By MS own definituion of success, they will certainly carry on succeeding for some time yet.
What definition is that?
They will continue to release shoddy software with many flaws that should have been removed before it got out of beta certainly but, more importantly to them, they will carry on getting a lot of money from people.
Don't get out a lot then? When people realise that the TV licence is the alternative to even more "I'm a celebrity" and Big Brother they quickly decide that they prefer the current system.
That is most adults with an above room temperature IQ anyway...
Are these like the awful one in MS Word? It winges at me about use of the passive case and offers to reformat my text as something suitable for a 5 year old. It also dislikes words like postman and chairman because they are sexist or something...
As some other posters here have said, proper grammar checkers are wetware, not software.
Assuming that there is not some existing process going on underground, right now, that makes crude oil as fast as it is used, then the supply of underground crude oil must be limited.
That means that according to the simple "law of supply & demand" the price of what is left will go up until demand for it drops. Or do you not believe in simple economics?
Oil may or may not be scarece at the moment. That is a matter for debate but if it isn't now, and we keep using it, it will be one day...
Some comments that now sound ludicrous probably sounded quite reasonable where and when they were made. The memory one that is attributed to Bill Gates and that IBM one about how many computers the world would need, were quite sensible in the light of knowledge at the time.
I don't think GWB and other dodgy executives have the same excuse though...
So how does it take money from them if someone makes a copy of their software? They will not get any money from this person under any circumstances. If they can't steal a copy, they certainly will not buy one.
As people here say so often, "piracy" can actually help producers. Someone copies a few games from company X. Eventually they may actually buy one. Why didn't they get it from company Y? Because they know that this lot makes stuff they like.
So manufacturers are not 100% enthusiastic about this idea? Well what a surprise!
If the third world gets $100 laptops using open source software, this will be really bad news for harware manufacturers and the end of the road for many closed source software manufacturers.
If tens of millions of those things go there, they will end up in the developed world as well - and they won't help the bottom lines of the rich companies.
Of course there are difficulties. What do all the trainers with their suits and powerpoint keep telling us? "There are no problems - only oportunities!"
It also had the decent (for windows) networkability taken out of it for home users and a whole raft of new holes put in.
Even many large MS sites wait a year or so before large deployemnts of the latest offerings. Yo have a window there. The trouble is, many or most of these decisions are not taken by the people who have to pick up the pieces - the IT department.
Is Rupert Murdoch on some sort of anti-SF crusdae?
Speaking as a Brit, I can assure you that Mr Murdoch most definitely has got ambitions to shape culture. He is harming ours with all his cr4p on TV and in print. It would not surprise me to learn that he wants to change yours too!.
This is supposedly about exploration. Sending robots places is not exploration. It is scientific investigation and as such a brilliant thing. Exploration needs explorers.
Now you know what the rest of the world has had to put up with MS products for years!
Every now and again, I get a call from a user saying that the page setup has gone weird and I show them how to reset the paper size to A4.
Perhaps they can teach you about logical date formats too?
I also get calls from people with stories like I entered the date for 1 March this year and it changed it to January 3. Be logical - small - middle - big ddmmyy is a logical order. Middle - small - big mmddyy is backasswards.
Vive la difference! If we all did things the same, there would be no room for innovation.
I wouldn't consider it definitive. I would consider it a starting point. It is easy to look something up there and if it is interesting, you can then dig further at least knowing what some of the concepts are about. My 10 year old son uses Encarta the same way.
Slashdot Mirror
will continue to enjoy great success
By MS own definituion of success, they will certainly carry on succeeding for some time yet.
What definition is that?
They will continue to release shoddy software with many flaws that should have been removed before it got out of beta certainly but, more importantly to them, they will carry on getting a lot of money from people.
not a single person
Don't get out a lot then? When people realise that the TV licence is the alternative to even more "I'm a celebrity" and Big Brother they quickly decide that they prefer the current system.
That is most adults with an above room temperature IQ anyway...
ME
ME is not an operating system - it is a medical condition...
it's not uncommon for passengers to get soaked with kerosene
The difference is that jet fuel is a LOT less inflammable.
Think BlackAdder. Have a look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/blackadder/epguide/thr ee_ink.shtml
they have computer programs now that can do that
Are these like the awful one in MS Word? It winges at me about use of the passive case and offers to reformat my text as something suitable for a 5 year old. It also dislikes words like postman and chairman because they are sexist or something...
As some other posters here have said, proper grammar checkers are wetware, not software.
can someone programming COBOL look down on anyone
Perhaps it is because COBOL programmers tend to produce code and many VB programmers p*ss about in a GUI?
Assuming that there is not some existing process going on underground, right now, that makes crude oil as fast as it is used, then the supply of underground crude oil must be limited.
That means that according to the simple "law of supply & demand" the price of what is left will go up until demand for it drops. Or do you not believe in simple economics?
Oil may or may not be scarece at the moment. That is a matter for debate but if it isn't now, and we keep using it, it will be one day...
And I hate ars3h0les that keep trying to send my users .EXEs.
If you want to send something, put it up somewhere and send a link...
have no sense of humor
Should fit into US "culture" well then...
Better than having no sense of honour though.
are they really losing anything
They are loosing 'mindshare'. People are actually using something that MS is not the source of.It may or may not last, but is an encouraging step...
they sounded
Some comments that now sound ludicrous probably sounded quite reasonable where and when they were made. The memory one that is attributed to Bill Gates and that IBM one about how many computers the world would need, were quite sensible in the light of knowledge at the time.
I don't think GWB and other dodgy executives have the same excuse though...
So how does it take money from them if someone makes a copy of their software? They will not get any money from this person under any circumstances. If they can't steal a copy, they certainly will not buy one.
As people here say so often, "piracy" can actually help producers. Someone copies a few games from company X. Eventually they may actually buy one. Why didn't they get it from company Y? Because they know that this lot makes stuff they like.
So manufacturers are not 100% enthusiastic about this idea? Well what a surprise!
If the third world gets $100 laptops using open source software, this will be really bad news for harware manufacturers and the end of the road for many closed source software manufacturers.
If tens of millions of those things go there, they will end up in the developed world as well - and they won't help the bottom lines of the rich companies.
Of course there are difficulties. What do all the trainers with their suits and powerpoint keep telling us? "There are no problems - only oportunities!"
It also had the decent (for windows) networkability taken out of it for home users and a whole raft of new holes put in.
Even many large MS sites wait a year or so before large deployemnts of the latest offerings. Yo have a window there. The trouble is, many or most of these decisions are not taken by the people who have to pick up the pieces - the IT department.
What can you do with a hacked guitar?
Give it time...
25% of free is zero. Presuambly it is commercial porn that is being targeted here.
Enthusiastic amateurs who do it for free do not seem endangered - YET.
Is Rupert Murdoch on some sort of anti-SF crusdae?
Speaking as a Brit, I can assure you that Mr Murdoch most definitely has got ambitions to shape culture. He is harming ours with all his cr4p on TV and in print. It would not surprise me to learn that he wants to change yours too!.
We could put thousands of robots on the moon
This is supposedly about exploration. Sending robots places is not exploration. It is scientific investigation and as such a brilliant thing. Exploration needs explorers.
You can tell a Slashdotter by his grammer
Mine died several years ago. She was 84.Or old car tyres!
Now you know what the rest of the world has had to put up with MS products for years!
Every now and again, I get a call from a user saying that the page setup has gone weird and I show them how to reset the paper size to A4.
Perhaps they can teach you about logical date formats too?
I also get calls from people with stories like I entered the date for 1 March this year and it changed it to January 3. Be logical - small - middle - big ddmmyy is a logical order. Middle - small - big mmddyy is backasswards.
Vive la difference! If we all did things the same, there would be no room for innovation.
you never see Anthony Hopkins credited as "Sir Anthony" in US films
I have always considered that ommission was just a sign of poor manners and arrogance...
I wouldn't consider it definitive. I would consider it a starting point. It is easy to look something up there and if it is interesting, you can then dig further at least knowing what some of the concepts are about. My 10 year old son uses Encarta the same way.