It's okay to hate the RIAA. But demonizing them for kicking elf, stepping on spiders, and scaring babies is just taking it too far.
You don't think massive corporations suing single moms is demonic behavior?
Hmmm maybe they do since the people opposing them are apparently excitable children.
Or maybe they're tired of seeing corporations making billions of dollars in profits and who have been porking the music buying public for years with price fixing dragging people who work for a living through the courts. Does that make me an excitable child?
That's probably one of the reasons Sony, BMG and some others collaberated to form RIAA, the same reason MSFT funded the BSA. So someone else could be the bad guy.
It's sort of like the Republican controlled Congress and Senate passing the bankruptcy reform bill which makes it difficult to discharge credit card debt. You'd think with the increased collections the credit card banks would give people a break right? Instead they all raised their late fees and penalties, knowing that they can get away with it because people can't discharge their credit card debt in court. Bet ya didn't see that coming, did you?
I don't know anyone else, but I'm tired of corporate money running this country. I want my country back. I want to lead a torch carrying mob down K Street and sack every lobbyist office and burn every corporate jet at the airport. And this crap that RIAA is up to is just one more reason we really need to do that.
OSS develops in its own time in its own way. To outsiders it sometimes appears chaotic, confused and argumentative to the point of abuse. But out of that pushy, picky process comes some extrodinary software. While it many lack some of the fit and finish features of proprietary software it's usually solid where it counts under the hood.
From the article: Any software that they write, irrespective of whether it is during or outside normal working hours, legally belongs to their employer.
Maybe that's the way it is in England but not at any of the companies I work for. What I write for the customer, belongs to the customer. What I write in my spare time belongs to me and I can contribute it to OSS projects if I so choose.
Self-employed and contract software engineers are not usually bound by employer's IP rights but are unlikely to be strongly motivated to write OSS code unless they can earn a living from doing so,
Sounds like this was written by one of MSFT's PR firms They overlook the number of programmers who are able to successfully transition to supporting the open source products they help produce. Especially these days. Your hobby this week easily could transform into your profession next week.
There are uncomfortable similarities between the OSS development process and the situation that arose in the computer games industry in the early 1980s, where legions of 'bedroom programmers' produced video console games of such poor quality that, despite selling in tens of thousands, they nearly destroyed the industry.
Says who? Unless I missed something the game industry is alive and healthy. Good games get purchased more and poor games get weeded out. Anyone who thinks OSS games never make it has never played Frozen Bubble.
A continued shift towards OSS solutions at the expense of proprietary ones is likely to result in many of the companies that develop proprietary software going out of business.
Well boo-fucking-hoo. Maybe proprietary companies should try a new, radical approach to the software business: Treat customers like people, give them a quality product for their dollar and provide quality support. Duh. The idea that proprietary software companies have some divine right to exist is horse manure.
One thing you can positively do is stop trying to impose your tighty-whitey corporate way of thinking on open source. It's doing quite well without your advice.
Back in the day GM ruled the automotive industry. In the 70's and 80's US car companies started turning out junk. After all, what was your alternative back then? You could rebel and buy a Ford or Chrysler, but they weren't any better than the GM's of the day.
But that lack of quality plus the oil embargo encouraged consumers to try smaller, more fuel efficient foreign cars, specifically Japanese models.
Consumers discovered that the reputation of Japanese cars being cheap and poorly made was not true. Not only did they get better gas mileage, but they were really reliable cars. My first import was a Toyota Tercel and the only things I put in that car over 100,000 miles were gas, oil, a set of tires and brake pads. Today you couldn't give me an American car, even though the imports are made here and most American cars are assembled elsewhere. Impressions last a long time.
That's how I see MSFT. For years they were turning out crap and people are in the process of discovering that the alternatives are pretty good. I'm typing this on a Linux box. A few years ago I hadn't even heard of it. I'm never on the bleeding edge of technology and rarely even the leading edge. If I'm using Linux it's because it works. It works for me at home and, where appropriate, for my business customers.
MSFT will still be around for a long time, but I believe the market will change to include more alternatives and those alternatives will have a following of their own. There are a lot of people walking around with a MSFT chip on their shoulder that they'll never forget.
If it's one area MSFT has really fumbled it's inspiring customer loyalty. They're one of the few companies inspiring their customers to outright hostility. They've abused their market position by treating customers as a revenue stream. Most people will get tired of being porked after a while. We're there. MSFT traded short term quarterly gains for long term loyalty. That's what happens when bean counters run your company and Republicans run your country. And I believe people will remember a long time.
Do not use Microsoft Outlook. Even better, switch from the MS Windows operating system to the GNU-Linux operating system.
It's the bear joke all over again but you make a valid point. You don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the masses of ignorant MSFT users.
I don't surf the internet with Windows, except at the customer site where it's their problem to manage the virus of the day. At home the only machines that see the internet are Linux. No, it's not bullet proof, but I sure sleep better than Windoze users.
it still may be a dream place to work, it's just that many people don't like change
Disney used to consistently be on the list of top 100 companies to work for. The corporate atmosphere changed, not the people. If you mean "change" being a switch from focusing on the needs and interests of their employees and customers to "shareholder value", then yes, you're quite right. People don't like that kind of change, except for the shareholders of course.
Same thing happened at EDS, which used to be a really great company to work for. The focus shifted from quality service to executing contracts as cheaply as possible. Morale tanked, service went to hell, contracts impoded, downward spiral began.
Dell is currently experiencing the beginning of its slide. One of the first signs is a shift away from quality customer service. That's how it begins.
The only thing surprising about the MSFT internal distress is how long it took for people outside the company to find out.
If you want to test my theory, then watch SAIC. Currently an employee owned company, but they're about to go public. My bet is their IPO will lead to a period of rapid growth, eventually shifting to a focus on making money for the stakeholders. Service will suffer, the employees that have been there the longest (and hence make the most) will get forced out so they can be replaced with lower cost replacements. Turn over will increase, service will suffer, contracts will be lost. SAIC will turn into EDS.
I think it's funny how bean counters see the old guys as a liability to be replaced. Forgetting that the reason they have been with the company so long and make the most money is that the customer likes them and they get the job done.
When bean counters get ahold of your business, the same thing is going to happen as when Republicans get ahold of your country.
You're a revenue stream. Smaller and more frequent updates means bigger and more frequent payments to Redmond. And more confusion for the poor end users. Can you imagine some poor schmoe at the computer store saying he wants Windows? Which Windows would that be, sir? Windows Basic, Windows Enhanced Basic, Windows Pro...
And the version tracking for patching and application compatibility testing. Holy crap! It's like the sound of a million sysads saying "Screw you!" all at once.
If instead you are referring to that opportunist John Kerry, then you lose points.
No, I meant John Kerry. He had the same silver spoon ticket out and took his chances in the shit. That means more to me than some gutless poser who had "other priorities" at the time.
Kerry's got more guts than that incompetent you backed and he's a better man. And, for the record, you can take your points and stick 'em right up your godless, corrupt Republican ass.
TIVO is trying to maintain that it was the content provider who made them do it. They can't pass the buck that easy. If TIVO stops doing what people want, it's not the provider they're going to take it out on, they'll drop TIVO. And it doesn't matter who was at fault.
If TIVO thinks viewers will make that fine of a distinction, let me remind you that this is the same general public who couldn't tell the difference between a real war hero and a dope-smoking, draft-dodging Connetitcut Yankee pretending to be a religious fighter pilot from Texas.
But a lot will depend on how Novell can package desktop management. If it's a slick system that's easy to administer, they might have a chance to take some corporate desktop share from MSFT.
And there still has to be substantial per seat savings up front and integrated migration tools.
If they can pull off that package, yeah, they might a shot.
OEM's will be bundling Vista Basic to keep their prices down and when the average joe tries to install his video editing software he's going to find out the first thing he has to do is upgrade Windows.
So besides buying an antivirus subscription and antispyware now the user will have to buy an OS upgrade to do much of anything.
Fork Vista. I'm SO glad to have started moving away from Windoze long ago.
Just so you know. Most of us out in South East Asia refer to NMCI (Navy-Marine Corps Intranet) as the Not Mission Capable Intranet.
When it works at all it's slow. Sometimes you can hit the Send button and just sit there and wait a while.
When we have to work on a Navy project we had to start bringing our own equipment and hubs. Even their developer machines come loaded with 10 year old software and you can't get your email and be logged in as a developer at the same time. To check mail you have to log out, log back in under a different account, then log back in as a developer. The NMCI machines are boat anchors.
NMCI is the worst defeat the US Navy has ever suffered.
And you're completely full of it, I don't care what your brother does. Maybe the economics don't work on some bastard project but overall the price of steel and concrete is very competitive.
How much will my home cost?
Most people get them built for between $45-$60 per square foot. It really depends on how much of the work you do yourself and the finish details on the inside. source: http://www.heritagebuildings.com/faq/faq.asp?secti on=2#ans36
New bricks and sticks construction around here is selling for around $90.00=$110.00/square foot. A couple years ago steel construction was between 10 to 14% higher compared to wood. But with recent increases in lumber prices, increasing faster than steel and concrete construction, those historical differences have all but been erased. We get a steady stream of people stopping by and want to talk about building a house like ours. The numbers always work on construction, but unless they have a lot of cash they can't get it financed.
This place is built with steel I beams, not a trailer built on top of a steel structure, it's a real steel house. I can remove the ceiling panels upstairs and there are steel girders and insulating panels. My roof plates are solid steel plates overlapping so they don't leak and are bolted across the entire top of the house. It will never need replacing. Hail big enough to dent my neighbor's truck...not a scratch. Not a dent. Nothing.
With concrete it depends on what type of house you build. A pre-fab shell kit for a 2,000 square foot house is about $23,000.00, not including the interior fit and finish. We worked out the total cost for ours, including the land, to be about $110,00.00. That was before we found this place.
And it's positively better insulated than conventional houses. I live in a steel home and I can promise you it's quiter, cooler and better built than any conventional home I've ever lived in or stayed in. And 20 years from now it's going to look just like it does today.
"Not all nonproductive time that an employee spends is a complete waste. Some of it is creative or constructive waste."
There are a lot of reasons for down time that don't depend on someone being lazy. People being monitored, drug tested, denied raises and bonuses and squeezed for more and more productivity without getting anything back are just not going to be motivated. What's the point of working any harder for them? There's no reward beyond what they already had.
Yes, some people are just plain dog ass lazy and have no higher ambition than being appointed director of FEMA. But I find the majority of people want to work, they want to do something productive and be rewarded for doing it well.
We live in a steel house. Steel I beam construction, steel plate roof, solid. Because of the extra insulation, our utility bills are about half of the neighbor's similar size house. Our AC unit for the whole house is the same size as the unit for his downstairs. Besides staying nice and cool, it's also bright and airy with a 2,400 sq foot, two story garage where I'm going to build an indoor driving range.
Here's a video of a concrete house that's been through two hurricanes without a scratch. You can see blown out screens on the porch but the houses came out fine. This is actually the company headquarters of the company that makes the concrete dome kits in Florida (www.aidomes.com).
Both types of homes are cheap to build, will withstand far more wind than traditional bricks and sticks construction and are more energy efficient.
What else do both of those type homes have in common? It's very difficult to get them financed. You can't go through a traditional mortgage because Fannie Mae won't touch the loans, which means you have to get a portfolio loan like we did which is prime plus. Then you get to fight with the insurance company for coverage. Our house won't burn or get blown down, but the original quote was higher than for a conventional house!
As long as we have a such a backward attitude toward home construction and financing more survivable housing structures, then you can expect a lot of flying lumber every time a hurricane lands somewhere. We build the same type homes in danger areas, then act surprised when they don't survive.
True a concrete home will flood just like conventional construction but at least the shell will be in good condition. Rip out the insides, sand blast it clean, rebuild the interior. If you build it right you can even replace the HVAC ducts and wiring conduit to prevent mold growth. It'll be just like new.
These days you can actually watch the lumber in conventional homes get thinner by the day but we're just so stuck in that brick box with a tar paper roof mentality.
Oh, yes, the bundle included a 15" flat-screen monitor. So, the bundle contents were put together by someone who does not expect the PC to be connected to an existing TV. And with a 15" monitor, I don't think they expect it to be used in place of an ordinary television receiver, either.
It does feel like MSFT and other companies are trying to get products into the living room before they're completely ready. Reminds me of a technology manure spreader. Keep throwing crap out there and hope something sticks. Doesn't seem very well thought out, as you mentioned.
If you've ever lived or worked on farm with chickens you've seen how relentless and brutal they are chasing insects. Even stinging insects like bees and wasps are no match for that lightning fast beak. Free range chickens are quick and intelligent hunters.
Now imagine a 50 foot chicken...and you're the bug.
Microsoft also states they will not support the OpenDocument format.
The corporate version of a temper tantrum. We're going to take our XML schema and go home!
MSFT employees are, by and large, smart and intelligent. Collectively all that goes out the window. Makes me wonder if Ballmer is taking too much of a hand in day to day operations. That kind of stupidity can only come from the top.
A polite email to the company webmonkey would likely have accomplished the same thing.
Likewise a simple phone call from the Fuddruckers web developer could have resulted in a win for both organizations. I've gotten permission for music, pictures, articles, movies all kinds of stuff just for asking. Most times it's worked out well for both of us and more than once I made contacts that were useful on future projects.
Slashdot Mirror
You don't think massive corporations suing single moms is demonic behavior?
Hmmm maybe they do since the people opposing them are apparently excitable children.
Or maybe they're tired of seeing corporations making billions of dollars in profits and who have been porking the music buying public for years with price fixing dragging people who work for a living through the courts. Does that make me an excitable child?
That's probably one of the reasons Sony, BMG and some others collaberated to form RIAA, the same reason MSFT funded the BSA. So someone else could be the bad guy.
It's sort of like the Republican controlled Congress and Senate passing the bankruptcy reform bill which makes it difficult to discharge credit card debt. You'd think with the increased collections the credit card banks would give people a break right? Instead they all raised their late fees and penalties, knowing that they can get away with it because people can't discharge their credit card debt in court. Bet ya didn't see that coming, did you?
I don't know anyone else, but I'm tired of corporate money running this country. I want my country back. I want to lead a torch carrying mob down K Street and sack every lobbyist office and burn every corporate jet at the airport. And this crap that RIAA is up to is just one more reason we really need to do that.
From the article: Any software that they write, irrespective of whether it is during or outside normal working hours, legally belongs to their employer.
Maybe that's the way it is in England but not at any of the companies I work for. What I write for the customer, belongs to the customer. What I write in my spare time belongs to me and I can contribute it to OSS projects if I so choose.
Self-employed and contract software engineers are not usually bound by employer's IP rights but are unlikely to be strongly motivated to write OSS code unless they can earn a living from doing so,
Sounds like this was written by one of MSFT's PR firms They overlook the number of programmers who are able to successfully transition to supporting the open source products they help produce. Especially these days. Your hobby this week easily could transform into your profession next week.
There are uncomfortable similarities between the OSS development process and the situation that arose in the computer games industry in the early 1980s, where legions of 'bedroom programmers' produced video console games of such poor quality that, despite selling in tens of thousands, they nearly destroyed the industry.
Says who? Unless I missed something the game industry is alive and healthy. Good games get purchased more and poor games get weeded out. Anyone who thinks OSS games never make it has never played Frozen Bubble.
A continued shift towards OSS solutions at the expense of proprietary ones is likely to result in many of the companies that develop proprietary software going out of business.
Well boo-fucking-hoo. Maybe proprietary companies should try a new, radical approach to the software business: Treat customers like people, give them a quality product for their dollar and provide quality support. Duh. The idea that proprietary software companies have some divine right to exist is horse manure.
One thing you can positively do is stop trying to impose your tighty-whitey corporate way of thinking on open source. It's doing quite well without your advice.
But that lack of quality plus the oil embargo encouraged consumers to try smaller, more fuel efficient foreign cars, specifically Japanese models.
Consumers discovered that the reputation of Japanese cars being cheap and poorly made was not true. Not only did they get better gas mileage, but they were really reliable cars. My first import was a Toyota Tercel and the only things I put in that car over 100,000 miles were gas, oil, a set of tires and brake pads. Today you couldn't give me an American car, even though the imports are made here and most American cars are assembled elsewhere. Impressions last a long time.
That's how I see MSFT. For years they were turning out crap and people are in the process of discovering that the alternatives are pretty good. I'm typing this on a Linux box. A few years ago I hadn't even heard of it. I'm never on the bleeding edge of technology and rarely even the leading edge. If I'm using Linux it's because it works. It works for me at home and, where appropriate, for my business customers.
MSFT will still be around for a long time, but I believe the market will change to include more alternatives and those alternatives will have a following of their own. There are a lot of people walking around with a MSFT chip on their shoulder that they'll never forget.
If it's one area MSFT has really fumbled it's inspiring customer loyalty. They're one of the few companies inspiring their customers to outright hostility. They've abused their market position by treating customers as a revenue stream. Most people will get tired of being porked after a while. We're there. MSFT traded short term quarterly gains for long term loyalty. That's what happens when bean counters run your company and Republicans run your country. And I believe people will remember a long time.
It's the bear joke all over again but you make a valid point. You don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the masses of ignorant MSFT users.
I don't surf the internet with Windows, except at the customer site where it's their problem to manage the virus of the day. At home the only machines that see the internet are Linux. No, it's not bullet proof, but I sure sleep better than Windoze users.
Disney used to consistently be on the list of top 100 companies to work for. The corporate atmosphere changed, not the people. If you mean "change" being a switch from focusing on the needs and interests of their employees and customers to "shareholder value", then yes, you're quite right. People don't like that kind of change, except for the shareholders of course.
Same thing happened at EDS, which used to be a really great company to work for. The focus shifted from quality service to executing contracts as cheaply as possible. Morale tanked, service went to hell, contracts impoded, downward spiral began.
Dell is currently experiencing the beginning of its slide. One of the first signs is a shift away from quality customer service. That's how it begins.
The only thing surprising about the MSFT internal distress is how long it took for people outside the company to find out.
If you want to test my theory, then watch SAIC. Currently an employee owned company, but they're about to go public. My bet is their IPO will lead to a period of rapid growth, eventually shifting to a focus on making money for the stakeholders. Service will suffer, the employees that have been there the longest (and hence make the most) will get forced out so they can be replaced with lower cost replacements. Turn over will increase, service will suffer, contracts will be lost. SAIC will turn into EDS.
I think it's funny how bean counters see the old guys as a liability to be replaced. Forgetting that the reason they have been with the company so long and make the most money is that the customer likes them and they get the job done.
When bean counters get ahold of your business, the same thing is going to happen as when Republicans get ahold of your country.
And the version tracking for patching and application compatibility testing. Holy crap! It's like the sound of a million sysads saying "Screw you!" all at once.
No, I meant John Kerry. He had the same silver spoon ticket out and took his chances in the shit. That means more to me than some gutless poser who had "other priorities" at the time.
Kerry's got more guts than that incompetent you backed and he's a better man. And, for the record, you can take your points and stick 'em right up your godless, corrupt Republican ass.
If TIVO thinks viewers will make that fine of a distinction, let me remind you that this is the same general public who couldn't tell the difference between a real war hero and a dope-smoking, draft-dodging Connetitcut Yankee pretending to be a religious fighter pilot from Texas.
Don't toss that old VCR just yet.
And there still has to be substantial per seat savings up front and integrated migration tools.
If they can pull off that package, yeah, they might a shot.
Vista Pimp - Looks fabulous, does absolutely nothing but threatens to beat the crap out of you if you don't get off your ass and go make bank.
Vista Trump - Has serious performance problems, files bankruptcy then fires you.
Homeland Insecurity put them on the federal No Fly list.
So besides buying an antivirus subscription and antispyware now the user will have to buy an OS upgrade to do much of anything.
Fork Vista. I'm SO glad to have started moving away from Windoze long ago.
Ah, reminds me of college. ;)
When it works at all it's slow. Sometimes you can hit the Send button and just sit there and wait a while.
When we have to work on a Navy project we had to start bringing our own equipment and hubs. Even their developer machines come loaded with 10 year old software and you can't get your email and be logged in as a developer at the same time. To check mail you have to log out, log back in under a different account, then log back in as a developer. The NMCI machines are boat anchors.
NMCI is the worst defeat the US Navy has ever suffered.
And you're completely full of it, I don't care what your brother does. Maybe the economics don't work on some bastard project but overall the price of steel and concrete is very competitive.
How much will my home cost? Most people get them built for between $45-$60 per square foot. It really depends on how much of the work you do yourself and the finish details on the inside. source: http://www.heritagebuildings.com/faq/faq.asp?secti on=2#ans36
New bricks and sticks construction around here is selling for around $90.00=$110.00/square foot. A couple years ago steel construction was between 10 to 14% higher compared to wood. But with recent increases in lumber prices, increasing faster than steel and concrete construction, those historical differences have all but been erased. We get a steady stream of people stopping by and want to talk about building a house like ours. The numbers always work on construction, but unless they have a lot of cash they can't get it financed.
This place is built with steel I beams, not a trailer built on top of a steel structure, it's a real steel house. I can remove the ceiling panels upstairs and there are steel girders and insulating panels. My roof plates are solid steel plates overlapping so they don't leak and are bolted across the entire top of the house. It will never need replacing. Hail big enough to dent my neighbor's truck...not a scratch. Not a dent. Nothing.
With concrete it depends on what type of house you build. A pre-fab shell kit for a 2,000 square foot house is about $23,000.00, not including the interior fit and finish. We worked out the total cost for ours, including the land, to be about $110,00.00. That was before we found this place.
And it's positively better insulated than conventional houses. I live in a steel home and I can promise you it's quiter, cooler and better built than any conventional home I've ever lived in or stayed in. And 20 years from now it's going to look just like it does today.
Anything that's not already deployed is going to get a chance to see how PostgreSQL and Firebird perform under similar circumstances.
Probably won't make any difference in MySQL's bottom line but I don't care. You don't partner with SCO.
There are a lot of reasons for down time that don't depend on someone being lazy. People being monitored, drug tested, denied raises and bonuses and squeezed for more and more productivity without getting anything back are just not going to be motivated. What's the point of working any harder for them? There's no reward beyond what they already had.
Yes, some people are just plain dog ass lazy and have no higher ambition than being appointed director of FEMA. But I find the majority of people want to work, they want to do something productive and be rewarded for doing it well.
Here's a video of a concrete house that's been through two hurricanes without a scratch. You can see blown out screens on the porch but the houses came out fine. This is actually the company headquarters of the company that makes the concrete dome kits in Florida (www.aidomes.com).
Concrete Dome
Both types of homes are cheap to build, will withstand far more wind than traditional bricks and sticks construction and are more energy efficient.
What else do both of those type homes have in common? It's very difficult to get them financed. You can't go through a traditional mortgage because Fannie Mae won't touch the loans, which means you have to get a portfolio loan like we did which is prime plus. Then you get to fight with the insurance company for coverage. Our house won't burn or get blown down, but the original quote was higher than for a conventional house!
As long as we have a such a backward attitude toward home construction and financing more survivable housing structures, then you can expect a lot of flying lumber every time a hurricane lands somewhere. We build the same type homes in danger areas, then act surprised when they don't survive.
True a concrete home will flood just like conventional construction but at least the shell will be in good condition. Rip out the insides, sand blast it clean, rebuild the interior. If you build it right you can even replace the HVAC ducts and wiring conduit to prevent mold growth. It'll be just like new.
These days you can actually watch the lumber in conventional homes get thinner by the day but we're just so stuck in that brick box with a tar paper roof mentality.
For that much money it should come with a blow job.
It does feel like MSFT and other companies are trying to get products into the living room before they're completely ready. Reminds me of a technology manure spreader. Keep throwing crap out there and hope something sticks. Doesn't seem very well thought out, as you mentioned.
Now imagine a 50 foot chicken...and you're the bug.
The corporate version of a temper tantrum. We're going to take our XML schema and go home!
MSFT employees are, by and large, smart and intelligent. Collectively all that goes out the window. Makes me wonder if Ballmer is taking too much of a hand in day to day operations. That kind of stupidity can only come from the top.
Trippy. Always pictured a predatory creature like alien and never think about something small like fungus or bacteria.
Guess a fungus stalking Sigourney Weaver in her underwear doesn't have quite the viseral appeal of a human-crunching xenomorph.
I fought the Goo-gle and the Goo-gle won
I fought the Goo-gle and the Goo-gle won....
Likewise a simple phone call from the Fuddruckers web developer could have resulted in a win for both organizations. I've gotten permission for music, pictures, articles, movies all kinds of stuff just for asking. Most times it's worked out well for both of us and more than once I made contacts that were useful on future projects.
Personal communication, what a concept, huh?