Novell was warned (since the beginning of its relationship with Microsoft) that Microsoft 'partners' consistently get stabbed in the back. It took Novell a couple of years to take the toll.
"Midvale, Utah-based Burton Group said that the report was neither commissioned nor paid for by Microsoft. However, Burton analyst Peter O'Kelly, one of the report's co-authors, is scheduled to make a presentation at an Open XML press briefing that Microsoft plans to hold in the Seattle area on Wednesday. Also speaking will be multiple Microsoft executives involved in the Open XML standards-ratification effort."
Quinn: Almost to a person, to anybody involved or who knows about the ODF issue, they attributed the story to Microsoft, right, wrong or otherwise. Senator Pacheco may be a bully but I do not believe he is disingenious and would stoop to such a tactic. Senator Pacheco and Secretary Galvin's office remain very heavily influenced by the Microsoft money and its lobbyist machine, as witnessed by their playbook and words, in my opinion.
Quinn: I believe that the ODF decision will stand. I believe MS will continue to do anything and everything it can to stop it. And I know my seat wasn't even empty and they (MS) took another shot at the title, to no avail. This horse is out of the barn and I see no way for it to go back in. Remember, all we are asking for was and is for Microsoft to commit to open and the standards process; so everyone looks really bad if the plug gets pulled at this juncture.
Mass ITD Resolved Accessibility Issues, Adjusts ODF Rollout Details
Now let's turn to Dana Blankenhorn's bizarre piece. First of all, Dana (who should know better) picks up and repeats the open source confusion, titling his piece Blind leading the way from open source.
I'm sure this is just a hiccup, but apparently the blind have given Massachusetts' efforts to mandate open source the shaft. Because Open Document Format (ODF) software (Open Office) does not yet work with screen magnifiers, which make computer documents usable by those who are legally blind, the state of Massachusetts is
This is an ancient piece of FUD (mandating open source) that has been perpetrated by ODF opponents, and it is discouraging to see it continue to appear in venues (such as ZDNet and TechWorld) that have credibility.
I'm sure this is just a hiccup, but apparently the blind have given Massachusetts' efforts to mandate open source the shaft.
Because Open Document Format (ODF) software (Open Office) does not yet work with screen magnifiers, which make computer documents usable by those who are legally blind, the state of Massachusetts is backing-away from its commitment to mandate the format.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=7 55
Microsoft offers schools in Mass. free software
Corporate donations to school systems are not unusual, as companies often try to gain name recognition by placing their brands with younger consumers. State and school officials, though cognizant of companies' attempts to use students for branding, said the donation is a boon for financially strapped schools trying to update their technology.
Microsoft's software includes normal applications, such as word processing and spreadsheets, as well as more advanced programs.
Accusations are rife that the software giant Microsoft has not given up on getting rid of the State of Massachusetts's plans to shift all its documents to the open source
Also, Quote: ------------ Every day, millions of students taking online college courses act in much the same way as their bricks-and-mortar counterparts. After logging on, they move from course to course and do things like submit work in virtual drop boxes and view posted grades - all from a program running on a PC. Click to learn more...
It may seem self-evident that virtual classrooms should closely resemble real ones. But a major education software company contends it wasn't always so obvious. And now, in a move that has shaken up the e-learning community, Blackboard Inc. has been awarded a patent establishing its claims to some of the basic features of the software that powers online education. ------------- End quote
This may appear to be just a new, obnoxious example of patent trolling (in this case by Blackboard). However, there are connections between Blackboard and Microsoft:
Quote: ---------- Char lene A. Douglas isn't surprised that Microsoft wants to get into the booming business of online-software systems for higher education, or that it has recently formed a close alliance with Blackboard, a company whose software helps colleges put their courses on the Internet....
In what the two companies call a "preferred relationship," Microsoft will promote Blackboard to its education customers and Blackboard will suggest that its clients use the Microsoft Windows operating system to run Blackboard on their servers to take advantage of special features available only to Microsoft users. ---------- End quote
See also: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b 1?release_id=98283
just reading the first few paragraphs I found (paragraph 2):
"However, OSS has disadvantages too. Most importantly, it comes from behind
in terms of market share (installed base)."
***Buzzz***
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installed_base,----[ Full quote ]
| "Installed base is a measure of the number of units of a
| particular type of system (usually a computing platform)
| actually in use, as opposed to market share, which only reflects
| sales over a particular period. Because installed base includes
| machines that may have been in use for many years, it is usually a
| higher figure than market share. Many people see it as a more
| reliable indicator of a platform's popularity."
`----
That's when I stopped reading. And so should the reviewer. When people get
technical terminology wrong and fall victim to misconception, peer review
should have the paper rejected. The guys may have studied malarkey like
Taylorism and can work out strategies, but their technical merits and
understanding of groupthink is lacking due to the scope of their research.
When a person from the field of economics approaches a discussion about
computing, then you know you should take a step back.
No thank you, I already have amaroK. I get music by running wget recursively. amaroK does everything I could wish for. It even comes preinstalled with KDE ditros like SuSE.
Many people still use a single-head display even though they have dual-head graphics card and some old monitor(s) lying around in the house. It's poor use of the available hardware, which few people seem to mind.
As for more analogies pertaining to software:
People browse with Firefox/Opera/Mozilla/Netscape and make no use of tabs
Use of heavy and sluggish Web-based E-mail, notably MSN/Hotmail
All right, so Amazon have decided to handle manual labour which is necessary and it also rewards users in return for the service. They get a description of photos without much effort and re-pay back in some form of 'coupons'.
More sophisticated things have been done for quite some time. There is a full object-labelling framework where surfers compete with one another and the Web site of the game is http://www.espgame.org/ .
To quote an article from Post-Gazette:
"Since the Post-Gazette first wrote about the ESP Game in October 2003, more than 80,000 people have played the game and in the process have generated more than 10 million descriptive words for 1 million images"
They offer beer, they offer a trip to Romania... and now they have a free advert on Slashdot and free labour to test their program. And Slashdot editors, among others, fell for it...
I guess food and drugs are not among Microsoft's top priorities as far as the African people are concerned. It's all about profit, profit, profit while moral factors are reduced to scratch. Microsoft's help, rather than be given in the form of free or/significantly/-reduced licence costs, comes via the Bill Gates foundations. This way they can be flasely per- ceived as humanitarians while at the same time draining the pockets of those whose aim is not to use the most widespread O/S, but to survive that wisespread HIV.
Microsoft yet again prove that they choose to live in a dog-eat-dog envir- nment, all of that despite being in that Big Brother role. This comes to yet again show how they spit at the very same community they pretend to cherish.
In other news, I have just developed an astounding computer global illumination rendering algorithm. It gives you the most stunning translucency effects your have ever seen and its output looks scaringly photorealistic. I have it all running, I have a zillion images I generated on my computer, BUT...
Slashdot Mirror
If you wish, http://techrights.org covers similar subjects.
From memory, it was up 22% just before Christmas.
"Who buys Linux in an economy like this?"
People still buy Red Hat. Check their numbers.
Novell was warned (since the beginning of its relationship with Microsoft) that Microsoft 'partners' consistently get stabbed in the back. It took Novell a couple of years to take the toll.
To those interested, here it is as HTML and here it is as a more complex HTML version with images.
Latest example:
"Midvale, Utah-based Burton Group said that the report was neither commissioned nor paid for by Microsoft. However, Burton analyst Peter O'Kelly, one of the report's co-authors, is scheduled to make a presentation at an Open XML press briefing that Microsoft plans to hold in the Seattle area on Wednesday. Also speaking will be multiple Microsoft executives involved in the Open XML standards-ratification effort."
More examples here
Novell will pay Microsoft based on how many sales of SUSE Linux they make (for software patents). Please stay away from Novell products if you care about Free software. Thank you.
> poisonous person willing to do or say anything that might cook up some self-publicity
/against/ flamewars and /against/ FUD. Why shoot the messenger?
What an utterly malicious accusation. Over the years I have fought
> irrational hatred of Novell.
I actually like Novell. I said this many time before. I just hope it returns to being the Novell I used to know.
So, ComputerWorld is now just repeating Novell's PR pitch like a parrot? Novell's business did NOT benefit from the deal.
Disable comment altogether, start duping 24/7, and never get flamed for it. :-) :-) Thanks for the honesty. Tagged appropriately, I see...
Speaking of Microsoft lobbying:
Quinn: Almost to a person, to anybody involved or who knows about
the ODF issue, they attributed the story to Microsoft, right, wrong
or otherwise. Senator Pacheco may be a bully but I do not believe he
is disingenious and would stoop to such a tactic. Senator Pacheco and
Secretary Galvin's office remain very heavily influenced by the
Microsoft money and its lobbyist machine, as witnessed by their
playbook and words, in my opinion.
Quinn: I believe that the ODF decision will stand. I believe MS
will continue to do anything and everything it can to stop it. And I
know my seat wasn't even empty and they (MS) took another shot at
the title, to no avail. This horse is out of the barn and I see no
way for it to go back in. Remember, all we are asking for was and is
for Microsoft to commit to open and the standards process; so
everyone looks really bad if the plug gets pulled at this juncture.
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?st ory=20060119232859729
Mass ITD Resolved Accessibility Issues, Adjusts ODF Rollout Details
Now let's turn to Dana Blankenhorn's bizarre piece. First of all, Dana
(who should know better) picks up and repeats the open source confusion,
titling his piece Blind leading the way from open source.
I'm sure this is just a hiccup, but apparently the blind have given
Massachusetts' efforts to mandate open source the shaft. Because Open
Document Format (ODF) software (Open Office) does not yet work with
screen magnifiers, which make computer documents usable by those who
are legally blind, the state of Massachusetts is
This is an ancient piece of FUD (mandating open source) that has been
perpetrated by ODF opponents, and it is discouraging to see it continue
to appear in venues (such as ZDNet and TechWorld) that have credibility.
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/stan dardsblog/article.php?story=20060823131715736
B lind leading away from open source
I'm sure this is just a hiccup, but apparently the blind have given
Massachusetts' efforts to mandate open source the shaft.
Because Open Document Format (ODF) software (Open Office) does not yet
work with screen magnifiers, which make computer documents usable by
those who are legally blind, the state of Massachusetts is backing-away
from its commitment to mandate the format.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=7 55
Microsoft offers schools in Mass. free software
Corporate donations to school systems are not unusual, as companies often
try to gain name recognition by placing their brands with younger
consumers. State and school officials, though cognizant of companies'
attempts to use students for branding, said the donation is a boon
for financially strapped schools trying to update their technology.
Microsoft's software includes normal applications, such as word
processing and spreadsheets, as well as more advanced programs.
http://news.com.com/2100-7344_3-60901 96.html?part=rss&tag=6090196&subj=news
Microsof t plays Massachusetts Senate card
OpenDocument not a done deal yet
Accusations are rife that the software giant Microsoft has not given up
on getting rid of the State of Massachusetts's plans to shift all its
documents to the open source
Indeed. Got about 70 S5 presentations up there. OO.org also exports as HTML (very flexible).
They also threaten Moodle, which is FOSS.
a p_on_hi_te/e_learning_dispute
n _hi_te/e_learning_dispute
f loc=FF-APO-1333&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20060827%2F14 57575948.htm&sc=1333o logy/wireStory?id=2362437g /article.pl?sid=06/08/02/1217219
r ess/release.aspx?id=510542w s.com/bus-news/article.php/751121j ournals.com/washington/stories/2001/04/23/daily13. html0 01/12/04/news/4013.shtmle e/v48/i13/13a02701.htm
r lene A. Douglas isn't surprised that Microsoft wants to get into
b 1?release_id=98283
Patent fight rattles academic computing
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060827/
Also, Quote:
------------
Every day, millions of students taking online college courses act in
much the same way as their bricks-and-mortar counterparts. After
logging on, they move from course to course and do things like submit
work in virtual drop boxes and view posted grades - all from a
program running on a PC.
Click to learn more...
It may seem self-evident that virtual classrooms should closely
resemble real ones. But a major education software company contends it
wasn't always so obvious. And now, in a move that has shaken up the
e-learning community, Blackboard Inc. has been awarded a patent
establishing its claims to some of the basic features of the software
that powers online education.
-------------
End quote
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060827/ap_o
See also:
http://money.netscape.cnn.com/story.jsp?
http://abcnews.go.com/Techn
http://yro.slashdot.or
This may appear to be just a new, obnoxious example of patent trolling
(in this case by Blackboard). However, there are connections between
Blackboard and Microsoft:
http://www.blackboard.com/company/p
http://www.internetne
http://www.biz
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2
http://chronicle.com/fr
Quote:
----------
Cha
the booming business
of online-software systems for higher education, or that it has
recently formed a close alliance with Blackboard, a company whose
software helps colleges put their courses on the Internet....
In what the two companies call a "preferred relationship," Microsoft
will promote Blackboard to its education customers and Blackboard will
suggest that its clients use the Microsoft Windows operating system to
run Blackboard on their servers to take advantage of special features
available only to Microsoft users.
----------
End quote
See also:
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_
just reading the first few paragraphs I found (paragraph 2): "However, OSS has disadvantages too. Most importantly, it comes from behind in terms of market share (installed base)." ***Buzzz*** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installed_base ,----[ Full quote ]
| "Installed base is a measure of the number of units of a
| particular type of system (usually a computing platform)
| actually in use, as opposed to market share, which only reflects
| sales over a particular period. Because installed base includes
| machines that may have been in use for many years, it is usually a
| higher figure than market share. Many people see it as a more
| reliable indicator of a platform's popularity."
`----
That's when I stopped reading. And so should the reviewer. When people get
technical terminology wrong and fall victim to misconception, peer review
should have the paper rejected. The guys may have studied malarkey like
Taylorism and can work out strategies, but their technical merits and
understanding of groupthink is lacking due to the scope of their research.
When a person from the field of economics approaches a discussion about
computing, then you know you should take a step back.
Am I the only one who concluded from the title that Windows users are roaches? Mirror here, by the way. The site has been hammered. http://www.networkmirror.com/7uNI66ZP2A2tZOHx/loom .corante.com/archives/2006/02/02/the_wisdom_of_par asites.php.html
Play a Windows CD backwards and you will hear Satan. It gets worse: play it forward and it'll install Windows.
No thank you, I already have amaroK. I get music by running wget recursively. amaroK does everything I could wish for. It even comes preinstalled with KDE ditros like SuSE.
Ironically, the the site which hosts this article rel="nofollow"s all the links at the top. What would they do that for if not for SEO purposes?
Many people still use a single-head display even though they have dual-head graphics card and some old monitor(s) lying around in the house. It's poor use of the available hardware, which few people seem to mind. As for more analogies pertaining to software: People browse with Firefox/Opera/Mozilla/Netscape and make no use of tabs Use of heavy and sluggish Web-based E-mail, notably MSN/Hotmail
All right, so Amazon have decided to handle manual labour which is necessary and it also rewards users in return for the service. They get a description of photos without much effort and re-pay back in some form of 'coupons'. More sophisticated things have been done for quite some time. There is a full object-labelling framework where surfers compete with one another and the Web site of the game is http://www.espgame.org/ . To quote an article from Post-Gazette: "Since the Post-Gazette first wrote about the ESP Game in October 2003, more than 80,000 people have played the game and in the process have generated more than 10 million descriptive words for 1 million images"
But it doesn't have the Monty Python foot. Will I ever drop KDE for that ugly thing?
They offer beer, they offer a trip to Romania... and now they have a free advert on Slashdot and free labour to test their program. And Slashdot editors, among others, fell for it...
The winning formula:
1. Set up a contest
2. Make the reward intersting
PRIZE = Get free ads
3. Invite just the 'talented' few
4. Users test program
5. Hacks found and fixed
PRICE = Profit!
I guess food and drugs are not among Microsoft's top priorities as far as /significantly/-reduced licence costs,
the African people are concerned. It's all about profit, profit, profit
while moral factors are reduced to scratch. Microsoft's help, rather than
be given in the form of free or
comes via the Bill Gates foundations. This way they can be flasely per-
ceived as humanitarians while at the same time draining the pockets of
those whose aim is not to use the most widespread O/S, but to survive that
wisespread HIV.
Microsoft yet again prove that they choose to live in a dog-eat-dog envir-
nment, all of that despite being in that Big Brother role. This comes to
yet again show how they spit at the very same community they pretend to
cherish.
Gosh, SCO have not run out of money yet? I thought the Web site implied they have: http://www.linuxstolescocode.com/ (hint: see error page).
How about making an O/S that is secure to begin with? Charging people or supplying add-ons to fix one's own problems?
In other news, I have just developed an astounding computer global illumination rendering algorithm. It gives you the most stunning translucency effects your have ever seen and its output looks scaringly photorealistic. I have it all running, I have a zillion images I generated on my computer, BUT...
...now you know how I feel....
No picture is public yet!