Ballmar's statements and (lack of) answers are symptomatic of a company who is fighting on too many fronts. The core of their business is the desktop / desktop suite, which they do well.
The backend, services and innovation are another story. MS is competing against companies that have their own (non-MS)set of rules. Google develops innovation, MySQL promotes enterprise use, apache values simplicity and security, Linux embraces stability, etc...
MS finds itself in genres where they do not write the rules and is in a quandry.
Do not write MS off though. It only takes a moment of clarity and focus for them to get back on track.
1. Sounds like MS is playing Catch up.
2. "Winer also suggested that Microsoft may be interested in integrating RSS more tightly with its software, in particular within Internet Explorer". Sounds like ActiveRSS to me.
3. Another feature to add to Longhorn, only to drop it later.
4. Probably will only work with IIS sites.
SCO announces it will include the Linux Kernel in their next release. "We will continue to support / sue the Open Source Community. We will also continue our therapy for schizophrenia."
Those in the US are not entitled to jobs at the expense of everyone else. I am glad to see developing nations get an opportunity to enjoy some economic prosperity. This is not the first time jobs have shifted due to technological advancements, nor will it be the last. There are many career frontiers for US workers to explore and even prosper in. Stop yo' whining.
EBay is a respected player in the business world. They are seen as an ecommerce model that works. When a "real" company with "real" profits suddenly starts looking to the Open Source community, it validates the Open Source model to investors, capitalists, etc...
Unfortunately, the profit margin for spammers is still obscene and the loopholes are enormous. According to a Ciphertrust whitepaper the supply vs. demand ratio, cost of entry and lack of real overhead makes spam a low hanging fruit. Addressing these three issues is paramount. Legislation is an after the fact hand in the cookie jar approach.
Unfortunately the price after all is said and done: "By the time it's perfected, the cost of manufacturing the bionic arm is expected to be about $6 million, according to the report."(http://www.local6.com/news/4643968/detail.html)
It is still good to see technology used to change someone's life for the positive.
McDonalds Warns against healthy eating. Hugo Chavez warns against capitalism. Roaches warn against bug spray. Dinosaurs warn against extinction. Jedi warns against dark side. Sith warn against online advertisements.
I agree that an "International Standard" would be a good start. Given the track record of the US with "International Standards" (Kyoto Accord, Boeing Subsidies, Farming Subsidies) it may be applied to everyone but the US.
The other consideration is price. Security and standards cost money and mitigtate the financial advantage of using off-shore labor. You know an international standard will not be applied evenly. Will this allow companies to skirt the issue by finding non-participating countries or out-sourcing firms which out-source to another country. (India now outsources to China)
Does this mean my Nigerian financial sponsor will not be able to communicate with me? What about my special meds at discount prices? How about the free vacations?
A recent survey has indicated a staggering conspiracy afoot to oust the Lynx browser as a contender in the browser wars. "They web site designers add all kinds of non standard things like pictures, tables, sounds. It's an obvious ploy to unseat us as the rightful heirs to the internet."
...will not be able to make the connection of why they are suddenly not receiving their Hotmail. Nor will they be able to tell Aunt Suzie to use "Sender ID".
Microsoft is losing it's ability to push "standards" and more and more they are bitten by launching stuff like this.
I know many will make the claim, "It's because it's in India with low paid workers." Let's remember the news in the US this year. How many breaches of security (CitiGroup, FDIC, Lexus Nexus, more have resulted in lost or stolen personal information in the United States of America? How many of these breaches were by high paid workers? It is not a matter of where or who lost or stole information. The core issue is the ignorance of the value of information. Personal information is the new commidity and big corporations have not had the epiphany or received the memo saying so. When they and consumers realize there is real money at stake, all will stand up and take notice.
As someone who uses Firefox and also is a novice at making websites, I find it is difficult to create a dynamic site without extending it beyond someone's standard.
However, many times when I am faced with a site with which I must do business (i.e. insurance, commerce, etc...) and they are not accessible via Firefox, I call and complain. Otherwise they will not know. If I can, I will let them know I have chosen a competitor.
The SpamHaus RBL / SBL / XBL has been quite reliable for us. However, it is PART of a total solution. Thunderbird spam control and Spamassassin certainly help.
The greatest ROI was educating users on proper use of email addresses. Keep one address for work only, one address for personal and one for a throw away. The throw away is for registering, posting or whatever may end up in someone else's hand. It is not foolproof, but it helps. Since our users have held to this system, our spam problems have all but been eliminated.
Slashdot Mirror
Ballmar's statements and (lack of) answers are symptomatic of a company who is fighting on too many fronts. The core of their business is the desktop / desktop suite, which they do well.
The backend, services and innovation are another story. MS is competing against companies that have their own (non-MS)set of rules. Google develops innovation, MySQL promotes enterprise use, apache values simplicity and security, Linux embraces stability, etc...
MS finds itself in genres where they do not write the rules and is in a quandry.
Do not write MS off though. It only takes a moment of clarity and focus for them to get back on track.
The refined man's Spam
1. Sounds like MS is playing Catch up.
2. "Winer also suggested that Microsoft may be interested in integrating RSS more tightly with its software, in particular within Internet Explorer". Sounds like ActiveRSS to me.
3. Another feature to add to Longhorn, only to drop it later.
4. Probably will only work with IIS sites.
SCO announces it will include the Linux Kernel in their next release. "We will continue to support / sue the Open Source Community. We will also continue our therapy for schizophrenia."
Those in the US are not entitled to jobs at the expense of everyone else. I am glad to see developing nations get an opportunity to enjoy some economic prosperity. This is not the first time jobs have shifted due to technological advancements, nor will it be the last. There are many career frontiers for US workers to explore and even prosper in. Stop yo' whining.
These security flaws do not seem to affect Lynx as often. I rarely have a new terminal "pop-up" while browsing with Lynx.
EBay is a respected player in the business world. They are seen as an ecommerce model that works. When a "real" company with "real" profits suddenly starts looking to the Open Source community, it validates the Open Source model to investors, capitalists, etc...
The significance of this move is beyond EBay.
Unfortunately, the profit margin for spammers is still obscene and the loopholes are enormous. According to a Ciphertrust whitepaper the supply vs. demand ratio, cost of entry and lack of real overhead makes spam a low hanging fruit. Addressing these three issues is paramount. Legislation is an after the fact hand in the cookie jar approach.
Unfortunately the price after all is said and done: "By the time it's perfected, the cost of manufacturing the bionic arm is expected to be about $6 million, according to the report."(http://www.local6.com/news/4643968/detail .html)
It is still good to see technology used to change someone's life for the positive.
I will targetted announcements and pop-up ads from the Gov't now. Won't Double-click be excited.
at its worst
McDonalds Warns against healthy eating. Hugo Chavez warns against capitalism. Roaches warn against bug spray. Dinosaurs warn against extinction. Jedi warns against dark side. Sith warn against online advertisements.
or perhaps not
I agree that an "International Standard" would be a good start. Given the track record of the US with "International Standards" (Kyoto Accord, Boeing Subsidies, Farming Subsidies) it may be applied to everyone but the US.
The other consideration is price. Security and standards cost money and mitigtate the financial advantage of using off-shore labor. You know an international standard will not be applied evenly. Will this allow companies to skirt the issue by finding non-participating countries or out-sourcing firms which out-source to another country. (India now outsources to China)
Does this mean my Nigerian financial sponsor will not be able to communicate with me? What about my special meds at discount prices? How about the free vacations?
This is truly a dark day indeed.
A recent survey has indicated a staggering conspiracy afoot to oust the Lynx browser as a contender in the browser wars. "They web site designers add all kinds of non standard things like pictures, tables, sounds. It's an obvious ploy to unseat us as the rightful heirs to the internet."
...will not be able to make the connection of why they are suddenly not receiving their Hotmail. Nor will they be able to tell Aunt Suzie to use "Sender ID".
Microsoft is losing it's ability to push "standards" and more and more they are bitten by launching stuff like this.
I know many will make the claim, "It's because it's in India with low paid workers." Let's remember the news in the US this year. How many breaches of security (CitiGroup, FDIC, Lexus Nexus, more have resulted in lost or stolen personal information in the United States of America? How many of these breaches were by high paid workers? It is not a matter of where or who lost or stole information. The core issue is the ignorance of the value of information. Personal information is the new commidity and big corporations have not had the epiphany or received the memo saying so. When they and consumers realize there is real money at stake, all will stand up and take notice.
As someone who uses Firefox and also is a novice at making websites, I find it is difficult to create a dynamic site without extending it beyond someone's standard.
However, many times when I am faced with a site with which I must do business (i.e. insurance, commerce, etc...) and they are not accessible via Firefox, I call and complain. Otherwise they will not know. If I can, I will let them know I have chosen a competitor.
Did anyone not see this coming?
A ZDNet article indicates the prefetching is for Google searches only. I am not sure this would account for a 9 point spread between browsers.
The SpamHaus RBL / SBL / XBL has been quite reliable for us. However, it is PART of a total solution. Thunderbird spam control and Spamassassin certainly help.
The greatest ROI was educating users on proper use of email addresses. Keep one address for work only, one address for personal and one for a throw away. The throw away is for registering, posting or whatever may end up in someone else's hand. It is not foolproof, but it helps. Since our users have held to this system, our spam problems have all but been eliminated.
The lifespan of a zombie is 28 days.
CipherTrust http://www.ciphertrust.com/resources/statistics/zo mbie.php has a live ZombieMeter by country.
The Refreshing Distro with a twist.