Not only that. Apple stupidly and recklessly gave Microsoft access (and commercial rights to) to the code behind the Mac's GUI, so that Bill G and his little company could build Word and Excel for the Mac. Steve Jobs is to blame for this - he was the one who made the decision to give away Apple's crown jewels. I bet he is mad about it even today.
Bill G then started courting Apple in a rather convincing way, even publicly, but meanwhile he wooed IBM and said "We believe OS/2 is the operating system of the future". And it was! At least by the time Warp 3 arrived, it was way ahead of everything else, better than the Mac and certainly much better than Windows 95 or even NT4. But as we now know, Bill G fooled IBM too. IBM were screwed, not technologically, but mainly because their marketing strategies were completely wrong.
Now I think it's time Microsoft should taste its own medecine... I hope they get beaten so hard that they never will recover.
Jolly good show, BBC. But why the "UK residents" limitation? There are probably millions of British expats in the world, and millions of others who would like to use the Beeb's services.
The only reason Microsoft became so big wasn't that DOS, Windows, Office or any other MS product were any better than the competitors' stuff, but that all the other companies were so stupidly run. But after that phase was over, something new happened. Open source came along and scooped up what ever advantage MS once had. Apple made a miraculous recovery in a few years from their all time low in 1996, and is now a serious player again. Time is against Microsoft, and favors competing, superior products. I think MS will have to reinvent itself if it is to survive in the long run. As an enemy of Microsoft, I will never give them any free advice.
The narrator has the most horrific Franglais ever! Barely intelligible. Why, why, why did they let a French guy narrate the story? But the strange moons are impressive.
I'd better leave that to you guys: it's your country. At least you live in a country where people debate and are allowed to have many different opinions. And maybe after the next election, sanity can be restored as more sensible people are put into office. Democracy works that way: it facilitates change and intellectual development. Imagine what it would be like to live in Iran or China, where somebody decides for you what is appropriate thinking, where the one legitimate religion is the same as the law, and where a very old book - which gone through many alterations over the centuries - is the One True Word and literally the Truth. Imagine that...
Very true, I only know about four or five. Everybody can have an opinion regarding the foreign policy of the United States, since most of us are affected or at least informed about it in one way or another, but domestic affairs are a different matter. I don't know how the political system works in the USA, exactly, because I don't live there and don't vote for your politicians or read the national newspapers. I also realize there are major differences between, say, Texas and California or Massachusetts. And that's why I'm asking. I think there were some very good responses too.
Thanks for todays best read! That was SO entertaining and well put! You REALLY know how to write. No, I am not an American, and so some things about the US is a mystery to me. So many GOOD things and many bizarre things. All these strange religions and quasi-religions... most of them seem to emanate from the States, but yes we have unfortunately had out fair share of sometimes dangerous insanities here in Europe too, as you well know. (Hitler and the Nazis must have been by far the worst ever, but then there was militarism, colonialism, Mussolini, Berlusconi, the French revolution, that asshole Napoleon and Nicolas Sarkozy... What amazes me is that these people somehow manage to worm their way to the pinnacle of power, and that these twisted ideologies can spring up out from under the floorboards and fester, and grow and grow until the whole world stinks. And people seem to LOVE it! Nationalism, chauvinism and militarism: they LOVE that sort of thing. It's scary really how something bad can become so big in such a very short time. Maybe, and I am preaching a little, maybe we need some mechanism - and I am not talking about censorship - to defuse volatile movements so that they remain marginalized? Or is that anti-democratic?
Thanks for so many informative replies. And to make things absolutely clear: I am NOT being smug or trying to criticise the US or American cultural traditions. I really am quite ignorant, but curious, about US domestic policy, and also about what autonomy each state has in relation to the federal government. I live in a European Union member country. The autonomy or freedom of the various member states is also a hot issue within the European Union, for two reasons at least: 1) Historically of course there have been many, many bloody and devastating wars involving not only the most powerful members Britain, Germany and France, but also the smaller members, and the EU is a peace project, or was from its beginnings in the 1940s. 2) The EU does not have a constitution yet, only a set of treaties. But back to the topic at hand. We have problems here to, but religious fanaticism is not one of them. Not yet. It is quite possible, however, that Islam will become a problem, since Muslims are allowed by law to teach their religious fundamentalism in private (but not public) schools. This IS a real problem because ignorance breeds intolerance.
Can somebody please explain what the heck is going on? I do NOT mean to offend any Americans, far from it (and if I offend someone, I offer my sincere apologies), but something lite this could only happen in the US, or some other country where religious fundamentalism is prevalent . It would be nice if the human species could mature enough to finally cast away superstition and belief and embrace empirical proof and verifiable knowledge. We are not little children. We are grown-ups who have functional and rational brains. And we are naturally tolerant. At least most of us. "Intelligent Design" is a belief, or a rejection of the legitimacy of logical thought, not a science, and not verifiable in any way. In my opinion it should therefore NOT be sponsored by any government body or public institution or policy.
"Seems to me that this would be a lot easier if step one was install linux..."
Oh well...
Seems to me that this would be a lot easier if step one was to chuck the old PC, or wipe the HD and install Ubuntu, then put the old machine to good use (as a home server perhaps?) or donate it to charity. And get a new computer with Mac OS X preinstalled...
There's nothing wrong with Linux, but it isn't anything like Mac OS X, and it probably never will be, unless someone really makes it take a giant leap forward, since everything that makes OS X so great is patented and owned by Apple, except the core and other foundations of the OS.
And regarding Windows: you can install all the skins and themes you want, but will still be buggy old Windows bit-rotting underneath. Just like putting lipstick on a piggy won't make it any prettier. Windows is a third rate product from a greedy company with no absolutely sense of style, a company that still, after all this time, really doesn't know how users work, and it will be just that for quite a few years into the future. So it must be easier to just go out and get what you need now.
This was obviously caused by stupid, useless instructions from Sky's tech support people, and not a Google Docs issue. All the same, I smell a big fat troll here... ActiveX? Are you out of your mind?
You are right of course. Attitudes like this exist everywhere, but hopefully we can develop into a world where people are more tolerant and insightful, and look at things from a different perspective and see a much wider picture. At least I would like to live n a world like that.
There are special bars för nihonjin... Racial segregation is still an everyday reality in Japan, and most people seem to think it's perfectly normal. Imagine if governments enforced special race laws in Europa and the United States. We'd have riots and demonstrations, but in Japan, all is quit and sedated.
OK, so I normally never reboot my MacBook Pro, I just put it to sleep. (Why should I ever restart it? It's a Unix-based operating system running on a laptop.) But, for the record, I wanted to know exactly how long it takes to boot the thing from scratch. It takes 35 seconds to reach the login window, and 60 seconds to get a fully loaded and usable desktop. I'm not trying to be smug here: that should be about normal for a Mac OS X or Linux machine. So how can Vista be so slow? Why do people even bother with it? How sad and boring. Life is short - we'd better try to enjoy it while it lasts.
That's beautiful! What's the name of the company, and when can I start?:)
But yeah, the company I work for is 99 percent Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5. I love it! The web server is a Linux box, and we have maybe four puters running XP, the rest are all Macs. You should use the right tool for the job at hand, I think, and that means it won't be a homogenous Windows environment.
Based not on rumors or hearsay, but on their products and services, which generally are lackluster and messy, apart from the Xbox 360 maybe, Microsoft is in a downward spiral right now. I'm quite happy about that, not because it hurts Microsoft, but that leaves room for better, more modern, more secure and less bloated products. I'm happy for Google, Apple and the Linux and open source communities!
So this is the new policy from a country that gave rise to the Gestapo, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and after the war the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS) or Stasi? Now even I am scared...
Slashdot Mirror
Not only that. Apple stupidly and recklessly gave Microsoft access (and commercial rights to) to the code behind the Mac's GUI, so that Bill G and his little company could build Word and Excel for the Mac. Steve Jobs is to blame for this - he was the one who made the decision to give away Apple's crown jewels. I bet he is mad about it even today. Bill G then started courting Apple in a rather convincing way, even publicly, but meanwhile he wooed IBM and said "We believe OS/2 is the operating system of the future". And it was! At least by the time Warp 3 arrived, it was way ahead of everything else, better than the Mac and certainly much better than Windows 95 or even NT4. But as we now know, Bill G fooled IBM too. IBM were screwed, not technologically, but mainly because their marketing strategies were completely wrong. Now I think it's time Microsoft should taste its own medecine... I hope they get beaten so hard that they never will recover.
Jolly good show, BBC. But why the "UK residents" limitation? There are probably millions of British expats in the world, and millions of others who would like to use the Beeb's services.
The only reason Microsoft became so big wasn't that DOS, Windows, Office or any other MS product were any better than the competitors' stuff, but that all the other companies were so stupidly run. But after that phase was over, something new happened. Open source came along and scooped up what ever advantage MS once had. Apple made a miraculous recovery in a few years from their all time low in 1996, and is now a serious player again. Time is against Microsoft, and favors competing, superior products. I think MS will have to reinvent itself if it is to survive in the long run. As an enemy of Microsoft, I will never give them any free advice.
His English is utterly horrible.
The narrator has the most horrific Franglais ever! Barely intelligible. Why, why, why did they let a French guy narrate the story? But the strange moons are impressive.
I'd better leave that to you guys: it's your country. At least you live in a country where people debate and are allowed to have many different opinions. And maybe after the next election, sanity can be restored as more sensible people are put into office. Democracy works that way: it facilitates change and intellectual development. Imagine what it would be like to live in Iran or China, where somebody decides for you what is appropriate thinking, where the one legitimate religion is the same as the law, and where a very old book - which gone through many alterations over the centuries - is the One True Word and literally the Truth. Imagine that...
Very true, I only know about four or five. Everybody can have an opinion regarding the foreign policy of the United States, since most of us are affected or at least informed about it in one way or another, but domestic affairs are a different matter. I don't know how the political system works in the USA, exactly, because I don't live there and don't vote for your politicians or read the national newspapers. I also realize there are major differences between, say, Texas and California or Massachusetts. And that's why I'm asking. I think there were some very good responses too.
Thanks for todays best read! That was SO entertaining and well put! You REALLY know how to write. No, I am not an American, and so some things about the US is a mystery to me. So many GOOD things and many bizarre things. All these strange religions and quasi-religions... most of them seem to emanate from the States, but yes we have unfortunately had out fair share of sometimes dangerous insanities here in Europe too, as you well know. (Hitler and the Nazis must have been by far the worst ever, but then there was militarism, colonialism, Mussolini, Berlusconi, the French revolution, that asshole Napoleon and Nicolas Sarkozy... What amazes me is that these people somehow manage to worm their way to the pinnacle of power, and that these twisted ideologies can spring up out from under the floorboards and fester, and grow and grow until the whole world stinks. And people seem to LOVE it! Nationalism, chauvinism and militarism: they LOVE that sort of thing. It's scary really how something bad can become so big in such a very short time. Maybe, and I am preaching a little, maybe we need some mechanism - and I am not talking about censorship - to defuse volatile movements so that they remain marginalized? Or is that anti-democratic?
Thanks for so many informative replies. And to make things absolutely clear: I am NOT being smug or trying to criticise the US or American cultural traditions. I really am quite ignorant, but curious, about US domestic policy, and also about what autonomy each state has in relation to the federal government. I live in a European Union member country. The autonomy or freedom of the various member states is also a hot issue within the European Union, for two reasons at least: 1) Historically of course there have been many, many bloody and devastating wars involving not only the most powerful members Britain, Germany and France, but also the smaller members, and the EU is a peace project, or was from its beginnings in the 1940s. 2) The EU does not have a constitution yet, only a set of treaties. But back to the topic at hand. We have problems here to, but religious fanaticism is not one of them. Not yet. It is quite possible, however, that Islam will become a problem, since Muslims are allowed by law to teach their religious fundamentalism in private (but not public) schools. This IS a real problem because ignorance breeds intolerance.
Can somebody please explain what the heck is going on? I do NOT mean to offend any Americans, far from it (and if I offend someone, I offer my sincere apologies), but something lite this could only happen in the US, or some other country where religious fundamentalism is prevalent . It would be nice if the human species could mature enough to finally cast away superstition and belief and embrace empirical proof and verifiable knowledge. We are not little children. We are grown-ups who have functional and rational brains. And we are naturally tolerant. At least most of us. "Intelligent Design" is a belief, or a rejection of the legitimacy of logical thought, not a science, and not verifiable in any way. In my opinion it should therefore NOT be sponsored by any government body or public institution or policy.
Oh yeah... a bit of Googling revealed that it is indeed from a "Mary Poppins" song. How delightful!
Admiral Wiggin, sir! From your use of the expression "tuppence a bag" I take it you must be an old Brit?
Oh well...
Seems to me that this would be a lot easier if step one was to chuck the old PC, or wipe the HD and install Ubuntu, then put the old machine to good use (as a home server perhaps?) or donate it to charity. And get a new computer with Mac OS X preinstalled...
There's nothing wrong with Linux, but it isn't anything like Mac OS X, and it probably never will be, unless someone really makes it take a giant leap forward, since everything that makes OS X so great is patented and owned by Apple, except the core and other foundations of the OS.
And regarding Windows: you can install all the skins and themes you want, but will still be buggy old Windows bit-rotting underneath. Just like putting lipstick on a piggy won't make it any prettier. Windows is a third rate product from a greedy company with no absolutely sense of style, a company that still, after all this time, really doesn't know how users work, and it will be just that for quite a few years into the future. So it must be easier to just go out and get what you need now.
This was obviously caused by stupid, useless instructions from Sky's tech support people, and not a Google Docs issue. All the same, I smell a big fat troll here... ActiveX? Are you out of your mind?
Creationism is not science, it is a religious belief. God reportedly laughs at false prophets like this and is amazed at how stupid people can be.
You are right of course. Attitudes like this exist everywhere, but hopefully we can develop into a world where people are more tolerant and insightful, and look at things from a different perspective and see a much wider picture. At least I would like to live n a world like that.
No, sorry, "Japanese Only" signs are very common in Japan these days, unfortunately. And YES, finger printing is racist, because it will mainly apply to foreigners, i.e., non-Japanese people. I have lost all respect for Japan, and I am ashamed to drive a Japanese car http://k.lenz.name/LB/archives/000973.html http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/?p=1900 http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=6669 http://www.debito.org/misawaexclusions.html Open your eyes.
There are special bars för nihonjin... Racial segregation is still an everyday reality in Japan, and most people seem to think it's perfectly normal. Imagine if governments enforced special race laws in Europa and the United States. We'd have riots and demonstrations, but in Japan, all is quit and sedated.
So you think it's odd, do you? I wasn't preaching exactly. Well, I'm certainly enjoying life, here in the lap of luxury. ;)
OK, so I normally never reboot my MacBook Pro, I just put it to sleep. (Why should I ever restart it? It's a Unix-based operating system running on a laptop.) But, for the record, I wanted to know exactly how long it takes to boot the thing from scratch. It takes 35 seconds to reach the login window, and 60 seconds to get a fully loaded and usable desktop. I'm not trying to be smug here: that should be about normal for a Mac OS X or Linux machine. So how can Vista be so slow? Why do people even bother with it? How sad and boring. Life is short - we'd better try to enjoy it while it lasts.
That's beautiful! What's the name of the company, and when can I start? :)
But yeah, the company I work for is 99 percent Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5. I love it! The web server is a Linux box, and we have maybe four puters running XP, the rest are all Macs. You should use the right tool for the job at hand, I think, and that means it won't be a homogenous Windows environment.
If PowerPoint is the requirement, may I suggest Keynote? Much better. Your folks will be amazed.
Oh good, I feel safer already! :D
Based not on rumors or hearsay, but on their products and services, which generally are lackluster and messy, apart from the Xbox 360 maybe, Microsoft is in a downward spiral right now. I'm quite happy about that, not because it hurts Microsoft, but that leaves room for better, more modern, more secure and less bloated products. I'm happy for Google, Apple and the Linux and open source communities!
So this is the new policy from a country that gave rise to the Gestapo, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and after the war the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS) or Stasi? Now even I am scared...