You make a really good point, especially as it would put Microsoft in a very bad position. As soon as they say something like "They are different. You have to pay 'X' and they don't", they will wind up in a whole heap of trouble. In short, I really haven't a crystal ball as to what will happen, other than I know that MS will, no matter what, put publicity first. Be it "Why should we care what those wacky Open Source people do? Longhorn does all that and more. They are imitating us" or some other bold-face lie, Microsoft will somehow put a positive spin on everything they do, else they'll do everything they can to avoid getting caught. That's really all I meant.
Pretty much, they sit on their patents. If someone tries to sue Microsoft, and people do, in droves, thinking MS would rather settle and lose a little money than waste more money fighting it. With all these patents, MS can just say "Why are you suing us? We have PROOF that we had this as of . I'm not saying right or wrong, just what I see going on.
Call me crazy, but I actually think this guy is telling the truth about not tackling open source on patent violations. Microsoft has gotten to the point that it may be wearing the crown, but no one likes the king. If Microsoft was going to pull some patent-issue on free software, it would generate a lot of poor publicity for Microsoft, which they do not want. Microsoft isn't a tech company, it is a marketing company that happens to make software. Microsoft doesn't want its main product, its image, to be injured. Just my opinionated two cents.
You'd be surprised -- two months ago, I put VNC on my mother's computer after I got tired of driving to her house every week to do Windows Updates...she still hasn't commented on the happy little icon in the corner.
We used tabbed browsing, with slashdot, wikipedia, google, and everything2 opened. So, we're not smart, we're just good researchers. (humor, humor, humor)
I'm actually really impressed that this man is getting so much respect (and money!) for how much he knows. Most of it is useless trivia, but to most people, that comes across as intelligence...a man is getting respect for his intelligence, on daytime TV. Awesome.
You're exactly right about getting kick-backs, as well as the fact that they collect royalties for every book they put out. My Biology teacher is friends with the author of my Biology book (this is the reason that we use it, actually) and he has stated that to stay current with the class, you need the new book. Unless, you're really cheap, in which case, you'll need to know that Chapter Five is now Chapter Seven, and other trifle changes like that. At $100 a pop, these guys are milking college students (and their delicious scholarships) for as much as they can.
Am I the only one who is getting tired of these "One Distribution _MUST_ be better than the others" articles? They never comment on that fact that open source means you can mix and match features for the perfect distribution. We need some sort of "Festivix: A Linux for the Rest of Us" that will capitalize on that fact, instead of leading readers to think that the Linux market is fragmented and dying.
Speaking of web stuff and perl, my (former) boss always said "Perl is great. In fact, if you smash your hands down on the keyboard, you're halfway to having a working web server."
Not trolling here, attempting humor.
Call me a cynic, but before this entire thing, I never gave Lindows/Linspire a second glance. Now, they've been in the top of the news here at Slashdot several times. Nothing like staying in the eyes of your target audience, I guess?
Slashdot Mirror
You make a really good point, especially as it would put Microsoft in a very bad position. As soon as they say something like "They are different. You have to pay 'X' and they don't", they will wind up in a whole heap of trouble. In short, I really haven't a crystal ball as to what will happen, other than I know that MS will, no matter what, put publicity first. Be it "Why should we care what those wacky Open Source people do? Longhorn does all that and more. They are imitating us" or some other bold-face lie, Microsoft will somehow put a positive spin on everything they do, else they'll do everything they can to avoid getting caught. That's really all I meant.
Pretty much, they sit on their patents. If someone tries to sue Microsoft, and people do, in droves, thinking MS would rather settle and lose a little money than waste more money fighting it. With all these patents, MS can just say "Why are you suing us? We have PROOF that we had this as of . I'm not saying right or wrong, just what I see going on.
Call me crazy, but I actually think this guy is telling the truth about not tackling open source on patent violations. Microsoft has gotten to the point that it may be wearing the crown, but no one likes the king. If Microsoft was going to pull some patent-issue on free software, it would generate a lot of poor publicity for Microsoft, which they do not want. Microsoft isn't a tech company, it is a marketing company that happens to make software. Microsoft doesn't want its main product, its image, to be injured. Just my opinionated two cents.
Ahhhhh!!! You just killed my mind's eye. Thanks, I wasn't planning on crying myself to sleep, but hey, plans change. Heh. You crazy monkey.
You'd be surprised -- two months ago, I put VNC on my mother's computer after I got tired of driving to her house every week to do Windows Updates...she still hasn't commented on the happy little icon in the corner.
That's easy, offer them chocolate.
I'd like a gmail invite, please. robert UNDERSCORE pratt AT hotpop DOT com.
Unfortunately, Scotty would not remember how to work the controls, anyways. Tasteless, I know.
We used tabbed browsing, with slashdot, wikipedia, google, and everything2 opened. So, we're not smart, we're just good researchers. (humor, humor, humor)
Afraid of the Canadian Linux user groups/lynch mobs?
Speaking of robots, wouldn't it be amazing to see this guy go against Ben Stein?
I'm actually really impressed that this man is getting so much respect (and money!) for how much he knows. Most of it is useless trivia, but to most people, that comes across as intelligence...a man is getting respect for his intelligence, on daytime TV. Awesome.
I remember reading an article about the US Army using classic Mac for their webservers for just that reason. Hey, an URL: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,21725,00 .html
You're exactly right about getting kick-backs, as well as the fact that they collect royalties for every book they put out. My Biology teacher is friends with the author of my Biology book (this is the reason that we use it, actually) and he has stated that to stay current with the class, you need the new book. Unless, you're really cheap, in which case, you'll need to know that Chapter Five is now Chapter Seven, and other trifle changes like that. At $100 a pop, these guys are milking college students (and their delicious scholarships) for as much as they can.
Am I the only one who is getting tired of these "One Distribution _MUST_ be better than the others" articles? They never comment on that fact that open source means you can mix and match features for the perfect distribution. We need some sort of "Festivix: A Linux for the Rest of Us" that will capitalize on that fact, instead of leading readers to think that the Linux market is fragmented and dying.
Hey, guys, it looks like yet another person has fallen asleep on their keyboard while posting to Slashdot.
Speaking of web stuff and perl, my (former) boss always said "Perl is great. In fact, if you smash your hands down on the keyboard, you're halfway to having a working web server." Not trolling here, attempting humor.
Call me a cynic, but before this entire thing, I never gave Lindows/Linspire a second glance. Now, they've been in the top of the news here at Slashdot several times. Nothing like staying in the eyes of your target audience, I guess?