The science community has gotten out of control. They have started to make wild claims before they have ANY understanding of what they are talking about. This is a pathetic attempt to raise money.
The reality is that gene may be a characteristic of what makes REALLY someone smart or not. Or it may have nothing to do with it at all. They have no idea, they just decided to make a wild claim based on a semi-conclusive survey that would barely hold wait in a political campaign never mind a scientific study.
Let me give you an example;
I found the secret to genius. No muscle mass. Have you noticed the smartest people around don't have a great deal of muscle mass? I surveyed 10,000 people and on average my results are conclusive. Muscle rots the brain.
Obviously that is not true. My study could have shown those results, but muscle certainly doesn't rot the brain. Anyways, I think it's clear that these guys don't contain the gene;)
AOL got 120 million visitors, yahoo 115 millions, MSN 110million, google 70million this past September. MS just became top dog by almost triple google and about double yahoo as far as online advertising markets reach goes. There are companies that are dying to get their hands on a way to get in front of 200million people, that's allot more appealing then 70million. Google might have slightly better tech for the time being, but MS will catch up, and they will steal google's thunder. Google hasn't been able to create much of a profit in any way other then click ads and that is in pretty big jeopardy.
With the largest repository of media content in the world, combine that with the most users, ground breaking IPTV tech, and the two largest telcos in the country, Microsoft is looking really good right now. Google better do some sole searching, because they are in some trouble.
My recommendation is to sell sell sell (google's stock that is).
Such a line of crap. "don't be evil" "tolerance"? "respect"? Kind of like the respect they have for the authors who have asked them not to scan their work, ya, they aren't evil at all. Ya its not evil just going ahead, ignoring the IP creators, just because "you know what's best for them" or to make some money. Yep, they aren't evil at all.
Seriously the media loves google and that is the only reason the stock is so inflated. If we didn't know better you'd think they weren't the one with site traffic behind aol, yahoo, and msn, by ten of millions of visitors. Its similar to apple, by all the good press and constant front page articles you'd think they'd have more then a few percentage points of the desktop market, but nope.
This at the end of the day is why all the predictions that Microsoft is going to fail "the next time around" never come true. Why that crowd is always dumbfounded that MS does so well time and time again. At some point you have to stop believing your won FUD and Fluff pieces and try to get the facts.
Google's stock is going to cr4ash like the dot.com bubble. The only question is whether or not YOU will get your money out before or after it tanks.
I know PC World is a rag, best used as toilet paper, but come on.
The Treo 650 made the top ten?! I've known a few people who have had them (myself included) and it crashed more then Windows 95 on a bad day. I never used the 600, but the 650 is a POS.
Seriously, iPod Photo makes the list, but the Nano doesn't? Does anyone really think that GMAIL is the second best product of the year, lol.
But my favorite one is, ready for this, its number 33, "The New York Times on the Web". LOL, what a rag.
Does anyone think that Adobe's primary reason for buying macromedia was part of a build up getting ready to sue MS over anti-trust and monopoly abuse. MS is going to "bundle" sparkle with Vista, and many think it has the potential to kill Flash. In any case, there is not much debate that it's going to at least take a bite out of flash's market share.
Macromedia is expensive for Adobe, but it might be enough to slow/stop MS from jumping into Adobe's primary business (Photoshop, Illustrator, and inDesign). We have all seen MS's expressed interest to get into the Photoshop business, but do they want to do it at the cost of another anti-trust case? Another major one could get them broken up.
There are companies that truly believe in open source and its philosophy and there are companies like sun. This is a hail-marry effort to stop their impending demise. Their market share has been dwindling for years and it's starting to tank even more, especially with the linux options. Let me make a prediction now, one day we will see OSX going open source when their market share drops below a percentage point. And it won't be because Apple has seen the light either...
I'm not trolling, I just think we should throw our praise behind companies that TRULY believe in the philosophy not just using it to try and prevent their demise.
how great would that be for hosting companies like rackspace. I doubt this would go through... I mean seriously, that proposal would cripple what 80% of the sites out there. This is a perfect example when non-technical people get in positions that require a strong understanding of technology. I'm sure the guy is a good businessman, but hasn't got a clue about technology.
On another note, historically, every time one of the bell's gets too big for their britches they get broken up... If any of you hold their stock I'd say its time to dump it!
"You'd think, with all the smart people working for newspapers, that by now most of them would have figured out how to use the Internet effectively enough that it would produce a significant percentage of their profits."
Well that's just it. There aren't allot of "smart people" working for newspapers. Don't get me wrong, the writers and editors (as we just saw) think they are smart, but they are the only ones who believe that. As the internet has developed society has started to hold them more accountable, and as it turns out they plagiarize continually, make up facts, or outright lie/misquote people. Jason Blaire anyone? Dan Rather? I'd say the mainstream newspaper's biggest problem (e.g. new York Times) is they are reporting OPIOIN more then news (I'm talking about in the news section not just the op-ed). A bigger problem for them is that most people in the country disagree with those opinions.
Blogs have become so popular because people are getting to see some insightful commentary other then the dribble we get from the self proclaimed "smart people" in the media. The problem for the newspapers is their staff, not the internet.
The Gore campaign and the democrats is reportedly behind Diebold and windows. They claim without a "hanging chad" excuse they will need crashing voting machines.
Well sometimes it is so they don't get sued. Google News has been in
beta for 4 years, and the consensus is that it will stay that way for years to
come.
From this article:
"The reason: The minute Google News runs paid advertising of any sort it could
face a torrent of cease-and-desist letters from the legal departments of
newspapers, which would argue that "fair use" doesn't cover lifting headlines
and lead paragraphs verbatim from their articles. Other publishers might simply
block users originating from Google News, effectively snuffing it out. "
Its interesting, irritating, and I guess expected. When an op-ed for a newspaper puts out
financial numbers the post subject is fact. But when Merrill Lynch, one of the
countries biggest financial institution puts out a report, Slashdot has a "?"
to it. Check it
out here.
What is the difference you ask? Well one doesn't say
MS sucks and the other does. One compares both PS3/Xbox with numbers and
the other doesn't give any. Anyone interested in more accurate PS3/Xbox 360
breakdown you
can go here
(or
here to get the chart). Again these numbers are according to
Merrill Lynch
a leading investment firm, (not a newspaper or an op-ed).
no innovation? Hmm... Maybe you should start to research home automation; quite a large chunk of my little "spiel" was about that. Take a look at what MS and GE are doing with that... no innovation huh? Umm... I don't see linux or osx powering any cars other then some freak project by college students. BMW is a major premium brand using XP. But hey, that's not your kind of innovation. Shadows under desktop icons are.
I have lots to say, but I fear its lost on a zealot like yourself. I'll try to be brief. You are just so blinded with hatred you have started to believe you own rhetoric. The problem is that's all it is, rhetoric. OSX has had 4 paid upgrades to Windows XP. Annual OS upgrades are a nightmare for IT departments, bad for a company's balance sheet, and an irritation for end-users. Each version costs about $150 x 4 = $600. MS XP is $300. If you kept up with Apple, you spent double then going with XP. Never mind all the programs that break with the upgrades.
MS didn't abuse any monopoly power to make Office number one. They didn't abuse or break the law to beat Palm. They didn't abuse anyone to make Server 2k3 grow by leaps and bounds, faster then any other server platform this year. They didn't abuse anyone to sell 20 million Xboxes, and didn't abuse anyone to get a 1 year jump start on the PS3. Xbox Live... no innovation? They have taken online game play to a whole new level. Their IPTV stuff is amazing, and that is why Verizon and SBC were so willing to lock themselves into using it for years... its just light years ahead of all the other platforms. They don't abuse anyone to be ranked almost double Google in web traffic, only behind AOL and Yahoo. Why don't you check out the ground breaking work they do in speech recognition. I could go on, but again it's lost on a zealot.
See the thing is, is that you are so busy saying they suck and are evil they have just passed you by. You are still living in the 90s. They do innovate, often. In fact they spend more money on R&D then Google grosses in a year, more then double actually! They hire some of the greatest minds in the world, and you are stupid enough to think that because they are under the MS name they don't innovate. This is a perfect example of how you are blinded by hate and rhetoric. Maybe just uninformed. Like I said in my first post, you guys think indexed search is incredible innovation (even though MS demoed it working in 2003 longhorn, two OSX versions before they made it to market) you overlook the truly ground breaking innovations and success.
Unfortunately for your side people have heard you, and they don't agree. When you say Windows is horrible they hear you, but think "well it does what I need it to". Your message does get out. The media is almost 95% Apple users; trust me your view gets out. When a user tries Linux they can't get software installed... try Apple and no software is available for what they needed to do. Windows market share is not losing to Linux or Apple despite your rhetoric. And its not because people aren't as smart as YOU!
The cold hard truth is MS is a business. They are no more ruthless then Steve Jobs and Apple or Larry Ellison at Oracle. Your other notion that MS is number one because of good marketing is absurd. Do you really think they are better marketers then Apple? Office isn't number 1 because of those stupid commercials MS runs saying "our potential is their passion". Either you are intellectually dishonest or a complete idiot. For your sake lets just hope you are a delusional liar.
"Maybe soon every home will come with an MS OS installed to control the lights and entertainment center, it will still suck and cause more frustration and problems and basically make the world a worse place to live in and it will partially be because of people like you."
Yes. Everyone is too stupid to know what they want. It only we were all as smart as you are.
The OS matters and MS is making big headway in that front. They are doing it right in the face of all their naysayer's, and the irony is those self-proclaimed geniuses are missing what's happening right in front of their face.
For example, the Apple crew touts being first to market with features like indexed searching as reasons why they will beat MS. All the while MS is quietly getting XP Embedded in ATMs and Cars. MS can ad a search in an update (e.g. Vista), but Apple isn't going to power any BMWs with OSX 10.5, but MS already does with XP Embedded.
MS is diligently working with GE (one of the worlds largest companies, 1st or 2nd place) to advance home automation, and integrate with household appliances. Home automation is the FUTURE of computing, period. MS is working hard to penetrate the Home Media market (media center, Xbox, IPTV, etc.), the phone market, and many other fronts. You can say they won't make it, but they are doing a hell of a job to date. Look at the next generation of television, IPTV. MS is starting to get so far ahead of everyone else it's getting sad. Take some time and watch the demos, they are very impressive. The zealots keep saying it isn't true, but they have been saying this since Windows 95. They were wrong then, and are wrong now. Apple and RedHat don't have any big exclusive deals with Verizon or SBC to power IPTV, but MS does. Those deals are getting fiber brought to everyone's doorstep. IPods are cool, but they are a novelty device and they aren't going to power the home of the future, but at the current rate, MS will.
Phones: Mobile 5 blows the doors off of all business class phones today with the exception of RIM's. With the exchange integration, RIM won't be able to compete... MS phones will support Push with more then a 100,000,000 people overnight. RIM is struggling to top 5,000,000. Linux phones are a nice idea, but they don't offer push, and the ones at present can't hold a candle to Mobile 5. Then there are PDAs. MS has crushed Palm, and Nokia's hail marry is neat, but won't beat Mobile 5.
The bottom line is if you like MS or not, they are growing in many areas that aren't being publicized. The naysayers are a sleep at the wheel. The platform of the future isn't going to come from Google, Sun, and certainly not Apple. MS is getting in at the ground floor of these industries and they have far more money to fight off the others.
The platform matters. I know so many of you are out of your mind pissed at me for writing this. I'm sure some of you will have some wiki-pedia posts to try and make your case, or some blog of an anti-ms zealot. And to you I say; it doesn't matter if you use a Windows computer for surfing the web or not, you aren't going to be escaping MS powered operating systems anytime soon. History will prove me right.
I don't think it matters. In fact it was probably a smart move. It's a tiny market... iPods didn't do well until Apple started selling them to the Windows people. Also developing for OSX has been no small feet. Just ask Adobe and Quark! Tivo was tinkering on going bankrupt a few years ago; adding OSX could have broken the bank. It costs allot of money to develop/support software on more then one platform when you have a program that is so specialized.
Apple changes their APIs almost every year, without much backwards compatibility for many of the apps. Now granted, Apples swears this last one (10.4) was the last time, but since 2000 they have done it 5 times! 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4. Again, they say that 10.5 will retain full backwards compatibility, but I'm not holding my breath.
I don't think it matters. In fact it was probably a smart move. It's a tiny market... iPods didn't do well until Apple started selling them to the Windows people. Also developing for OSX has been no small feet. Just ask Adobe and Quark! Tivo was tinkering on going bankrupt a few years ago; adding OSX could have broken the bank. It costs allot of money to develop/support software on more then one platform when you have a program that is so specialized.
Apple changes their APIs almost every year, without much backwards compatibility for many of the apps. Now granted, Apples swears this last one (10.4) was the last time, but since 2000 they have done it 5 times! 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4. Again, they say that 10.5 will retain full backwards compatibility, but I'm not holding my breath.
This is really only happening because Intel has dropped the ball so bad with server processors. Anyone know why Intel, with all their resources, didn't have a decent x64, multi-core product before AMD? Never mind one that uses fewer watts.
It's surprising, but really should give hope to the Linux crew. This is a testament that in our society the underdog can come up and take a bite out of the front runner.... regardless of their fortunes. look out ms.
Yes I know that it isn't a US company. I thought I was clear, but apparently not. I see this as a "warning shot" to the US. Tit for tat. US courts rule (what Canada views as an illegal/wrong decision) and they within a month make this one. I think the only reason they are doing this is so that they can influence the implementation of the RIM ban without directly attacking the US courts.
MegaBlock clearly is in violation. IMHO this has less to do with Canadian law, and more to do with playing a game of tit for tat with the US over the Blackberries. That is not only a dangerous road to go down, but a foolish one.
I'm assuming you are talking about 32bit? If you are then... Longhorn Server R2 doesn't come out until 2009, the 2007 version will come out with a 32bit counterpart Their 64 bit platform run 32 bit code without degrading performance.
The only thing that has to be re-written is 32-bit drivers. They are only breaking "driver" compatibility for legacy hardware. However hardware makers have started (last summer) to write the 64 bit drivers for their hardware, so I wouldn't worry to much about that.
"You have to remember that the people who are tech savvy will go this route. Baby boomers and older, however, are far less likely to adopt this."
You are dead wrong. Comcast on-demand and pay-per-view is widely used by middle aged people. Both technologies are increasing in use while Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are reporting fewer people renting... for many quarters now. Hell, Best Buy even reported fewer then expected DVD sales (i believe the second quarter this year).
The reason is people don't want to leave the house. They want something that is easy and convenient. That is why HBO, Cinemax, Starrs, etc. have added so many channels (4-5 each.) Remember they use to be just one channel? People are investing lots of money on their home theatre so they can STAY HOME. Driving around to rent a video, having to return it, paying late fees, etc. is not going to beat browsing a catalog on your tv and clicking "play". . Pay-per-view and On-Demand may not be as functional as the system we are talking about, but the interface is extremely similar. Those services certainly have gained acceptance by not only the tech savvy, but people in all demographics. Your premise is just wrong.
PS HP is not going to be the leader with this either. It's MS with their IPTV platform. Verizon, SBC, and many others have signed multi-year agreements to use their software. That is what has sparked this new found fiber push by the Telcos. Media giants have also started getting excited about this. IPTV is the definite preference of the Media companies to distributing their format.
The next generation of home movie watching is not going to be disc based. It will be streamed through the internet or by your tv provider. The advantages are clear (if you want me to list more I will, just let me know), and the Content Makers prefer this method. For the end-user, its easier, faster, and they don't have to worry about movies getting scratched, lost, stolen, whatever.
These new discs only "use" at the end of the day will be for computer storage, but flash drives are about to hit 100gig, so even for that use the new generation discs will be irrelevant.
Just remember you heard it here first. These discs won't gain the type of saturation that DVD and VHS have had. These both will have market share more like beta. The true winners will be companies like Verizon and SBC who are brining fiber to everyone's door. Comcast also has a pretty sweet strategy for delivering content on demand.
"Um... what law?" Um... Patent Law, as it has been applied and upheld by a number of courts.
"At issue is the violation of a patent - ostensibly a private matter. It is perfectly reasonable for interested parties affected by a inforcement of a patent to ask that their impacts be considered."
Huh?? "a private matter". The DOJ is responsibly for enforcing the patent laws. Seriously, are you just baiting me?
Lets take out the conflict of interest with the DOJ asking for the laws they are suppose to enforce be broken so they can keep using the technology that is in violation. You don't see anything wrong with the body responsibly for enforcing US LAW asking for the law to be "bent" so they can still use the technology? No state secrets are at stake, it's just a matter of avoiding an inconvenience.
Come on man. You can't possibly believe that. Don't get me wrong, I strongly disagree with the patent law, but until it is changed, it should be enforced.
"If the law is the law then how come Microsoft executives are not in jail for anti-trust, bundling, extortion and predatory pricing?"
Actually the law was followed. The penalty under the LAW was they were fined. So far billions of dollars. In some cases the law is jail time, but that is not mandatory. So you are wrong.
"Here is a hint. The government does not want to prosecute companies unless they are foreign, and that is why 90 days and not indefinite. If it were Microsoft in this lawsuit NTP would still be spinning from how fast this would have got tossed out of court. Why?"
Actually, it was 90 days to get a list of who uses it. MS losses more in court then anyone else. Come join reality with the rest of us. It has become nation and international sport to just sue MS whenever your company is doing badly. IE, Windows Media, were good cases, but the rest are crap.
"Business are going to start to ask if they should sell in the US and if so, raise their prices in advance anticipating law suits from scrupulous paracites like NTP."
You truly are smoking crack. The US economy is the most lucrative economy in the world. It's the largest, even larger then the hog-pog of nations trying to unite as the "EU". If you take the US out of the equation RIM would fade away in less then a year. Your statement is as absurd as saying business won't do business in china because they repress their people. Maybe you should take an economics class.
Now, I personally disagree with our patent laws, however, until the LAW is changed, it should be followed. Certainly the body responsible for enforcing law should not be asking Judges to break it! Over an inconvenience!
"The only law that is law, is natural law. Everything else is just humans telling other humans what to do, and has no more barance than if I wrote a set of rules telling you what to do."
Wow, that may be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Clearly you never have studied history. The only societies that have been successful in the history of world have had man made laws. Many of which are designed to specifically counter "natural laws" or instinct of mankind.
"Laws that match natural law are good laws, laws that don't are bad laws and always have bad consequences"
Ok let's take your premise: Ever hear of Survival of the fittest? Well there is no compassion in that "natural law" is there? Should the laws against killing handicap children/adults be thrown out the window because conflict with "natural law"? Stephen Hawking would have died long ago if left to "natural law".
How about pedophiles? Does the "Natural Law" of reproduction apply to them when they like a 14 year old girl? How about marriage, that's another law made by man. You wouldn't mind me banging your wife right? I'm confident that she would be willing... its only natural law that she wants the best mate isn't it? So we should also assume you are into polygamy? How about someone coming to your house and taking it? You try to defend it, but they are bigger, stronger and kill you instead. "Natural Law".
Look at how animals act; they take what they want when they want. It was once thought animals only take what they need, but that was proven utterly wrong. Many species kill for sport, entertainment. Killer whales for instance torture seals and then leave them to die.
Without man made laws you have anarchy. Your premise is based on the assumption that human nature is kind and not violent. That is wrong. Human nature is aggressive, selfish, and that leads to violence. That is reality. I know it doesn't fit into the liberal hippy mantra, but it is undeniable fact.
It is only when human nature is denied that we see civilized nations that are productive and successful. When human nature is indulged you see what goes on in the nations of Africa. You should be grateful for man made laws. I'm sure many people would have beaten the S*** out of you for being stupid/irritating if it weren't for the man made law protecting you.
People like you think they are so clever and smart. You don't offer an intellectual argument or thought provoking perspective; you offer a naive and ignorant premise on par with an undeveloped child's mind. You spout cliché nonsense trying to make yourself feel like an intellectual, but at the end of the day, all you are is a fool.
Slashdot Mirror
The science community has gotten out of control. They have started to make wild claims before they have ANY understanding of what they are talking about. This is a pathetic attempt to raise money.
;)
The reality is that gene may be a characteristic of what makes REALLY someone smart or not. Or it may have nothing to do with it at all. They have no idea, they just decided to make a wild claim based on a semi-conclusive survey that would barely hold wait in a political campaign never mind a scientific study.
Let me give you an example;
I found the secret to genius. No muscle mass. Have you noticed the smartest people around don't have a great deal of muscle mass? I surveyed 10,000 people and on average my results are conclusive. Muscle rots the brain.
Obviously that is not true. My study could have shown those results, but muscle certainly doesn't rot the brain. Anyways, I think it's clear that these guys don't contain the gene
AOL got 120 million visitors, yahoo 115 millions, MSN 110million, google 70million this past September. MS just became top dog by almost triple google and about double yahoo as far as online advertising markets reach goes. There are companies that are dying to get their hands on a way to get in front of 200million people, that's allot more appealing then 70million. Google might have slightly better tech for the time being, but MS will catch up, and they will steal google's thunder. Google hasn't been able to create much of a profit in any way other then click ads and that is in pretty big jeopardy.
With the largest repository of media content in the world, combine that with the most users, ground breaking IPTV tech, and the two largest telcos in the country, Microsoft is looking really good right now. Google better do some sole searching, because they are in some trouble.
My recommendation is to sell sell sell (google's stock that is).
Such a line of crap. "don't be evil" "tolerance"? "respect"? Kind of like the respect they have for the authors who have asked them not to scan their work, ya, they aren't evil at all. Ya its not evil just going ahead, ignoring the IP creators, just because "you know what's best for them" or to make some money. Yep, they aren't evil at all.
Seriously the media loves google and that is the only reason the stock is so inflated. If we didn't know better you'd think they weren't the one with site traffic behind aol, yahoo, and msn, by ten of millions of visitors. Its similar to apple, by all the good press and constant front page articles you'd think they'd have more then a few percentage points of the desktop market, but nope.
This at the end of the day is why all the predictions that Microsoft is going to fail "the next time around" never come true. Why that crowd is always dumbfounded that MS does so well time and time again. At some point you have to stop believing your won FUD and Fluff pieces and try to get the facts.
Google's stock is going to cr4ash like the dot.com bubble. The only question is whether or not YOU will get your money out before or after it tanks.
I know PC World is a rag, best used as toilet paper, but come on.
The Treo 650 made the top ten?! I've known a few people who have had them (myself included) and it crashed more then Windows 95 on a bad day. I never used the 600, but the 650 is a POS.
Seriously, iPod Photo makes the list, but the Nano doesn't? Does anyone really think that GMAIL is the second best product of the year, lol.
But my favorite one is, ready for this, its number 33, "The New York Times on the Web". LOL, what a rag.
Does anyone think that Adobe's primary reason for buying macromedia was part of a build up getting ready to sue MS over anti-trust and monopoly abuse. MS is going to "bundle" sparkle with Vista, and many think it has the potential to kill Flash. In any case, there is not much debate that it's going to at least take a bite out of flash's market share.
Macromedia is expensive for Adobe, but it might be enough to slow/stop MS from jumping into Adobe's primary business (Photoshop, Illustrator, and inDesign). We have all seen MS's expressed interest to get into the Photoshop business, but do they want to do it at the cost of another anti-trust case? Another major one could get them broken up.
There are companies that truly believe in open source and its philosophy and there are companies like sun. This is a hail-marry effort to stop their impending demise. Their market share has been dwindling for years and it's starting to tank even more, especially with the linux options. Let me make a prediction now, one day we will see OSX going open source when their market share drops below a percentage point. And it won't be because Apple has seen the light either...
I'm not trolling, I just think we should throw our praise behind companies that TRULY believe in the philosophy not just using it to try and prevent their demise.
how great would that be for hosting companies like rackspace. I doubt this would go through... I mean seriously, that proposal would cripple what 80% of the sites out there. This is a perfect example when non-technical people get in positions that require a strong understanding of technology. I'm sure the guy is a good businessman, but hasn't got a clue about technology.
On another note, historically, every time one of the bell's gets too big for their britches they get broken up... If any of you hold their stock I'd say its time to dump it!
"You'd think, with all the smart people working for newspapers, that by now most of them would have figured out how to use the Internet effectively enough that it would produce a significant percentage of their profits."
Well that's just it. There aren't allot of "smart people" working for newspapers. Don't get me wrong, the writers and editors (as we just saw) think they are smart, but they are the only ones who believe that. As the internet has developed society has started to hold them more accountable, and as it turns out they plagiarize continually, make up facts, or outright lie/misquote people. Jason Blaire anyone? Dan Rather?
I'd say the mainstream newspaper's biggest problem (e.g. new York Times) is they are reporting OPIOIN more then news (I'm talking about in the news section not just the op-ed). A bigger problem for them is that most people in the country disagree with those opinions.
Blogs have become so popular because people are getting to see some insightful commentary other then the dribble we get from the self proclaimed "smart people" in the media. The problem for the newspapers is their staff, not the internet.
The Gore campaign and the democrats is reportedly behind Diebold and windows. They claim without a "hanging chad" excuse they will need crashing voting machines.
Well sometimes it is so they don't get sued. Google News has been in beta for 4 years, and the consensus is that it will stay that way for years to come.
From this article:
"The reason: The minute Google News runs paid advertising of any sort it could face a torrent of cease-and-desist letters from the legal departments of newspapers, which would argue that "fair use" doesn't cover lifting headlines and lead paragraphs verbatim from their articles. Other publishers might simply block users originating from Google News, effectively snuffing it out. "
Its interesting, irritating, and I guess expected. When an op-ed for a newspaper puts out financial numbers the post subject is fact. But when Merrill Lynch, one of the countries biggest financial institution puts out a report, Slashdot has a "?" to it. Check it out here.
What is the difference you ask? Well one doesn't say MS sucks and the other does. One compares both PS3/Xbox with numbers and the other doesn't give any. Anyone interested in more accurate PS3/Xbox 360 breakdown you can go here (or here to get the chart). Again these numbers are according to Merrill Lynch a leading investment firm, (not a newspaper or an op-ed).
Take a look at them before you flame me.
no innovation? Hmm... Maybe you should start to research home automation; quite a large chunk of my little "spiel" was about that. Take a look at what MS and GE are doing with that... no innovation huh? Umm... I don't see linux or osx powering any cars other then some freak project by college students. BMW is a major premium brand using XP. But hey, that's not your kind of innovation. Shadows under desktop icons are.
I have lots to say, but I fear its lost on a zealot like yourself. I'll try to be brief. You are just so blinded with hatred you have started to believe you own rhetoric. The problem is that's all it is, rhetoric. OSX has had 4 paid upgrades to Windows XP. Annual OS upgrades are a nightmare for IT departments, bad for a company's balance sheet, and an irritation for end-users. Each version costs about $150 x 4 = $600. MS XP is $300. If you kept up with Apple, you spent double then going with XP. Never mind all the programs that break with the upgrades.
MS didn't abuse any monopoly power to make Office number one. They didn't abuse or break the law to beat Palm. They didn't abuse anyone to make Server 2k3 grow by leaps and bounds, faster then any other server platform this year. They didn't abuse anyone to sell 20 million Xboxes, and didn't abuse anyone to get a 1 year jump start on the PS3. Xbox Live... no innovation? They have taken online game play to a whole new level. Their IPTV stuff is amazing, and that is why Verizon and SBC were so willing to lock themselves into using it for years... its just light years ahead of all the other platforms. They don't abuse anyone to be ranked almost double Google in web traffic, only behind AOL and Yahoo. Why don't you check out the ground breaking work they do in speech recognition. I could go on, but again it's lost on a zealot.
See the thing is, is that you are so busy saying they suck and are evil they have just passed you by. You are still living in the 90s. They do innovate, often. In fact they spend more money on R&D then Google grosses in a year, more then double actually! They hire some of the greatest minds in the world, and you are stupid enough to think that because they are under the MS name they don't innovate. This is a perfect example of how you are blinded by hate and rhetoric. Maybe just uninformed. Like I said in my first post, you guys think indexed search is incredible innovation (even though MS demoed it working in 2003 longhorn, two OSX versions before they made it to market) you overlook the truly ground breaking innovations and success.
Unfortunately for your side people have heard you, and they don't agree. When you say Windows is horrible they hear you, but think "well it does what I need it to". Your message does get out. The media is almost 95% Apple users; trust me your view gets out. When a user tries Linux they can't get software installed... try Apple and no software is available for what they needed to do. Windows market share is not losing to Linux or Apple despite your rhetoric. And its not because people aren't as smart as YOU!
The cold hard truth is MS is a business. They are no more ruthless then Steve Jobs and Apple or Larry Ellison at Oracle. Your other notion that MS is number one because of good marketing is absurd. Do you really think they are better marketers then Apple? Office isn't number 1 because of those stupid commercials MS runs saying "our potential is their passion". Either you are intellectually dishonest or a complete idiot. For your sake lets just hope you are a delusional liar.
"Maybe soon every home will come with an MS OS installed to control the lights and entertainment center, it will still suck and cause more frustration and problems and basically make the world a worse place to live in and it will partially be because of people like you."
Yes. Everyone is too stupid to know what they want. It only we were all as smart as you are.
What an arrogant ass!
The OS matters and MS is making big headway in that front. They are doing it right in the face of all their naysayer's, and the irony is those self-proclaimed geniuses are missing what's happening right in front of their face.
For example, the Apple crew touts being first to market with features like indexed searching as reasons why they will beat MS. All the while MS is quietly getting XP Embedded in ATMs and Cars. MS can ad a search in an update (e.g. Vista), but Apple isn't going to power any BMWs with OSX 10.5, but MS already does with XP Embedded.
MS is diligently working with GE (one of the worlds largest companies, 1st or 2nd place) to advance home automation, and integrate with household appliances. Home automation is the FUTURE of computing, period. MS is working hard to penetrate the Home Media market (media center, Xbox, IPTV, etc.), the phone market, and many other fronts. You can say they won't make it, but they are doing a hell of a job to date. Look at the next generation of television, IPTV. MS is starting to get so far ahead of everyone else it's getting sad. Take some time and watch the demos, they are very impressive. The zealots keep saying it isn't true, but they have been saying this since Windows 95. They were wrong then, and are wrong now. Apple and RedHat don't have any big exclusive deals with Verizon or SBC to power IPTV, but MS does. Those deals are getting fiber brought to everyone's doorstep. IPods are cool, but they are a novelty device and they aren't going to power the home of the future, but at the current rate, MS will.
Phones: Mobile 5 blows the doors off of all business class phones today with the exception of RIM's. With the exchange integration, RIM won't be able to compete... MS phones will support Push with more then a 100,000,000 people overnight. RIM is struggling to top 5,000,000. Linux phones are a nice idea, but they don't offer push, and the ones at present can't hold a candle to Mobile 5. Then there are PDAs. MS has crushed Palm, and Nokia's hail marry is neat, but won't beat Mobile 5.
The bottom line is if you like MS or not, they are growing in many areas that aren't being publicized. The naysayers are a sleep at the wheel. The platform of the future isn't going to come from Google, Sun, and certainly not Apple. MS is getting in at the ground floor of these industries and they have far more money to fight off the others.
The platform matters. I know so many of you are out of your mind pissed at me for writing this. I'm sure some of you will have some wiki-pedia posts to try and make your case, or some blog of an anti-ms zealot. And to you I say; it doesn't matter if you use a Windows computer for surfing the web or not, you aren't going to be escaping MS powered operating systems anytime soon. History will prove me right.
I don't think it matters. In fact it was probably a smart move. It's a tiny market... iPods didn't do well until Apple started selling them to the Windows people. Also developing for OSX has been no small feet. Just ask Adobe and Quark! Tivo was tinkering on going bankrupt a few years ago; adding OSX could have broken the bank. It costs allot of money to develop/support software on more then one platform when you have a program that is so specialized.
Apple changes their APIs almost every year, without much backwards compatibility for many of the apps. Now granted, Apples swears this last one (10.4) was the last time, but since 2000 they have done it 5 times! 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4. Again, they say that 10.5 will retain full backwards compatibility, but I'm not holding my breath.
I don't think it matters. In fact it was probably a smart move. It's a tiny market... iPods didn't do well until Apple started selling them to the Windows people. Also developing for OSX has been no small feet. Just ask Adobe and Quark! Tivo was tinkering on going bankrupt a few years ago; adding OSX could have broken the bank. It costs allot of money to develop/support software on more then one platform when you have a program that is so specialized.
Apple changes their APIs almost every year, without much backwards compatibility for many of the apps. Now granted, Apples swears this last one (10.4) was the last time, but since 2000 they have done it 5 times! 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4. Again, they say that 10.5 will retain full backwards compatibility, but I'm not holding my breath.
This is really only happening because Intel has dropped the ball so bad with server processors. Anyone know why Intel, with all their resources, didn't have a decent x64, multi-core product before AMD? Never mind one that uses fewer watts.
It's surprising, but really should give hope to the Linux crew. This is a testament that in our society the underdog can come up and take a bite out of the front runner.... regardless of their fortunes. look out ms.
Yes I know that it isn't a US company. I thought I was clear, but apparently not. I see this as a "warning shot" to the US. Tit for tat. US courts rule (what Canada views as an illegal/wrong decision) and they within a month make this one. I think the only reason they are doing this is so that they can influence the implementation of the RIM ban without directly attacking the US courts.
MegaBlock clearly is in violation. IMHO this has less to do with Canadian law, and more to do with playing a game of tit for tat with the US over the Blackberries. That is not only a dangerous road to go down, but a foolish one.
"Microsoft is breaking backward compatability? "
I'm assuming you are talking about 32bit? If you are then... Longhorn Server R2 doesn't come out until 2009, the 2007 version will come out with a 32bit counterpart Their 64 bit platform run 32 bit code without degrading performance.
The only thing that has to be re-written is 32-bit drivers. They are only breaking "driver" compatibility for legacy hardware. However hardware makers have started (last summer) to write the 64 bit drivers for their hardware, so I wouldn't worry to much about that.
Is that enough info to debunk?
They have also said a 32-bit version of the Longhorn server would be available.
i alsID=7046
http://www.redmondmag.com/news/article.asp?Editor
"You have to remember that the people who are tech savvy will go this route. Baby boomers and older, however, are far less likely to adopt this."
You are dead wrong. Comcast on-demand and pay-per-view is widely used by middle aged people. Both technologies are increasing in use while Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are reporting fewer people renting... for many quarters now. Hell, Best Buy even reported fewer then expected DVD sales (i believe the second quarter this year).
The reason is people don't want to leave the house. They want something that is easy and convenient. That is why HBO, Cinemax, Starrs, etc. have added so many channels (4-5 each.) Remember they use to be just one channel? People are investing lots of money on their home theatre so they can STAY HOME. Driving around to rent a video, having to return it, paying late fees, etc. is not going to beat browsing a catalog on your tv and clicking "play".
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Pay-per-view and On-Demand may not be as functional as the system we are talking about, but the interface is extremely similar. Those services certainly have gained acceptance by not only the tech savvy, but people in all demographics. Your premise is just wrong.
PS
HP is not going to be the leader with this either. It's MS with their IPTV platform. Verizon, SBC, and many others have signed multi-year agreements to use their software. That is what has sparked this new found fiber push by the Telcos. Media giants have also started getting excited about this. IPTV is the definite preference of the Media companies to distributing their format.
The next generation of home movie watching is not going to be disc based. It will be streamed through the internet or by your tv provider. The advantages are clear (if you want me to list more I will, just let me know), and the Content Makers prefer this method. For the end-user, its easier, faster, and they don't have to worry about movies getting scratched, lost, stolen, whatever.
These new discs only "use" at the end of the day will be for computer storage, but flash drives are about to hit 100gig, so even for that use the new generation discs will be irrelevant.
Just remember you heard it here first. These discs won't gain the type of saturation that DVD and VHS have had. These both will have market share more like beta. The true winners will be companies like Verizon and SBC who are brining fiber to everyone's door. Comcast also has a pretty sweet strategy for delivering content on demand.
"Um ... what law?" Um ... Patent Law, as it has been applied and upheld by a number of courts.
"At issue is the violation of a patent - ostensibly a private matter. It is perfectly reasonable for interested parties affected by a inforcement of a patent to ask that their impacts be considered."
Huh?? "a private matter". The DOJ is responsibly for enforcing the patent laws. Seriously, are you just baiting me?
Lets take out the conflict of interest with the DOJ asking for the laws they are suppose to enforce be broken so they can keep using the technology that is in violation. You don't see anything wrong with the body responsibly for enforcing US LAW asking for the law to be "bent" so they can still use the technology? No state secrets are at stake, it's just a matter of avoiding an inconvenience.
Come on man. You can't possibly believe that. Don't get me wrong, I strongly disagree with the patent law, but until it is changed, it should be enforced.
"If the law is the law then how come Microsoft executives are not in jail for anti-trust, bundling, extortion and predatory pricing?"
Actually the law was followed. The penalty under the LAW was they were fined. So far billions of dollars. In some cases the law is jail time, but that is not mandatory. So you are wrong.
"Here is a hint. The government does not want to prosecute companies unless they are foreign, and that is why 90 days and not indefinite. If it were Microsoft in this lawsuit NTP would still be spinning from how fast this would have got tossed out of court. Why?"
Actually, it was 90 days to get a list of who uses it. MS losses more in court then anyone else. Come join reality with the rest of us. It has become nation and international sport to just sue MS whenever your company is doing badly. IE, Windows Media, were good cases, but the rest are crap.
"Business are going to start to ask if they should sell in the US and if so, raise their prices in advance anticipating law suits from scrupulous paracites like NTP."
You truly are smoking crack. The US economy is the most lucrative economy in the world. It's the largest, even larger then the hog-pog of nations trying to unite as the "EU". If you take the US out of the equation RIM would fade away in less then a year. Your statement is as absurd as saying business won't do business in china because they repress their people. Maybe you should take an economics class.
Now, I personally disagree with our patent laws, however, until the LAW is changed, it should be followed. Certainly the body responsible for enforcing law should not be asking Judges to break it! Over an inconvenience!
"The only law that is law, is natural law. Everything else is just humans telling other humans what to do, and has no more barance than if I wrote a set of rules telling you what to do."
Wow, that may be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Clearly you never have studied history. The only societies that have been successful in the history of world have had man made laws. Many of which are designed to specifically counter "natural laws" or instinct of mankind.
"Laws that match natural law are good laws, laws that don't are bad laws and always have bad consequences"
Ok let's take your premise: Ever hear of Survival of the fittest? Well there is no compassion in that "natural law" is there? Should the laws against killing handicap children/adults be thrown out the window because conflict with "natural law"? Stephen Hawking would have died long ago if left to "natural law".
How about pedophiles? Does the "Natural Law" of reproduction apply to them when they like a 14 year old girl? How about marriage, that's another law made by man. You wouldn't mind me banging your wife right? I'm confident that she would be willing... its only natural law that she wants the best mate isn't it? So we should also assume you are into polygamy? How about someone coming to your house and taking it? You try to defend it, but they are bigger, stronger and kill you instead. "Natural Law".
Look at how animals act; they take what they want when they want. It was once thought animals only take what they need, but that was proven utterly wrong. Many species kill for sport, entertainment. Killer whales for instance torture seals and then leave them to die.
Without man made laws you have anarchy. Your premise is based on the assumption that human nature is kind and not violent. That is wrong. Human nature is aggressive, selfish, and that leads to violence. That is reality. I know it doesn't fit into the liberal hippy mantra, but it is undeniable fact.
It is only when human nature is denied that we see civilized nations that are productive and successful. When human nature is indulged you see what goes on in the nations of Africa. You should be grateful for man made laws. I'm sure many people would have beaten the S*** out of you for being stupid/irritating if it weren't for the man made law protecting you.
People like you think they are so clever and smart. You don't offer an intellectual argument or thought provoking perspective; you offer a naive and ignorant premise on par with an undeveloped child's mind. You spout cliché nonsense trying to make yourself feel like an intellectual, but at the end of the day, all you are is a fool.