Did you even read the posting? It wasn't Microsoft that did this. It was a vendor that contracts with Microsoft. But framing this as a Microsoft is evil topic gets it on to the/. home page because everyone gets their panties in a twist and drives/. traffic up.
Dumb.
Looked at alone Microsoft isn't stupid. But it is stupid when MS asks congress for more H1b visas. Just before Obama entered office MS asked Microsoft to "remove caps that bar entry into the U.S. by high-skilled immigrants." If MS can import cheap labor and put US citizens on the street it will.
you'll find that BMS was given exclusive rights for marketing only.
No, BMS was give more than that, from wiki the NCI offered "its current stock and supply from current bark stocks, together with proprietary access to the data so far collected".
Neither the government nor BMS owned ANY data
The NCI owned the date it acquired in testing Taxol. Now they may of, should have, released that data so anyone could use it but instead they gave BMS exclusive rights to use the data.
The NCI did this to accomplish exactly what you said: reduce the production costs. That is important.
No, what is important is to lower the costs to patients who need whatever. If the dose could be lowered to less than a dollar, which BMS did, then it shouldn't cost thousands of dollars to be treated.
This is why you buy aspirin from Bayer instead of making it yourself.
No, I don't use aspirin, but if I wanted something like it I'd use wintergreen which contains a chemical related to salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. Here' I even found a lab experiment for a college class to synthesize Aspirin and Oil of Wintergreen [pdf warning], we made aspirin in one of my chemistry classes. I could eat the berries or make tea.
If you don't like the drugs being cheaper because the wrong people make money
The drug is not cheaper, it's expensive and BMS is keeping it that way. Now if BMS were to make Taxol cheap I'd have no problem. If it cost $1 to make treatment shouldn't cost more than $10, maybe $100, but it cost thousands. Not only that but BMS tried to stop generic makers of Taxol, " BMS to pay $670 million to settle suits."
Well, for starters, autoworkers union != bank executives. The two situations aren't even similar. On one hand, you have a union that's doing nothing more than bleeding a corporation dry. On the other, you have a situation where the free market should really be determining things like salaries and bonuses*.
The auto workers negotiated in just as much a free market as those bank executives did. SO they are the same in that regard.
Truth be told, it would be better for the US Automakers if they went bankrupt. That would dissolve all union contracts, forcing them to restructure. While there are certainly other factors like demand and quality, the benefits alone received by members of the UAW make it almost impossible for American car companies to compete with non-union car manufacturers in the US.
While it may be better if US auto manufacturers did go bankrupt, you're either discounting, ignoring, or don't know something. Even foreign auto makers what Detroit bailed out, "Why Toyota wants GM to be saved". This is because of the reason mentioned above, they all depend on the same suppliers. If Chrysler goes bankrupt it's suppliers, who also supply Japanese makers in the US may go bankrupt as well. Secondly those foreign owned factories received a lot of government subsidies. State governments have given out billions in subsidies. "Alabama offered a stunning $253 million incentive package to Mercedes." And one of Alabama's senators, Sen. Richard Shelby was one of those who opposed bailing out US auto companies.
Its great when a company can afford to treat their people well, but when they can't, something's gotta give. Unfortunately, the UAW doesn't see it that way.
Neither do company executives. Even Carl Icahn says executive pay needs to change.
>>>you get to choose which projects you bid and work on don't you?
No not really. I just take whatever comes across my desk.
All of the consultants I knew, admittedly I think it's less than 20, picked which projects they wanted to work on.
When I arrive I use the company's computers
Some of them I knew did work on their clients' computer but then they were setting up or were working on them. Those who worked on projects other than that used their own computers. If you use your client's computer you better be careful. The IRS takes a dim view of consultants and freelancers that use the client's equipment. The IRS takes a bunch of factors into consideration to determine whether a person is a consultant/freelancer or an employee. One of those questions is # Does the worker furnish significant tools, materials and equipment? If yes then the person is a consultant but if not then they probably are employees.
To date I've never had anyone ask me, "Do you know Linux?" Not once.
And how many of them are repeat clients or have you recommended to them? I know if I recommend someone I'll be sure they are capable first. I won't recommend someone who doesn't know Linux to someone who needs someone else to work on Linus systems just as I wouldn't recommend someone who doesn't know Windows to work on Windows systems, or Macs. There aren't many better or worse ways, depending on how you look at it, to damage your own reputation than to recommend someone who is not capable.
You said "Windows isn't perfect, but install everything with the default settings, click "ok" on any actual message from the OS on updating, and you'll be fine." My point was that if everything was fine then businesses would not need to setup test systems. You only setup test systems to test, if everything's fine then no testing it needed.
On a school network, with 1000+ computers, one mediocre administrator can keep them in real good shape
BS! After using Windows almost exclusively for more than 10 years I switched to Mac in part because I got sick and tired of constantly having Windows crash. The only version of Windows I did not have trouble with was NT4. However I had my NT4 PC 3 years before MS stopped making updates available. Windows NT 4 came out on 24 Aug 1996, I got it in December 1997 and the last update I was able to download was in 2000.
If these are for classrooms, most of the time the "server" is the teacher's computer with a share and a printer hanging off the back, and so there isn't real server administration to be done. Most educated home users could get it done.Can you honestly assert the same thing with Linux?
It depends on what Linux distro is used. I've used a Linux distro, Linspire, that was easier to admin than Windows. Of course distros like Debian are harder but then again it is for those who want stability, don't mind not having the latest and greatest, and is willing to work with the command line interface. Debian is not for someone who just wants to get things done, but Ubuntu is for that person.
The government did nothing of the sort. The government does not own something you patent even if they were paying you to work on that project.
Yeap, this is your disconnect. The NCI, a government agency, developed and paid for Taxol. It then gave BMS exclusive rights to the data for Taxol. The General Accounting Office, a congressional office, in 2003 which concluded that the NIH, of which the NCI is part, had failed to ensure value for money. All BMS did was, once they got those rights, was reduce the cost of making Taxol. They were able to get the cost for one dose to less than a dollar yet a treatment course cost thousands of dollars.
The RESEARCHERS sold something that THEY owned.
The researchers did not own anything, their employer did and the government was their employer.
And many employers, if they offer health insurance benefits, require you to have them.
Only one employer I worked for that offered health insurance required employees to get it, and that was the military. No other employer required health insurance, half of them didn't even offer health insurance.
The conventional, straight-forward capitalist thinking is to tightly control access to the resource (software) to create scarcity, and thus control the price. He does this for his own profit, as well as to cover his costs (capitalist programmers, overhead, etc).
The conventional but not the original capitalism. Originally capitalism and free markets or trade was about voluntary exchanges. Where there was scarcity capitalism would route around it by creating something that had an equivalent utility.
People who are extremely in favor of capitalism tend to assume that people will spend their money well. Adam Smith implied that the system would only work well if people with money spent it wisely (it's been a long time, so I don't remember the context, but I remember him implying this though not saying it explicitly).
I think Adam Smith said something like this in his book, which many people don't know or think about, " The Theory of Moral Sentiments".
I knew people at the jr. college I went to that were paying about $10 for a semester... even books were paid for. I am from the middle class, so I wasn't eligible for that financial aid, my costs were still really cheap though.
Before I ever started college I thought it was terrible to go to a community college, "who would go to a baby college?" My parents were lower income, my father enlisted and retired from the US Air Force and my mother worked her way through a two year tech school to become an assistant in a hospital lab. So they didn't have the money to pay for college for either of my sisters, I have 2, or I. Even though I took some advanced classes my grades in high school weren't good so I didn't qualify for scholarships and I didn't know about need based financial aid. So I decided to enlist in the military to save money so I could go to college. When I went into the Army I signed up for VEAP, Veterans Educational Assistance Program, and had money deducted from my pay. When I got out my younger sister had registered at the local community college and talked me into at least going there to look it over. My thoughts about them changed after that. For lower level courses I think community or jr colleges are actually better. The classes are smaller in general, and the professors are there to teach, not do research while grad students teach. And the tuition was maybe 1/5 of the tuition at the state university.
All that said, even at $6500 (does that include room/board?) per year, we're looking at what, $15,000 for a four year degree?
Yes the $6500 does include room and board, I didn't think it did at first. However for 4 years that's $26,000.
$31k can go a long ways, especially if you are single.
I agree, I scrape by on about half that but I wouldn't wish my life on my enemy.
And here I thought most medium to large businesses use test systems before they upgrade or update their systems.
Are you asserting a 20 computer classroom is a "medium to large business"?
No but they will still have the same problems. And if the school has 20 systems per class and there are 50 classes then there's 1000 computers, each one needing to be updated.
The argument (and it's a good one) for using Windows in schools is so kids will be familiar with it
Schools are supposed to teach basics not how to use a specific OS or software. You don't teach writing by showing how to use Office, you teach it by making students write and correct them.
Saving money is an argument that usually works very well in the cash-starved education system, but when it runs up against the need to make kids into well-qualified workers, things get messy.
Schools should teach people to be thinkers and learners not office drones.
In the past ten years I've worked in 17 different companies (as a consultant), and every single one of them used Windows. Not one used Linux. You have nothing to fear.
If you work as a consultant then you get to choose which projects you bid and work on don't you? You should be bidding for jobs you have the skills for and if you don't have Linux skills them you don't bid on jobs that requires those skills.
It should also be noted that getting a bachelor degree at a state university is quite cheap.
While college education is an investment that pays off in the long run, college costs aren't cheap. According to the College Board a year at a state university cost $6,585. While someone from the middle class should be able to afford that many low income students can't. Now what could help those students is if they attend a 2 year community or jr college the first two years.
If a student works on a document on a Linux box at school and then takes it home to work on they'll be in for a shock.
I never had this problem, whether I used Linux, OS X , or Windows in school or at home. And yes, I used all three OSes both in school and at home. Now I have another advantage, I can run all three OSes on the same computer, and using a virtual machine I can run them at the same tyme. I'm typing this on a Mac running Leopard and have been thinking about installing Ubuntu on it to make it a dualboot PC. If I do I can run Ubuntu inside Leopard by using one of a number of VMs. Many store that sell Macs also sell Parallels and VmWare. Vrtualbox is an open source VM that works on all three OSes.
Windows isn't perfect, but install everything with the default settings, click "ok" on any actual message from the OS on updating, and you'll be fine.
Is that why businesses don't deploy test systems? And here I thought most medium to large businesses use test systems before they upgrade or update their systems.
the biggest problems with any computer deployment in our K-12 classrooms are always support and training. If a school district adopts Linux and open source then who is going to be the admin in charge of updates, patches, server, network, and desktop maintenance, etc?
Isn't this true with proprietary software as well? If fact doesn't Windows need more support than Linux, and OS X?
Competent Linux admins are harder to find than people with at least basic knowledge of Mac and Windows
Until Windows became dominate wasn't it hard to find admins with basic knowledge of Windows? Quite simple, just as with Windows, the more Linux is deployed the more people will learn how to admin it.
Also, how many teachers know how to use Linux or are willing to invest the time required to learn? After all, they cannot teach their students that which they themselves do not know.
Having just tried Linux myself, I didn't find it easy to use, simply because I didn't know how to use the CLI.
Depending on what Linux distro and how it is setup Linux can be just as easy as Windows. Years ago Linspire offered a distro that resembled Windows but was easier to use. PlugNPlay worked right out of the box, literally. I bought a new PC with Linspire preinstalled. At home I unpacked and set it up. When I booted up it automatically detected my cable modem and external hard drives. I didn't have to do anything to configure them. Once it was booted up it offered to connect to the net, download, and install updates. With CNR, ClickNRun, you simply choose what software you want to install. CNR supports both open source and proprietary programs and to install one all it takes is to click on the program. To uninstall a program is just as easy. Using Ubuntu installing programs are just about as easy. If you want to use CNR with Ubuntu there is a client you can use, it also works with a number of other Linux distros.
You can embrace OSS while still sticking with the familiar windows or macintosh environment.
I think is a better approach to introducing open source than switching to Linux. With OS X and Windows a lot of proprietary can be easily installed and used to fill gaps that open source leaves open.
No, not needed. If you don't know Hollywood is liberal, you may as well not even know what color the sky is.
Yes it is needed. If a citation isn't provided then making such a statement is nothing more than blowing smoke up my ass. Would you say Arnold Schwarzenegger is liberal? No he isn't, yet he's from Hollywood as was Ronald Reagan and others. While some may have similar positions to liberals none of them compleatly support liberty and small government.
Bush alienated his conservative christian buddies on free trade
Are you saying Bush's Conservative Christian buddies support free trade? Because Bush certainly doesn't. Giving Halliburton billions of dollars in no bid contracts certainly isn't a free market. Neither is using government's power of eminent domain to take away people's property, which Bush did so a baseball field could be built.
Are you SURE that you want to take this attitude for medical procedures? Really? Excellent idea for criminal law though.
Yes I do. If I could I'd abolish the FDA and get rid of the requirement to have a doctor signed prescription for drugs. The most I'd require would be a signed statement saying the user knew the risks. I realize many people depend on their doctor for advise, there's nothing wrong with getting advise, but they also need to be proactive in their own health care. When I've been given a prescription by a doctor one of the first things I do is look up the drug in the PDR, Physicians' Desk Reference, which bookstores carry so you don't have to buy it. Now I can also Google it.
It's that someone thought that they should be able to exclusively use or sell something they created, and we as a society think that's true.
They, BMS, didn't create it nor did they pay for it, taxpayers did.
I'm not intimately familiar with the Taxol thing in specific, but I would guess that the majority of the rights BMS owns have to do with the sequences of plasmids used to produce the drug and the techniques used to develop and insert them.
BMS owns the rights taxpayers paid for.
I don't know what your second paragraph is about.
Your health insurance premiums, which in many cases you are required by your employer to pay
When I last had insurance, I haven't had insurnace in more than 6 years, I did not get it through an employer. When I did have insurance through an employer it was optional not mandatory like you make it out to be. I had the choice to get and pay for insurance or not get it.
by that theory, every patent held by a company or individual who generates income by working for the federal government should belong to the government
There's a difference between working for the government and the government basically giving away taxpayer paid for research.
BMS had the resources to make something of it
BMS brought nothing to the table, other than perhaps marketing. But pharmaceutical companies spend a lot more on marketing than on research.
Slashdot Mirror
It's worse at Microsoft. MS wants congress to allow more H1b visas.
Falcon
Did you even read the posting? It wasn't Microsoft that did this. It was a vendor that contracts with Microsoft. But framing this as a Microsoft is evil topic gets it on to the /. home page because everyone gets their panties in a twist and drives /. traffic up.
Dumb.
Looked at alone Microsoft isn't stupid. But it is stupid when MS asks congress for more H1b visas. Just before Obama entered office MS asked Microsoft to "remove caps that bar entry into the U.S. by high-skilled immigrants." If MS can import cheap labor and put US citizens on the street it will.
Falcon
you'll find that BMS was given exclusive rights for marketing only.
No, BMS was give more than that, from wiki the NCI offered "its current stock and supply from current bark stocks, together with proprietary access to the data so far collected".
Neither the government nor BMS owned ANY data
The NCI owned the date it acquired in testing Taxol. Now they may of, should have, released that data so anyone could use it but instead they gave BMS exclusive rights to use the data.
The NCI did this to accomplish exactly what you said: reduce the production costs. That is important.
No, what is important is to lower the costs to patients who need whatever. If the dose could be lowered to less than a dollar, which BMS did, then it shouldn't cost thousands of dollars to be treated.
This is why you buy aspirin from Bayer instead of making it yourself.
No, I don't use aspirin, but if I wanted something like it I'd use wintergreen which contains a chemical related to salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. Here' I even found a lab experiment for a college class to synthesize Aspirin and Oil of Wintergreen [pdf warning], we made aspirin in one of my chemistry classes. I could eat the berries or make tea.
If you don't like the drugs being cheaper because the wrong people make money
The drug is not cheaper, it's expensive and BMS is keeping it that way. Now if BMS were to make Taxol cheap I'd have no problem. If it cost $1 to make treatment shouldn't cost more than $10, maybe $100, but it cost thousands. Not only that but BMS tried to stop generic makers of Taxol, " BMS to pay $670 million to settle suits."
Falcon
Well, for starters, autoworkers union != bank executives. The two situations aren't even similar. On one hand, you have a union that's doing nothing more than bleeding a corporation dry. On the other, you have a situation where the free market should really be determining things like salaries and bonuses*.
The auto workers negotiated in just as much a free market as those bank executives did. SO they are the same in that regard.
Truth be told, it would be better for the US Automakers if they went bankrupt. That would dissolve all union contracts, forcing them to restructure. While there are certainly other factors like demand and quality, the benefits alone received by members of the UAW make it almost impossible for American car companies to compete with non-union car manufacturers in the US.
While it may be better if US auto manufacturers did go bankrupt, you're either discounting, ignoring, or don't know something. Even foreign auto makers what Detroit bailed out, "Why Toyota wants GM to be saved". This is because of the reason mentioned above, they all depend on the same suppliers. If Chrysler goes bankrupt it's suppliers, who also supply Japanese makers in the US may go bankrupt as well. Secondly those foreign owned factories received a lot of government subsidies. State governments have given out billions in subsidies. "Alabama offered a stunning $253 million incentive package to Mercedes ." And one of Alabama's senators, Sen. Richard Shelby was one of those who opposed bailing out US auto companies.
Its great when a company can afford to treat their people well, but when they can't, something's gotta give. Unfortunately, the UAW doesn't see it that way.
Neither do company executives. Even Carl Icahn says executive pay needs to change.
Falcon
>>>you get to choose which projects you bid and work on don't you?
No not really. I just take whatever comes across my desk.
All of the consultants I knew, admittedly I think it's less than 20, picked which projects they wanted to work on.
When I arrive I use the company's computers
Some of them I knew did work on their clients' computer but then they were setting up or were working on them. Those who worked on projects other than that used their own computers. If you use your client's computer you better be careful. The IRS takes a dim view of consultants and freelancers that use the client's equipment. The IRS takes a bunch of factors into consideration to determine whether a person is a consultant/freelancer or an employee. One of those questions is # Does the worker furnish significant tools, materials and equipment? If yes then the person is a consultant but if not then they probably are employees.
To date I've never had anyone ask me, "Do you know Linux?" Not once.
And how many of them are repeat clients or have you recommended to them? I know if I recommend someone I'll be sure they are capable first. I won't recommend someone who doesn't know Linux to someone who needs someone else to work on Linus systems just as I wouldn't recommend someone who doesn't know Windows to work on Windows systems, or Macs. There aren't many better or worse ways, depending on how you look at it, to damage your own reputation than to recommend someone who is not capable.
Falcon
You said "Windows isn't perfect, but install everything with the default settings, click "ok" on any actual message from the OS on updating, and you'll be fine." My point was that if everything was fine then businesses would not need to setup test systems. You only setup test systems to test, if everything's fine then no testing it needed.
On a school network, with 1000+ computers, one mediocre administrator can keep them in real good shape
BS! After using Windows almost exclusively for more than 10 years I switched to Mac in part because I got sick and tired of constantly having Windows crash. The only version of Windows I did not have trouble with was NT4. However I had my NT4 PC 3 years before MS stopped making updates available. Windows NT 4 came out on 24 Aug 1996, I got it in December 1997 and the last update I was able to download was in 2000.
If these are for classrooms, most of the time the "server" is the teacher's computer with a share and a printer hanging off the back, and so there isn't real server administration to be done. Most educated home users could get it done.Can you honestly assert the same thing with Linux?
It depends on what Linux distro is used. I've used a Linux distro, Linspire, that was easier to admin than Windows. Of course distros like Debian are harder but then again it is for those who want stability, don't mind not having the latest and greatest, and is willing to work with the command line interface. Debian is not for someone who just wants to get things done, but Ubuntu is for that person.
Falcon
The government did nothing of the sort. The government does not own something you patent even if they were paying you to work on that project.
Yeap, this is your disconnect. The NCI, a government agency, developed and paid for Taxol. It then gave BMS exclusive rights to the data for Taxol. The General Accounting Office, a congressional office, in 2003 which concluded that the NIH, of which the NCI is part, had failed to ensure value for money. All BMS did was, once they got those rights, was reduce the cost of making Taxol. They were able to get the cost for one dose to less than a dollar yet a treatment course cost thousands of dollars.
The RESEARCHERS sold something that THEY owned.
The researchers did not own anything, their employer did and the government was their employer.
And many employers, if they offer health insurance benefits, require you to have them.
Only one employer I worked for that offered health insurance required employees to get it, and that was the military. No other employer required health insurance, half of them didn't even offer health insurance.
Falcon
No. Liberals let others decide for themselves what they will as long as they don't harm others. Liberalism is all about liberty and small government.
Falcon
The conventional, straight-forward capitalist thinking is to tightly control access to the resource (software) to create scarcity, and thus control the price. He does this for his own profit, as well as to cover his costs (capitalist programmers, overhead, etc).
The conventional but not the original capitalism. Originally capitalism and free markets or trade was about voluntary exchanges. Where there was scarcity capitalism would route around it by creating something that had an equivalent utility.
Falcon
People who are extremely in favor of capitalism tend to assume that people will spend their money well. Adam Smith implied that the system would only work well if people with money spent it wisely (it's been a long time, so I don't remember the context, but I remember him implying this though not saying it explicitly).
I think Adam Smith said something like this in his book, which many people don't know or think about, " The Theory of Moral Sentiments".
Falcon
I knew people at the jr. college I went to that were paying about $10 for a semester... even books were paid for. I am from the middle class, so I wasn't eligible for that financial aid, my costs were still really cheap though.
Before I ever started college I thought it was terrible to go to a community college, "who would go to a baby college?" My parents were lower income, my father enlisted and retired from the US Air Force and my mother worked her way through a two year tech school to become an assistant in a hospital lab. So they didn't have the money to pay for college for either of my sisters, I have 2, or I. Even though I took some advanced classes my grades in high school weren't good so I didn't qualify for scholarships and I didn't know about need based financial aid. So I decided to enlist in the military to save money so I could go to college. When I went into the Army I signed up for VEAP, Veterans Educational Assistance Program, and had money deducted from my pay. When I got out my younger sister had registered at the local community college and talked me into at least going there to look it over. My thoughts about them changed after that. For lower level courses I think community or jr colleges are actually better. The classes are smaller in general, and the professors are there to teach, not do research while grad students teach. And the tuition was maybe 1/5 of the tuition at the state university.
All that said, even at $6500 (does that include room/board?) per year, we're looking at what, $15,000 for a four year degree?
Yes the $6500 does include room and board, I didn't think it did at first. However for 4 years that's $26,000.
$31k can go a long ways, especially if you are single.
I agree, I scrape by on about half that but I wouldn't wish my life on my enemy.
Falcon
And here I thought most medium to large businesses use test systems before they upgrade or update their systems.
Are you asserting a 20 computer classroom is a "medium to large business"?
No but they will still have the same problems. And if the school has 20 systems per class and there are 50 classes then there's 1000 computers, each one needing to be updated.
Falcon
K-12, as I understand it (it's a US term, and I'm not intimately familiar with the US educational system), ends at age 12.
No, K-12 means kindergarten to 12th grade and most people are about 18 plus or minus a year when they graduate 12th grade
Falcon
The argument (and it's a good one) for using Windows in schools is so kids will be familiar with it
Schools are supposed to teach basics not how to use a specific OS or software. You don't teach writing by showing how to use Office, you teach it by making students write and correct them.
Saving money is an argument that usually works very well in the cash-starved education system, but when it runs up against the need to make kids into well-qualified workers, things get messy.
Schools should teach people to be thinkers and learners not office drones.
Falcon
In the past ten years I've worked in 17 different companies (as a consultant), and every single one of them used Windows. Not one used Linux. You have nothing to fear.
If you work as a consultant then you get to choose which projects you bid and work on don't you? You should be bidding for jobs you have the skills for and if you don't have Linux skills them you don't bid on jobs that requires those skills.
Falcon
taking 2 courses a summer (very conservative plan) at a local community college, they can get a MA or MS in 5 years.
Doesn't a Master degree require 5000 and 6000 level classes? What community college teaches those?
Falcon
It should also be noted that getting a bachelor degree at a state university is quite cheap.
While college education is an investment that pays off in the long run, college costs aren't cheap. According to the College Board a year at a state university cost $6,585. While someone from the middle class should be able to afford that many low income students can't. Now what could help those students is if they attend a 2 year community or jr college the first two years.
Falcon
If a student works on a document on a Linux box at school and then takes it home to work on they'll be in for a shock.
I never had this problem, whether I used Linux, OS X , or Windows in school or at home. And yes, I used all three OSes both in school and at home. Now I have another advantage, I can run all three OSes on the same computer, and using a virtual machine I can run them at the same tyme. I'm typing this on a Mac running Leopard and have been thinking about installing Ubuntu on it to make it a dualboot PC. If I do I can run Ubuntu inside Leopard by using one of a number of VMs. Many store that sell Macs also sell Parallels and VmWare. Vrtualbox is an open source VM that works on all three OSes.
Falcon
Windows isn't perfect, but install everything with the default settings, click "ok" on any actual message from the OS on updating, and you'll be fine.
Is that why businesses don't deploy test systems? And here I thought most medium to large businesses use test systems before they upgrade or update their systems.
Falcon
the biggest problems with any computer deployment in our K-12 classrooms are always support and training. If a school district adopts Linux and open source then who is going to be the admin in charge of updates, patches, server, network, and desktop maintenance, etc?
Isn't this true with proprietary software as well? If fact doesn't Windows need more support than Linux, and OS X?
Competent Linux admins are harder to find than people with at least basic knowledge of Mac and Windows
Until Windows became dominate wasn't it hard to find admins with basic knowledge of Windows? Quite simple, just as with Windows, the more Linux is deployed the more people will learn how to admin it.
Also, how many teachers know how to use Linux or are willing to invest the time required to learn? After all, they cannot teach their students that which they themselves do not know.
Ah but those teachers also had to learn Windows.
Falcon
Having just tried Linux myself, I didn't find it easy to use, simply because I didn't know how to use the CLI.
Depending on what Linux distro and how it is setup Linux can be just as easy as Windows. Years ago Linspire offered a distro that resembled Windows but was easier to use. PlugNPlay worked right out of the box, literally. I bought a new PC with Linspire preinstalled. At home I unpacked and set it up. When I booted up it automatically detected my cable modem and external hard drives. I didn't have to do anything to configure them. Once it was booted up it offered to connect to the net, download, and install updates. With CNR, ClickNRun, you simply choose what software you want to install. CNR supports both open source and proprietary programs and to install one all it takes is to click on the program. To uninstall a program is just as easy. Using Ubuntu installing programs are just about as easy. If you want to use CNR with Ubuntu there is a client you can use, it also works with a number of other Linux distros.
You can embrace OSS while still sticking with the familiar windows or macintosh environment.
I think is a better approach to introducing open source than switching to Linux. With OS X and Windows a lot of proprietary can be easily installed and used to fill gaps that open source leaves open.
Falcon
Citation needed.
No, not needed. If you don't know Hollywood is liberal, you may as well not even know what color the sky is.
Yes it is needed. If a citation isn't provided then making such a statement is nothing more than blowing smoke up my ass. Would you say Arnold Schwarzenegger is liberal? No he isn't, yet he's from Hollywood as was Ronald Reagan and others. While some may have similar positions to liberals none of them compleatly support liberty and small government.
Bush alienated his conservative christian buddies on free trade
Are you saying Bush's Conservative Christian buddies support free trade? Because Bush certainly doesn't. Giving Halliburton billions of dollars in no bid contracts certainly isn't a free market. Neither is using government's power of eminent domain to take away people's property, which Bush did so a baseball field could be built.
Falcon
Are you SURE that you want to take this attitude for medical procedures? Really? Excellent idea for criminal law though.
Yes I do. If I could I'd abolish the FDA and get rid of the requirement to have a doctor signed prescription for drugs. The most I'd require would be a signed statement saying the user knew the risks. I realize many people depend on their doctor for advise, there's nothing wrong with getting advise, but they also need to be proactive in their own health care. When I've been given a prescription by a doctor one of the first things I do is look up the drug in the PDR, Physicians' Desk Reference, which bookstores carry so you don't have to buy it. Now I can also Google it.
Falcon
Do you really believe a lot of parents would choose to have children with low intelligence?
No, but intelligence, like any other ability, has to be cultivated and exercised to get the benefit out of it.
On rereading your post I see I made a mistake. I had thought you meant people would intentionally have children with low intelligence.
Falcon
It's that someone thought that they should be able to exclusively use or sell something they created, and we as a society think that's true.
They, BMS, didn't create it nor did they pay for it, taxpayers did.
I'm not intimately familiar with the Taxol thing in specific, but I would guess that the majority of the rights BMS owns have to do with the sequences of plasmids used to produce the drug and the techniques used to develop and insert them.
BMS owns the rights taxpayers paid for.
I don't know what your second paragraph is about.
Your health insurance premiums, which in many cases you are required by your employer to pay
When I last had insurance, I haven't had insurnace in more than 6 years, I did not get it through an employer. When I did have insurance through an employer it was optional not mandatory like you make it out to be. I had the choice to get and pay for insurance or not get it.
by that theory, every patent held by a company or individual who generates income by working for the federal government should belong to the government
There's a difference between working for the government and the government basically giving away taxpayer paid for research.
BMS had the resources to make something of it
BMS brought nothing to the table, other than perhaps marketing. But pharmaceutical companies spend a lot more on marketing than on research.
Falcon