I know some people will not agree or even less like this, but as a matter of fact, the main difference between countries as China and other more "civilized", is that in China people know they cannot vote the people in power out, whereas in those so called civilized countries, people believe they can do it, while they cannot. This would be a situation into which the red/blue pill choice fits perfectly... would you rather know what is going on, or would you rather pretend to be happy with what you think is the truth?
As I was reading the articles (Hey!, I'm new to Slashdot!!) it occured to me. We always say that the sun will end in billions of years, probably much more years that the human race will be able to exist. But the question I asked myself is, what would be the consequences of the outburst of a "nearby" star. I mean, would the shockwave be big enough to reach earth? Will the gases and radiations be able to reach earth??
This whole story seems like an "awe & shock" strategy. I mean, just look at some of the answers to these article "I'll get a serial number, I'll buy a license....".
I very much doubt Microsoft will put this anti-piracy checks into action, they are just trying to make people fear the possibility of having a weak machine and are trying to force them to buy licenses, if just 10% of "free" windows users buy licenses, Microsoft will be quite happy.
But, wether they admit it or not, piracy is good for Microsoft. Most of us cannot afford to pay what the software costs, still we have this urging need not to be left out of the technology revolution, and as with almost everything, first impression is still very important, and if you hear windows everywhere, you'll certainly try it and then you'll be undoubtely stucked into the microsoft environment.
And I'm talking here about the REAL AVERAGE PC user, not the average slashdot reader.
The point is, if people have 'free' access to windows, chances are they'll grow with it and end up using it on their worklife, where the money for microsoft REALLY is as no serious business will risk having unlicensed software. They'll be more reluctant to change to any other available possibility (Mac, Linux, you name it) as tehy paid for those licenses. This will make employers request 'microsoft' skills to potential employees, which in turn, will have to 'learn microsoft' out of fear of being jobless, and don't even think about saying "I do not use word I use openoffice".
It is a vicious circle and I'm sure microsoft is very well aware of this fact, and they are the least interested in breaking this circle.
The key to success for every technology is adoption, not quality. Just look at the Betamax-VHS case for a clear example.
To sum it up, if you currently use windows 'for free', don't worry, you'll still be able to do it for years and centuries to come.
(Sorry for posting twice, I didn't realize I was logged out)
Slashdot Mirror
I know some people will not agree or even less like this, but as a matter of fact, the main difference between countries as China and other more "civilized", is that in China people know they cannot vote the people in power out, whereas in those so called civilized countries, people believe they can do it, while they cannot. This would be a situation into which the red/blue pill choice fits perfectly... would you rather know what is going on, or would you rather pretend to be happy with what you think is the truth?
As I was reading the articles (Hey!, I'm new to Slashdot!!) it occured to me. We always say that the sun will end in billions of years, probably much more years that the human race will be able to exist. But the question I asked myself is, what would be the consequences of the outburst of a "nearby" star. I mean, would the shockwave be big enough to reach earth? Will the gases and radiations be able to reach earth??
Is slashdotting an art??
This whole story seems like an "awe & shock" strategy. I mean, just look at some of the answers to these article "I'll get a serial number, I'll buy a license....".
I very much doubt Microsoft will put this anti-piracy checks into action, they are just trying to make people fear the possibility of having a weak machine and are trying to force them to buy licenses, if just 10% of "free" windows users buy licenses, Microsoft will be quite happy.
But, wether they admit it or not, piracy is good for Microsoft. Most of us cannot afford to pay what the software costs, still we have this urging need not to be left out of the technology revolution, and as with almost everything, first impression is still very important, and if you hear windows everywhere, you'll certainly try it and then you'll be undoubtely stucked into the microsoft environment. And I'm talking here about the REAL AVERAGE PC user, not the average slashdot reader. The point is, if people have 'free' access to windows, chances are they'll grow with it and end up using it on their worklife, where the money for microsoft REALLY is as no serious business will risk having unlicensed software. They'll be more reluctant to change to any other available possibility (Mac, Linux, you name it) as tehy paid for those licenses. This will make employers request 'microsoft' skills to potential employees, which in turn, will have to 'learn microsoft' out of fear of being jobless, and don't even think about saying "I do not use word I use openoffice".
It is a vicious circle and I'm sure microsoft is very well aware of this fact, and they are the least interested in breaking this circle.
The key to success for every technology is adoption, not quality. Just look at the Betamax-VHS case for a clear example.
To sum it up, if you currently use windows 'for free', don't worry, you'll still be able to do it for years and centuries to come.
(Sorry for posting twice, I didn't realize I was logged out)