sorry, I guess I should have explained how what I said effected the oil companies and how what I said effected the electricity generators....
I don't think the oil companies like that I'm getting ~50 MPG without giving up a thing. IMHO
I don't think the electricity generators like it when their rolling blackouts don't blackout everyone.
By the way, I don't think the Hybrid technology is the save-all end-all technology but it is currently the only technology getting us to a cleaner environment. IMHO
I'm not sure about the battery technology but there was a US company called Rosen Motors which built such a car in 1995/96. Only problem was that they went to Detroit to see if the US auto behemoths would help them mass produce them. Detroit didn't want anything to do with it so Rosen motors was shut down. The division which made the compact turbine engines still lives though. It's called Capstone Turbines if my memory serves me right.
Once again the US auto industry is getting the ars kicked by the Japanese. Oh, I own a Toyota Prius and after 9400 miles, I'm averaging 48.1 MPG. When the rolling blackouts hit I power a home circuit with a 12V to 110V Inverter and a 100' extension cord in the trunk of the Prius.
eat THAT oil companies and crocked Texas powerplant owners!
Re:Linux advocacy: VR3 framework for the Desktop?
on
Agenda, Not Hidden
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· Score: 2
as a replier already noted, not all people want Icons on their desktop/menus. Now if the package managers had that defaulted to ON and the ability to turn it off or be prompted.......
Joe and Jone 6-pack need icons added for them cause they aren't going to pop open a CLI and have a clue as to what will now start the new application
Nice joke, but in reality I'm getting a little frightened of the momentum Linux is gathering. I mean it's great as a server OS and getting to be a nice desktop OS as well, but I certainly don't want all that amateur code in embedded, possibly life-critical systems.
I hope you're not thinking that Windoz would be better... At least Linux can be trimmed down to a very small amount of code to fit the purpose. If someone is dumb enough to blindly take Linux code and run a Nuke sub or powerplant with it then we are in trouble. I don't think engineers working on this type of equipment are that dumb. Though I have seen the BSOD on way too many non critical devices ( scoreboards, billboards, airline screens, etc ). If engineers are dumb enough to use Windoz on mission critical devices.....
NOW THAT SCARES ME! Oh wait, isn't Bill Gates paying the US DOD to use Windoz on Aegis class ships and a new aircraft carrier? Time to head for the hills.;)
I'm still embarassed about IBM's unwillingness to show any backbone against Microsoft.
Dang, I thought they put up a good fight. No OEM would pre-install OS/2 because Microsoft would pull the plug on their DOS and Windows licenses so all IBM could do was sell at retail and they sold quite well there too. Then IBM fought Microsoft up until the last day, the day Windows 95 was released, before caving in. After all, Microsoft would have shut down IBM's PC division. In late 1994 and early 1995, IBM was selling 1 million copies of OS/2 a month and had TV ads all over the world. Something happened in around the March 1995 timeframe because IBM pulled all ads and stopped publicly pushing OS/2. From the DOJ VS MSFT case, I think the threats from Microsoft were sinking in and the PowerPC platform had failed...
We won't even get into all the pressure put on 3rd party developers to ONLY develope for Windows. IBM put up a damn good fight againt the Microsoft monopoly. IMHO.
I'm pretty sure you could boot to a command prompt in version 2.1 without a floppy. By using Alt-F1 and then the F2 switch if I'm not mistaken.
Many didn't know there was a utility which could make a single diskette boot system, called "bootos2", and if I had to boot from the 2 or 3 floppies more then a couple of times I would have thrown the thing out too. Look what StarDock did with the WPS by extending its features. The OO in SOM ( System Object Model ) was amazingly powerful though somewhat fragile at times. The fact that almost every aspect of the desktop and OS could be scripted with REXX was a boon for admins and weekend hackers. VxRexx blew VisualBasic away but who saw it or used it?
IBM built a really flexible system and it's power was in its flexability. The fact that Microsoft had a rope around the neck of every OEM prevented that flexibility from being excercised by the OEM so the customers has as much power exposed to them as the OEM's saw fit. It was like dropping a box of motorcycle parts in front of mom and saying "let's go for a ride this weekend".
I think it was 3 OEM's in Germany who fought Microsoft and pre-installed OS/2 for one year and in that year it gained an incredible 25% marketshare.
The flexability of OS/2 was amazing. With some simple scripts you could make OS/2 a pseudo multi-user system by moving OS2.ini and os2sys.ini files around. The desktop was amazing but without a "File Manager" familiar to Win3.x users they were lost and would use the WinOS2 "File Manager" if they found it. Only businesses with vision could really put OS/2 through it's paces and with the OEM's locked out by Microsoft, Joe Public hardly had a chance figuring out even 10% of OS/2 capabilities.
The Pentium Pro was a awesome chip at the time. It is what helped keep the PowerPC from making it to the mass market ( OK, Apple's waffling on PREP and then CHRP was the final straw.... ). The public was suckered by Microsoft in taking a 16bit OS when OS/2 rocked on the PPro. IMO, Microsoft screwed Intel at that time and they've never recovered. Intel had to hack the P6 core to make it run 16bit apps ( the 32bit 386 shipped ~7 yrs earler! ) and to keep the market interested in Intel chips they hacked MMX into the old P5.
Intel is on the ropes and only by tuning small parts of the core OS to run at the "marketed speed" can they keep fooling the public into thinking it's a faster chip.
AMD learned that the public thinks clock-speed is the measuring stick back when they had faster chips at lower clock speeds. They now make sure their clock speed outperforms Intels at equal speeds but Intel realized this too and played tricks with how it spec's it's speeds.....
The internet is now very pervasive and Intels tricks are being exposed daily. It is time to sell Intel stock. IMHO
LoB
and NASA thought Tito could be disruptive...
on
Space Station BSOD
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· Score: 2
At least he will be leaving. Microsofts operating systems and software isn't leaving any time soon. I'll bet there won't be too much of a delay in pulling it all out and replacing it with Linux after they realize how disruptive IT really is.
My guess is that it'll take about 3 crashes before the server is replace with Linux or Solaris. Probably 5-10 issues with the client machines before many of those go.
Then again they could just not use them and just have a screen saver running. They'll still have to reboot them every few days or so but that could be put into the regular schedule.;)
My immediate thought was that it was a Solaris based server. I remember when I first heard that IBM Thinkpad 760's were going on the ISS ( I use a 760 still ) and being a OS/2 advocate I wanted to see what OS was going up there. Sure enough they put Windows on the x86 laptops but Solaris was on the mission critical systems and Windows was just for email and other comm uses. I think there was a NT server though. It was the for the Windows laptops. If this was a Solaris based server and they didn't put much effort into the redundancy issues then Sun really should take most of the heat since my experience is that they really don't go down much at all. Now if it was a Microsoft OS based server and they still didn't do much redundancy work then shame on NASA for using a product KNOWN to not stay running for very long.
Note: When we were building a Solaris based system for Atlas V launch systems ( used Java too ) we had a OS configuration/hardware issue that had all the Microsoft advocates chanting about using Windows. Then I mentioned that this was the first OS based issue we've had in the entire development effort. They shut up. Funny how it's common and accepted for Windows to screw up and management doesn't care. Because Microsoft apps don't run on *nix systems they want to rip it out at the first chance....Ignorance or what! )
I hope we find out because this kind of PR will only force the offending parties to do better work next time. Unless it really is Microsoft, they'll say NASA needs to put up a new space station running Windows 2000 or heXPee. IMHO.
You really hit the nail on the head. Wintel just can't make it to the big time. I have to ask why anybody or company can think that a consumer OS, which has all the bolted on crap Microsoft forces into its Windows OS's, should be capable of high-end computing on the scale of the large *nix's? It's rediculous to think it'll ever make it there. The fact that Microsoft NEVER ventures off it's OS means they will never make it to that big $$ market. As long as they only play in THEIR sandbox ( Windows/x86 ) their stuck. For an example, last year they released a micro-dbase for handhelds. Guess what, it only ran on WinCE! PalmOS has 80%-90% of the market and they don't support it.
Why did this thread even come up? A PC Database running the same Databases run on HP-UX, AIX, OS/390, Solaris? Not likely. And they expect this to come from a company that took 10 years to make a 32bit multi-threaded OS that crashes as few times as IBM's OS/2 v2.1 ( but requires 4x the hardware )?;) Had to throw that in there for fun.:)
Those are fringe devices for those people with Palm apps who want some pizzaz. These won't overtake the market but will make some good profits for the maker. Some might even buy these as first-time buyers but not many IMO.
They are another frill managers can show off but still be compatible with the worker-bee's applications. With PalmOS having 80/90 percent marketshare coming into a Palm-based environment with a WinCE device would be only for the isolationists out there. IMHO
LoB
Re:Where's the innovation?
on
PDAs, PDAs
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· Score: 2
Come on now, WinCE platform shooting up? The iPaq is the only WinCE machine selling well and there are way too many dead bodies in "the road behind" of WinCE developers and manufacturers to think a slight uptick is a full blown come-from-behind win. People buy PDA's for various reasons and most seem to want something simple, fast, instantly on, reliable, small, and reasonable priced. Palm devices in the $150-$300 range fit that need. There's a market for fat devices like WinCE products and higher end Palm devices for the exec's but most go for the M100, Visor, M105/IIIx products.
Putting expansion capabilities into the device is far better then bolting it all in a product an expecting everyone to take it/pay for it. Therefore WinCE devices will stay in the fringes because Microsoft knows only how to bloat products with feature after feature. They have a eating disorder and must consume everything. IMO. Palm licensies haven't been that dumb yet and this new device just adds a ton of expandability with major backwards compatability with existing hardware and software.
then YOU should get a pager device ( blackberry? ). I think the poster was looking for something he didn't have to hold to his face to see. I too think the smaller screen on the M series is annoying.
Everyone has their needs and wants and I can tell you that a credit card sized display isn't something I want to put my shopping lists, calendar info and drawing apps on. The Palm III series of display size is just right IMHO. A large portion of the market seems to think the same way but that doesn't mean EVERYTHING should be that size. Competition is always good for consumers.
Good points and links. I think they, Handera, are making a good move. The Palm III is the largest market segment out there but the Visor and Palm V series are slowly growing. Think of all the business's with Palm III's and peripherals not having to give that up now that Palm has discontinued the III series and Handera exists. It's still flash upgradable too!
licensing fees for one and multi-tasking for another. Granted your question could also be directed right at Microsoft and WinCE. I mean pushing an elephant into a VW and still expect to have some form of enjoyable ride is just dumb. Microsoft has its monopoly to protect though. Linux scales far better then WinCE and there are alot of developers out there.
Ford doesn't have a monopoly and if they did they would have to leverage that power illegally as Microsoft has done for your "Ford" argument to hold water.
If Microsoft wasn't a monopoly ( even in the eyes of the US courts ) which used that power to prevent products from getting to the PC users then your argument is acceptable. But that is NOT the case. I like the fact that some very nice software is free but what Microsoft did to Netscape and many others is BAD for the industry and bad for users. The fact that there is a operating system, which is free, has nothing to do with what Microsoft is doing with MP3's on pre-installed software and has everything to do with what Microsoft has done in the past to prevent competition in a open market. What Microsoft does is not within the framework of the laws governing capitalism....
I wonder if the customers asked for Microsoft to downgrade the quality of MP3 recording capabilities? I wonder if customers asked for a non-standard Java implementation? I wonder if customers asked for a booting systems which makes it really hard to boot other OS's?
This is another Microsoft Embrace/Extend/Extinguish tacktic which gives them the right to dictate the contend on CUSTOMERS computers. What's next html, XML, smtp, or any open standard? Would Quicktime, Real, or other proprietary technology also get downgraded by Microsoft Pre-Installed applications?
I think THAT is why people are upset about this. IMHO.
This is typical MS Embrace, Extend, Extinguish tactics only they are dumb enough to come right out with it. If they didn't come public with this then Windows XP users would have "learned" that Microsofts proprietary software was better. Little would they have known that Microsoft had crippled the MP3 implementation so it generated larger files and poorer quality. How many Windows API's do this to other competing application technologies which they DON'T COME CLEAN ON? I believe this is Microsofts way of getting the music industry monopoly to bless/accept Microsofts formats. The first phase of eventually owning THAT market. Real is doing the same but they can't pull the Pre-Install gig that Microsoft can and if they do then Microsoft will pull "a Netscape" on them.
I know this isn't going to stop 3rd party developers from providing solutions but with 90% of the computing population willing to take whatever is handed to them Pre-Installed, this could corrupt MP3's usefullness as a sharing technology.
Are you THAT naive? I'd say 90% of the NON techies I know who have PC's wouldn't even consider installing another browser because they already have one. PERIOD. If that doesn't tell you that forcing applications on users via pre-installs is the same as eliminating most, not all, of the distribution of anybody else's application serving the same purpose.
The browser is an internet/networking application and paying $50 for what a browser does is not unreasonable. That money could have producted a better product very quickly but we'll never know that because Micro$oft used its MONOPOLY MONEY to fund it's browser application and all but eliminate all other browsers via forced OEM pre-installs. Just look at the stat's, 80% Exploder....... just over 10% for Nav/Communicator.
They, M$, has done the same with Java. They knew they didn't want Java on client PC's going out the OEM door. The only way to stop that was to stop Netscape and fool the OEM's into using a corrupt M$ JVM to keep that precious DOS application called Windows protected.
bla bla blah. They are so F$CKed this could go on for months and you say Tony yada-yada didn't force you to keep your preinstalled browser. BFD IMO
Oh, I'm sorry did I say they just gave Internet Exploder away for free? What I meant was THEY FORCED IT DOWN EVERY WINDOWS USERS #&^!#%^'ing THROAT AND THREATENED EVERY OEM IF THEY DIDN'T COMPLY. That is what I meant.
And now the poor little MicroSerfs are crying that people are devaluating software. Well, fork you Bill Gates and company and that high horse your riding too.
Since you replied to my post, how dare you assume I believe all software should be free!
It is sad that we have seen so much talk in the industry about devaluing the worth of software. Software is core to the computer experience. People create software and it is essential that we pay people for their valuable and creative work.
Now come on. What did they do to Netscape by giving Internet Exploder away for free?
This just shows you, MicroSerfs are hippocrites(sp?) and don't be fooled by their use of the word OPEN. It means something totally different in Redmond.
I guess their losing their minds because Microsoft is just going to use Transmeta and discard them. Microsoft's next new operating system that they are betting the company one, Winbloat XP, is a system pig. It will chew up laptop batteries like a cheap piece of gum. Enough time to boot up? Ha. Micrsoft is using Transmeta for their IP and will end up owning it like SQL, Mosaic, OLE, and many other technologies they got from PARTNERSHIPS.
Yeah, right. Microsoft is going to take technology from Transmeta in order to get Winbloat XP running better on laptops. That is the only reason they are partnering. They do it all the time. Transmeta will get some $$ but Microsoft will end up owning the API's and techniques. They did it to Sybase (SQL), they did it with SpyGlass (Mosaic), they did it to Stac (disk compressor)......
Microsoft is such a powerfull company because they leverage their monopoly power to eliminate competition. IMHO
IBM did this with their Thinkpads some years ago. They allowed the touchscreen/LCD to be flipped around so it covered the keyboard. It ran an operationg system which could support multitasking
requirements of handwritting. That OS was OS/2 and it ran Pen for OS/2.
Old news but then again if everyone waits for Microsoft to 'invent' it then I guess it's new to them.
Funny that the OS that Microsoft has that can finally do this requires so much power they need to steal... I mean partner with Transmeta to make
the OS efficient on battery power.
IMHO, Microsoft is just using Transmeta to get power managment capabilities required because of the bloat that is the Windows legacy.
Slashdot Mirror
sorry, I guess I should have explained how what I said effected the oil companies and how what I said effected the electricity generators....
I don't think the oil companies like that I'm getting ~50 MPG without giving up a thing. IMHO
I don't think the electricity generators like it when their rolling blackouts don't blackout everyone.
By the way, I don't think the Hybrid technology is the save-all end-all technology but it is currently the only technology getting us to a cleaner environment. IMHO
LoB
Once again the US auto industry is getting the ars kicked by the Japanese. Oh, I own a Toyota Prius and after 9400 miles, I'm averaging 48.1 MPG. When the rolling blackouts hit I power a home circuit with a 12V to 110V Inverter and a 100' extension cord in the trunk of the Prius.
eat THAT oil companies and crocked Texas powerplant owners!
as a replier already noted, not all people want Icons on their desktop/menus. Now if the package managers had that defaulted to ON and the ability to turn it off or be prompted.......
Joe and Jone 6-pack need icons added for them cause they aren't going to pop open a CLI and have a clue as to what will now start the new application
LoB
I hope you're not thinking that Windoz would be better... At least Linux can be trimmed down to a very small amount of code to fit the purpose. If someone is dumb enough to blindly take Linux code and run a Nuke sub or powerplant with it then we are in trouble. I don't think engineers working on this type of equipment are that dumb. Though I have seen the BSOD on way too many non critical devices ( scoreboards, billboards, airline screens, etc ). If engineers are dumb enough to use Windoz on mission critical devices.....
NOW THAT SCARES ME! Oh wait, isn't Bill Gates paying the US DOD to use Windoz on Aegis class ships and a new aircraft carrier? ;)
Time to head for the hills.
LoB
Dang, I thought they put up a good fight. No OEM would pre-install OS/2 because Microsoft would pull the plug on their DOS and Windows licenses so all IBM could do was sell at retail and they sold quite well there too. Then IBM fought Microsoft up until the last day, the day Windows 95 was released, before caving in. After all, Microsoft would have shut down IBM's PC division. In late 1994 and early 1995, IBM was selling 1 million copies of OS/2 a month and had TV ads all over the world. Something happened in around the March 1995 timeframe because IBM pulled all ads and stopped publicly pushing OS/2. From the DOJ VS MSFT case, I think the threats from Microsoft were sinking in and the PowerPC platform had failed...
We won't even get into all the pressure put on 3rd party developers to ONLY develope for Windows. IBM put up a damn good fight againt the Microsoft monopoly. IMHO.
Lob
I'm pretty sure you could boot to a command prompt in version 2.1 without a floppy. By using Alt-F1 and then the F2 switch if I'm not mistaken.
Many didn't know there was a utility which could make a single diskette boot system, called "bootos2", and if I had to boot from the 2 or 3 floppies more then a couple of times I would have thrown the thing out too. Look what StarDock did with the WPS by extending its features. The OO in SOM ( System Object Model ) was amazingly powerful though somewhat fragile at times. The fact that almost every aspect of the desktop and OS could be scripted with REXX was a boon for admins and weekend hackers. VxRexx blew VisualBasic away but who saw it or used it?
IBM built a really flexible system and it's power was in its flexability. The fact that Microsoft had a rope around the neck of every OEM prevented that flexibility from being excercised by the OEM so the customers has as much power exposed to them as the OEM's saw fit. It was like dropping a box of motorcycle parts in front of mom and saying "let's go for a ride this weekend".
I think it was 3 OEM's in Germany who fought Microsoft and pre-installed OS/2 for one year and in that year it gained an incredible 25% marketshare.
The flexability of OS/2 was amazing. With some simple scripts you could make OS/2 a pseudo multi-user system by moving OS2.ini and os2sys.ini files around. The desktop was amazing but without a "File Manager" familiar to Win3.x users they were lost and would use the WinOS2 "File Manager" if they found it. Only businesses with vision could really put OS/2 through it's paces and with the OEM's locked out by Microsoft, Joe Public hardly had a chance figuring out even 10% of OS/2 capabilities.
Just my thoughts....
LoB
Intel is on the ropes and only by tuning small parts of the core OS to run at the "marketed speed" can they keep fooling the public into thinking it's a faster chip.
AMD learned that the public thinks clock-speed is the measuring stick back when they had faster chips at lower clock speeds. They now make sure their clock speed outperforms Intels at equal speeds but Intel realized this too and played tricks with how it spec's it's speeds.....
The internet is now very pervasive and Intels tricks are being exposed daily. It is time to sell Intel stock. IMHO
LoB
At least he will be leaving. Microsofts operating systems and software isn't leaving any time soon. I'll bet there won't be too much of a delay in pulling it all out and replacing it with Linux after they realize how disruptive IT really is.
;)
My guess is that it'll take about 3 crashes before the server is replace with Linux or Solaris. Probably 5-10 issues with the client machines before many of those go.
Then again they could just not use them and just have a screen saver running. They'll still have to reboot them every few days or so but that could be put into the regular schedule.
LoB
My immediate thought was that it was a Solaris based server. I remember when I first heard that IBM Thinkpad 760's were going on the ISS ( I use a 760 still ) and being a OS/2 advocate I wanted to see what OS was going up there. Sure enough they put Windows on the x86 laptops but Solaris was on the mission critical systems and Windows was just for email and other comm uses. I think there was a NT server though. It was the for the Windows laptops. If this was a Solaris based server and they didn't put much effort into the redundancy issues then Sun really should take most of the heat since my experience is that they really don't go down much at all. Now if it was a Microsoft OS based server and they still didn't do much redundancy work then shame on NASA for using a product KNOWN to not stay running for very long.
Note: When we were building a Solaris based system for Atlas V launch systems ( used Java too ) we had a OS configuration/hardware issue that had all the Microsoft advocates chanting about using Windows. Then I mentioned that this was the first OS based issue we've had in the entire development effort. They shut up. Funny how it's common and accepted for Windows to screw up and management doesn't care. Because Microsoft apps don't run on *nix systems they want to rip it out at the first chance....Ignorance or what! )
I hope we find out because this kind of PR will only force the offending parties to do better work next time. Unless it really is Microsoft, they'll say NASA needs to put up a new space station running Windows 2000 or heXPee. IMHO.
LoB
You really hit the nail on the head. Wintel just can't make it to the big time. I have to ask why anybody or company can think that a consumer OS, which has all the bolted on crap Microsoft forces into its Windows OS's, should be capable of high-end computing on the scale of the large *nix's? It's rediculous to think it'll ever make it there. The fact that Microsoft NEVER ventures off it's OS means they will never make it to that big $$ market. As long as they only play in THEIR sandbox ( Windows/x86 ) their stuck. For an example, last year they released a micro-dbase for handhelds. Guess what, it only ran on WinCE! PalmOS has 80%-90% of the market and they don't support it. ;) Had to throw that in there for fun. :)
Why did this thread even come up? A PC Database running the same Databases run on HP-UX, AIX, OS/390, Solaris? Not likely. And they expect this to come from a company that took 10 years to make a 32bit multi-threaded OS that crashes as few times as IBM's OS/2 v2.1 ( but requires 4x the hardware )?
LoB
Those are fringe devices for those people with Palm apps who want some pizzaz. These won't overtake the market but will make some good profits for the maker. Some might even buy these as first-time buyers but not many IMO.
They are another frill managers can show off but still be compatible with the worker-bee's applications. With PalmOS having 80/90 percent marketshare coming into a Palm-based environment with a WinCE device would be only for the isolationists out there. IMHO
LoB
Come on now, WinCE platform shooting up? The iPaq is the only WinCE machine selling well and there are way too many dead bodies in "the road behind" of WinCE developers and manufacturers to think a slight uptick is a full blown come-from-behind win. People buy PDA's for various reasons and most seem to want something simple, fast, instantly on, reliable, small, and reasonable priced. Palm devices in the $150-$300 range fit that need. There's a market for fat devices like WinCE products and higher end Palm devices for the exec's but most go for the M100, Visor, M105/IIIx products.
Putting expansion capabilities into the device is far better then bolting it all in a product an expecting everyone to take it/pay for it. Therefore WinCE devices will stay in the fringes because Microsoft knows only how to bloat products with feature after feature. They have a eating disorder and must consume everything. IMO. Palm licensies haven't been that dumb yet and this new device just adds a ton of expandability with major backwards compatability with existing hardware and software.
LoB
then YOU should get a pager device ( blackberry? ). I think the poster was looking for something he didn't have to hold to his face to see. I too think the smaller screen on the M series is annoying.
Everyone has their needs and wants and I can tell you that a credit card sized display isn't something I want to put my shopping lists, calendar info and drawing apps on. The Palm III series of display size is just right IMHO. A large portion of the market seems to think the same way but that doesn't mean EVERYTHING should be that size. Competition is always good for consumers.
IMHO
Good points and links. I think they, Handera, are making a good move. The Palm III is the largest market segment out there but the Visor and Palm V series are slowly growing. Think of all the business's with Palm III's and peripherals not having to give that up now that Palm has discontinued the III series and Handera exists. It's still flash upgradable too!
All and all this is a good move for everyone.
LoB
licensing fees for one and multi-tasking for another. Granted your question could also be directed right at Microsoft and WinCE. I mean pushing an elephant into a VW and still expect to have some form of enjoyable ride is just dumb. Microsoft has its monopoly to protect though. Linux scales far better then WinCE and there are alot of developers out there.
I hope Sharp does a nice job with their PDA.
If Microsoft wasn't a monopoly ( even in the eyes of the US courts ) which used that power to prevent products from getting to the PC users then your argument is acceptable. But that is NOT the case. I like the fact that some very nice software is free but what Microsoft did to Netscape and many others is BAD for the industry and bad for users. The fact that there is a operating system, which is free, has nothing to do with what Microsoft is doing with MP3's on pre-installed software and has everything to do with what Microsoft has done in the past to prevent competition in a open market. What Microsoft does is not within the framework of the laws governing capitalism....
LoB
I wonder if the customers asked for Microsoft to downgrade the quality of MP3 recording capabilities? I wonder if customers asked for a non-standard Java implementation? I wonder if customers asked for a booting systems which makes it really hard to boot other OS's?
This is another Microsoft Embrace/Extend/Extinguish tacktic which gives them the right to dictate the contend on CUSTOMERS computers. What's next html, XML, smtp, or any open standard? Would Quicktime, Real, or other proprietary technology also get downgraded by Microsoft Pre-Installed applications?
I think THAT is why people are upset about this. IMHO.
LoB
I know this isn't going to stop 3rd party developers from providing solutions but with 90% of the computing population willing to take whatever is handed to them Pre-Installed, this could corrupt MP3's usefullness as a sharing technology.
IMHO
LoB
Are you THAT naive? I'd say 90% of the NON techies I know who have PC's wouldn't even consider installing another browser because they already have one. PERIOD. If that doesn't tell you that forcing applications on users via pre-installs is the same as eliminating most, not all, of the distribution of anybody else's application serving the same purpose.
The browser is an internet/networking application and paying $50 for what a browser does is not unreasonable. That money could have producted a better product very quickly but we'll never know that because Micro$oft used its MONOPOLY MONEY to fund it's browser application and all but eliminate all other browsers via forced OEM pre-installs. Just look at the stat's, 80% Exploder....... just over 10% for Nav/Communicator.
They, M$, has done the same with Java. They knew they didn't want Java on client PC's going out the OEM door. The only way to stop that was to stop Netscape and fool the OEM's into using a corrupt M$ JVM to keep that precious DOS application called Windows protected.
bla bla blah. They are so F$CKed this could go on for months and you say Tony yada-yada didn't force you to keep your preinstalled browser. BFD IMO
LoB
And now the poor little MicroSerfs are crying that people are devaluating software. Well, fork you Bill Gates and company and that high horse your riding too.
Since you replied to my post, how dare you assume I believe all software should be free!
LoB
Now come on. What did they do to Netscape by giving Internet Exploder away for free?
This just shows you, MicroSerfs are hippocrites(sp?) and don't be fooled by their use of the word OPEN. It means something totally different in Redmond.
LoB
I got to get around to trying this BSD....
There's just so much to explore and so little time.
LoB
I guess their losing their minds because Microsoft is just going to use Transmeta and discard them. Microsoft's next new operating system that they are betting the company one, Winbloat XP, is a system pig. It will chew up laptop batteries like a cheap piece of gum. Enough time to boot up? Ha. Micrsoft is using Transmeta for their IP and will end up owning it like SQL, Mosaic, OLE, and many other technologies they got from PARTNERSHIPS.
IMHO.
LoB
Yeah, right. Microsoft is going to take technology from Transmeta in order to get Winbloat XP running better on laptops. That is the only reason they are partnering. They do it all the time. Transmeta will get some $$ but Microsoft will end up owning the API's and techniques. They did it to Sybase (SQL), they did it with SpyGlass (Mosaic), they did it to Stac (disk compressor)......
Microsoft is such a powerfull company because they leverage their monopoly power to eliminate competition. IMHO
LoB
IBM did this with their Thinkpads some years ago. They allowed the touchscreen/LCD to be flipped around so it covered the keyboard. It ran an operationg system which could support multitasking
requirements of handwritting. That OS was OS/2 and it ran Pen for OS/2.
Old news but then again if everyone waits for Microsoft to 'invent' it then I guess it's new to them.
Funny that the OS that Microsoft has that can finally do this requires so much power they need to steal... I mean partner with Transmeta to make
the OS efficient on battery power.
IMHO, Microsoft is just using Transmeta to get power managment capabilities required because of the bloat that is the Windows legacy.
LoB