as there is no barriers to entry for other competing firms.
Well, that's just it. A large market share generally creates barriers to entry. MS' ~90% market share makes it very difficult for any other x86 desktop OS to thrive.
That doesn't necessarily mean that having a large marketshare should somehow be illegal.
Just curious, what folder options are you using for the Desktop? I guess if you wanted to copy all of the things on the desktop you could use the folder level copy. That's about all I can think of.. or maybe you wanted to give other users access to your desktop. The desktop isn't "just another folder" though. It's a special folder whose contents are displayed, duh, on the desktop. If you want a folder, use a folder, not the desktop.
Also, you'll note that most of my statements above are couched with "almost", etc., and even pointed out one of the wacky cases. You pointed out another. Congrats.
While lock-in and MS market dominance do depress the market, it cannot be said that these are the dominant reasons for technology stagnating. IMO, there are two main reasons for the stagnation. One is simple economic recession. The other is a backlash from the tech boom. Companies aren't going to invest millions of dollars in tech at the drop of a hat anymore. They're going to want some sort of return on their investment, and that means they need some sort of assurance that the products will sell.
There are lots of things better than Microsoft's crap.
There are? How many OSes are there for general desktop use? 3? Okay, 4 if you count BSD. Are they all better than MS on a technical standpoint, yes. But only one is better than MS on a usability standpoint and we all know that is OS X. Until a few weeks ago, using OS X required buying overpriced hardware, which limited the market for OS X. As I said in my initial post, it remains to be seen whether this will have a strong effect on the market.
Standard oil only had a 50% market share when they were trust busted. Microsoft has 90% plus. No matter how much better any competitor is to Microsoft these days it won't matter.
IMO, Mozilla/Firefox is a strong counterexample to this assertion. Also, I need to remind you that simply being a monopoly is not illegal. It is using that monopoly unfairly that is a problem. MS was found to use their monopoly unfairly, but then it turned out that the judge had the appearance of prejudice, and nothing really came of it.
Your naivity is what keeps incompetent, all powerful companies like Microsoft publically popular.
Well, since you were able to figure me out based on a 3 paragraph slashdot post, you must be right. However, back in reality, MS isn't really that popular. People bitch about MS products ALL THE TIME. The only reason they still use them is because they do not feel that there are better+cheaper+easier-to-use alternatives.
And that's the thing that some people can't grasp about MS. It's not about just being technically better. It's not about just being easier to use, and it's not about just being cheaper. There is a balance between all three of these items, and in the current market, MS is in the right spot. Until Linux gets easier to use for the general public, or Macs get cheap enough, or another OS comes along that adequately satisfies all of these desires, MS will continue to dominate.
(An example: a friend recently made a copy of the Secret Machines album for me. I bought a copy for my brother, and then a copy for myself. How is this bad for the artist?)
Because anecdotes don't mean shit. For all we know, for every 1 of you, there's 10 people copying the album and never buying it. Or maybe for every 10 of you, there's 1 person copying the album and never buying it. We simply don't know.
Windows is horribly inconsistent about what the RMB is actually for
It is? Windows *applications* may be, but in Windows, the RMB is used, afaik, for context menus only. In almost all cases, any actions in the context menus can be done through the standard menus, as well. The only wacky things I can think of are right-clicking the start menu or taskbar. These items can be reached other ways, but it isn't very straightforward (control panel).
Generally, it's not until you get into specialized applications like games, imaging and CADD that the RMB is used for anything else.
It really isn't. MS-Intel maximizes the (Cheap Hardware) + (Easy-to-use Software) metric for most users. If there was something better, people would use it. Linux doesn't meet the Easy-to-use Software portion, and before the new Mac came out, Mac didn't meet the Cheap Hardware portion.
Now that there are cheaper Macs, it will be interesting to see if we see a shift. Unfortunately, I don't think we will, because most businesses are against change. In the home arena, though, I think we may start to see more of a move towards Mac.
it would make real sense for them just to ditch everything below a nickel (5c IIRC).
A wish.
This is the way I make people play Monopoly with me. So much time is spent counting the fucking 1s, and then you never use them in the end (or one player somehow ends up with 25 ones). And yes, it means that rent on an unimproved Mediterranian Ave. is $0. You'll live.
The woman who runs the small sandwich shop in my office building also does this. It's the highlight of my day when my lunch rings up to $6.02 and she says "Six." Yeah, I know, I need to get out more.
There are also situations where the doctors don't want the patient having access to their own records. (i.e. psych notes, or a terminal disease diagnosis of which they're not yet aware)
IMO, there should be no situations like this. They're *my* fucking records, after all.
What a joke. It's very easy to own a gun in all of those states. You may have to wait a few more days, fill out a few more forms, or pay a few more dollars, but it's still there if you want it. It's far from "impossible".
You make valid points, but don't put words in the mouth of the GP. It's rude and it undermines your argument. And calm down with the strawmen, already.
Not sure what the problem is. Sure, the figure is pretty meaningless, but at least he outlined how he came up with 5 minutes, rather than just throwing it out there as authoritative fact. We should be encouraging such practices, not belittling them.
Actually, a lot of rich people still work because they can't find ways to spend their time in a fulfulling way. i.e., they get bored! Yes, it sounds ridiculous to us, but I can imagine after a year or two of travelling and hanging out that I would be looking to do something productive. Granted, since they have enough money, they are able to pick and choose their work, so that they are rarely doing something that they don't like... it's more like being able to work full-time at your hobby.
The problem that you're missing is that nothing is unconstitutional until SCOTUS says so. Yes, if Congress passed a law banning free speech, it would be obviously unconstitutional, but the way the procedure works is that Congress and the President (or a veto override) could make this law, and it's up to SCOTUS to strike it down once it is challenged. Just saying "that's unconstitutional" doesn't count. What you're really saying is "i think that's unconstitutional" because your opinion doesn't matter, unless you happen to be a supreme court justice.
While you're correct about the duty/oath, the problem is that the legislature and executive do not determine what is and is not constitutional. The judiciary does. One could say that by asserting what is and is not constitutional, the executive would not be upholding the Constitution.
Slashdot Mirror
as there is no barriers to entry for other competing firms.
Well, that's just it. A large market share generally creates barriers to entry. MS' ~90% market share makes it very difficult for any other x86 desktop OS to thrive.
That doesn't necessarily mean that having a large marketshare should somehow be illegal.
Super Bowl is a trademark. You have to pay the NFL to use it.
Sad but true.
Leon Lett.
That is all.
Just curious, what folder options are you using for the Desktop? I guess if you wanted to copy all of the things on the desktop you could use the folder level copy. That's about all I can think of.. or maybe you wanted to give other users access to your desktop. The desktop isn't "just another folder" though. It's a special folder whose contents are displayed, duh, on the desktop. If you want a folder, use a folder, not the desktop.
Also, you'll note that most of my statements above are couched with "almost", etc., and even pointed out one of the wacky cases. You pointed out another. Congrats.
While lock-in and MS market dominance do depress the market, it cannot be said that these are the dominant reasons for technology stagnating. IMO, there are two main reasons for the stagnation. One is simple economic recession. The other is a backlash from the tech boom. Companies aren't going to invest millions of dollars in tech at the drop of a hat anymore. They're going to want some sort of return on their investment, and that means they need some sort of assurance that the products will sell.
There are lots of things better than Microsoft's crap.
There are? How many OSes are there for general desktop use? 3? Okay, 4 if you count BSD. Are they all better than MS on a technical standpoint, yes. But only one is better than MS on a usability standpoint and we all know that is OS X. Until a few weeks ago, using OS X required buying overpriced hardware, which limited the market for OS X. As I said in my initial post, it remains to be seen whether this will have a strong effect on the market.
Standard oil only had a 50% market share when they were trust busted. Microsoft has 90% plus. No matter how much better any competitor is to Microsoft these days it won't matter.
IMO, Mozilla/Firefox is a strong counterexample to this assertion. Also, I need to remind you that simply being a monopoly is not illegal. It is using that monopoly unfairly that is a problem. MS was found to use their monopoly unfairly, but then it turned out that the judge had the appearance of prejudice, and nothing really came of it.
Your naivity is what keeps incompetent, all powerful companies like Microsoft publically popular.
Well, since you were able to figure me out based on a 3 paragraph slashdot post, you must be right. However, back in reality, MS isn't really that popular. People bitch about MS products ALL THE TIME. The only reason they still use them is because they do not feel that there are better+cheaper+easier-to-use alternatives.
And that's the thing that some people can't grasp about MS. It's not about just being technically better. It's not about just being easier to use, and it's not about just being cheaper. There is a balance between all three of these items, and in the current market, MS is in the right spot. Until Linux gets easier to use for the general public, or Macs get cheap enough, or another OS comes along that adequately satisfies all of these desires, MS will continue to dominate.
(An example: a friend recently made a copy of the Secret Machines album for me. I bought a copy for my brother, and then a copy for myself. How is this bad for the artist?)
Because anecdotes don't mean shit. For all we know, for every 1 of you, there's 10 people copying the album and never buying it. Or maybe for every 10 of you, there's 1 person copying the album and never buying it. We simply don't know.
Windows is horribly inconsistent about what the RMB is actually for
It is? Windows *applications* may be, but in Windows, the RMB is used, afaik, for context menus only. In almost all cases, any actions in the context menus can be done through the standard menus, as well. The only wacky things I can think of are right-clicking the start menu or taskbar. These items can be reached other ways, but it isn't very straightforward (control panel).
Generally, it's not until you get into specialized applications like games, imaging and CADD that the RMB is used for anything else.
I agree with the AC. I'm paying the guy. They're my records.
I stopped paying the microsoft tax last year when I bought my first Mac.
And you started paying the Apple Tax.
What you just said is like this: "I stopped paying NY state taxes last year when I moved to NJ."
It's inexplicable.
It really isn't. MS-Intel maximizes the (Cheap Hardware) + (Easy-to-use Software) metric for most users. If there was something better, people would use it. Linux doesn't meet the Easy-to-use Software portion, and before the new Mac came out, Mac didn't meet the Cheap Hardware portion.
Now that there are cheaper Macs, it will be interesting to see if we see a shift. Unfortunately, I don't think we will, because most businesses are against change. In the home arena, though, I think we may start to see more of a move towards Mac.
The moral of the story is to buy a lifetime license. If you can't, go somewhere else.
but 8% growth (while very healthy) isn't historically that wonderful for MSFT.
Yes, and the MBA farm told us that if we're not growing as fast as we were last quarter, we're dying! Insert lame netcraft 'joke'.
I'd say its also safe to say that the days of explosive growth (as in early to mid 90's) are behind them.
Really? The tech boom is over? No shit!
it would make real sense for them just to ditch everything below a nickel (5c IIRC).
A wish.
This is the way I make people play Monopoly with me. So much time is spent counting the fucking 1s, and then you never use them in the end (or one player somehow ends up with 25 ones). And yes, it means that rent on an unimproved Mediterranian Ave. is $0. You'll live.
The woman who runs the small sandwich shop in my office building also does this. It's the highlight of my day when my lunch rings up to $6.02 and she says "Six." Yeah, I know, I need to get out more.
While this is a form of advertisment, it differs greatly from what the GP meant. The AOL icon appears once, and is easily deleted.
There are also situations where the doctors don't want the patient having access to their own records. (i.e. psych notes, or a terminal disease diagnosis of which they're not yet aware)
IMO, there should be no situations like this. They're *my* fucking records, after all.
Could such malicious use ever happen???
Yes, if you were diabetic, had severe allergies, etc., and someone wanted to kill you and make it look natural/accidental.
What a joke. It's very easy to own a gun in all of those states. You may have to wait a few more days, fill out a few more forms, or pay a few more dollars, but it's still there if you want it. It's far from "impossible".
Very interesting. One thing that really stood out was this gem:
"They have to trim the population... If everyone who was aborted could save a life, there would be no sick people left in the world."
I guess this woman doesn't realize that sickness also trims the population?
I've had that error occur as well. However, if you hit cancel, OWA still loaded normally.
I guess in the world you envision...
You make valid points, but don't put words in the mouth of the GP. It's rude and it undermines your argument. And calm down with the strawmen, already.
Not sure what the problem is. Sure, the figure is pretty meaningless, but at least he outlined how he came up with 5 minutes, rather than just throwing it out there as authoritative fact. We should be encouraging such practices, not belittling them.
Actually, a lot of rich people still work because they can't find ways to spend their time in a fulfulling way. i.e., they get bored! Yes, it sounds ridiculous to us, but I can imagine after a year or two of travelling and hanging out that I would be looking to do something productive. Granted, since they have enough money, they are able to pick and choose their work, so that they are rarely doing something that they don't like... it's more like being able to work full-time at your hobby.
This isn't insightful. Some people take well over 10 years to get a PhD, for various reasons.
The problem that you're missing is that nothing is unconstitutional until SCOTUS says so. Yes, if Congress passed a law banning free speech, it would be obviously unconstitutional, but the way the procedure works is that Congress and the President (or a veto override) could make this law, and it's up to SCOTUS to strike it down once it is challenged. Just saying "that's unconstitutional" doesn't count. What you're really saying is "i think that's unconstitutional" because your opinion doesn't matter, unless you happen to be a supreme court justice.
While you're correct about the duty/oath, the problem is that the legislature and executive do not determine what is and is not constitutional. The judiciary does. One could say that by asserting what is and is not constitutional, the executive would not be upholding the Constitution.