Okay, I meant PS2. Regardless, it is cheaper to buy an adequate PC (e.g., Pentium III or better) and, then, get a console for gaming. The PC gets upgraded less, and that means less money needlessly going to Microsoft. Hell, a 1GHz PIII would smoke what I have, and I can still do okay with GNOME+apps (512MB RAM helps).
Well, technically it can, but it would look like the best PS2 games do. Basically, good textures covering up low poly-count models, with obvious compromises to put more detail in characters' faces sacrificing detail elsewhere.
Actually, I think it was probably flamebait, but sometimes it just feels good. Regardless, I wonder if anyone is still affected by Microsoft's marketing, because it is so transparent. The only real reason people use Microsoft is applications, and the OS itself is nothing special at all, especially compared to Mac OS X and even recen GNOME/KDE desktops (pretty darn impressive, IMO). As awareness of OpenOffice.org/StarOffice increases, MS Office looks less and less special, too.
Shortfall? $4300 shortfall? If you see things getting tight, it's time to dump the cable TV, dump the cell phone, dump the lease on the SUV, etc (if these things apply to you).
Do you also play your state's lottery game? If so, please slap yourself, hard, several times.
The ideal is to not get anything back nor pay anything in at tax time. I figure I did right if my payment or return is less than $100. Actually, I'd rather pay a little than get a return.
10-15 years is less than one-third of the history of modern computers. And it's really only ten years, anyway, since only with Win NT and the Pentium Pro could Microsoft even attempt to market to workstation customers. Does anyone really even like Microsoft, or do they just put up with the rock in their shoe until they can dump it?
I keep Windows around only for the occasion I have a shareware game that needs it or the occasion a website designer is unqualified for their job.
Put Solaris 10 or Sun JDS or Linspire or Xandros or whatever on a person's PC, and odds are they would be quite happy with it. I've managed to get family members to try Firefox/Mozilla or OpenOffice.org. I've replaced Quicken with MoneyDance. It's really a matter of time for Microsoft and Windows. They can't compete with free, when free is also becoming _better_. And for people who want to spend money, there's Apple.
Basically, Microsoft is being squeezed from both sides. Consider Mac Mini on top, Sun JDS on bottom. Both are commercial-quality products with Windows right in the crosshairs. And both Apple and Sun can sell hardware as a package deal with the OS--no non-negotiable Microsoft tax, here.
1) Taxes are hard. If your tax preparer is no good, it can cost you thousands of dollars. For example, if you adopt a child, and your tax preparer doesn't know about certain credits, you just lost enough money to buy a big screen TV. Oops.
2) TurboTax is no guarantee of success, anyway, unless your taxes are trivial.
3) My recommendation is to be related to someone at H&R Block, so you can get your taxes done for free.
Also, for people in the OSS realm struggling with Quicken options and don't like GNUCash, it would be worth looking at www.moneydance.com. It's written in Java, so it works in Linux and UNIX no questions asked. I don't work for them, it's just that I now have a finance application under Solaris! I barely ever boot Windows, now.
Microsoft isn't just a software company, they are a culture. The people that are attracted to Microsoft value the appearance of convenience to real utility, and they value the appearance of convenience over real security. In the end they don't get utility, security, or convenience.
I know only the name of my phone company, for example, but I have no clue who they contract with for data processing or billing or marketing. How can we ever really find out if a security problem at one company affects us? These back-end companies are generally companies that serve niche markets and practically no one has heard of them.
Up until now, Microsoft was the "worse is better" of the industry. They were cheaper, in exchange for crappier software (just like UNIX was cheaper/crappier than mainframes back in the 80s).
Now, UNIX is both cheaper and _less_crappy_ than Windows. OpenOffice.org is getting there, too. Firefox/Mozilla is already there.
Microsoft has no where to go but down. As soon as games developers and application developers recognize this on a large scale, there will be a huge migration back to UNIX/Linux. IMO, Microsoft is a temporary phenomenon--a growing pain of the software industry.
Then, why hasn't Microsoft been sued into oblivion fifty times over for the vast damage done by e-mail worms, for example. The file attachment execute feature is equivalent to selling a house with an extra unknown door that only criminals and the builders know about.
You know, airlines could get around discrimination charges by charging _everyone_ by weight. Just make price a function of weight (e.g., fixed base price plus quadratic weight charge). The weight itself, and even price, perhaps, can be confidential to protect people with fragile and weak egos.
Previously Sun was really the only big computer maker without an OEM relationship with Microsoft (still true), but now it appears IBM is wrestling themselve out, too? That would be great for Microsoft's karma (approaching -MAX_INT, I believe). If this allows them to push Linux over Windows, then we'll finally start seeing a really big push for more open standards--that is if IBM doesn't muck it up with 'custom solutions'.
I almost wet myself after seeing how easy it was to configure a printer in JDS (based on GNOME). This was after having been absent from GNOME for quite a while, and it just blew me away. Finally, configuring basic printer functionality is easy in UNIX.
And, now, modems! I think a part of my bald head was caused by configuring modems!
Printers and modems have been the worst part of UNIX for ages. Now that's mostly history!
You're right, Microsoft really does have some competition (sarcasm noted). Seriously, with Mac OS X, Sun JDS/JES, the vastly improving Linux Desktops out there (all of the above being cheaper than Microsoft), where does that leave Microsoft's business model?
If no one is going to doe or even be injured, I'm suprised a local news station bothered at all to cover it. Local news in the US sucks (is this true elsewhere, too?).
Actually, most x86 users are probably unaware that their hardware is essentially 100% proprietary (non-free ISA, closed BIOS, etc.). PowerPC is much more open than x86, and SPARC is, too. Of course, the Apple-branded PowerPC systems and the Sun-branded SPARC systems have some proprietary elements in them, the systems are more-or-less based on open standards. This isn't true of x86.
A vendor should be able to compile a binary driver for my hardware and I should be able to load it into whatever version of the kernel I'm using without worrying about the compiler and kernel versions matching the build environment.
This could be a big advantage to OpenSolaris, and Solaris doesn't break binary compatibility between minor releases either. Since OpenSolaris will be a breeding ground for Solaris, Sun will have to enforce this. ISVs like these sorts of things, because their investment is meaningful to users beyond a two-month window. Expect Solaris to gain a lot of attention in government and commercial sectors over the next year or two.
IBM is a friend at the moment, Sun definitely isn't and HP is just so punch drunk it has no idea what's going on.
I guess supporting GNOME and OpenOffice.org and basing products on Linux make Sun evil. Odds are people are even using Sun code in their Linux desktops right now...it's lurking...in the closet...it's behind you don't turn around!
Consider Sun's DBX and the DTrace utility in Solaris 10. I haven't used DTrace much, yet, but I really got a lot of milage out of DBX' ability to track down memory leaks and array overruns, for example. I think Sun's compiler suite (incl. dbx) is still somewhat expensive, but DTrace is free with Solaris.
OSX and Windows users would reject that sort of junk, and so should Linux users.
It's actually a decent application, and tight integration into Windows or GNOME is really irrelevant, when for a fixed amount of effort they are able to capture the broadest audience. It isn't like they have a magic extra twelve developers to handle integration on every platform. So, what are they supposed to do, dump all the potential Windows or Mac users just so they can dot every 'i' and cross every 't' in GNOME? There's just no business case in that outside of either the biggest companies who can afford it or the most-narrowly focused projects who don't care about anything outside of their favorite platform du jour.
Just to address package management by your standards, for example, they would have to release Solaris packages, RPMs, BSD packages, zip files, gzipped tarballs, Debs, and dozens more. Just this task would grind their development to a halt.
So do all major native X11 toolkits and applications using them; you don't need Java for that.
This is true, but Java doesn't need to be recompiled, and it'll work on Windows and Mac OS without recompilation as a bonus. While I really like APIs like Qt, for example, Java does have it's uses.
For example, there is a personal finance manager called Moneydance that is written in Java. I just unpacked it and it ran. The only configuration was installing the license key to unlock the "demo mode".
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Okay, I meant PS2. Regardless, it is cheaper to buy an adequate PC (e.g., Pentium III or better) and, then, get a console for gaming. The PC gets upgraded less, and that means less money needlessly going to Microsoft. Hell, a 1GHz PIII would smoke what I have, and I can still do okay with GNOME+apps (512MB RAM helps).
Well, technically it can, but it would look like the best PS2 games do. Basically, good textures covering up low poly-count models, with obvious compromises to put more detail in characters' faces sacrificing detail elsewhere.
Actually, I think it was probably flamebait, but sometimes it just feels good. Regardless, I wonder if anyone is still affected by Microsoft's marketing, because it is so transparent. The only real reason people use Microsoft is applications, and the OS itself is nothing special at all, especially compared to Mac OS X and even recen GNOME/KDE desktops (pretty darn impressive, IMO).
As awareness of OpenOffice.org/StarOffice increases, MS Office looks less and less special, too.
Shortfall? $4300 shortfall? If you see things getting tight, it's time to dump the cable TV, dump the cell phone, dump the lease on the SUV, etc (if these things apply to you).
Do you also play your state's lottery game? If so, please slap yourself, hard, several times.
The ideal is to not get anything back nor pay anything in at tax time. I figure I did right if my payment or return is less than $100. Actually, I'd rather pay a little than get a return.
10-15 years is less than one-third of the history of modern computers. And it's really only ten years, anyway, since only with Win NT and the Pentium Pro could Microsoft even attempt to market to workstation customers. Does anyone really even like Microsoft, or do they just put up with the rock in their shoe until they can dump it?
I keep Windows around only for the occasion I have a shareware game that needs it or the occasion a website designer is unqualified for their job.
Put Solaris 10 or Sun JDS or Linspire or Xandros or whatever on a person's PC, and odds are they would be quite happy with it. I've managed to get family members to try Firefox/Mozilla or OpenOffice.org. I've replaced Quicken with MoneyDance. It's really a matter of time for Microsoft and Windows. They can't compete with free, when free is also becoming _better_. And for people who want to spend money, there's Apple.
Basically, Microsoft is being squeezed from both sides. Consider Mac Mini on top, Sun JDS on bottom. Both are commercial-quality products with Windows right in the crosshairs. And both Apple and Sun can sell hardware as a package deal with the OS--no non-negotiable Microsoft tax, here.
MoneyDance
Rah-rah Microsoft! Not.
1) Taxes are hard. If your tax preparer is no good, it can cost you thousands of dollars. For example, if you adopt a child, and your tax preparer doesn't know about certain credits, you just lost enough money to buy a big screen TV. Oops.
2) TurboTax is no guarantee of success, anyway, unless your taxes are trivial.
3) My recommendation is to be related to someone at H&R Block, so you can get your taxes done for free.
Also, for people in the OSS realm struggling with Quicken options and don't like GNUCash, it would be worth looking at www.moneydance.com. It's written in Java, so it works in Linux and UNIX no questions asked. I don't work for them, it's just that I now have a finance application under Solaris! I barely ever boot Windows, now.
Microsoft isn't just a software company, they are a culture. The people that are attracted to Microsoft value the appearance of convenience to real utility, and they value the appearance of convenience over real security. In the end they don't get utility, security, or convenience.
I know only the name of my phone company, for example, but I have no clue who they contract with for data processing or billing or marketing. How can we ever really find out if a security problem at one company affects us? These back-end companies are generally companies that serve niche markets and practically no one has heard of them.
Up until now, Microsoft was the "worse is better" of the industry. They were cheaper, in exchange for crappier software (just like UNIX was cheaper/crappier than mainframes back in the 80s).
Now, UNIX is both cheaper and _less_crappy_ than Windows. OpenOffice.org is getting there, too. Firefox/Mozilla is already there.
Microsoft has no where to go but down. As soon as games developers and application developers recognize this on a large scale, there will be a huge migration back to UNIX/Linux. IMO, Microsoft is a temporary phenomenon--a growing pain of the software industry.
Then, why hasn't Microsoft been sued into oblivion fifty times over for the vast damage done by e-mail worms, for example. The file attachment execute feature is equivalent to selling a house with an extra unknown door that only criminals and the builders know about.
You know, airlines could get around discrimination charges by charging _everyone_ by weight. Just make price a function of weight (e.g., fixed base price plus quadratic weight charge). The weight itself, and even price, perhaps, can be confidential to protect people with fragile and weak egos.
Previously Sun was really the only big computer maker without an OEM relationship with Microsoft (still true), but now it appears IBM is wrestling themselve out, too? That would be great for Microsoft's karma (approaching -MAX_INT, I believe). If this allows them to push Linux over Windows, then we'll finally start seeing a really big push for more open standards--that is if IBM doesn't muck it up with 'custom solutions'.
I almost wet myself after seeing how easy it was to configure a printer in JDS (based on GNOME). This was after having been absent from GNOME for quite a while, and it just blew me away. Finally, configuring basic printer functionality is easy in UNIX.
And, now, modems! I think a part of my bald head was caused by configuring modems!
Printers and modems have been the worst part of UNIX for ages. Now that's mostly history!
You're right, Microsoft really does have some competition (sarcasm noted). Seriously, with Mac OS X, Sun JDS/JES, the vastly improving Linux Desktops out there (all of the above being cheaper than Microsoft), where does that leave Microsoft's business model?
If no one is going to doe or even be injured, I'm suprised a local news station bothered at all to cover it. Local news in the US sucks (is this true elsewhere, too?).
Isn't baking soda used in some fire extinguishers?
Actually, most x86 users are probably unaware that their hardware is essentially 100% proprietary (non-free ISA, closed BIOS, etc.). PowerPC is much more open than x86, and SPARC is, too. Of course, the Apple-branded PowerPC systems and the Sun-branded SPARC systems have some proprietary elements in them, the systems are more-or-less based on open standards. This isn't true of x86.
A vendor should be able to compile a binary driver for my hardware and I should be able to load it into whatever version of the kernel I'm using without worrying about the compiler and kernel versions matching the build environment.
This could be a big advantage to OpenSolaris, and Solaris doesn't break binary compatibility between minor releases either. Since OpenSolaris will be a breeding ground for Solaris, Sun will have to enforce this. ISVs like these sorts of things, because their investment is meaningful to users beyond a two-month window. Expect Solaris to gain a lot of attention in government and commercial sectors over the next year or two.
The next geration of consoles, no matter the brand, will be freaking amazing.
IBM is a friend at the moment, Sun definitely isn't and HP is just so punch drunk it has no idea what's going on.
I guess supporting GNOME and OpenOffice.org and basing products on Linux make Sun evil. Odds are people are even using Sun code in their Linux desktops right now...it's lurking...in the closet...it's behind you don't turn around!
Consider Sun's DBX and the DTrace utility in Solaris 10. I haven't used DTrace much, yet, but I really got a lot of milage out of DBX' ability to track down memory leaks and array overruns, for example. I think Sun's compiler suite (incl. dbx) is still somewhat expensive, but DTrace is free with Solaris.
The first sentences of the previous two comments are quite amusing.
OSX and Windows users would reject that sort of junk, and so should Linux users.
It's actually a decent application, and tight integration into Windows or GNOME is really irrelevant, when for a fixed amount of effort they are able to capture the broadest audience. It isn't like they have a magic extra twelve developers to handle integration on every platform. So, what are they supposed to do, dump all the potential Windows or Mac users just so they can dot every 'i' and cross every 't' in GNOME? There's just no business case in that outside of either the biggest companies who can afford it or the most-narrowly focused projects who don't care about anything outside of their favorite platform du jour.
Just to address package management by your standards, for example, they would have to release Solaris packages, RPMs, BSD packages, zip files, gzipped tarballs, Debs, and dozens more. Just this task would grind their development to a halt.
So do all major native X11 toolkits and applications using them; you don't need Java for that.
This is true, but Java doesn't need to be recompiled, and it'll work on Windows and Mac OS without recompilation as a bonus. While I really like APIs like Qt, for example, Java does have it's uses.
For example, there is a personal finance manager called Moneydance that is written in Java. I just unpacked it and it ran. The only configuration was installing the license key to unlock the "demo mode".