What's interesting is that lately I've been hearing "If you are a 'head's down programmer', you are in trouble - career-wise" and they go on to explain that companies want people who are knowledgable in both business and technology.
But the outsourcing trend seems to indicate the opposite: firms who want 'head's down programmers' to solve the needs of their clients.
I think you are on the right track:
Before the 90's, people got into IT mainly because they had an aptitude for it and that was the type of job they liked.
But in the 90's, because of the salaries, many people who had no aptitude for IT got into the field. And they could get by because they could do an adequate job and companies needed warm bodies to get the work done.
Now the market is correcting itself. Companies are trying to reduce cost, some by outsourcing (and seeing how that won't work for the most part) others are trying to get by with fewer people and are finding out that out 4 out of 5 people in their IT dept are just warm bodies and can be removed without reducing the amount or quality of the software.
Simply put, IT is going back to becomming an area like other jobs: those who have an aptitude for it are being drawn to it. The people who have no aptitude are being pushed out or drawn to the latest high paying fad: health care (woe to anyone who gets sick today!).
If you are thinking of going into IT for any reason other than you like that sort of work, you are setting yourself up for career failure.
But, then, I'd make that statement about any career. Careers should be chosen by what you like to do - which relates directly with what you have a natural aptitude for - and not just because you can make a certain salary.
While I will agree that when a normally pleasant employee is angry/whiny that there is a reason. It's not always true. Unfortunately, I've dealt with cow-orkers who seem to have complaining as their #1 task.
Funny thing is that here in town, a local scrapper is selling "scrapped" PCs cheap. So for $36, you can get an old 500 Mhz Celeron, 256 MB RAM, in a Compaq iPaq. For another $15, you can get a 15" monitor.
If all you needed was a system to surf the web and check your mail, that's $51. Maybe you want nice speakers too, add another $5.
So $300, plus a monthly service fee, seems far too high.
It doesn't look that way.
I just checked out Dell USA's web site and didn't see an available option for Mandriva. It was Windoze XP all the way.
Oh, well... Emperor Linux still does a really good job with laptops and Linux.
I'm remembering a situation many, many years ago. Where I lived there was a pay TV service that broadcast over the airwaves. You payed a monthly fee and got a decoder box that would let you watch the movies.
Well, some people built their own decoder boxes and go the service for free. So the service sued.
I don't remember the details of the case, but it was basically thown out because the judge ruled that the airwaves belonged to the public and if they broadcast their service over the airwaves, they gave away their content and, therefore, it could not be stolen.
So in this WiFi case:
1. He was intercepting a signal that was being broadcast (i.e. he was using a public resource)
2. He was transmitting in a frequency that the FCC set aside for PUBLIC use
My copy was in the mailbox when I got home yesterday and I've already started to watch it.
I must say that Jason did an excellent job on this documentary. Not only is the content really good, but he actually uses the DVD format to full advantage. 2 subtitle tracks - one with the text of what's being said, but the other one with useful information. At least 2 audio tracks - one with the interview audio, one with Jason's commentary (which is actually very informative). The chapter that I started to watch last night I think had 3 audio tracks, but I haven't quite gotten to that yet.
It's not "piracy" that they really fear. It's the fact that we now have a way to preview new material before we pay for it. So when they put out junk, we avoid it instead of wasting our money on it.
Remember The Hulk movie? Remember how the MPAA blamed all those text messengers for a poor opening weekend? A small number of people went to see it, found it junk and told their buddies so that instead of getting one good weekend before everyone in the breakroom at work found out on Monday, they got only one good Friday evening showing - and that's it.
The MPAA and RIAA don't want to spend the time and effort to always put out something good. They want to put out junk and get a short term return on it. But file sharing messes up that model and that's what they really don't like.
You sound like Taco. The iPod has been fairly successful in the market, and they didn't twist anyones arm to become successful. This is one of those times I suggest reflecting and reevaluating your position.
I have. The reason that iTunes is successful are:
People are basically honest and that they would like to pay for the music that they download. The music industry had already set the price correctly: $1 per song ($15 per CD, 15 songs per CD) and that price was acceptable to most people.
The iPod is a cool looking device.
iTunes makes it easy to manage your iPod.
All fine and dandy. I can see why people purchased iPods. But what happens if iTunes goes away? What happens when (not "if") Apple decides to change how iTunes works and requires you to "upgrade" your iPod to use it? Remember that iTunes doesn't exist to sell music. It exists to provide a reason to buy an iPod.
He [Carnegie] built the first few libraries himself, but the majority were done through funds matching. i.e. Any funds that the local community/government was willing to put up for construction, he would match.
But he didn't do it because he was a monopolist. That's my point.
Let's say Burger King does something to make you mad. You then dig up something on Burger King's meat production and give it to PETA.
Bad example. 8-) I haven't been in a fast food place for at least 70 lbs. Now that the weather warmed up again and I'm biking on the weekends, I can go. But now the food makes me sick.
But I see your point. However, sicing PETA on someone would make me feel dirty. Sort of like starting down the path to the Dark Side of the Force.
Didio, the Stock Exchange, the general media, managers who wanted protection against Linux lawsuits, etc, etc, etc. The world does not revolve around the geek opinion.
Perhaps my question should have been "What INTELLIGENT person believed SCO?"
Monopolies are not unamerican. It merely means that someone got to the market first, or managed to outcompete their competitors by a wide margin.
Let's see... A player that costs more. Has a poor battery (in many units). Does not use the standard audio format. I can't really see the "outcompete" here. The only really thing that iTunes does is sell music at the price people are willing to pay - but only if you use an Apple or Microsoft product.
(Anyone remember that "steel guy" Andrew Carnegie? He was so horrible that he got the US to put libraries all over the place.)
You are confusing Carnegie the business man with Carnegie the philanthropist(sp? I can't find my dictionary right now). Carnegie believed that the worst thing you could do to someone is leave them money. The U.S. didn't put up libraries to Carnegie. Carnegie funded the libraries with his money to get them started, then turned them over to the gov't to run as a public trust.
Bullocks. A mayor or council member who is unpopular with the local population isn't going to get reelected.
They will if the alternative is worse. Often when I go to the polls, my choice is between Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum. Regardless of who I choose, they are unacceptable. I've asked for it several times, but they still don't have a "none of the above" option on the ballots.
Welcome to reality. The trick is to be a *good* politician, not a bad one.
The knee-jerk reaction is to say "such a creature doesn't exist." But I know that's not true. Good politians do exist. But "good politian" often means "ineffective politian."
There's always problems. People don't get things done by letting problems stop them. How much do you want something? Enough to overcome your poor "people" skills?
You assume that I WANT to deal with people. I'm a geek. 8-)
Ever seen PETA come marching down the street? It's a damn effective weapon if someone doesn't like someone else.
Nope. PETA has no credibility with me. So I ignore them.
Did you see the back and forth protests about SCO? Who believes SCO anymore?
"Anymore"? Did anyone EVER believe them?
Did you hear the Knight Rider theme? "One man can make a difference?" Err... wait...
Well, if you're suggesting that I build a car with an AI in it, that I might be able to handle. 8-) But I don't think that we can get David Hasslehoff to help us out.
Sure they will. Just focus your efforts. Organize this boycott, contact local and national news sources about it, and just generally get the word out. If you can stop a single product, the company WILL take notice.
But you still need ALOT of people to make this work. In my experience, this simply doesn't work unless you can organize the boycott around the product's target audience.
No, it's not. The DRM is there to make the music companies feel all warm and fuzzy.
Yes, it is. DRM gives the RIAA a warm fuzzy, but it also gives Apple a monopoly. Monopolies are anti-competition and, therefore, unamerican.
I've never had it interfere with what I actually want to do with the music.
Throw your iPod in the trash and buy a good MP3 player (like an Archos). Now, put all your legally purchased music on your new player. Oh, ya, you can't since Apple locks the music to your old iPod. Looks like interference to me.
The problem here is that you're equating DRM == EVIL, which isn't always true.
In its current state, DRM is evil. DRM doesn't lock content to a person. It locks it to a device. Changing the device means having to jump through many hoops to use your legally purchased content (that's even if there are hoops you CAN jump through).
Shout louder.:-) Seriously. You need to make your voice heard.
Doesn't work unless it's an election year.
If you can't find any support from your neighbors, then maybe you should rethink your position for a moment. Why won't anyone else support you?
Because they know it's useless too.
Nonsense. It doesn't take that much money to run locally.
Not from what I've seen.
That will give you some influence over your area (and the town council). With the experience you gain in the process (and local support) you should have little trouble working your way up to the state level. Even rich people use donations to make it in the political arena.
Translation: you become what you are fighting - a politian.
However, I do see your point. But rememeber that techies rarely make good people-persons. And politians make their lives dealing with people.
Get Smart, get organized, and get people hopping mad. The latter point is the key to making most of the suggestions work.:-)
I'm smart (they pay me to be at work). I'm organized (again, they pay me to be). People are already hopping mad (as we can see here). So I'll ask again: give us some suggestions as to what we should do.
Yet how many of you are writing your Congress Critters or your State Senate Critters?
Seeing as how our congress-critters don't give a rat's rear about what we think, writing is a waste of time. I've been writing my congress-critters for the last few years on various subjects. All I get for my efforts are form letters telling me why my viewpoint is wrong and my congress-critters are voting another way.
How many of you are organizing petitions and boycotts against companies who push this sort of nonsense?
Boycotts are useless for this. We are talking about a huge company here. We can stop buying their product and they won't even notice.
How many of you are *rewarding* companies who do the right thing? (e.g. iTunes)
Why would I want to reward a company for pushing DRM and a proprietary reader? iTunes is unamerican and should be avoided.
How many of you attend town meetings to give your opinion?
They listen about as well as our congress-critters.
How many of you vote?
I do. But my vote is drowned out by the multitudes who want a hand-out.
How many of you run for office?
Seeing as now I am not independantly wealthy, running for office is pretty much suicide.
How many of you do *anything* other than sit on your size 53 butts and complain about the situation?!?
My butt is now down to a size 42 and will be a size 38 by the end of the Summer and I've worked hard to make it so.
Butt seriously, what can we do. I hate DRM and think that iTunes is worse than useless, so I didn't buy an iPod - but that didn't stop it from making Apple gobs of money this year. I vote - but that didn't stop my useless liberal governor from getting elected.
If you're so smart, give us some suggestions as to what we should do.
I can't even claim that HS was even fun. It was a waste of time.
For most of the students, it was a popularity contest. For most of the teachers, it was a baby-sitting job. At best, we were indoctrinated into how to be good union laborers.
It had nothing to do with the real world.
College was better - only by a little. Everyone there wanted to learn and teach, but as far a prepartion for the real world, little was taught.
First, I limit my services to friends and relatives. No "friends of friends" and such. That tends to keep the requests down to a workable number.
For friends and relatives who own small businesses, I usually charge $20/hr to fix their business computers.
For home PCs, they know I expect something, but I usually accept something in trade - a home cooked meal, show tickets, etc.
If I decided to expand my services to anyone, I would head over to Best Buy or the like, see what they charge and use that as guidelines as to what to charge.
Army base computer going down every night. So the grunt in charge of it stayed the night to see what was happening. When the computers went down, he heard the hum of the floor buffer.
The janitor had plugged his floor buffer into the same power as the computers and it caused the crashes. It was quickly fixed by telling the janitor to not do that and putting locking covers on the power outlets.
But they dreaded telling the base commander what the issue was. So they told him it was "a buffer problem."
Keep in mind that when companies whine about "not being able to find enough tech people", they are only telling you 1/2 the story.
What they are really saying is that "We can't find enough tech people willing to work at the wage we want to pay them (usually low) with the benefits that we want to give them (usually poor) in the location that we want to employ them (usually low rent for the company, but high rent for the employee - unless he likes commuting an hour one way)."
After many years of denial, recovery can begin when with one simple admission of being powerless over open-source -- for closed-sourcers and their friends and family.
Step 1
We admitted we were powerless over open source -- that our computer systems had become unmanageable.
When closed source begins to take control of a system, usually one of the first things to go is honesty. The closed-sourcer lies about how many bugs are in his or her software and those around them begin to cover for him as the problem progresses and they too become less than honest.
This cycle of lies and keeping secrets can go on for years and that in itself can create an atmosphere that actually causes the situation to deteriorate faster. Even the children get caught up in the lies. It's a family disease.
The family can become totally controlled by diseased thinking. Although the illusion of control may continue, their lives become unmanageable, because closed-source is really in control. It is cunning, baffling, and powerful.
But recovery for the entire family can begin when someone finally breaks the cycle of denial. That first step begins with admitting powerlessness. Finally being honest about the situation. How does that work?
Mr. Gates. Please. Please. Be honest and stop denying the situation.
Just try getting a laptop without windows? I did. It was easy... I simply selected "None" as the OS.
Easier said than done. Even when I went to Emperor Linux to get a laptop, I still got Windows XP with it.
No store that I've been in will sell a new laptop without Windows. The only place that I've seen where you can get a non-Winows laptop is HP's site - and, then, only for one of their laptops.
The latest PC that I purchased had the WinXP activation code printed on a non-removable decal on the bottom of the PC. Ya, I could copy the code down and give that away with the XP CD, but, technically, that's not legal since it's the decal that's the "proof of license".
BTW: It's on the laptop that I got from Emperor Linux. It runs Mandrake 10. I refer to the decal as "The Mark of Evil".
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They already made a movie about this back in 1971. The Andromedia Strain http://imdb.com/title/tt0066769/
That was 2 years ago. Over a year and a half, I lost 140 lbs and am a much more active person.
It wasn't easy, but it's definately do-able. Besides, as the saying goes, "If it's easy, it isn't worth doing."
But the outsourcing trend seems to indicate the opposite: firms who want 'head's down programmers' to solve the needs of their clients.
Before the 90's, people got into IT mainly because they had an aptitude for it and that was the type of job they liked.
But in the 90's, because of the salaries, many people who had no aptitude for IT got into the field. And they could get by because they could do an adequate job and companies needed warm bodies to get the work done.
Now the market is correcting itself. Companies are trying to reduce cost, some by outsourcing (and seeing how that won't work for the most part) others are trying to get by with fewer people and are finding out that out 4 out of 5 people in their IT dept are just warm bodies and can be removed without reducing the amount or quality of the software.
Simply put, IT is going back to becomming an area like other jobs: those who have an aptitude for it are being drawn to it. The people who have no aptitude are being pushed out or drawn to the latest high paying fad: health care (woe to anyone who gets sick today!).
If you are thinking of going into IT for any reason other than you like that sort of work, you are setting yourself up for career failure.
But, then, I'd make that statement about any career. Careers should be chosen by what you like to do - which relates directly with what you have a natural aptitude for - and not just because you can make a certain salary.
While I will agree that when a normally pleasant employee is angry/whiny that there is a reason. It's not always true. Unfortunately, I've dealt with cow-orkers who seem to have complaining as their #1 task.
Figures since it uses Microsoft products.
Funny thing is that here in town, a local scrapper is selling "scrapped" PCs cheap. So for $36, you can get an old 500 Mhz Celeron, 256 MB RAM, in a Compaq iPaq. For another $15, you can get a 15" monitor.
If all you needed was a system to surf the web and check your mail, that's $51. Maybe you want nice speakers too, add another $5.
So $300, plus a monthly service fee, seems far too high.
It doesn't look that way. I just checked out Dell USA's web site and didn't see an available option for Mandriva. It was Windoze XP all the way. Oh, well... Emperor Linux still does a really good job with laptops and Linux.
Well, some people built their own decoder boxes and go the service for free. So the service sued.
I don't remember the details of the case, but it was basically thown out because the judge ruled that the airwaves belonged to the public and if they broadcast their service over the airwaves, they gave away their content and, therefore, it could not be stolen.
So in this WiFi case:
1. He was intercepting a signal that was being broadcast (i.e. he was using a public resource)
2. He was transmitting in a frequency that the FCC set aside for PUBLIC use
So I can't see where any "theft" occured.
I must say that Jason did an excellent job on this documentary. Not only is the content really good, but he actually uses the DVD format to full advantage. 2 subtitle tracks - one with the text of what's being said, but the other one with useful information. At least 2 audio tracks - one with the interview audio, one with Jason's commentary (which is actually very informative). The chapter that I started to watch last night I think had 3 audio tracks, but I haven't quite gotten to that yet.
This DVD set was well worth the wait.
That's what scares the $#!% the MPAA and RIAA.
It's not "piracy" that they really fear. It's the fact that we now have a way to preview new material before we pay for it. So when they put out junk, we avoid it instead of wasting our money on it.
Remember The Hulk movie? Remember how the MPAA blamed all those text messengers for a poor opening weekend? A small number of people went to see it, found it junk and told their buddies so that instead of getting one good weekend before everyone in the breakroom at work found out on Monday, they got only one good Friday evening showing - and that's it.
The MPAA and RIAA don't want to spend the time and effort to always put out something good. They want to put out junk and get a short term return on it. But file sharing messes up that model and that's what they really don't like.
My MythTV box works better than any DVR that I've seen yet (although it's a bit larger).
It's a great DVR, MP3 player, and region-free DVD player.
I can't say it was a snap to get all working, but it certainly was a rewarding project.
It's a software thing. The region encoding is just a bogus way for the MPAA to "control" where movies are purchased.
The DVD playback is region free. I picked up Kung Fu Hustle on DVD months ago (Region 3), but it plays just fine on my MythTV setup.
I have. The reason that iTunes is successful are:
All fine and dandy. I can see why people purchased iPods. But what happens if iTunes goes away? What happens when (not "if") Apple decides to change how iTunes works and requires you to "upgrade" your iPod to use it? Remember that iTunes doesn't exist to sell music. It exists to provide a reason to buy an iPod.
He [Carnegie] built the first few libraries himself, but the majority were done through funds matching. i.e. Any funds that the local community/government was willing to put up for construction, he would match.But he didn't do it because he was a monopolist. That's my point.
Let's say Burger King does something to make you mad. You then dig up something on Burger King's meat production and give it to PETA.Bad example. 8-) I haven't been in a fast food place for at least 70 lbs. Now that the weather warmed up again and I'm biking on the weekends, I can go. But now the food makes me sick.
But I see your point. However, sicing PETA on someone would make me feel dirty. Sort of like starting down the path to the Dark Side of the Force.
Didio, the Stock Exchange, the general media, managers who wanted protection against Linux lawsuits, etc, etc, etc. The world does not revolve around the geek opinion.Perhaps my question should have been "What INTELLIGENT person believed SCO?"
Let's see... A player that costs more. Has a poor battery (in many units). Does not use the standard audio format. I can't really see the "outcompete" here. The only really thing that iTunes does is sell music at the price people are willing to pay - but only if you use an Apple or Microsoft product.
(Anyone remember that "steel guy" Andrew Carnegie? He was so horrible that he got the US to put libraries all over the place.)You are confusing Carnegie the business man with Carnegie the philanthropist(sp? I can't find my dictionary right now). Carnegie believed that the worst thing you could do to someone is leave them money. The U.S. didn't put up libraries to Carnegie. Carnegie funded the libraries with his money to get them started, then turned them over to the gov't to run as a public trust.
Bullocks. A mayor or council member who is unpopular with the local population isn't going to get reelected.They will if the alternative is worse. Often when I go to the polls, my choice is between Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum. Regardless of who I choose, they are unacceptable. I've asked for it several times, but they still don't have a "none of the above" option on the ballots.
Welcome to reality. The trick is to be a *good* politician, not a bad one.The knee-jerk reaction is to say "such a creature doesn't exist." But I know that's not true. Good politians do exist. But "good politian" often means "ineffective politian."
There's always problems. People don't get things done by letting problems stop them. How much do you want something? Enough to overcome your poor "people" skills?You assume that I WANT to deal with people. I'm a geek. 8-)
Ever seen PETA come marching down the street? It's a damn effective weapon if someone doesn't like someone else.Nope. PETA has no credibility with me. So I ignore them.
Did you see the back and forth protests about SCO? Who believes SCO anymore?"Anymore"? Did anyone EVER believe them?
Did you hear the Knight Rider theme? "One man can make a difference?" Err... wait...Well, if you're suggesting that I build a car with an AI in it, that I might be able to handle. 8-) But I don't think that we can get David Hasslehoff to help us out.
But you still need ALOT of people to make this work. In my experience, this simply doesn't work unless you can organize the boycott around the product's target audience.
No, it's not. The DRM is there to make the music companies feel all warm and fuzzy.Yes, it is. DRM gives the RIAA a warm fuzzy, but it also gives Apple a monopoly. Monopolies are anti-competition and, therefore, unamerican.
I've never had it interfere with what I actually want to do with the music.Throw your iPod in the trash and buy a good MP3 player (like an Archos). Now, put all your legally purchased music on your new player. Oh, ya, you can't since Apple locks the music to your old iPod. Looks like interference to me.
The problem here is that you're equating DRM == EVIL, which isn't always true.In its current state, DRM is evil. DRM doesn't lock content to a person. It locks it to a device. Changing the device means having to jump through many hoops to use your legally purchased content (that's even if there are hoops you CAN jump through).
Shout louder.Doesn't work unless it's an election year.
If you can't find any support from your neighbors, then maybe you should rethink your position for a moment. Why won't anyone else support you?Because they know it's useless too.
Nonsense. It doesn't take that much money to run locally.Not from what I've seen.
That will give you some influence over your area (and the town council). With the experience you gain in the process (and local support) you should have little trouble working your way up to the state level. Even rich people use donations to make it in the political arena.Translation: you become what you are fighting - a politian.
However, I do see your point. But rememeber that techies rarely make good people-persons. And politians make their lives dealing with people.
Get Smart, get organized, and get people hopping mad. The latter point is the key to making most of the suggestions work.I'm smart (they pay me to be at work). I'm organized (again, they pay me to be). People are already hopping mad (as we can see here). So I'll ask again: give us some suggestions as to what we should do.
Seeing as how our congress-critters don't give a rat's rear about what we think, writing is a waste of time. I've been writing my congress-critters for the last few years on various subjects. All I get for my efforts are form letters telling me why my viewpoint is wrong and my congress-critters are voting another way.
How many of you are organizing petitions and boycotts against companies who push this sort of nonsense?Boycotts are useless for this. We are talking about a huge company here. We can stop buying their product and they won't even notice.
How many of you are *rewarding* companies who do the right thing? (e.g. iTunes)Why would I want to reward a company for pushing DRM and a proprietary reader? iTunes is unamerican and should be avoided.
How many of you attend town meetings to give your opinion?They listen about as well as our congress-critters.
How many of you vote?I do. But my vote is drowned out by the multitudes who want a hand-out.
How many of you run for office?Seeing as now I am not independantly wealthy, running for office is pretty much suicide.
How many of you do *anything* other than sit on your size 53 butts and complain about the situation?!?My butt is now down to a size 42 and will be a size 38 by the end of the Summer and I've worked hard to make it so.
Butt seriously, what can we do. I hate DRM and think that iTunes is worse than useless, so I didn't buy an iPod - but that didn't stop it from making Apple gobs of money this year. I vote - but that didn't stop my useless liberal governor from getting elected.
If you're so smart, give us some suggestions as to what we should do.
I can't even claim that HS was even fun. It was a waste of time.
For most of the students, it was a popularity contest. For most of the teachers, it was a baby-sitting job. At best, we were indoctrinated into how to be good union laborers.
It had nothing to do with the real world.
College was better - only by a little. Everyone there wanted to learn and teach, but as far a prepartion for the real world, little was taught.
But the very idea of running Linux as a task on Windows is absurd. Sort of like building your house on a foundation of swamp-land.
For friends and relatives who own small businesses, I usually charge $20/hr to fix their business computers.
For home PCs, they know I expect something, but I usually accept something in trade - a home cooked meal, show tickets, etc.
If I decided to expand my services to anyone, I would head over to Best Buy or the like, see what they charge and use that as guidelines as to what to charge.
Probably not. It's an old story (quickly retold):
Army base computer going down every night. So the grunt in charge of it stayed the night to see what was happening. When the computers went down, he heard the hum of the floor buffer.
The janitor had plugged his floor buffer into the same power as the computers and it caused the crashes. It was quickly fixed by telling the janitor to not do that and putting locking covers on the power outlets.
But they dreaded telling the base commander what the issue was. So they told him it was "a buffer problem."
Keep in mind that when companies whine about "not being able to find enough tech people", they are only telling you 1/2 the story.
What they are really saying is that "We can't find enough tech people willing to work at the wage we want to pay them (usually low) with the benefits that we want to give them (usually poor) in the location that we want to employ them (usually low rent for the company, but high rent for the employee - unless he likes commuting an hour one way)."
(Hopefully AA/Al-Anon won't sue me.)
After many years of denial, recovery can begin when with one simple admission of being powerless over open-source -- for closed-sourcers and their friends and family.
Step 1
We admitted we were powerless over open source -- that our computer systems had become unmanageable.
When closed source begins to take control of a system, usually one of the first things to go is honesty. The closed-sourcer lies about how many bugs are in his or her software and those around them begin to cover for him as the problem progresses and they too become less than honest.
This cycle of lies and keeping secrets can go on for years and that in itself can create an atmosphere that actually causes the situation to deteriorate faster. Even the children get caught up in the lies. It's a family disease.
The family can become totally controlled by diseased thinking. Although the illusion of control may continue, their lives become unmanageable, because closed-source is really in control. It is cunning, baffling, and powerful.
But recovery for the entire family can begin when someone finally breaks the cycle of denial. That first step begins with admitting powerlessness. Finally being honest about the situation. How does that work?
Mr. Gates. Please. Please. Be honest and stop denying the situation.
Just try getting a laptop without windows? I did. It was easy... I simply selected "None" as the OS.
Easier said than done. Even when I went to Emperor Linux to get a laptop, I still got Windows XP with it.
No store that I've been in will sell a new laptop without Windows. The only place that I've seen where you can get a non-Winows laptop is HP's site - and, then, only for one of their laptops.
The latest PC that I purchased had the WinXP activation code printed on a non-removable decal on the bottom of the PC. Ya, I could copy the code down and give that away with the XP CD, but, technically, that's not legal since it's the decal that's the "proof of license".
BTW: It's on the laptop that I got from Emperor Linux. It runs Mandrake 10. I refer to the decal as "The Mark of Evil".