottom line, though, is that there is always a need for an incentive for people to do things. Money works for some, work ethic works for many, money + work ethic works the best for me. :) Vanity (which is essentially what the original poster was talking about) also works for some. Any other incentives that work, that you know about?
That's a good point. Let's not only legalize marijuana, but also prostitution and gambling in every State.
I'm with you on that. I'm sick of laws being passed purely for morality reasons, because they don't always jive with other people's morality. While I wouldn't pay a whore (married :) ), I don't see any reason why someone else shouldn't be able to. It's not like their predatory or anything... (Imagine Gates' wife having a monopoly in the prostitution industry)
In my opinion, for something to be criminal, there must be a victim. And I don't mean I'm my own victim. I make up my own mind on the matter, and do what I want. I can victimize you, you can victimize me, but I can't victimize me and you can't victimize you.
"Organized crime" rose from the government's inability to fight crime during the post-war depression of the 1920s. How convenient is it that the depression coincides so nicely with the Prohibition period!
You're on crack! the roaring twenties were a very prosperous time for the country, much like the '90s. Decadence, everybody had money, ending with a stock market crash. The depression started in 1929, dude, late at that.
Is all software on your PC properly licensed?
Mine is. :) GPL, in fact.
I've never bought a mod chip either, but I have bought bongs before. I was firmly instructed by the hottie behind the counter that I fill up the bottom, put my tobacco in the bowl, cover up this little hole with my thumb, then inhale until the top chamber fills, move my thumb, and suck down the rest.
I couldn't get over her for days after that.
They also had a no-return policy. Once you smoke something in it, they don't even want to hear about it. :)
Man, that was years ago. I didn't know those things were still legal.... ;)
It wasn't funny. The all your base thing ceased to be funny on its own about 2 years ago.... Then the variations on it.... even saying stuff like "All your funny are belong to 2 years ago" and "Someone set up us the dead horse" stopped being funny about a year ago....
This stuff is good shit, dude! It's some of the funniest stuff I've seen in a while.
lol
Thanks, I needed that. :)
Dude, when it's time to railroad, you railroad. It's irrelevant *who* does it, it will just be done. That was the time, it was just time to railroad. If MS had fought the internet too much, then we'd have an Apple monopoly (Commodore had gone down already). But it was time to railroad. I saw it coming in '91 when I first signed onto the internet from my Amiga, and it came.
I'm sorry I don't share your belief that having others find your blunders is somehow "better" (or just as good as) having financial incentive. Plus in the corp world, there is BOTH the risk of having someone find your broken code and the financial slap on the wrists.
Let's see if I've got this straight. You seem to be saying that if a person doesn't have financial incentive they won't exercise a work ethic? Do you work for the government or one of its contractors?
There's no excuse for having a shitty work ethic, and the poster was just saying that Free Software developers have a work ethic. I agree with the generalization, I know many free software developers and haven't yet met one with a shitty work ethic.
Financial incentive is no substitute for work ethic.
Oh, that's fantastic. I now get modded down for attacking Microsoft.
This is just plain stupid, dude. I think the problem isn't that you like microsoft, but rather that you're a smart guy. If you were dumb, they'd've modded you up. Since you're not dumb, they're scared you'll turn people away from Free Software.
Also, you provided a real criticism of Microsoft, it wasn't just random bitching and whining like we usually see from people who haven't run windows since KDE 0.1 came out.
Usually I wanna tangle with you, as much as we philosophically disagree, though, you're on the level.
at least until win2020 comes...
Is that the one built by investigative reporters? And they're promising us PRIVACY????
Hey Visaris, now that I'm in a roll and the mods are coming in hard and fast, let's talk some more. If I'm going to be modded down for calling you on your bullshit, I'd just as well have some fun.
lol
Usually I have reason to bitch at you, but this time I'm with you all the way man. I feel for ya. ;)
Microsoft installs all/most of their drivers these days because people got tired of having to go look for the CD, and this is significantly faster, plus the drivers all had to be compressed, and to save maximum space they are compressed into a single CAB, which is cumbersome to access on CD.
I don't know that there's really anything wrong with this, either.
As an example, I've got on my harddrive the downloaded ISOs of Mandrake LInux 9.0, and I've got urpmi looking there instead of for the CDs. They're mounted up as read-only loopback filesystems. It's on my server! So whenever I need an application from anywhere on my network, I ssh to my server and run drakconf to see if it's on the distro. If not, I do something else. If so, I install it. Beats the hell out of spending 30 minutes looking for the damn CDs everytime, and then having to go into my bedroom to install the shit, possibly waking up wife and/or kids.
90% of product development takes 90% of the time, the last 10% takes the other 90% of the time.
Dude, I was willing to grant you the benefit of the doubt as a statistician, until I read the last sentence of your post. :(