I don't expect anyone else would bother to maintain Windows09 and Windows2000. Anyone who can patch Win98 can maintain Linux more easily. Even if you had the source, the learning curve would be long and thankless.
Besides, when you bought your Windows98 licence, it said on the packet what the end of service date was. Microsoft did pretty well to get within a month of it before deciding that it was not economically viable to repair.
It's getting more like a picture of who can deliver the best buggy-whips by the day. The rest of the world has moved on to cars and aeroplanes.
I 'stabilised' my Microsoft Windows a while ago; I don't actually require any fixes, if it catches a virus and dies then that is just the way of the world. The next investment will be in a Sony Playstation.
Any vendors who don't support it, I'm not buying what they have to sell.
Now that anyone can record a song (that they wrote themselves) in their own home and distribute it over the Internet, isn't that going to reduce the value of the commercially-produced ones that the 'labels' make ? In effect, the 'control of the distribution channel' is gone, and we will be flooded with potentially-brilliant music for free (as advertising for band concerts, or as hobby).
To a lesser extent, it must be true of films, too. I don't think many individuals are capable of producing 'Star Wars' at home; but maybe some collaborations are.
Hopefully, Microsoft will discover that some of the BBC's licence payers have Playstations, and they need to be included in whatever scheme is come up with.
Just like the ones with XBoxes need to be included.
Mankind's ability to write software is far in advance of mankind's ability to figure out what it does or does not do.
If Microsoft ship 100 million copies of Windows Vista to 100 million people on public Internet, where the people have mutually-incompatible agendas, then at least some of the people will end up unhappy.
Asking "Why would you ever code an app from scratch again? Why would you need to?" is like asking "Why would you ever want to have a baby".
Sometimes it's the only way to develop what you need; sometimes it just happens by accident; and sometimes someone gives you one to look after for them.
You don't want to have a baby very often, but it's just as well that some people have them sometimes.
We're thinking about throwing Java out. It has the same problems with 'synchronisation' that C has with 'memory allocation'. You can't get it right all the time, it's too hard.
And Intel are coming up with these 80-Core chips.
A real lot of stuff will have to be rebuilt if we do. Hopefully automatically built from modelling tools. But there will have to be people, to resolve the defects, if it is to support the business.
It's a 'variety' thing. M$ actually aren't charging enough to be able to service the defects that keep popping up in the 'closed-source' software, so eventually they will stop servicing the defects, and then it will break.
So, XP isn't viable long-term, unless you pay M$ more money for a better contract.
And having a 'plan B'... figuring some way of being able to service the defects in Linux, there are defects there too... is a good idea.
They could separate the parts; supply the GPL'd part (with source) in the left hand; supply the '3rd-party obligation' part in the left hand; and supply a means whereby their customer can glue them back together themselves.
I don't think the GPL stops them doing what they want to do, which is presumably 'provide the contracted service to their client'. It just means they have to be careful how they go about it.
If the DoD write some software, then it either has to be 'secret' (not released to the public), or 'open' (given as source code for all to use).
Copyrights and patents are 'private' rights. The DoD, being part of the US Government, can't hold any 'private' rights. They can buy (the right to use some) closed source software, sure, but if they create any software then they cannot sell it.
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I don't expect anyone else would bother to maintain Windows09 and Windows2000. Anyone who can patch Win98 can maintain Linux more easily. Even if you had the source, the learning curve would be long and thankless.
Besides, when you bought your Windows98 licence, it said on the packet what the end of service date was. Microsoft did pretty well to get within a month of it before deciding that it was not economically viable to repair.
I 'stabilised' my Microsoft Windows a while ago; I don't actually require any fixes, if it catches a virus and dies then that is just the way of the world. The next investment will be in a Sony Playstation.
Any vendors who don't support it, I'm not buying what they have to sell.
Now that anyone can record a song (that they wrote themselves) in their own home and distribute it over the Internet, isn't that going to reduce the value of the commercially-produced ones that the 'labels' make ? In effect, the 'control of the distribution channel' is gone, and we will be flooded with potentially-brilliant music for free (as advertising for band concerts, or as hobby).
To a lesser extent, it must be true of films, too. I don't think many individuals are capable of producing 'Star Wars' at home; but maybe some collaborations are.
Hopefully, Microsoft will discover that some of the BBC's licence payers have Playstations, and they need to be included in whatever scheme is come up with.
Just like the ones with XBoxes need to be included.
Mankind's ability to write software is far in advance of mankind's ability to figure out what it does or does not do.
If Microsoft ship 100 million copies of Windows Vista to 100 million people on public Internet, where the people have mutually-incompatible agendas, then at least some of the people will end up unhappy.
You close down the virtual Linux, the screensaver ends, and you are back to the Windows you know and love/hate, whichever.
Dream or nightmare, I know not which, it depends on where you are standing.
But it happens, and we haven't found anyone that needs to be paid for it yet !
And no, I don't guarantee that it will save your screen !
The quick and dirty virtualisation is with the Linux-for-Windows Screensaver; screenshot here
Asking "Why would you ever code an app from scratch again? Why would you need to?" is like asking "Why would you ever want to have a baby".
Sometimes it's the only way to develop what you need; sometimes it just happens by accident; and sometimes someone gives you one to look after for them.
You don't want to have a baby very often, but it's just as well that some people have them sometimes.
We're thinking about throwing Java out. It has the same problems with 'synchronisation' that C has with 'memory allocation'. You can't get it right all the time, it's too hard.
And Intel are coming up with these 80-Core chips.
A real lot of stuff will have to be rebuilt if we do. Hopefully automatically built from modelling tools. But there will have to be people, to resolve the defects, if it is to support the business.
IBM pulls OS/2 from the market, recommends Linux.
Microsoft pulls Windows from the market, recommends FreeBSD.
IBM starts selling chips for XBoxes to Microsoft, who start selling XBoxes and make a living out of Age of Empires.
"IBM Personal Computer" market collapses, leaving Lenovo and Dell competing for the contract to assemble XBoxes for Microsoft.
Intel go back to making '4004' microcontrollers for the next moon mission.
So, XP isn't viable long-term, unless you pay M$ more money for a better contract.
And having a 'plan B' ... figuring some way of being able to service the defects in Linux, there are defects there too ... is a good idea.
I don't think the GPL stops them doing what they want to do, which is presumably 'provide the contracted service to their client'. It just means they have to be careful how they go about it.
Copyrights and patents are 'private' rights. The DoD, being part of the US Government, can't hold any 'private' rights. They can buy (the right to use some) closed source software, sure, but if they create any software then they cannot sell it.
Have to keep it secret or give it away.