They will only suck you dry (as you have learned).
Best to hit the trade shows, get an AWESOME sales force and get to your clients directly and lastly, try CALLING the journalists - they're not untouchable and will usually talk to you for five minutes.
Your other mistake was "asking Slashdot" for advice for P.R. - when was the last time you saw a geek dreaming up dot-com ad campaigns?;-)
"Most readers don't care if Windows supports XYZ 1.7 functionality, just as long as their favorite distro of Linux does."
Any why shouldn't I care? It's just one more reason that I can use to keep my clients away from XP and on win2000 or win98SE.
I use w2k for my desktop applications because it's familiar, pervasive (I can take a zip disk with windows apps almost anywhere) and it makes my life easier for daily tasks. I haven't found an X manager that I would want to spend the time in to learn and become familiar with (yet).
For my server and project servers I will stick with Linux (or most likely FreeBSD).
"If you push yourself, you would be surprised at how much you are capable of by yourself."
This is amazingly mature - something I didn't learn until I was at least 23!
Seriously - it's amazing what you can do when you really want to do something. People have an amazing capacity to do things, it's just than 95% of us never do anything with that capacity!
We sold our dial-up division to another regional company. No sooner had we finished all the tricky stuff that comes with transferring customers from one system (tech as well as billing) did our customers along with theirs receive an email message that the company we sold to had been merged.
Needless to say we have had some of our old customers call us to complain they're being treated like a number and not a person. To bad there really isn't anything we can do about it.
I still predict the bells will control DSL in the next 2 - 4 years. Maybe I should change my prediction to include DSL and dial-up in the next 2 - 4 years.
I've said it once and I'll say it again - they will not let their monopoly go. They will just bide their time until everything is so mucked up we ask them to take it back over (think, energy crisis in Cali.)
What I would love to see is more support for other streaming formats in an Apache friendly enviroment. (Notably.ASX streaming).
One project I'm working on requires streaming audio and video for a training course and the people providing me the content are using WMA and WMV files - they *insist* on using this MS format.
So now I'm stuck because streaming support on W2K is ok if *all* you want to do is blindly stream.
ARRRGH! Give me apache and a good streaming app than can handle ASX on a *nix server and I'll be in heaven!
We try real hard to take care of all the basic stuff for our customers (patches, etc.) at no cost to them.
We do give our customers root to their servers and we warn them that while one advantage to a dedicated server is that we will maintain the server and keep it running, when they do something boneheaded (like chmod -R bob/) we will bill them to fix it.
So far it hasn't been a problem and only one customer has actually done something to break the server (see the chmod example above).
Why can't we build an online library? I suppose it wouldn't even have to be free - I know I would pay a small monthly fee for access to a digital library.
Oh sure there are tons of issues to work out (so authors know people aren't stealing their books).
An online library could even gain access to materials that my local library doesn't have or would have to borrow from another library.
How many times have you wanted to re-read a passage from a book you didn't have? I'm a lot closer to the 'net than I am to my book collection at home, a quick lookup would be perfect.
This is all well and good. I'm glad there will be a repository for Open software I can use on my personal and small business projects.
Note I say *small* business projects. I use OSS solutions when I can - it's less expensive for my clients (and usually more stable). The problem I run into is when working with mid-sized companies.
I have had proposals approved with the condition that I use a stable, mature and commercially supported development environment. They want VB or ASP over PHP and perl.
I know the arguement - it really doesn't matter, and the support *is* out there. Unfortunatly managers get it in their head that either: Microsoft==Quality (insert fav. commercial IDE).
I really don't have a problem with their requirements since I get paid either way. It's usually my customers who get stuck with license problems.
My point is, instead of making a directory to all the software - spend MORE ENERGY "selling" the idea to people where OSS doesn't have (m)any in roads currently.
I don't care what we use to design our sites, can we PLEASE just get 100% buy-in from both Netscape and IE so I don't have to do all kinds of weird tricks to make sure that my sites can be seen by users of both!!!
I hate that I have to trap in my code for different browsers and handle them all differently. In case no-one at Netscape or MS know - the browser SHOULD SUPPORT XXX language the SAME, STANDARD WAY everytime!!
Companies are not in business to "do the right thing" (sorry guys) they are in business to make money.
Period.
That is their number one goal. Anything they contribute for the good of the community is, sadly, to ease the conscious of the execs from making all that money.
The reason that they (probably) won't release the patens is because these are considered an asset of the company. The shareholders usually don't like it when the company gives away its assets.
I have been to many bankruptcy sales where trademarks, patents and other IP were up for sale with all the desks and computers.
Nice thought, but the submitter had it right with "fat chance."
It's not about *more* money - it's about more PROFIT!!!
What do you think makes more money (in terms of net profit, not gross dollars):
1. A film with a $45 Million budget and a talent that gets $5 million
2. A piece of adult cinema (porno) that costs at most $500,000 to film/produce where the talent gets $50,000 - $100,000 (these are Vivid flicks) drop a zero for your average VHS on SLP quality movie.
Occam's Razor my friend!
Number 1 will GROSS more money, but number 2 will PROFIT more money.
Our office has DSL through a Covad & Northpoint reseller. Our access tanked two days before the Northpoint network was shut off. Getting to technical support when everything is FINE is just about impossible - with Northpoint dead it's totally impossible!
We've been down since two days before the turn down and we have never received a return call or email about our problem.
After much time on the phone I did manage to speak to a salesdroid who said that they were do busy dealing with NP customers (moving to new service, etc.) they had basically put everything else on hold. He wasn't able to even give me an ETA on getting a tech to email me to give me an ETA!
Needless to say, I ordered a T1 a few days ago. It might cost me 3x - 4x more per month, but I know my connection won't suck and it won't go down. I'll also be able to get more than a/29 with out begging and screaming! -----
You don't lose the right to fight for what you have created. There is a reason works are automagically covered by a copyright.
I imagine that M$ could try to take ownership of something you create via the Passwort network, but if it came to brass tacks do you think that a judge would really tell you that M$ owns your work?
From my (very) limited copyright experience there isn't a very large chance of this happening! -----
Actually, the claim order is govt. debt that IS NOT discharged by bankruptcy (payroll taxes, etc.).
Next is secured debt. That is debt that has been collatorilized(sp) with "stuff". These debt holders can usually take equipment and other property to repay their debt.
Last is pretty much everyone else. It's up to them to get in line and scrap for what's left over. They get to plead their case in bankruptcy court for their share of the leftovers.
Depending on the size of the business and the amount of money involved the court will either let the business deal with doling out any money and close it's doors. If there is a substantial amount of money (or you get a zealous judge) the court can appoint a truste to take care of all of the business's affiars in closing the doors. -----
You're either using very bleeding-edge hardware or you're running an old version of FreeBSD.
I just assembeled a system for a customer with an ATA100 IDE RAID (0+1) and FreeBSD 4.2 saw it just fine thank you.
True, he's not running some very exotic hardware for the mobo, sound and graphics subsystem, but it does everything he needs and it has fully striped and mirrored RAID to speed up and protect his data.
BSD is so much cleaner and easier to use than any flavour of Linux. It doesn't install tons of crap I'll never use. I want to have to NFS mount my "unix_software" directory and compile all the software I'll need on my server.
Slashdot Mirror
Best to hit the trade shows, get an AWESOME sales force and get to your clients directly and lastly, try CALLING the journalists - they're not untouchable and will usually talk to you for five minutes.
Your other mistake was "asking Slashdot" for advice for P.R. - when was the last time you saw a geek dreaming up dot-com ad campaigns? ;-)
-----
Any why shouldn't I care? It's just one more reason that I can use to keep my clients away from XP and on win2000 or win98SE.
I use w2k for my desktop applications because it's familiar, pervasive (I can take a zip disk with windows apps almost anywhere) and it makes my life easier for daily tasks. I haven't found an X manager that I would want to spend the time in to learn and become familiar with (yet).
For my server and project servers I will stick with Linux (or most likely FreeBSD).
So for me, this is useful and newsworthy!
-----
God - imagine how many cool opportunities are available to H.S. kids today. Heck - my high school now offers Cisco certification classes.
Not only do you get certified (CCNA, but hey you're 17) you also get a grade and credit towards graduation.
How freakin' lucky and these ungrateful kids don't even know it.
-----
This is amazingly mature - something I didn't learn until I was at least 23!
Seriously - it's amazing what you can do when you really want to do something. People have an amazing capacity to do things, it's just than 95% of us never do anything with that capacity!
-----
Needless to say we have had some of our old customers call us to complain they're being treated like a number and not a person. To bad there really isn't anything we can do about it.
I still predict the bells will control DSL in the next 2 - 4 years. Maybe I should change my prediction to include DSL and dial-up in the next 2 - 4 years.
I've said it once and I'll say it again - they will not let their monopoly go. They will just bide their time until everything is so mucked up we ask them to take it back over (think, energy crisis in Cali.)
-----
One project I'm working on requires streaming audio and video for a training course and the people providing me the content are using WMA and WMV files - they *insist* on using this MS format.
So now I'm stuck because streaming support on W2K is ok if *all* you want to do is blindly stream.
ARRRGH! Give me apache and a good streaming app than can handle ASX on a *nix server and I'll be in heaven!
-----
Good God! I have a hard enough time keeping my *nix and NT servers on my network here on Earth running happily.
If it's not bad enough, they toss an "unspecified" Russian OS into the mix.
(When they have to call MS for incident support, do they pay loooong distance ontop of the ungodly $$/per incident that MS charges?)
-----
It pisses me off when I hear stories about military cut-backs causing training to be done *without* real firepower!
For God's sake - we're the USA! We should be able to kick any other country's ass! :-)
-----
Let's just hope they got their conversions from SI to metric right.
-----
Email me (jmc@spamm.net) if you have questions.
-----
We do give our customers root to their servers and we warn them that while one advantage to a dedicated server is that we will maintain the server and keep it running, when they do something boneheaded (like chmod -R bob /) we will bill them to fix it.
So far it hasn't been a problem and only one customer has actually done something to break the server (see the chmod example above).
-----
Oh sure there are tons of issues to work out (so authors know people aren't stealing their books).
An online library could even gain access to materials that my local library doesn't have or would have to borrow from another library.
How many times have you wanted to re-read a passage from a book you didn't have? I'm a lot closer to the 'net than I am to my book collection at home, a quick lookup would be perfect.
-----
Note I say *small* business projects. I use OSS solutions when I can - it's less expensive for my clients (and usually more stable). The problem I run into is when working with mid-sized companies.
I have had proposals approved with the condition that I use a stable, mature and commercially supported development environment. They want VB or ASP over PHP and perl.
I know the arguement - it really doesn't matter, and the support *is* out there. Unfortunatly managers get it in their head that either: Microsoft==Quality (insert fav. commercial IDE).
I really don't have a problem with their requirements since I get paid either way. It's usually my customers who get stuck with license problems.
My point is, instead of making a directory to all the software - spend MORE ENERGY "selling" the idea to people where OSS doesn't have (m)any in roads currently.
This is something I still don't see much at all.
-----
- "CTRL" + "ALT" + "Crash into the Ocean"
Seriously, I thought that plans would use a real-time OS and wouldn't *need* to be rebooted!-----
ROFL! Indeed, most browsers do support the XXX languange!
-----
I hate that I have to trap in my code for different browsers and handle them all differently. In case no-one at Netscape or MS know - the browser SHOULD SUPPORT XXX language the SAME, STANDARD WAY everytime!!
-----
Period.
That is their number one goal. Anything they contribute for the good of the community is, sadly, to ease the conscious of the execs from making all that money.
The reason that they (probably) won't release the patens is because these are considered an asset of the company. The shareholders usually don't like it when the company gives away its assets.
I have been to many bankruptcy sales where trademarks, patents and other IP were up for sale with all the desks and computers.
Nice thought, but the submitter had it right with "fat chance."
-----
Any chance they will name one Rupert?
-----
What do you think makes more money (in terms of net profit, not gross dollars):
1. A film with a $45 Million budget and a talent that gets $5 million
2. A piece of adult cinema (porno) that costs at most $500,000 to film/produce where the talent gets $50,000 - $100,000 (these are Vivid flicks) drop a zero for your average VHS on SLP quality movie.
Occam's Razor my friend!
Number 1 will GROSS more money, but number 2 will PROFIT more money.
-----
Sure! Look at the adult industry. Who do you think is making money, and has been making money all through this dot-com revolution and shake out?
-----
We've been down since two days before the turn down and we have never received a return call or email about our problem.
After much time on the phone I did manage to speak to a salesdroid who said that they were do busy dealing with NP customers (moving to new service, etc.) they had basically put everything else on hold. He wasn't able to even give me an ETA on getting a tech to email me to give me an ETA!
Needless to say, I ordered a T1 a few days ago. It might cost me 3x - 4x more per month, but I know my connection won't suck and it won't go down. I'll also be able to get more than a /29 with out begging and screaming!
-----
I imagine that M$ could try to take ownership of something you create via the Passwort network, but if it came to brass tacks do you think that a judge would really tell you that M$ owns your work?
From my (very) limited copyright experience there isn't a very large chance of this happening!
-----
Actually, the claim order is govt. debt that IS NOT discharged by bankruptcy (payroll taxes, etc.).
Next is secured debt. That is debt that has been collatorilized(sp) with "stuff". These debt holders can usually take equipment and other property to repay their debt.
Last is pretty much everyone else. It's up to them to get in line and scrap for what's left over. They get to plead their case in bankruptcy court for their share of the leftovers.
Depending on the size of the business and the amount of money involved the court will either let the business deal with doling out any money and close it's doors. If there is a substantial amount of money (or you get a zealous judge) the court can appoint a truste to take care of all of the business's affiars in closing the doors.
-----
I just assembeled a system for a customer with an ATA100 IDE RAID (0+1) and FreeBSD 4.2 saw it just fine thank you.
True, he's not running some very exotic hardware for the mobo, sound and graphics subsystem, but it does everything he needs and it has fully striped and mirrored RAID to speed up and protect his data.
I wouldn't call that "no driver support."
-----
I run BSD for my servers. Period.
I'll run Linux for my desktop.
BSD is so much cleaner and easier to use than any flavour of Linux. It doesn't install tons of crap I'll never use. I want to have to NFS mount my "unix_software" directory and compile all the software I'll need on my server.
-----