Sun are still pretty much the same people, despite this settlement.
I would be surprised if they suddenly turn on Open Source after all these years of support and development.
Linux does compete with Solaris, but not so much at the top end. The nice cuddly chaps at Sun have been more than happy to promote open source on the Desktop. In fact Open Office is and has been crucial to Open Source being competitive at all on the desktop.
This settlement was necessary for Sun because they were loosing money, and Microsoft were going to outlast them, but it is a surrender.
It's not good for Open Source, but it's certainly not good for Sun, and I can't see the people who brought you open office, the phrase "evil empire", and been generally supportive of the Linux community (here in Australia anyway... I assume its been policy), suddenly turning Microsoft pawn.
There will be more than one Sun employee lamenting the necessity to throw in the towel, (and so should we).
One of the reasons the OS movement produces better software (read more resource efficient, less buggy, more secure) than Microsoft, is that there are a lot more than 20,000 contributors worldwide.
Microsoft is certainly the largest software company in the world, however, the drive for market dominance and profit is not always compatible with producing good software.
One example is that the payoff between releasing software as fast as possible, getting it to the shelves, creating income and the all important user-base, and releasing software that is less buggy.
There are other examples based around software design. Eventually maximising the utility of an application is counterproductive to the mechanism by which the user discovers that an upgrade, or the next most extensive package contains just a little pit of functionality that is required.
But send no money to Trinidad, Open office can be downloaded for free - try it out.
Microsoft does however have a lot more money for advertising that the open source movement, and some of the ways that this is being spent to the detriment of the open source community are undeniably innovative. One of the less creative things that they do is spread FUD everywhere (they even seem to have a community of presumably paid employees posting and moderating here at slashdot). Only a very few members of the open source community could afford the advertising to reach Joe Public baring word of mouth.
Consequently it may be important to reply to a troll, because you never know who may be visiting slashdot for the first time.
Don't confuse philanthropy with simple marketing. Dontations of software to eductation is the only way that M$ has been able to compete with linux in that environment. And keeping the next generation familiar with your products, preferably exclusively your products can be explained without hypothesisng philanthropy on the part of Gates.
As to the AIDS and Maleria donations, recall that these came about at the time that India was about to go open source. Here, as with education in the first world, was a very big risk of loosing a lot of potential developers to the competition.
Again there is no need to suggest philanthropy. This is simply a buisness deal whereby India gives to microsoft forever in return for some much-need assistance now.
The whole damn world could be given both education and clean water for only about $20 Billion per annum. Any number of people or organisations could do it. Self interest still rules though doesn't it?
Microsoft is a criminal organisation. They even seem to pay a large group of people post pro microsoft BS to Slashdot, and mod eachother's posts up.
Slashdot Mirror
Sun are still pretty much the same people, despite this settlement.
... I assume its been policy), suddenly turning Microsoft pawn.
I would be surprised if they suddenly turn on Open Source after all these years of support and development.
Linux does compete with Solaris, but not so much at the top end. The nice cuddly chaps at Sun have been more than happy to promote open source on the Desktop. In fact Open Office is and has been crucial to Open Source being competitive at all on the desktop.
This settlement was necessary for Sun because they were loosing money, and Microsoft were going to outlast them, but it is a surrender.
It's not good for Open Source, but it's certainly not good for Sun, and I can't see the people who brought you open office, the phrase "evil empire", and been generally supportive of the Linux community (here in Australia anyway
There will be more than one Sun employee lamenting the necessity to throw in the towel, (and so should we).
One of the reasons the OS movement produces better software (read more resource efficient, less buggy, more secure) than Microsoft, is that there are a lot more than 20,000 contributors worldwide.
Microsoft is certainly the largest software company in the world, however, the drive for market dominance and profit is not always compatible with producing good software.
One example is that the payoff between releasing software as fast as possible, getting it to the shelves, creating income and the all important user-base, and releasing software that is less buggy.
There are other examples based around software design. Eventually maximising the utility of an application is counterproductive to the mechanism by which the user discovers that an upgrade, or the next most extensive package contains just a little pit of functionality that is required.
But send no money to Trinidad, Open office can be downloaded for free - try it out.
Microsoft does however have a lot more money for advertising that the open source movement, and some of the ways that this is being spent to the detriment of the open source community are undeniably innovative. One of the less creative things that they do is spread FUD everywhere (they even seem to have a community of presumably paid employees posting and moderating here at slashdot). Only a very few members of the open source community could afford the advertising to reach Joe Public baring word of mouth.
Consequently it may be important to reply to a troll, because you never know who may be visiting slashdot for the first time.
"It is a desert environment and that is what future battlefields of the US will be," program manager Col Jose Negron said.
...
...Or does he know something that Ali Khamenei should probably guess?...
I guess North Korea and Taiwan can forget about US joining any UN peacekeeping intervention.
I am surprised that Col. Negron has no confidence the exit strategy from Iraq
Vapourware WMD hunt in Iran next presidential term anyone?
Don't confuse philanthropy with simple marketing. Dontations of software to eductation is the only way that M$ has been able to compete with linux in that environment. And keeping the next generation familiar with your products, preferably exclusively your products can be explained without hypothesisng philanthropy on the part of Gates.
As to the AIDS and Maleria donations, recall that these came about at the time that India was about to go open source. Here, as with education in the first world, was a very big risk of loosing a lot of potential developers to the competition.
Again there is no need to suggest philanthropy. This is simply a buisness deal whereby India gives to microsoft forever in return for some much-need assistance now.
The whole damn world could be given both education and clean water for only about $20 Billion per annum. Any number of people or organisations could do it. Self interest still rules though doesn't it?
Microsoft is a criminal organisation. They even seem to pay a large group of people post pro microsoft BS to Slashdot, and mod eachother's posts up.
It's all marketing.