They all are non-exclusive now. At least the ones signed after the 1992 Cable Act made non-exclusive franchise agreements mandatory. There may be a few around that are still exclusive.
No, like the family of the person on life support who sees every little movement as a sign that their loved one is coming around, that's what you want to see. Linux is a niche OS for the desktop. That's all it will ever be. I have been in this business for over 20 years and I have seen just about every side of it. Inevitably, I encounter one person at each job who says "This is the year of Linux". That person who tries to get their friends to adopt Linux and sees their hopes and dreams dashed when they go buy a cheap Windows PC.
I love Linux, in the data center. The most bullet-proof servers I have ever owned or been in charge of have been Linux boxes that refuse to die and limp along until just one daemon remains functional and does it faithfully to the day I pull the plug out of pity.
Windows and Mac will remain the primary desktop drivers for many, many years to come. Perhaps Redmond will decide to actually give customers what they need instead of assuming all consumers are mindless idiots who will do whatever they say. Perhaps Cupertino will again revolutionize the desktop with a new interface that everyone just gets. With the move of consumers to media consumption devices like tablets and phones, the desktop is going to become less and less important to the bottom lines of these companies. But no matter what direction the PC business ends up going, Linux will remain a niche OS for those who love computing.
This is already happening in many "planned" communities. Dad (or mom) goes off to work in the hybrid while the one who stays home uses an electric golf cart with a nose that looks like a Mercedes to get groceries, Starbucks, or get to the local bridge game.
My parents worked for Micro Power Systems in the early 80s. They worked for John Hall, one of the pioneers of CMOS and others. I grew up playing with chip pullers and serial terminals instead of typical toys. I wouldn't trade being in that environment for anything.
I'm a Network Engineer and a private pilot working toward ATP and I hear what you're saying with all 9 of your points. The pilots honestly expect us to believe that they took out their laptops and were so distracted by what they were doing that they lost track of time. No, sir. I don't buy it. This simply does not happen. Pilots are some of the most methodical and anal retentive people on the face of the planet. Taking time away from the duty of flying the aircraft (especially a large airliner with over 100 people onboard) simply doesn't happen unless the pilots are incapacitated. Yes, computers do much of the mundane work but the pilots are responsible for always triple-checking the aircraft's computers with respect to navigation, fuel state, engine performance, and a host of other factors that keep them busy. Even if one of the pilots took out his laptop for some reason (Showing off Windows 7?) the other pilot never would have done the same. As for missing the radio calls, you know as well as I do that not long after the flight is airborne, the non-PIC has trained their hearing to pick out his/her flight number from the ATC traffic like it was their mother's name. No sir, they were asleep. We all know the problems commercial pilots face. Long hours, little pay, waking up at 3:30am to open Starbucks and then jumping into the cockpit of an RJ at 9am. Pilot fatigue is reaching a critical stage and I believe this is just the beginning of events like this. Granted, both pilots falling asleep is going to be rare, but having at least one pilot taking a power nap in the cockpit is fairly common.
How is it hypocrisy that people do not want to be bothered with being asked to buy something they are not interested in? When I am in the market for something, whether it be a car, a new computer, or even a bar of soap I research the available options and I buy what meets my needs. Before the Internet, that was a difficult task and all you could do was go to your local store and evaluate your options based on the propaganda that was on the packaging. Now, you can read consumer reviews on just about everything. Including a bar of soap. Why do I need to be told I should buy something when I am not in the market for it? If I am watching television and I am forced to sit through a commercial for an air cleaner when I already have an excellent air cleaner in my home, I see that as a complete waste of my time.
I personally despise marketing in all its various forms. I use a DVR to watch television and I will wait 30 minutes before starting an hour-long program to avoid the commercials. By the time I reach the end of the program after skipping the commercials, I have caught up with realtime programming. I don't even bother watching Comedy Central because they show 5 30-second commercials for every 4 minutes of content. That is outrageous! I use a Barracuda SPAM filter to filter SPAM just for my home account because I have been a SPAM fighter for the last 10 years and I absolutely hate it. Just because I want to evaluate a piece of software for a company does not mean I want to be bombarded with advertisements for their other software that I don't need. Sure, if they do not hear from me after I have evaluated their software, I don't mind if they send me a message asking me if I am still interested. But, to be constantly bombarded with messages about all of their other products (as well as the products of their "partners") is simply wrong.
I am willing to bet that there are some consumers out there that genuinely enjoy receiving SPAM, junk snail-mail, and even enjoy watching commercials. Good for them and I hope they get all they can handle. But simply buying a subscription to a magazine about a subject I enjoy does not mean I want to receive advertisements soliciting me to buy every other magazine that publisher sells.
That is the root of the problem these days. We enter into a business relationship with ONE company for ONE product. And those companies use it as an opportunity to sell us everything else under the sun. Perhaps if the marketing executives would consider that fact, there wouldn't be such a consumer backlash against marketing.
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They all are non-exclusive now. At least the ones signed after the 1992 Cable Act made non-exclusive franchise agreements mandatory. There may be a few around that are still exclusive.
No, like the family of the person on life support who sees every little movement as a sign that their loved one is coming around, that's what you want to see. Linux is a niche OS for the desktop. That's all it will ever be. I have been in this business for over 20 years and I have seen just about every side of it. Inevitably, I encounter one person at each job who says "This is the year of Linux". That person who tries to get their friends to adopt Linux and sees their hopes and dreams dashed when they go buy a cheap Windows PC. I love Linux, in the data center. The most bullet-proof servers I have ever owned or been in charge of have been Linux boxes that refuse to die and limp along until just one daemon remains functional and does it faithfully to the day I pull the plug out of pity. Windows and Mac will remain the primary desktop drivers for many, many years to come. Perhaps Redmond will decide to actually give customers what they need instead of assuming all consumers are mindless idiots who will do whatever they say. Perhaps Cupertino will again revolutionize the desktop with a new interface that everyone just gets. With the move of consumers to media consumption devices like tablets and phones, the desktop is going to become less and less important to the bottom lines of these companies. But no matter what direction the PC business ends up going, Linux will remain a niche OS for those who love computing.
They are allowed on public roads in Nevada. I think Florida too. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/uk-usa-nevada-google-idUSLNE84701320120508
This is already happening in many "planned" communities. Dad (or mom) goes off to work in the hybrid while the one who stays home uses an electric golf cart with a nose that looks like a Mercedes to get groceries, Starbucks, or get to the local bridge game.
My god I wish I had mod points for that.
My parents worked for Micro Power Systems in the early 80s. They worked for John Hall, one of the pioneers of CMOS and others. I grew up playing with chip pullers and serial terminals instead of typical toys. I wouldn't trade being in that environment for anything.
I'm a Network Engineer and a private pilot working toward ATP and I hear what you're saying with all 9 of your points. The pilots honestly expect us to believe that they took out their laptops and were so distracted by what they were doing that they lost track of time. No, sir. I don't buy it. This simply does not happen. Pilots are some of the most methodical and anal retentive people on the face of the planet. Taking time away from the duty of flying the aircraft (especially a large airliner with over 100 people onboard) simply doesn't happen unless the pilots are incapacitated. Yes, computers do much of the mundane work but the pilots are responsible for always triple-checking the aircraft's computers with respect to navigation, fuel state, engine performance, and a host of other factors that keep them busy. Even if one of the pilots took out his laptop for some reason (Showing off Windows 7?) the other pilot never would have done the same. As for missing the radio calls, you know as well as I do that not long after the flight is airborne, the non-PIC has trained their hearing to pick out his/her flight number from the ATC traffic like it was their mother's name. No sir, they were asleep. We all know the problems commercial pilots face. Long hours, little pay, waking up at 3:30am to open Starbucks and then jumping into the cockpit of an RJ at 9am. Pilot fatigue is reaching a critical stage and I believe this is just the beginning of events like this. Granted, both pilots falling asleep is going to be rare, but having at least one pilot taking a power nap in the cockpit is fairly common.
What about the Internet broadcasters that make their entire living from Internet radio? What will they do until the war is over?
How is it hypocrisy that people do not want to be bothered with being asked to buy something they are not interested in? When I am in the market for something, whether it be a car, a new computer, or even a bar of soap I research the available options and I buy what meets my needs. Before the Internet, that was a difficult task and all you could do was go to your local store and evaluate your options based on the propaganda that was on the packaging. Now, you can read consumer reviews on just about everything. Including a bar of soap. Why do I need to be told I should buy something when I am not in the market for it? If I am watching television and I am forced to sit through a commercial for an air cleaner when I already have an excellent air cleaner in my home, I see that as a complete waste of my time. I personally despise marketing in all its various forms. I use a DVR to watch television and I will wait 30 minutes before starting an hour-long program to avoid the commercials. By the time I reach the end of the program after skipping the commercials, I have caught up with realtime programming. I don't even bother watching Comedy Central because they show 5 30-second commercials for every 4 minutes of content. That is outrageous! I use a Barracuda SPAM filter to filter SPAM just for my home account because I have been a SPAM fighter for the last 10 years and I absolutely hate it. Just because I want to evaluate a piece of software for a company does not mean I want to be bombarded with advertisements for their other software that I don't need. Sure, if they do not hear from me after I have evaluated their software, I don't mind if they send me a message asking me if I am still interested. But, to be constantly bombarded with messages about all of their other products (as well as the products of their "partners") is simply wrong. I am willing to bet that there are some consumers out there that genuinely enjoy receiving SPAM, junk snail-mail, and even enjoy watching commercials. Good for them and I hope they get all they can handle. But simply buying a subscription to a magazine about a subject I enjoy does not mean I want to receive advertisements soliciting me to buy every other magazine that publisher sells. That is the root of the problem these days. We enter into a business relationship with ONE company for ONE product. And those companies use it as an opportunity to sell us everything else under the sun. Perhaps if the marketing executives would consider that fact, there wouldn't be such a consumer backlash against marketing.