This "girlfriend" you speak of... I think you are making a point that Linux is ready for the uses of most illiterate users.
And I don't know what PC games you need, but I've always found games on Linux to be enjoyable timesinks. Also, you can work with doc and (coming soon) docx files on Linux. Comparatively, I would estimate that 65-75% of the world's computer's do not have the ability to work with docx, anyway.
Lastly, I don't know what features are in iTunes that you need, but I know that I've seen posts on here by Linux uses saying they have no issues synch'ing with their iPods.
As far as being a MS.Net developer... I'm sure you'd be happy being a PHP or Ruby or Java or C/C++ developer if you could find an employer that will pay you to develop those non-Microsoft developed languages. Right? You only develop.Net because that is where the money is?
How about tee-shirts that say, "Yes, I will fix your Linux computer."
Truth be told, when people ask me for help on most computer applications my first answer is usually to try to get them to use a F/OSS alternative. In most cases, I usually know how to get the free application to do what they want it to do, whereas there is a very limited number of Windows tasks (that I would want to do) that can't be done on Linux.
And on the sixth day, God invented BitTorrent to spread bandwidth concerns across the entire internetwork. And it was good.
Seriously... once p2p software becomes smart enough to scan for download files that are local for you, you'll be able to get a speeding fast download from your neighbor instead of picking a nearby university that may be anywhere from 1 to 500 miles away.
The survey also found that 86 per cent of respondents expect to move jobs voluntarily in the next three years.
86% sounds high. Is this really true? Given the expertise needed to competently manage customized server and network configurations, I would think that an enterprise would be very willing to meet the salary demands of the best IT staff to prevent them from jumping ship.
Neither would I think it is a good thing from an employers perspective for an employee to have in the back of his mind that he *wants* to leave in the near future.
What gives? Why are 860 people out of 1,000 reporting the desire to leave their current employers?
so... what about children raised in a red china communism 'I love the government' household?...
To add to that problem, how can 85% of chinese vote for an option they've never experienced - if they are living 'well' enough, by their standards, and don't know differently, then why would they change?
I am going to play Devil's Advocate.
Before you attack "Red Communism", consider that censorship was a paramount system of control discussed in Plato's The Republic which is an attempt at outlining a optimal society where justice and fairness is honored highest. And take note that some ideas from The Republic are important parts of modern world governments.
Secondly, consider the secrecy inherent in the American government for "National Security" purposes. Consider the calamities that have suffered information mismanagement during the reign of the current administration. Between war and weather, thousands have died needlessly.
Taking my Devil's Advocate hat off: I think the 10k death tolls suffered because of the weather in the past week are near impossible in America and Europe. By comparison, less than 2k people died during Hurricane Katrina and less than 5k people died when the two largest buildings in our country were knocked over. And I think the reason for this is because we have much better regulated building codes and measures for prevention.
This is baseless speculation, but one wonders if the Chinese government took any measures to predict the recent Earthquake. If they did, one is forced to wonder if they made any attempt to evacuate their citizens. If they didn't, well, why the fuck not?
Off-topic mods for this article are reserved for anybody who mentions soviet Russia, Natalie portman and hot grits, or flying cars. Your helpful discussion of Backslash actually got a +5 Insightful mod.
In either case, he probably needs to do some deep self-examination to see why he stays at this job.
I often question why people would work at companies that have questionable business practices. I assume that it is similar to the reason why I work at a company that doesn't. (a) They gave me an job offer, and (b) they consistently provide me with a paycheck.
Sadly, there are not enough jobs to go around within companies who have strong morals and upstanding business practices. It is Supply/Demand... and when the demand for employees is highest in immoral organizations, it is no wonder why people end up there.
A ray of hope is that it might be possible to teach enough young people values so that when they grow up and turn around these businesses.
Until then... we just need to keep track of people on an individual basis who have a history of making immoral decisions, and (sadly) we are doing a crappy job. I would love to see a Who's Who of corporate America that lists the cretins and jerks who lie and abuse the power they've been entrusted with.
Their only hope for survival is to kill the internet.
I think Electronic Arts would take issue with that strategy when their users lose the ability to play their DRM'd games that "phone home".
(Yes, yes, I know that they "changed their minds" in regard to the phone home policy, but that doesn't mean they can't be the symbolic whipping boy until the next moronic company suggests this).
On the other hand, without the internet, Microsoft's Operating System would actually be secured (and what better way to kill off Google than by killing the Internetwork it runs on). So they might conceivably team up with the RIAA in their quest to rid the world of the Internet.
While I wrote that generic sounding letter, I used Microsoft Vista as a gauge for as the possibly negative things that I was saying about open source. Is Microsoft Vista feature complete? No. They keep adding service packs. Is Microsoft Vista mature? No. It experiences severe configuration issues that thwart usage by organizations who have made the mistake to try to utilize it.
That said, in order to stay general without knowing the name or use of the software tool we are talking about, I think saying "not feature complete or mature" isn't as much a negative as it is an opportunity if the software already demonstrates that it fills a market need that would cause the University to select it in the first place.
But, *sigh* IANAPHB (I am not a pointed-headed boss) so use my specific wording with caution because I will provide NO WARRANTY for a failed solicitation. However, if you would like me to ensure that the University signs a deal to support the project in question, I am sure that you could negotiate a deal with me to utilize my services to write a targeted letter that will knock their socks off.:)
"Jesus loves gays" in a crowded fundamentalist church, or some other speech act that's actually likely to endanger people's lives.
This is a tough one. On the one hand, freedom of religion is clearly protected under the first Amendment to the USA Constitution. On the other hand, this statement might be a violation of the Fifth Amendment which protects a person from self incrimination and saying something as senseless as "Jesus loves gays" with the intention of inciting a Fundamentalist Church might indicate the waiver of the Amendments which (a) guarantee a trial, and (b) protect you from cruel and unusual punishment.
THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
Also from the same source:
4. Conveying Verbatim Copies.
You may convey verbatim copies of the Program's source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice; keep intact all notices stating that this License and any non-permissive terms added in accord with section 7 apply to the code; keep intact all notices of the absence of any warranty; and give all recipients a copy of this License along with the Program.
You may charge any price or no price for each copy that you convey, and you may offer support or warranty protection for a fee.
Here is my suggestion for you. Issue a letter to the university that has adopted your project and lay out a plan for supporting your software that flows a little bit like a business plan.
Dear University,
I have recently noted that you have adopted the use of a F/OSS software program that I am the primary developer for. I would like to thank you for your choice to promote Free and Open Sourced Software and say that I am honored by your selection of my project in particular to serve your needs.
At this time, I feel that it would be appropriate to inform you that this F/OSS project, while it may accomplish all of your needs, is not considered feature complete or mature at the present time. There are a number of features which I feel would benefit your University that I have planned for the next release, but scarce time and a lack of a budget causes progress on this release to move along at a slower than desirable pace. Additionally, due to the unwarrented nature of F/OSS it is appropriate for me to caution you that your use of the software that I have developed is at your own risk (I have done my best to make this software as bulletproof as possible, but undiscovered bugs are known to exist in the most heavily tested software products).
Having said all that, I am greatly interested the opportunity that University use of my F/OSS project presents, and I would like to present a set of possibilities for consideration that would greatly improve my ability to guarantee that you have the most mature, feature-complete software possible in the months ahead.
*** A support agreement between the University and myself (though affiliating yourself with a proper business entity to protect your personal assets would be VERY prudent) so that I can guarantee support on any issues with the F/OSS project encountered by the University. By enlisting the services of the author before issues occur, I hope it would give you assurance that I am committed to the F/OSS program and peace of mind that things will just as intended.
*** A development agreement between the University and myself to produce and release features that would benefit the University.
*** A partnership agreement between the University and myself so that we can build a working relationship that will be mutually beneficial. Depending on the needs of the University, I could offer to mentor as many as a dozen students whose assistance could greatly accelerate the development of the maturity of the F/OSS project.
Our society should have precious little tolerance for people who only come up with ideas on paper, without being able to put them into practice.
I disagree. If somebody is good at thinking of innovative ideas, power to them. I fully support the right of these people to establish themselves within an industry where their ideas are suitably marketable so that they can earn a living.
What I disagree with is the fact that these bastards seem like they are being greedy about it. There is no need to pretend they are making positive contributions to the world when their goal is to milk the business community for their hard earned cash.
Oh, by the way, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my shuffle Just Worked when I attached it to Ubuntu 8.04). You're doing more harm than good.
Thank you for that tidbit. I noticed the "Upgrade to 8.04" while upgrading software in 7.10 recently and figured that I would stick with the old version. Now, I will most definiately be going home and upgrading to see if I can manage my iPod from Ubuntu.... which is something that I had resigned to not being able to do.
It is no wonder why I do have texts blocked and only order water or beer at restaurants (beer also has like a 300-500% markup, but it is more enjoyable than the 2000-3000% markup of fountain drinks). Meanwhile, the cost of water is actually marked down infinity%.:)
it sounds like they are going to change $15 for an extra 10GB! [...] I fear that we will quickly approach the dreaded cell-phone bill in complexity here.
The standard charge from Verizon and AT&T for text messages is $0.15 for each incoming and outgoing message. At one point a while back I estimated that cost being approximately $30 per MB of data exchanged. For intents and purposes, the cellular network providers should be lynch'd and killed for DARING to charge so much for a protocol that taxes so little of their network.
Wow... great post. Sometimes I wonder if OSS could use forums like/. that have 100,000+ users as a means to decide on features and fixes...
I really hope that the OO.org guys get a chance to see your post because two of the complaints (spelling/grammar) seem like easy fixes that would benefit the Windows/Linux users too.
Your responsiveness complaint is one that echoes an old concern with OO.org, but I think that is even getting better.
Your last complaint, keyboard shortcuts, are an even more interesting concern. I would personally like to see configurable options with radio button options like (a) OS defaults, (b) OO.org Defaults, and (c) User defaults. Of course, the User defaults would be savable to a file so I can carry my settings with me when I am at a computer that I don't normally use.
Re:Also tortious contract interference
on
Who Owns Software?
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· Score: 1
Using your example, but making it more realistic. Ben R. already owns a motorcycle and has a clause in his contract not to ride it with an additional supercharger attachment so he can do wheelies.
Enter you: who has a supercharger to sell AND YOU KNOW HE HAS THAT CLAUSE.
Would it be right for you to sell it to him? Would you still make the sale? You would, wouldn't you? I hope you feel some guilt about making a Super Bowl quarterback during his rookie year into a shadow of his former self. If the people of Pittsburgh could get their hands on you, I bet you'll wish you had thought twice about your opportunity to make a quick buck.
Anyone caught abusing copyright like the record companies do and like Blizzard is doing here loses all copyrights they hold, and may not hold copyright for another five years
I liked your Slashdot poll and was going to consider the above quoted option until I saw the Cowboy Neal option.
If someone uses it "wrong" and "hurts" me, does that mean I can sue the developer, since he is the one in charge of how it is used?
More to the point. If someone uses it "right" and hurts someone...
What about time wasted fixing problems? If my car breaks down because Ford screws up, they will either pay for fixing it or see me in court for a lawsuit to collect damages.
By this logic, will Blizzard pay me when problems occur that prevent the game from working?
--- and to answer that, I think they actually *do* give away free months of subscription when their servers suffer outages... so _maybe_ they pass the test for a company who deserves the right to control their software.
However, I want to see any software license control precedent that this establishes, specifically tie "downtime" to "expensive covered by a warranty" so that Microsoft will have to pay their customers if they want to use this as a catch-all to go after hackers who poison their Operating System with malware.
Hell, if I could log "productivity hours lost" and then send Microsoft a bill at the end of the year, I would dump Linux in an instant and use the money I make to buy a new sports car every three or four years.
As Keith Olbermann reminds viewers of "Countdown" regularly, the technical definition of "insanity" is trying the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
I've seen that quote attributed to Ben Franklin, but I am sure that Olbermann could have very easily been the originator.
Well... Google has $6 Billion on hand and Verizon is worth $111B. If Google maintained the status quo for 5 years without investing in other business areas, there could reasonably accumulate $50-70 Billion in cash and cash equivalents and finance a Verizon takeover.
And Verizon's assets would probably be worth a price tag of $100-150 Billion... depending if Verizon can make itself more valuable over that time (which is doubtful if they alienate customers from their ivory towers).
Wouldn't you try to either remove or limit such right of way from your property?
I am going to tweak your argument and replace "a nice lot on a lake" with "a strip of land along the ocean". Frankly, this helps the argument because it is conceivable for men to build 3 mile long lakes in the right terrain for their own rich pleasures. Whereas, like the spectrum of bandwidth that Verizon bought, like oceanfront property, is a limited resource.
Now... SHIT... I just spent $4 Billion dollar buying all this land! And I agreed when I bought it to play nice with my neighbors! Oh the horrors.
But wait! I can rent surf boards, jet skis, and other resources that I can develop to my visitors. I can install a boardwalk so that when they come, they can win crappy prizes and overpay for hot dogs. I can build a resort and charge for all sorts of special services that my best customers want. I can do this and make it so 10x the people can enjoy my property.
Oh sure, Donald Trump can build his own palm tree beaches on my property, but the people will want to visit MINE because I'll offer twice as many amenities. After all, I am the beachfront master and he is just a lowly chump who made some good investments in Midtown Manhattan. His properties in Atlantic City? He has the entire NYC metropolitan area to draw from and they still go to Vegas. What does *he* know about entertaining.
Case in point... being the best is more than just having the most expensive toys. It is about creating the most value for your customers. If Verizon can't profit from the spectrum without the restriction that they KNEW they signed up, they don't deserve to be in business 5 years from now.
And quite frankly, Google *was* ready to slap down $4 Billion and develop the network themselves. Had they won, you could rest assured that Verizon would be like AOL was 5 years ago... a struggling network provider without a clue about where it needs to invest to retain its customers. AOL is gone now. If Verizon gets their way, I will be switching to AT&T promptly and you can wait and see how long it takes before Google is valued at 5x what Verizon is so they can initiate a takeover/merger (they are currently only worth twice as much as Verizon).
But that doesn't change the fact that China is *not* a communist state, based on the definition of the term "communism".
This is a stupid question from an ignorant American... but what exactly *is* the economy of China in microeconomic terms?
As the definition of Communism involves sharing the load of manufacturing and using the available resources across the population (equally)... how far off is that from day-to-day to the average Chinese citizen?
I know in America we are encouraged to form partnerships with those we can take advantage of (either symbiotically or parasitically) and crush our competitors. On a personal level, though, the social welfare of those who are less fortunate is a strong consideration that drives many charitable Americans, though. Notwithstanding, the divide between the average American and the richest American is several orders of magnitude of wealth. Thus I ask, is this dissimilar to the state of things in China?
Slashdot Mirror
This "girlfriend" you speak of... I think you are making a point that Linux is ready for the uses of most illiterate users.
And I don't know what PC games you need, but I've always found games on Linux to be enjoyable timesinks. Also, you can work with doc and (coming soon) docx files on Linux. Comparatively, I would estimate that 65-75% of the world's computer's do not have the ability to work with docx, anyway.
Lastly, I don't know what features are in iTunes that you need, but I know that I've seen posts on here by Linux uses saying they have no issues synch'ing with their iPods.
As far as being a MS.Net developer... I'm sure you'd be happy being a PHP or Ruby or Java or C/C++ developer if you could find an employer that will pay you to develop those non-Microsoft developed languages. Right? You only develop .Net because that is where the money is?
How about tee-shirts that say, "Yes, I will fix your Linux computer."
Truth be told, when people ask me for help on most computer applications my first answer is usually to try to get them to use a F/OSS alternative. In most cases, I usually know how to get the free application to do what they want it to do, whereas there is a very limited number of Windows tasks (that I would want to do) that can't be done on Linux.
And on the sixth day, God invented BitTorrent to spread bandwidth concerns across the entire internetwork. And it was good.
Seriously... once p2p software becomes smart enough to scan for download files that are local for you, you'll be able to get a speeding fast download from your neighbor instead of picking a nearby university that may be anywhere from 1 to 500 miles away.
Concerning many things in life, I consider myself to be an optimist. Corporate responsibility is not one of those things, though.
86% sounds high. Is this really true? Given the expertise needed to competently manage customized server and network configurations, I would think that an enterprise would be very willing to meet the salary demands of the best IT staff to prevent them from jumping ship.
Neither would I think it is a good thing from an employers perspective for an employee to have in the back of his mind that he *wants* to leave in the near future.
What gives? Why are 860 people out of 1,000 reporting the desire to leave their current employers?
Thanks. I admit to not knowing much about modern Chinese politics, and posts like yours help.
To add to that problem, how can 85% of chinese vote for an option they've never experienced - if they are living 'well' enough, by their standards, and don't know differently, then why would they change?
I am going to play Devil's Advocate.
Before you attack "Red Communism", consider that censorship was a paramount system of control discussed in Plato's The Republic which is an attempt at outlining a optimal society where justice and fairness is honored highest. And take note that some ideas from The Republic are important parts of modern world governments.
Secondly, consider the secrecy inherent in the American government for "National Security" purposes. Consider the calamities that have suffered information mismanagement during the reign of the current administration. Between war and weather, thousands have died needlessly.
Taking my Devil's Advocate hat off: I think the 10k death tolls suffered because of the weather in the past week are near impossible in America and Europe. By comparison, less than 2k people died during Hurricane Katrina and less than 5k people died when the two largest buildings in our country were knocked over. And I think the reason for this is because we have much better regulated building codes and measures for prevention.
This is baseless speculation, but one wonders if the Chinese government took any measures to predict the recent Earthquake. If they did, one is forced to wonder if they made any attempt to evacuate their citizens. If they didn't, well, why the fuck not?
Off-topic mods for this article are reserved for anybody who mentions soviet Russia, Natalie portman and hot grits, or flying cars. Your helpful discussion of Backslash actually got a +5 Insightful mod.
I often question why people would work at companies that have questionable business practices. I assume that it is similar to the reason why I work at a company that doesn't. (a) They gave me an job offer, and (b) they consistently provide me with a paycheck.
Sadly, there are not enough jobs to go around within companies who have strong morals and upstanding business practices. It is Supply/Demand... and when the demand for employees is highest in immoral organizations, it is no wonder why people end up there.
A ray of hope is that it might be possible to teach enough young people values so that when they grow up and turn around these businesses.
Until then... we just need to keep track of people on an individual basis who have a history of making immoral decisions, and (sadly) we are doing a crappy job. I would love to see a Who's Who of corporate America that lists the cretins and jerks who lie and abuse the power they've been entrusted with.
I think Electronic Arts would take issue with that strategy when their users lose the ability to play their DRM'd games that "phone home".
(Yes, yes, I know that they "changed their minds" in regard to the phone home policy, but that doesn't mean they can't be the symbolic whipping boy until the next moronic company suggests this).
On the other hand, without the internet, Microsoft's Operating System would actually be secured (and what better way to kill off Google than by killing the Internetwork it runs on). So they might conceivably team up with the RIAA in their quest to rid the world of the Internet.
While I wrote that generic sounding letter, I used Microsoft Vista as a gauge for as the possibly negative things that I was saying about open source. Is Microsoft Vista feature complete? No. They keep adding service packs. Is Microsoft Vista mature? No. It experiences severe configuration issues that thwart usage by organizations who have made the mistake to try to utilize it.
That said, in order to stay general without knowing the name or use of the software tool we are talking about, I think saying "not feature complete or mature" isn't as much a negative as it is an opportunity if the software already demonstrates that it fills a market need that would cause the University to select it in the first place.
But, *sigh* IANAPHB (I am not a pointed-headed boss) so use my specific wording with caution because I will provide NO WARRANTY for a failed solicitation. However, if you would like me to ensure that the University signs a deal to support the project in question, I am sure that you could negotiate a deal with me to utilize my services to write a targeted letter that will knock their socks off. :)
This is a tough one. On the one hand, freedom of religion is clearly protected under the first Amendment to the USA Constitution. On the other hand, this statement might be a violation of the Fifth Amendment which protects a person from self incrimination and saying something as senseless as "Jesus loves gays" with the intention of inciting a Fundamentalist Church might indicate the waiver of the Amendments which (a) guarantee a trial, and (b) protect you from cruel and unusual punishment.
Emphasis mine... take note of the emphasis.
15. Disclaimer of Warranty.
THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND , EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
Also from the same source:
4. Conveying Verbatim Copies.
You may convey verbatim copies of the Program's source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice; keep intact all notices stating that this License and any non-permissive terms added in accord with section 7 apply to the code; keep intact all notices of the absence of any warranty; and give all recipients a copy of this License along with the Program.
You may charge any price or no price for each copy that you convey, and you may offer support or warranty protection for a fee.
Here is my suggestion for you. Issue a letter to the university that has adopted your project and lay out a plan for supporting your software that flows a little bit like a business plan.
Dear University,
I have recently noted that you have adopted the use of a F/OSS software program that I am the primary developer for. I would like to thank you for your choice to promote Free and Open Sourced Software and say that I am honored by your selection of my project in particular to serve your needs.
At this time, I feel that it would be appropriate to inform you that this F/OSS project, while it may accomplish all of your needs, is not considered feature complete or mature at the present time. There are a number of features which I feel would benefit your University that I have planned for the next release, but scarce time and a lack of a budget causes progress on this release to move along at a slower than desirable pace. Additionally, due to the unwarrented nature of F/OSS it is appropriate for me to caution you that your use of the software that I have developed is at your own risk (I have done my best to make this software as bulletproof as possible, but undiscovered bugs are known to exist in the most heavily tested software products).
Having said all that, I am greatly interested the opportunity that University use of my F/OSS project presents, and I would like to present a set of possibilities for consideration that would greatly improve my ability to guarantee that you have the most mature, feature-complete software possible in the months ahead.
I hope you will consid
I disagree. If somebody is good at thinking of innovative ideas, power to them. I fully support the right of these people to establish themselves within an industry where their ideas are suitably marketable so that they can earn a living.
What I disagree with is the fact that these bastards seem like they are being greedy about it. There is no need to pretend they are making positive contributions to the world when their goal is to milk the business community for their hard earned cash.
Thank you for that tidbit. I noticed the "Upgrade to 8.04" while upgrading software in 7.10 recently and figured that I would stick with the old version. Now, I will most definiately be going home and upgrading to see if I can manage my iPod from Ubuntu.... which is something that I had resigned to not being able to do.
You, kind sir, are a gentleman of my own heart.
It is no wonder why I do have texts blocked and only order water or beer at restaurants (beer also has like a 300-500% markup, but it is more enjoyable than the 2000-3000% markup of fountain drinks). Meanwhile, the cost of water is actually marked down infinity%. :)
The standard charge from Verizon and AT&T for text messages is $0.15 for each incoming and outgoing message. At one point a while back I estimated that cost being approximately $30 per MB of data exchanged. For intents and purposes, the cellular network providers should be lynch'd and killed for DARING to charge so much for a protocol that taxes so little of their network.
I really hope that the OO.org guys get a chance to see your post because two of the complaints (spelling/grammar) seem like easy fixes that would benefit the Windows/Linux users too.
Your responsiveness complaint is one that echoes an old concern with OO.org, but I think that is even getting better.
Your last complaint, keyboard shortcuts, are an even more interesting concern. I would personally like to see configurable options with radio button options like (a) OS defaults, (b) OO.org Defaults, and (c) User defaults. Of course, the User defaults would be savable to a file so I can carry my settings with me when I am at a computer that I don't normally use.
Using your example, but making it more realistic. Ben R. already owns a motorcycle and has a clause in his contract not to ride it with an additional supercharger attachment so he can do wheelies.
Enter you: who has a supercharger to sell AND YOU KNOW HE HAS THAT CLAUSE.
Would it be right for you to sell it to him? Would you still make the sale? You would, wouldn't you? I hope you feel some guilt about making a Super Bowl quarterback during his rookie year into a shadow of his former self. If the people of Pittsburgh could get their hands on you, I bet you'll wish you had thought twice about your opportunity to make a quick buck.
I liked your Slashdot poll and was going to consider the above quoted option until I saw the Cowboy Neal option.
What about time wasted fixing problems? If my car breaks down because Ford screws up, they will either pay for fixing it or see me in court for a lawsuit to collect damages.
By this logic, will Blizzard pay me when problems occur that prevent the game from working?
--- and to answer that, I think they actually *do* give away free months of subscription when their servers suffer outages... so _maybe_ they pass the test for a company who deserves the right to control their software.
However, I want to see any software license control precedent that this establishes, specifically tie "downtime" to "expensive covered by a warranty" so that Microsoft will have to pay their customers if they want to use this as a catch-all to go after hackers who poison their Operating System with malware.
Hell, if I could log "productivity hours lost" and then send Microsoft a bill at the end of the year, I would dump Linux in an instant and use the money I make to buy a new sports car every three or four years.
I've seen that quote attributed to Ben Franklin, but I am sure that Olbermann could have very easily been the originator.
Well... Google has $6 Billion on hand and Verizon is worth $111B. If Google maintained the status quo for 5 years without investing in other business areas, there could reasonably accumulate $50-70 Billion in cash and cash equivalents and finance a Verizon takeover.
And Verizon's assets would probably be worth a price tag of $100-150 Billion... depending if Verizon can make itself more valuable over that time (which is doubtful if they alienate customers from their ivory towers).
I am going to tweak your argument and replace "a nice lot on a lake" with "a strip of land along the ocean". Frankly, this helps the argument because it is conceivable for men to build 3 mile long lakes in the right terrain for their own rich pleasures. Whereas, like the spectrum of bandwidth that Verizon bought, like oceanfront property, is a limited resource.
Now... SHIT... I just spent $4 Billion dollar buying all this land! And I agreed when I bought it to play nice with my neighbors! Oh the horrors.
But wait! I can rent surf boards, jet skis, and other resources that I can develop to my visitors. I can install a boardwalk so that when they come, they can win crappy prizes and overpay for hot dogs. I can build a resort and charge for all sorts of special services that my best customers want. I can do this and make it so 10x the people can enjoy my property.
Oh sure, Donald Trump can build his own palm tree beaches on my property, but the people will want to visit MINE because I'll offer twice as many amenities. After all, I am the beachfront master and he is just a lowly chump who made some good investments in Midtown Manhattan. His properties in Atlantic City? He has the entire NYC metropolitan area to draw from and they still go to Vegas. What does *he* know about entertaining.
Case in point... being the best is more than just having the most expensive toys. It is about creating the most value for your customers. If Verizon can't profit from the spectrum without the restriction that they KNEW they signed up, they don't deserve to be in business 5 years from now.
And quite frankly, Google *was* ready to slap down $4 Billion and develop the network themselves. Had they won, you could rest assured that Verizon would be like AOL was 5 years ago... a struggling network provider without a clue about where it needs to invest to retain its customers. AOL is gone now. If Verizon gets their way, I will be switching to AT&T promptly and you can wait and see how long it takes before Google is valued at 5x what Verizon is so they can initiate a takeover/merger (they are currently only worth twice as much as Verizon).
This is a stupid question from an ignorant American... but what exactly *is* the economy of China in microeconomic terms?
As the definition of Communism involves sharing the load of manufacturing and using the available resources across the population (equally)... how far off is that from day-to-day to the average Chinese citizen?
I know in America we are encouraged to form partnerships with those we can take advantage of (either symbiotically or parasitically) and crush our competitors. On a personal level, though, the social welfare of those who are less fortunate is a strong consideration that drives many charitable Americans, though. Notwithstanding, the divide between the average American and the richest American is several orders of magnitude of wealth. Thus I ask, is this dissimilar to the state of things in China?