So wrapped up, in fact, that they seemingly forget that those employee's are people too, real ones, with bills, and lives, and stomachs, and that given the choice between doing something we dislike and eviction, most people are going to suck it up and put food on their tables. When you're ready to give full employment with equal pay and benefits to what they make now, then go ahead and tell us that they should all quit working for Microsoft because you don't like their business practices... until then, you're just blowing smoke.
the OP said these people are researching and working on cutting-edge technologies at microsoft, and therefore presumably well-skilled. they're not working there because the only alternative is eviction or starvation.
we all have to make choices in life. it appears these people have done so.
I have a couple of friends who work in Redmond and are just as fed up with the corporate BS as any Slashdotter. But they're working on things that deeply interest them, and they (as yet) believe that they and the other very sharp people on their teams can produce better stuff than Microsoft has in the past
that's no excuse for working for a company that actively strives to make the internet proprietary and patent everything in sight. this "deeply interesting" "better stuff" is going to end up property of microsoft. why in the world would they want to do that?
>> But probably the biggest issue is that Kim Jong-il is a lunatic.
there is an article on NK and KJI in the last (or previous) issue of Atlantic Magazine that makes a pretty good case that he's not a lunatic. an untrustworthy liar and despotic dictator? obviously.
So you'd rather us still dependant soley on IBM for computer hardware and software? You don't think they would have leveraged that to their advantage?
no, i'd like to see multiple vendors support documented, open file formats, and respect open protocols, and free software that manipulates them adequately for the average user; and then i'd like to see commercial software companies providing high-end software which is far more than adequate, for those who need it and are willing to pay for it. i'd like to see patents be invalid on software, so that over time free software could appropriate this high-end functionality into its free products, and the commercial software companies are forced to invent again to justify the premium for their software, instead of sitting around collecting tolls on their "non-obvious" "inventions".
and. finally, i'd like to see a marketplace that understands these principles and rejects commercial software developers who attempt lock-in gambits using file formats, protocols, or patents.
it also may be marginally significant that microsoft products did not use copy protection or attempt to lock their software to a single PC, as did many of its competitors in the Office software category.
people could install it easily on multiple machines, piracy be damned; and when you installed a microsoft product, you didn't have that seething resentment breeding in your subconscious as you dealt with the annoying tricks some software vendors used to associate an install media with a single machine.
microsoft actually used to be the good guys, way back when, before they went stark raving power-mad.
Well, considering the failure of our US public school system, I'm not against trying anything new.
anything? really? ok, i suggest we cull the 25% of students with the worst grades each year. public executions of the previous years' underperformers in the school courtyard on the first day of classes.
don't let your desperation make you accept poor solutions to problems. sometimes it *is* better to do nothing rather than something patently bad.
I am by far NOT a MS fan, but, given the sad state that US public schools are in, I'm willing to let almost anyone give a try to improving them.
the solution is not to hand over public institutions to corporations and their ulterior motives. civil society should do its job and fix problems that exist in schools, which might include taxing those corporations to get the funds necessary to carry out required reforms.
'Later that morning, [Gerri] Elliott [of Microsoft] gave in, writing: "I support Jim's paragraph as well."'
should read:
'Later that morning, [Gerri] Elliott [of Microsoft] gave in, writing: "I will back down on this now, since it's more damaging to Microsoft to awaken the slumbering Higher Ed sector with a controversy than to let this go into a report that few decision-makers will pay attention to anyway."'
Apparently it's not enough for a select, wealthy few.
well, to be fair, the cape cod coastline could be considered national treasure material. would you put windmills all along the edge of the grand canyon, or on top of the washington monument?
i've always viewed the "see how the rich people like it" thing as a vindictive swipe at those who favor wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels.
There have been several articles in publications like eweek and computerworld and on the web trying to spread this "OSS on Windows is the next big thing" meme. IMO it's simply a holding strategy by microsoft to try to control the underlying OS that all software runs on, OSS or not.
the next big thing is F/OSS running on whatever happens to work best in a given case. all other things being equal, why wouldn't you choose the F/free OS?
in other words, the meaning of the meme itself is pointless. it's just an attempt to put the idea of OSS on windows (again, why?) in the minds of managers.
i went to basic training at fort benning, georgia when i was 17. i remember seeing "potable" written on the side of a water truck, and thinking "wtf, is that the southern spelling?"
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i wasn't aware that considering the ethical implications of your professional work put you in a "tower".
the OP said these people are researching and working on cutting-edge technologies at microsoft, and therefore presumably well-skilled. they're not working there because the only alternative is eviction or starvation.
we all have to make choices in life. it appears these people have done so.
i reject your criticism.
corner-case: if effective DRM were available, maybe a market would arise for media without advertising. i would buy it.
that's no excuse for working for a company that actively strives to make the internet proprietary and patent everything in sight. this "deeply interesting" "better stuff" is going to end up property of microsoft. why in the world would they want to do that?
i would interpret this as analogous to the horse's head placed on the bed in The Godfather.
the hair. look at the hair!
there is an article on NK and KJI in the last (or previous) issue of Atlantic Magazine that makes a pretty good case that he's not a lunatic. an untrustworthy liar and despotic dictator? obviously.
it's early yet.
no, i'd like to see multiple vendors support documented, open file formats, and respect open protocols, and free software that manipulates them adequately for the average user; and then i'd like to see commercial software companies providing high-end software which is far more than adequate, for those who need it and are willing to pay for it. i'd like to see patents be invalid on software, so that over time free software could appropriate this high-end functionality into its free products, and the commercial software companies are forced to invent again to justify the premium for their software, instead of sitting around collecting tolls on their "non-obvious" "inventions".
and. finally, i'd like to see a marketplace that understands these principles and rejects commercial software developers who attempt lock-in gambits using file formats, protocols, or patents.
people could install it easily on multiple machines, piracy be damned; and when you installed a microsoft product, you didn't have that seething resentment breeding in your subconscious as you dealt with the annoying tricks some software vendors used to associate an install media with a single machine.
microsoft actually used to be the good guys, way back when, before they went stark raving power-mad.
i wouldn't install vista if ballmer held a loaded chair to my head.
anything? really? ok, i suggest we cull the 25% of students with the worst grades each year. public executions of the previous years' underperformers in the school courtyard on the first day of classes.
don't let your desperation make you accept poor solutions to problems. sometimes it *is* better to do nothing rather than something patently bad.
the solution is not to hand over public institutions to corporations and their ulterior motives. civil society should do its job and fix problems that exist in schools, which might include taxing those corporations to get the funds necessary to carry out required reforms.
should read:
'Later that morning, [Gerri] Elliott [of Microsoft] gave in, writing: "I will back down on this now, since it's more damaging to Microsoft to awaken the slumbering Higher Ed sector with a controversy than to let this go into a report that few decision-makers will pay attention to anyway."'
so, i can look forward to a future in which a typical walk through town will involve punching dozens of people in the face as hard as i can?
can you tell me where you read this stuff? it's very interesting.
...he finally found a girlfriend?
i've always viewed the "see how the rich people like it" thing as a vindictive swipe at those who favor wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels.
the next big thing is F/OSS running on whatever happens to work best in a given case. all other things being equal, why wouldn't you choose the F/free OS?
in other words, the meaning of the meme itself is pointless. it's just an attempt to put the idea of OSS on windows (again, why?) in the minds of managers.
i went to basic training at fort benning, georgia when i was 17. i remember seeing "potable" written on the side of a water truck, and thinking "wtf, is that the southern spelling?"
they're an eyesore already, and the generated electricity can be transferred directly to to grid. (supplementally, of course).
you gotta load that stuff on a truck.
if you use indelible ink on plastic instead, you get a password reminder in 14-24 hours!