With all the hype over the browser wars for the last decade or so, and the determined efforts Microsoft made to ensure that IE became dominant, can anyone point to a single fuggin' penny of profit that it's actually earned them?
Or perhaps if I'm going to get it past the editors:
Hypothetically, if Firefox actually succeeded in surpassing IE's market share and Microsoft no longer 'owned' the browser of choice on the Windows desktop, how do you think this would impact Microsoft as an organization. Do you think it would actually make a difference if someone else's browser was more common on your company's OS?
none of your data transactions are monitored unless there's a court order
Funny - I thought it was exactly the fact that they weren't obtaining the necessary court order that has brought the Bush administration so much criticism recently.
At the time they probably felt it was money well spent. When Microsoft 'bit the bullet' and bought a license, it inferred that their might be some kind of substance to SCO's claims, and so increased the nervousness surrounding the 'free' nature of Linux (and possibly Open Source in general); which is exactly what a closed-source, OS vendor wants to happen.
Yeah, they should donate it to their rivals. Maybe even construct the supermarket for them. Competition in business is so wrong. Lets all wear flowers in our hair and sing songs.
Even if they try and make it more difficult to do a screen grab (disabling built in functionality like alt-print screen), what's to stop you taking out your pocket camera and just taking a quick snap of the screen in front of you? Any idiot can manage that.
A large part of the Xbox's problem was that it was just too damn big. I live in Japan. I have a designated space in my tiny living room which I can give over to games consoles, DVD players, cable box and various other bits and pieces that need to sit under the TV. Buying an Xbox would have required an extension to my apartment.
I agree, but you missed the word "yet" from the end of your sentence. What happens a few years down the line when the technology has the capacity for the small blurry video and radio quality sound to turn into a full screen, high bitrate, perfect copy of what was uploaded. At that point, Youtube becomes nothing more than a centralized file sharing network for getting any media you want. Companies like UMG aren't so stupid that they can't see this coming, so why not knock Youtube out of the game early, before the bigger problem materializes?
Don't get me wrong. I despise the RIAA, UMG and their cronies as much as anyone. They're a bunch of blood sucking parasites whom I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire. But the problem with rich assholes is that they like being rich and want to stay that way.
most games came with books the size, or at least information content, of most modern "strategy guides". They were called "manuals", and took up the space inside of the box instead of just having a disk and a cardboard insert.
I agree and disagree. Yes, manuals have become thinner than they used to be, but there has been a marked moved in recent years towards "training levels" within the game itself where you are guided through the main functions of the game and its UI while actually enjoying the game experience. I think this has little to do with separating this material off into a strategy guide. It's because game manufacturers understand that the majority of gamers (particularly the teen and younger variety) simply don't have the patience to read through a thick manual before they get to grips with the game itself, and want to dive straight into the action, the moment the plastic wrapper comes off.
The Bush administration drafted amendments to the War Crimes Act that would retroactively protect policymakers from possible criminal charges for authorizing any humiliating and degrading treatment of detainees, according to lawyers who have seen the proposal.
I'm probably showing my ignorance of process here, but what is to stop a future government repealing the War Crimes Act and replacing it with new legislation which allows the current administration to be prosecuted? Surely there must be precedents where legislation has been replaced with new laws which contradict those passed earlier. So in other words, the current government is simply protecting itself as long as no one decides to change the rules. Or am I talking bull?
What his 'representatives' are doing with his music seems to be the very antithesis of his philosophy. Indeed, recall the lyrics to Imagine
Try telling that to his former wife who not so long ago licensed Nike to make a pair of sneakers with exactly those lyrics printed across them. It's hard to 'imagine' a worse choice (pun intended!)
Most insightful however is the observation that not one industrial country has so far implemented a similar program for its children, which casts doubt as to what the pedagogical use for notebooks in class really is.
We're quite happy to sit on our fat asses and tell developing countries what's best for them, yet not one of our own countries has decided one laptop per child is what we need.
Actually, it's surprising what you learn about countries you've never been to before. My wife is in India right now, in a tiny remote village somewhere in the vicinity of the Himalayas. Last night she called me..... on Skype!
Bin Laden and his men must be laughing in their caves.
I remember once hearing the proud words of a US firefighter who was involved in the Ground Zero cleanup, saying something along the lines of "the terrorists will never take away our freedom".
And he was right. It took the Bush Administration to achieve that one.
Sits back and waits to modded down by neo-con fanatics.
Is it? That doesn't explain why obesity levels are rising at an alarming rate in other Western countries too (and many non-Western countries as well), such as Australia.
Your point doesn't make any sense. Of course obesity levels are rising around the world. The rest of the world is basically following America's lead. Convenience culture (of which America is at the forefront) EXACTLY explains why obesity is rising at an alarming rate in other Western (and non-Western) countries.
Agreed 100%. The very first 3 words that entered my mind when I read the summary were "Black and White".
What amazes me most is that (Black and White creator) Peter Molyneux is held up by the media as the greatest British videogame designer of all time, almost a British Shigeru Miyamoto. Yet, since he created Populous, he's done little more than releaase the same game a dozen times with a different skin on it. The guy has no new ideas outside the God Game genre, and few within the genre itself.
I was wondering how long it would take someone to start moaning about prejudice (or racism as some of the follow ups have classed it). While your comments weren't actually that bad I think you missed the point. It's not about American's being stupid. The perception (rightly or wrongly) is about Americans being lazy. America is the biggest convenience-led culture in global history. Just look at the obesity levels compared to the rest of the world. Companies dumb stuff down, not because they necessarily think American's have low IQ, but because they think American's aren't used to making an effort.
True, there are occasions when Americans are considered to be more "stupid" than other nationalities, but sometimes you even do that to yourselves. A few years ago, the James Bond film "License Revoked" had it's name changed to "License to Kill" because it was felt that Americans wouldn't know what "revoked" meant. If I recall correctly, this was actually at the request of the American distributor.
On the positive side, it boosts your ego and makes you feel slightly superior, when it reminds you just how many fucking stupid people there are in the world.
On the negative side, it reminds you just how many fucking stupid people there are in the world.
>I'm sorry, I just don't see anything groundbreaking in this "news."
I disagree. While it may be true that 'they should have been doing this all along', the fact that Microsoft (may) be allowing more free and open competition, including the actual removal of their own applications like IE, is pretty significant. You may be cynical about Microsoft, and rightfully so, but if Microsoft genuinely walks the walk, it would be a major redirection for their business strategy which up until now has thrived on exclusivity deals.
>This really is a black eye for the RIAA in terms of publicity.
Yeah, because previously everyone held them in such high esteem. This makes no difference to the RIAA's image whatsoever. No one's going to notice their black eye, when they have a gaping hole in their head where the brain should be.
Furthermore, few people outside slashdot and similar sites are even going to notice this has happened.
It's no longer possible to say that I'm sick of hearing about this total and utter nonsense. Where did the human race take such a drastically wrong turn that we ended up with this type of decision making the people we place our trust in? I think I must have reached the point of being sick of being sick of it.
If his prediction turns out to be completely and utterly wrong (wrong 1,2,3; massively incorrect sales data etc) can we be assured by Slashdot editors that this is one 'analyst' we will never have to read about again. Or will we be treated to another 'out of his ass' prediction the next time a significant technology launch occurs.
Slashdot Mirror
Or perhaps if I'm going to get it past the editors:
Hypothetically, if Firefox actually succeeded in surpassing IE's market share and Microsoft no longer 'owned' the browser of choice on the Windows desktop, how do you think this would impact Microsoft as an organization. Do you think it would actually make a difference if someone else's browser was more common on your company's OS?
At the time they probably felt it was money well spent. When Microsoft 'bit the bullet' and bought a license, it inferred that their might be some kind of substance to SCO's claims, and so increased the nervousness surrounding the 'free' nature of Linux (and possibly Open Source in general); which is exactly what a closed-source, OS vendor wants to happen.
And they say irony is dead...
Yeah, they should donate it to their rivals. Maybe even construct the supermarket for them. Competition in business is so wrong. Lets all wear flowers in our hair and sing songs.
Even if they try and make it more difficult to do a screen grab (disabling built in functionality like alt-print screen), what's to stop you taking out your pocket camera and just taking a quick snap of the screen in front of you? Any idiot can manage that.
A large part of the Xbox's problem was that it was just too damn big. I live in Japan. I have a designated space in my tiny living room which I can give over to games consoles, DVD players, cable box and various other bits and pieces that need to sit under the TV. Buying an Xbox would have required an extension to my apartment.
Don't get me wrong. I despise the RIAA, UMG and their cronies as much as anyone. They're a bunch of blood sucking parasites whom I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire. But the problem with rich assholes is that they like being rich and want to stay that way.
I agree and disagree. Yes, manuals have become thinner than they used to be, but there has been a marked moved in recent years towards "training levels" within the game itself where you are guided through the main functions of the game and its UI while actually enjoying the game experience. I think this has little to do with separating this material off into a strategy guide. It's because game manufacturers understand that the majority of gamers (particularly the teen and younger variety) simply don't have the patience to read through a thick manual before they get to grips with the game itself, and want to dive straight into the action, the moment the plastic wrapper comes off.
Yeah right, and 12 year olds are such experts on the law.
Koreans rarely sue for libel. Americans do.
I'm probably showing my ignorance of process here, but what is to stop a future government repealing the War Crimes Act and replacing it with new legislation which allows the current administration to be prosecuted? Surely there must be precedents where legislation has been replaced with new laws which contradict those passed earlier. So in other words, the current government is simply protecting itself as long as no one decides to change the rules. Or am I talking bull?
Try telling that to his former wife who not so long ago licensed Nike to make a pair of sneakers with exactly those lyrics printed across them. It's hard to 'imagine' a worse choice (pun intended!)
We're quite happy to sit on our fat asses and tell developing countries what's best for them, yet not one of our own countries has decided one laptop per child is what we need.
Actually, it's surprising what you learn about countries you've never been to before. My wife is in India right now, in a tiny remote village somewhere in the vicinity of the Himalayas. Last night she called me..... on Skype!
I remember once hearing the proud words of a US firefighter who was involved in the Ground Zero cleanup, saying something along the lines of "the terrorists will never take away our freedom".
And he was right. It took the Bush Administration to achieve that one.
Sits back and waits to modded down by neo-con fanatics.
Your point doesn't make any sense. Of course obesity levels are rising around the world. The rest of the world is basically following America's lead. Convenience culture (of which America is at the forefront) EXACTLY explains why obesity is rising at an alarming rate in other Western (and non-Western) countries.
Did you actually read my comment properly?
What amazes me most is that (Black and White creator) Peter Molyneux is held up by the media as the greatest British videogame designer of all time, almost a British Shigeru Miyamoto. Yet, since he created Populous, he's done little more than releaase the same game a dozen times with a different skin on it. The guy has no new ideas outside the God Game genre, and few within the genre itself.
True, there are occasions when Americans are considered to be more "stupid" than other nationalities, but sometimes you even do that to yourselves. A few years ago, the James Bond film "License Revoked" had it's name changed to "License to Kill" because it was felt that Americans wouldn't know what "revoked" meant. If I recall correctly, this was actually at the request of the American distributor.
On the positive side, it boosts your ego and makes you feel slightly superior, when it reminds you just how many fucking stupid people there are in the world.
On the negative side, it reminds you just how many fucking stupid people there are in the world.
I disagree. While it may be true that 'they should have been doing this all along', the fact that Microsoft (may) be allowing more free and open competition, including the actual removal of their own applications like IE, is pretty significant. You may be cynical about Microsoft, and rightfully so, but if Microsoft genuinely walks the walk, it would be a major redirection for their business strategy which up until now has thrived on exclusivity deals.
Probably a year or two before Vista ships.
Yeah, because previously everyone held them in such high esteem. This makes no difference to the RIAA's image whatsoever. No one's going to notice their black eye, when they have a gaping hole in their head where the brain should be.
Furthermore, few people outside slashdot and similar sites are even going to notice this has happened.
It's no longer possible to say that I'm sick of hearing about this total and utter nonsense. Where did the human race take such a drastically wrong turn that we ended up with this type of decision making the people we place our trust in? I think I must have reached the point of being sick of being sick of it.
If his prediction turns out to be completely and utterly wrong (wrong 1,2,3; massively incorrect sales data etc) can we be assured by Slashdot editors that this is one 'analyst' we will never have to read about again. Or will we be treated to another 'out of his ass' prediction the next time a significant technology launch occurs.
>I am not a psychiatrist Really!? With incredible insight like yours I have to say I'm surprised.