"Is Microsoft slowly changing it's business model ? Selling Microsoft Office licenses is one of the major sources of revenue."
Yes. And they see those days are passing away and moving on towards the second best: SaaS.
* Main advantage for them: they rent the services so if they carefully stablish their lock-in strategy they'll be securing their revenues forever; you won't even have the option to lock the computer and "freeze" it in time using your same old licenses for as long as it does the work (think a Windows 3.1 box with something that is still useful). They already tried to "rent" you the licenses but it didn't seem to work so well except, maybe, for big corps so they'll try to force you into their "you owe us a bill each month" this way.
* Main disadvantage for them: they'll have to expend for the computer power instead of you and they'll be easily fingerpointed when things wreak havoc.
All in all, it's a "second best". No wonder they... a) Embrace it b) But only when it's clear their "first best" is going nowhere.
"As I said, I think it's going a bit far, but if you really really really want to ensure security of a critical piece of infrastructure, that's one way to do it."
Since that wouldn't pass the bus test, it is not that he "went a bit too far" but that he "went a bit too wrong" on this regard.
"The only care needed for digital media is to maintain two copies and maintained on current formats as technology progress and it will be exactly the same in 1000 years as it is today."
Yes, but that's a terribly big "only".
"We will talk again in 100 years"
We might. But we can talk about 100 years ago or, even better, about 1000 years ago too.
Look back into History and tell me how many things have been in the position of being continously caressed to the point you stated digital media needs. And that's only for "big" History, museums and obvious forms of art: but there are letters from the Roman days, papyruses from ancient Egipt, sculptures and paintings from Neolithic... all because two circumnstances: ruggeness of media and its ability to survive careless, neither of which is aplicable to digital supports. Not to say that film is much better in that regard but at the very least it can survive about 100 years on mild stable conditions and can be percieved even by analphabets -we still can work on glass negatives from the origins of photography, more than 100 years ago, try that with a floppy, a CD or a hard disk -after only 40 years is quite difficult to work on tape reel or a 8" diskette.
"Um, your argument is refuted by the premise of the original issue. Ubuntu has never had an intention of making money until now, and it's the most widely used distro among home users by far."
Not indeed. The fact that they try to turn into money now stablishes it as their plan from the origin just like when you start a building you start it going *down* for the fundations. Do you think that when they start to build up once the foundations are stablished is because the architect suddenly changed his mind?
"You seriously think it is easier to back up film?"
I don't think anyone could question that digital is easier to backup (as in getting second and third copies for preservation) but about preserving itself, definitly yes, film is much easier for long time preservation, both in theory and in practice.
How much film can anyone get rated 50 year old or older? How much digital media? How did someone going film back in 1980 need to store it but a dry box? What about a 11" disk?
Preserving film is much easier than preserving digital formats. What you are trying to go after is potential for long time preservation and then, yes: *provided* proper careness and investment digital media can, in theory, last longer and in better conditions.
>>> "It's nice having a viable, widely distributed Linux distro without a profit incentive." >> You mean... like Debian? > Width is relative, I suppose.. Debian is never going to rival Windows or OSX. Ubuntu might.
Why you think "Debian is never going to rival Windows or OSX"? Maybe it's exactly because it works "without a profit incentive" in which case the day Ubuntu turned that way it's the day Ubuntu will become a "mightbe rival" for Windows or OSX no more.
"If they don't slip the date, then Ubuntu can never be trusted as a product ever again."
No problem: this very bug is a clear indication that Ubuntu people can't be trusted about software engineering to start with so there's no difference if they trash it a bit more regarding the schedule.
Just think a bit about it.
Why the release schedule is in danger? Because of a serious bug discovered at a late date.
Why such an obvious and serious bug was discovered at such a late date? Because it's due to a...
Feature Patch Backported Pushed on a late beta One week ago
That's why. People making decisions like this should be considered freshmen, not release engineers and while I bow at their efforts I surely don't trust their results.
"He was an employee and this was the city's property and he refused to give up the passwords. Sweet Zombie Jesus"
The city's property? Who the hell is "The city"? Did "The city" appeared and he refused to give the passwords to him (or is it her?)? Or are you implying that since it was "the city's property" he should give the passwords to any citizen that would happen to ask for? Because as soon as he was asked for the passwords by the proper person (the major) at the proper environment (face to face with him without unknown people at sight) he indeed promptly passed them out.
"then IT Managers will be able to hold sway with the passwords."
You can bet no IT Manager would tell the passwords to the janitor no matter how much "the company's janitor" it is.
Slashdot Mirror
"If those crimes are heinous enough that we authorize deadly force to stop them then why can't the state do the same as a punishment?"
You already answered yourself: because one case is defense, the other punishment.
"If you think it's unscientific why don't you prove that by discussing the unscientific parts of the hypothesis."
Where are the experiments. Where are even the hypothetical experiments?
Without the experiments it's not science but maths at best, opinion at worst.
Yes in fact we are all going to die. ... Most of us in 30 to 50 years but yes we are all going to "die."
But, but... that's not supported by statistics!
Only about 50% of all the people from all History has ever died, and those that did, died just once!
"Not even the embedded software in your life support device?"
Which we all know is rabidly pirated all over the world, yessss
"A steep learning curve refers to something that is quickly learned"
You explain where you see the curve and what you prefer to meter at X and Y axis.
You surely asked those who told you something had a steep learing curve what their coordinate system were too, didn't you?
Duh!
"I hate to ruin..."
Wow! a meagre 218-word paragraph to define "consistency".
I think Merriam-Webster is wanting to rewrite "concise". I'll vote for you.
"Being Hungarian, I find 'weem' most natural."
Being Hungarian I thought you'd find vIm to the most natural.
"Is Microsoft slowly changing it's business model ? Selling Microsoft Office licenses is one of the major sources of revenue."
Yes. And they see those days are passing away and moving on towards the second best: SaaS.
* Main advantage for them: they rent the services so if they carefully stablish their lock-in strategy they'll be securing their revenues forever; you won't even have the option to lock the computer and "freeze" it in time using your same old licenses for as long as it does the work (think a Windows 3.1 box with something that is still useful). They already tried to "rent" you the licenses but it didn't seem to work so well except, maybe, for big corps so they'll try to force you into their "you owe us a bill each month" this way.
* Main disadvantage for them: they'll have to expend for the computer power instead of you and they'll be easily fingerpointed when things wreak havoc.
All in all, it's a "second best". No wonder they...
a) Embrace it
b) But only when it's clear their "first best" is going nowhere.
"How in the world can anyone believe that? Then what in the heck was the purpose of taking the pictures?"
In order for the director to review them, not the IT staff.
Understood now?
"No reasonable person would believe 58,000 pictures were taken but no one looked."
Maybe. But nobody is saying no one looked at them. Only that there's no proof that IT staff looked at them.
"I probably watch too many cop shows but when a suspect says, "No proof exists", it's usually a sign of moral guilt."
Maybe. But it's usually more a sign that "no proof exists".
Regarding morals Romans already did it quite right more than 2000 years ago with things like 'in dubio pro reo'.
"And with American Child Pornography Laws, it doesn't matter if you saw it, if you possess it, each image is 10 years+"
Maybe. But who is "you" in this case?
Did you mean: synonymous ?
Sorry, my fault. I'm Spanish and in my language it'd be spelled with 'i', hence my mistake.
"As I said, I think it's going a bit far, but if you really really really want to ensure security of a critical piece of infrastructure, that's one way to do it."
Since that wouldn't pass the bus test, it is not that he "went a bit too far" but that he "went a bit too wrong" on this regard.
"In fact, that's *EXACTLY* how I make backups of my important business files."
Point being that they were not *his* important business files but San Francisco's ones.
"The fact that he fought the system and lost doesn't make the system right, and it certainly doesn't make him an idiot, it just makes him a loser"
Which, given the situation, is quite a sinonimous for "idiot".
"if your boss later tells you to break the rules then you do it."
Is it needed any more to invoke Godwin's law?
"He hasn't been administering the network for a long time now and, holy shit, San Francisco isn't a smoking hole in the ground."
According to the prosecutors the hole in the ground is deep enough to digest about a million dollars within.
"The only care needed for digital media is to maintain two copies and maintained on current formats as technology progress and it will be exactly the same in 1000 years as it is today."
Yes, but that's a terribly big "only".
"We will talk again in 100 years"
We might. But we can talk about 100 years ago or, even better, about 1000 years ago too.
Look back into History and tell me how many things have been in the position of being continously caressed to the point you stated digital media needs. And that's only for "big" History, museums and obvious forms of art: but there are letters from the Roman days, papyruses from ancient Egipt, sculptures and paintings from Neolithic... all because two circumnstances: ruggeness of media and its ability to survive careless, neither of which is aplicable to digital supports. Not to say that film is much better in that regard but at the very least it can survive about 100 years on mild stable conditions and can be percieved even by analphabets -we still can work on glass negatives from the origins of photography, more than 100 years ago, try that with a floppy, a CD or a hard disk -after only 40 years is quite difficult to work on tape reel or a 8" diskette.
"Um, your argument is refuted by the premise of the original issue. Ubuntu has never had an intention of making money until now, and it's the most widely used distro among home users by far."
Not indeed. The fact that they try to turn into money now stablishes it as their plan from the origin just like when you start a building you start it going *down* for the fundations. Do you think that when they start to build up once the foundations are stablished is because the architect suddenly changed his mind?
"You seriously think it is easier to back up film?"
I don't think anyone could question that digital is easier to backup (as in getting second and third copies for preservation) but about preserving itself, definitly yes, film is much easier for long time preservation, both in theory and in practice.
How much film can anyone get rated 50 year old or older? How much digital media? How did someone going film back in 1980 need to store it but a dry box? What about a 11" disk?
Preserving film is much easier than preserving digital formats. What you are trying to go after is potential for long time preservation and then, yes: *provided* proper careness and investment digital media can, in theory, last longer and in better conditions.
>>> "It's nice having a viable, widely distributed Linux distro without a profit incentive."
>> You mean... like Debian?
> Width is relative, I suppose.. Debian is never going to rival Windows or OSX. Ubuntu might.
Why you think "Debian is never going to rival Windows or OSX"? Maybe it's exactly because it works "without a profit incentive" in which case the day Ubuntu turned that way it's the day Ubuntu will become a "mightbe rival" for Windows or OSX no more.
"It's nice having a viable, widely distributed Linux distro without a profit incentive."
You mean... like Debian?
"If they don't slip the date, then Ubuntu can never be trusted as a product ever again."
No problem: this very bug is a clear indication that Ubuntu people can't be trusted about software engineering to start with so there's no difference if they trash it a bit more regarding the schedule.
Just think a bit about it.
Why the release schedule is in danger? Because of a serious bug discovered at a late date.
Why such an obvious and serious bug was discovered at such a late date? Because it's due to a...
Feature Patch
Backported
Pushed on a late beta
One week ago
That's why. People making decisions like this should be considered freshmen, not release engineers and while I bow at their efforts I surely don't trust their results.
"He was an employee and this was the city's property and he refused to give up the passwords. Sweet Zombie Jesus"
The city's property? Who the hell is "The city"? Did "The city" appeared and he refused to give the passwords to him (or is it her?)? Or are you implying that since it was "the city's property" he should give the passwords to any citizen that would happen to ask for? Because as soon as he was asked for the passwords by the proper person (the major) at the proper environment (face to face with him without unknown people at sight) he indeed promptly passed them out.
"then IT Managers will be able to hold sway with the passwords."
You can bet no IT Manager would tell the passwords to the janitor no matter how much "the company's janitor" it is.
"Yeah, I know it's hyperbole, but after your "putty" comment above, it's a fail.
I don't see why, putty is a pretty popular remote terminal app"
Because that obviously means that he is sooooo fluent on Linux... he uses Windows on his desktop.