As someone who has just today scrapped a 13-year old Tipo which only ever let me down twice in trivial situations and cost me very little at each service, I'd disagree.
In the end, it went because the heating system broke down, and getting the ventilation fixed was more than the car was worth to me.
Sure, the Strada was garbage - real, real bad. But from the Tipo onwards, they made good cars.
You basically can't patent something that's just "process on the internet". You have to invent a software method that's truly original (like say a new method of indexing/compressing).
Note, that these are APPLICATIONS for patents, not granted patents.
At the time of the European Software Patent legislation coming in, it basically IIRC excluded patents on obvious inventions that weren't to do with extending computer science.
Furthermore, it's an obvious patent. Take structured data and convert it into XML. That's no grounds for a fucking patent.
For the vast majority of people, O97 does what they want, does it reasonably well. If there's bugs there, they've been there for 6 years and so probably means that a weird combination of events would have to be made in order to create a problem. OK, there's been some recent security bugs - you think a huge percentage of the Office user base care?
People have lived with the bugs up to now. They have an Office system that does 99% of what they need.
This idea of "support" isn't my idea of support neither. I have worked with software vendors, and because they were quite small, support meant phoning them up with a bug and getting a patch released PDQ. Microsoft will patch what they want, because no one company is big enough.
But somehow, I've not bought any RIAA CDs for about a year (I've only bought 2 CDs total).
One alternative would be a "self-taxation" where you give something back somewhere else.
For example, let's say you buy a CD for $15. Of that, how much is paid to support the RIAA carrying out legal attacks? My guess is not much (maybe 20c?). So, if you go any buy an RIAA CD, go and give 50c to someone like the EFF or something.
PS Check out The Fall, a great band on a truly independent label. Can buy from many places including Amazon.
You can't tell a user (as an example) the problem with their computer is a glitch between the keyboard and chair - not if you expect to keep your job. Coarse language in a professional environment encourages people to ignore and discredit you.
Just to pick one word out "user"... or an alternative word "customer".
Suppliers are completely different. Firstly, you can often replace a supplier much quicker than a customer. Suppliers don't pay your bills, you pay theirs.
That's not to underestimate the importance of professional practise and good manners, but if one of my suppliers sent me a threatening letter like this without at least sending someone to see me and talk it over a beer, I'd be off to see my IT guy to ask about the feasibility of removing them as a supplier.
Suppliers are important to businesses and good ones should be nurtured. When they slip up once, some companies just drop them, which is stupid short-termism. But in this case, it's a company not respecting their customers, and they expect to lose them.
First off, what is 'professional'? Providing a quality service and caring about your customers. This doesn't extend to suppliers IMO.
Just to make it clear though. It's important to have good relationships with your suppliers. But it's a very different relationship to the one with your customers. I'd never use the phrase "wasting my time" to a customer. I'd expect them to walk if I did.
He also did the right thing with a supplier - being very clear about what he wants. OK, he could have said something like "I will not be addressing any further comments on this issue until the resolution of the IBM case", but saying in effect "stop wasting my time", drives the message home.
I imaging they are probably considering their options for moving elsewhere anyway.
A Microsoft Access/Dbase/Paradox clone. AFAIK, there isn't one.
Preferably, it would be web based, so you'd do everything via a web interface, from importing data to changing table definitions to designing and running the forms and reports.
I think the CLI is valuable, but you are right - things need to be simpler.
I personally think the gnome vs KDE thing is just getting silly - can't people just work together to get one working rather than drawing battle lines.
It's a bit like the number of content management systems on Sourceforge. I'm not saying people *shouldn't* build another, but how about working on someone else's instead.
If the program really doesn't do what you want, or does it in a ropey fashion, I'd say do your own. But contributing probably means that you get a load of cheap code, and a lot of people gain in return.
I know where you are coming from, that multiple models create a "survival of the fittest" situation rather than monocultures and lockins.
The only thing that this could do is focus everyone on creating 1 really great desktop rather than a number of (often) quite poor desktops.
To someone like me, the whole 'which windowing system to choose' debate is probably doing more harm than good to the adoption of Linux. It sometimes seems it's no longer that people choose one or the other on merit, but that battle lines have been drawn.
There's also no reason why you can't take this desktop code and use what you want and don't want from it.
Getting Linux on the desktop is to me an important objective. From a personal perspective, I don't use it because there's things I'd like to have that aren't there yet. From a more global perspective, Microsoft will attempt to crush Linux in any way possible. Convincing people to get on Linux not only increases the Linux user base, but starves Microsoft of oxygen to take on Linux. I don't believe that enough is being taken yet. It's still mostly hobbyists and a few specialists using it on the desktop. We have to get more home users and more small businesses on, and that means improving the desktop, getting the applications they need built and 'marketing' it to people.
Unfortunately, there's lots of people who use/care about Linux, but not yet organised, except behind distro manufacturers.
I'm guessing we'd need at least $1 million as a legal fund to back up developers. We'd need to find a couple of people who can prove they own code that is being binary licensed by SCO, and are willing to go through the hassle. Basically, case 1 and 2 have got to be so thorough as to give SCO a mashing they and anyone considering infringing upon the GPL won't forget.
Some people are very hot on suing (for things like libel in the UK). Eventually, the press don't go near them because they are just too scared. Companies who consider infringing the GPL have to understand that they will be brought to justice.
Would be a real pity if SCO got buried with a whole bunch of job applicants who turned up for interviews and then at the last minute told them to go fuck themselves.
There's 2 factors that are far more important than the Euro:-
The English Channel
Driving on the left.
In the first case, the English Channel introduces a price supplement in the cost of paying a ferry or tunnel operator for getting to another country. If you live somewhere like Metz, going to Luxembourg to buy some cheap cigarettes takes little time and not much petrol cost.
The second means that it's much harder to get a car (one of the biggest rip-offs). Only us and Ireland drive on the left. In France, people will drive to Luxembourg to buy a car. No special ordering or anything.
To me, the transparancy isn't an issue. I can probably do the conversion in my head if I know the approximate rates.
Also, a lot of stuff isn't cheaper in Europe, and a lot is more expensive. Petrol, cigarettes and alcohol are cheaper because many european countries level higher income tax and less tax on products. PCs, TVs etc are in my experience as cheap in the UK as France. CDs are about the same too. Books are more expensive in France. Some things are cheaper because they are more commonly used and not considered as "luxuries". Le Crueset cookware is much cheaper, filter coffee and good chocolate are cheaper, but tea is considered more of a luxury and costs more. Property is cheaper, but there's a lot more land.
Driving 4WDs is just silly, particularly in somewhere like London. In my opinion, driving at all in Central London is a bit nuts. You pay for the congestion charge, expensive parking, and the tube and buses will get you there nearly as quick.
I've known people live in London and just not have a car. Because it's the major converging point of the rail network, you can get virtually anywhere in the UK from London without changing train too much. The ticket may cost more than the petrol, but there's no running costs.
There's some statistic about 80% of offroaders never going offroad.
OTOH, I used to have a small car, and doing a log journey (like travelling 250+ miles) gets really tiring.
The gap in the UK market is for a good quality electric vehicle as a second car. There's a lot of people who do the school run and local shopping where acceleration, top speed and range aren't an issue. You don't really need hybrids for that, and they seem to me to be a result of car companies not wanting to let go of petrol as a fuel. Saying that, a lot of people who run second cars are better off walking their kids to school and getting a supermarket to deliver (or using a local shop).
It's probably why I buy 90+% of my CDs and DVDs from places like CD-wow and play247.com. The price savings can be huge over retail stores.
I'm wondering what's happening with the Euro. Whilst there was undoubtedly some profiteering from shops initially, I wonder if the pricing of somethings will end up as euro to dollar price. If that happens, prices here will drop as people will drive over to Calais to do a lot more shopping.
It seems to me that there is a huge untapped market overseas.
It's nothing to do with that. It's all to do with sustaining price differentials.
If the record companies gave their backing, I imagine iTunes could go global tomorrow.
Here in the UK, CDs cost more than in the US, and CDs there cost a lot more than in say India. If iTunes launched as an international service, it would have to be priced for the USA (and then they'd fear losing some money in UK as prices would be cheaper) and it would be too pricey for India.
There's currently a legal case going on where the British Phonographic Industry (BPI - like RIAA) are prosecuting CD-WOW for importing CDs from outside the EU without permission of the copyright holder. That's right, there's something enshrined in EU law that allows companies with copyrights etc to stop people selling grey imports without their permission - even though they've paid for them and paid any customs charges. Their reason *of course*, is to protect the artists.
Interestingly, prices of online companies like HMV are much lower than they used to be, probably because of the pressure being brought to bear by companies like CD-WOW.
Slashdot Mirror
In the end, it went because the heating system broke down, and getting the ventilation fixed was more than the car was worth to me.
Sure, the Strada was garbage - real, real bad. But from the Tipo onwards, they made good cars.
You basically can't patent something that's just "process on the internet". You have to invent a software method that's truly original (like say a new method of indexing/compressing).
At the time of the European Software Patent legislation coming in, it basically IIRC excluded patents on obvious inventions that weren't to do with extending computer science.
Furthermore, it's an obvious patent. Take structured data and convert it into XML. That's no grounds for a fucking patent.
I'm thinking of doing a presentation to some people about OOo and taking some CDs along.
I'm thinking that that really isn't sufficiently different to warrant a patent.
For the vast majority of people, O97 does what they want, does it reasonably well. If there's bugs there, they've been there for 6 years and so probably means that a weird combination of events would have to be made in order to create a problem. OK, there's been some recent security bugs - you think a huge percentage of the Office user base care?
People have lived with the bugs up to now. They have an Office system that does 99% of what they need.
This idea of "support" isn't my idea of support neither. I have worked with software vendors, and because they were quite small, support meant phoning them up with a bug and getting a patch released PDQ. Microsoft will patch what they want, because no one company is big enough.
But somehow, I've not bought any RIAA CDs for about a year (I've only bought 2 CDs total).
One alternative would be a "self-taxation" where you give something back somewhere else.
For example, let's say you buy a CD for $15. Of that, how much is paid to support the RIAA carrying out legal attacks? My guess is not much (maybe 20c?). So, if you go any buy an RIAA CD, go and give 50c to someone like the EFF or something.
PS Check out The Fall, a great band on a truly independent label. Can buy from many places including Amazon.
Just to pick one word out "user"... or an alternative word "customer".
Suppliers are completely different. Firstly, you can often replace a supplier much quicker than a customer. Suppliers don't pay your bills, you pay theirs.
That's not to underestimate the importance of professional practise and good manners, but if one of my suppliers sent me a threatening letter like this without at least sending someone to see me and talk it over a beer, I'd be off to see my IT guy to ask about the feasibility of removing them as a supplier.
Suppliers are important to businesses and good ones should be nurtured. When they slip up once, some companies just drop them, which is stupid short-termism. But in this case, it's a company not respecting their customers, and they expect to lose them.
First off, what is 'professional'? Providing a quality service and caring about your customers. This doesn't extend to suppliers IMO.
Just to make it clear though. It's important to have good relationships with your suppliers. But it's a very different relationship to the one with your customers. I'd never use the phrase "wasting my time" to a customer. I'd expect them to walk if I did.
He also did the right thing with a supplier - being very clear about what he wants. OK, he could have said something like "I will not be addressing any further comments on this issue until the resolution of the IBM case", but saying in effect "stop wasting my time", drives the message home.
I imaging they are probably considering their options for moving elsewhere anyway.
Preferably, it would be web based, so you'd do everything via a web interface, from importing data to changing table definitions to designing and running the forms and reports.
As for drivers, I think that the next 2 years will see a shift. Manufacturers will realise that they *have* to release a Linux driver.
I personally think the gnome vs KDE thing is just getting silly - can't people just work together to get one working rather than drawing battle lines.
It's a bit like the number of content management systems on Sourceforge. I'm not saying people *shouldn't* build another, but how about working on someone else's instead.
If the program really doesn't do what you want, or does it in a ropey fashion, I'd say do your own. But contributing probably means that you get a load of cheap code, and a lot of people gain in return.
The only thing that this could do is focus everyone on creating 1 really great desktop rather than a number of (often) quite poor desktops.
To someone like me, the whole 'which windowing system to choose' debate is probably doing more harm than good to the adoption of Linux. It sometimes seems it's no longer that people choose one or the other on merit, but that battle lines have been drawn.
There's also no reason why you can't take this desktop code and use what you want and don't want from it.
Getting Linux on the desktop is to me an important objective. From a personal perspective, I don't use it because there's things I'd like to have that aren't there yet. From a more global perspective, Microsoft will attempt to crush Linux in any way possible. Convincing people to get on Linux not only increases the Linux user base, but starves Microsoft of oxygen to take on Linux. I don't believe that enough is being taken yet. It's still mostly hobbyists and a few specialists using it on the desktop. We have to get more home users and more small businesses on, and that means improving the desktop, getting the applications they need built and 'marketing' it to people.
Unfortunately, there's lots of people who use/care about Linux, but not yet organised, except behind distro manufacturers.
I'm guessing we'd need at least $1 million as a legal fund to back up developers. We'd need to find a couple of people who can prove they own code that is being binary licensed by SCO, and are willing to go through the hassle. Basically, case 1 and 2 have got to be so thorough as to give SCO a mashing they and anyone considering infringing upon the GPL won't forget.
Some people are very hot on suing (for things like libel in the UK). Eventually, the press don't go near them because they are just too scared. Companies who consider infringing the GPL have to understand that they will be brought to justice.
Where do we start?
Just put a link on my site. Do likewise people...
I was thinking for other jobs.
That way, anyone searching for SCO won't find them.
Would this be legal?
Then, launch a lawsuit. How much money will SCO want to put into lawyers?
Any /.ers who can easily go to Utah?
Well, the other SCO (Santa Claus Operation) managed just fine ;)
The English Channel
Driving on the left.
In the first case, the English Channel introduces a price supplement in the cost of paying a ferry or tunnel operator for getting to another country. If you live somewhere like Metz, going to Luxembourg to buy some cheap cigarettes takes little time and not much petrol cost.
The second means that it's much harder to get a car (one of the biggest rip-offs). Only us and Ireland drive on the left. In France, people will drive to Luxembourg to buy a car. No special ordering or anything.
To me, the transparancy isn't an issue. I can probably do the conversion in my head if I know the approximate rates.
Also, a lot of stuff isn't cheaper in Europe, and a lot is more expensive. Petrol, cigarettes and alcohol are cheaper because many european countries level higher income tax and less tax on products. PCs, TVs etc are in my experience as cheap in the UK as France. CDs are about the same too. Books are more expensive in France. Some things are cheaper because they are more commonly used and not considered as "luxuries". Le Crueset cookware is much cheaper, filter coffee and good chocolate are cheaper, but tea is considered more of a luxury and costs more. Property is cheaper, but there's a lot more land.
There's some statistic about 80% of offroaders never going offroad.
OTOH, I used to have a small car, and doing a log journey (like travelling 250+ miles) gets really tiring.
The gap in the UK market is for a good quality electric vehicle as a second car. There's a lot of people who do the school run and local shopping where acceleration, top speed and range aren't an issue. You don't really need hybrids for that, and they seem to me to be a result of car companies not wanting to let go of petrol as a fuel. Saying that, a lot of people who run second cars are better off walking their kids to school and getting a supermarket to deliver (or using a local shop).
I'm wondering what's happening with the Euro. Whilst there was undoubtedly some profiteering from shops initially, I wonder if the pricing of somethings will end up as euro to dollar price. If that happens, prices here will drop as people will drive over to Calais to do a lot more shopping.
It's nothing to do with that. It's all to do with sustaining price differentials.
If the record companies gave their backing, I imagine iTunes could go global tomorrow.
Here in the UK, CDs cost more than in the US, and CDs there cost a lot more than in say India. If iTunes launched as an international service, it would have to be priced for the USA (and then they'd fear losing some money in UK as prices would be cheaper) and it would be too pricey for India.
There's currently a legal case going on where the British Phonographic Industry (BPI - like RIAA) are prosecuting CD-WOW for importing CDs from outside the EU without permission of the copyright holder. That's right, there's something enshrined in EU law that allows companies with copyrights etc to stop people selling grey imports without their permission - even though they've paid for them and paid any customs charges. Their reason *of course*, is to protect the artists.
Interestingly, prices of online companies like HMV are much lower than they used to be, probably because of the pressure being brought to bear by companies like CD-WOW.
2) We all link to the site/post stories about this on all our web sites.
How's that for karma, Bill?