Civil disobedience, anyone? This kind of legislation is equivalent to the police smashing down your door because you pop open the TV set you bought labeled "Do not open, refer to authorized service center" on the back. If they're going to sell it to me, there is no one on this Earth that can say what I can and cannot do with it. Oh, I know, they're only "leasing" you the software bits. Uh-huh. I'm all for action. If it gets bad enough, I say we resort to busting crackers out of jail and straight-out open resistance. You can't step on people with laws like this forever.
Good idea. We'll form an open source militia, with all our plans published on the internet so that they can be checked and revised by the community. We'll create a secret code for communicating our troop movements, but we'll publish the algorithms so that the enemy won't be denied "fair use" of our messages.
Then we'll put together a public relations committee to help improve the image of hacking/cracking. Phase 1 will involve us throwing bricks through windows. Phase 2 will involve jailbreaks. Phase 3 will involve rioting and looting in major cities throughout the world. After all this, people can't help but see the validity of our social views.
Wrong... years of corporate specialization and AT&T's rightful protection of the system have created a computing culture which is almost as closed as Microsoft's. Now, porting an application from Solaris to HP-UX can potentially take as long as porting from Solaris to NT.
This is an interesting point that hasn't been brought up much in this discussion. Linux is much closer to being a lingua franca in the software world than is AIX, so switching to Linux would be like saying, "Okay, we'll speak English now." It may not be the best, but it certainly helps business.
Re:$ is made from support contracts!
on
IBM Wants Linux
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· Score: 2
BTW - from what I have seen, (as an IBM'er) the revenue and profits come from annual support and maintenance contracts, not from hardware and software sales per se.
This is spot on. Every tech company I've worked for (typically very large ones, not small and idealistic ones) has made support and maintenance their primary source of income; Software or hardware sales are simply how they set up the need for support.
Re:$ is made from HW, not SW
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IBM Wants Linux
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· Score: 2
It also makes sense for IBM from a financial perspective. Instead of having a building full of programmers/managers and other overhead that eats up corporate profits just to support AIX, why not outsource that dependency to the open-source users of the world.
Because the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. IBM will almost certainly retain their AIX infrastructure, and instead of dropping it to use Linux they'll use it to maintain and tweak their own fork.
IBM is a solid company, and it's unlikely that they're idealistic about switching everything over to a hippie OS like Linux. Quite the contrary, they'll take a hardcore cynical position about it, and they'll fork it and make it their own as necessary so that they can trust it.
Re:Deja Vu all over again
on
$1200 Cheap!
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· Score: 2
That's filler content while we update the back-end. I think that Yahoo can manage without Anonymous Cowards trying to protect them.
Playing outside is probably no better to the brain than playing video games. I would imagine that playing outside stimulates--guess what--vision and motion centers of the brain, exactly the same as was found for playing video games.
I would argue that any hobby which involves sitting in front of a television for several hours, unblinking and mouth gaping open, could hardly be considered as mentally beneficial as playing outside.
How exactly do we know that this paypal account is valid, eh? I could make a killing by taking 5 minutes to set up an account and then posting on Slashdot (because, of course, such noble activism certain warrants enough +1s to bring it to the top of the comments). Brilliant scheme, no?
Competition: "Oh, there is? Really? How does it...? Oh, geez that's really bad. It does that too!? You're joking? Wow, we'll get on that right away." (Hangs up phone and calls police.)
In fact, our boys on the front might do well to take a look at some other work that has been done with Slash. There are some slick looking sites out there, not the least of which is Slashcode.net
Re:Deja Vu all over again
on
$1200 Cheap!
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· Score: 2, Redundant
Ain't capitalism a bitch?
People here seem to be forgetting the rock-solid principle that makes capitalism work in the first place: If you don't like something, don't buy it.
This discussion has been full of comments about Microsoft "not having the right" to bundle the products, or that users are being "forced" to buy things they don't want. That's nonsense. If you don't like the price of the XBox you see in stores, buy it somewhere else, or don't buy it at all.
You, as a user, have no intrinsic God-given right to own an XBox. If you have money and think it's a good deal, get one. If not, don't. It's just that simple.
Re:Sigh...
on
$1200 Cheap!
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· Score: 3, Interesting
Just another reason to go with a PS2 or a Gamecube, I guess. Don't retailers understand that forcing people to pay a hundred extra bucks for games that not everyone wants, instead of letting the customer choose these things is bad?
How is it bad? Customers get some games to start off their systems, and Microsoft gets lots of money from the game developers. Some people might not care for the fact that "the evil company" is "forcing" them to buy these games, but it's just common business sense. That's how companies make money, which is what companies are supposed to do. We don't complain when the free version of Opera "forces" us to look at banners, for example.
If enough stores go along with this nonsense, the $299 sticker price for Xbox means nothing, and will end up being a huge boost to the competition. When you buy a car, you don't have to add an extra $1000 for the included yacht.
That's an absurd comparison. A more appropriate comparision might be paying some extra money with your car to get a moon roof, or better sound system, or some other thing. Just because the company involved is Microsoft doesn't mean that their actions must necessarily be evil.
Re:But it's not OK when it's Microsoft!
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$1200 Cheap!
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· Score: 2
Exactly! Nobody complained about getting Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt with their Nintendo, even though the Microsoft games will probably be a buttload more fun.
Re:Did you expect any differently?
on
$1200 Cheap!
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· Score: 2
This is a prime example of 'tying', the number one issue the states and DOJ have with Microsoft. It's just another anti-competitive tactic. I'm not surprised at all. This is very typical behavior.
What exactly, though, is the difference between this and any other company that tries to grow and take over its market? The company I work for makes acquisitions on a monthly basis, but they're "growing" instead of "squashing competition."
Where do you draw the line between capitalism and socialism? When does the free market stop, and the government have to come in to make protect us all by preventing the company from growing?
I guess it just depends if we like the company's products or not.
Microsoft is trying hard to squash Java, and it'll happen within a year or two. There's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that the public isn't necessarily aware of, and getting rid of Java is definitely very high on the Microsoft priority list.
Doesn't seem to me that D doesn't anything which can't be done perfectly well in C++ or Java, both of which are massively supported by contemporary technology. Inventing a language like this is fun and is a useful mental exercise, but is about on the same level of utility as trying to learn Klingon.
Slashdot Mirror
Good idea. We'll form an open source militia, with all our plans published on the internet so that they can be checked and revised by the community. We'll create a secret code for communicating our troop movements, but we'll publish the algorithms so that the enemy won't be denied "fair use" of our messages.
Then we'll put together a public relations committee to help improve the image of hacking/cracking. Phase 1 will involve us throwing bricks through windows. Phase 2 will involve jailbreaks. Phase 3 will involve rioting and looting in major cities throughout the world. After all this, people can't help but see the validity of our social views.
Then we'll all live happily ever after.
Yeah.
This is an interesting point that hasn't been brought up much in this discussion. Linux is much closer to being a lingua franca in the software world than is AIX, so switching to Linux would be like saying, "Okay, we'll speak English now." It may not be the best, but it certainly helps business.
This is spot on. Every tech company I've worked for (typically very large ones, not small and idealistic ones) has made support and maintenance their primary source of income; Software or hardware sales are simply how they set up the need for support.
Because the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. IBM will almost certainly retain their AIX infrastructure, and instead of dropping it to use Linux they'll use it to maintain and tweak their own fork.
IBM is a solid company, and it's unlikely that they're idealistic about switching everything over to a hippie OS like Linux. Quite the contrary, they'll take a hardcore cynical position about it, and they'll fork it and make it their own as necessary so that they can trust it.
That's filler content while we update the back-end. I think that Yahoo can manage without Anonymous Cowards trying to protect them.
Yeah, nothing like taking a movie where nothing happened and watching it in excruciating, vivid detail.
I would argue that any hobby which involves sitting in front of a television for several hours, unblinking and mouth gaping open, could hardly be considered as mentally beneficial as playing outside.
Oh *now* the dang sig kicks in. I guess they fixed that bug.
Four years? I'd call that Quad Damage.
Naked Woman Seeks Sex at Airport
Naked Woman Seeks Sex at Airport
PHB: "Good work, Johnson! That'll show 'em!"
Naked Woman Seeks Sex at Airport
In fact, our boys on the front might do well to take a look at some other work that has been done with Slash. There are some slick looking sites out there, not the least of which is Slashcode.net
People here seem to be forgetting the rock-solid principle that makes capitalism work in the first place: If you don't like something, don't buy it.
This discussion has been full of comments about Microsoft "not having the right" to bundle the products, or that users are being "forced" to buy things they don't want. That's nonsense. If you don't like the price of the XBox you see in stores, buy it somewhere else, or don't buy it at all.
You, as a user, have no intrinsic God-given right to own an XBox. If you have money and think it's a good deal, get one. If not, don't. It's just that simple.
Naked Woman Seeks Sex at Airport
Naked Woman Seeks Sex at Airport
How is it bad? Customers get some games to start off their systems, and Microsoft gets lots of money from the game developers. Some people might not care for the fact that "the evil company" is "forcing" them to buy these games, but it's just common business sense. That's how companies make money, which is what companies are supposed to do. We don't complain when the free version of Opera "forces" us to look at banners, for example. If enough stores go along with this nonsense, the $299 sticker price for Xbox means nothing, and will end up being a huge boost to the competition. When you buy a car, you don't have to add an extra $1000 for the included yacht.
That's an absurd comparison. A more appropriate comparision might be paying some extra money with your car to get a moon roof, or better sound system, or some other thing. Just because the company involved is Microsoft doesn't mean that their actions must necessarily be evil.
Naked Woman Seeks Sex at Airport
Naked Woman Seeks Sex at Airport
What exactly, though, is the difference between this and any other company that tries to grow and take over its market? The company I work for makes acquisitions on a monthly basis, but they're "growing" instead of "squashing competition."
Where do you draw the line between capitalism and socialism? When does the free market stop, and the government have to come in to make protect us all by preventing the company from growing?
I guess it just depends if we like the company's products or not.
Naked Woman Seeks Sex at Airport
Microsoft is trying hard to squash Java, and it'll happen within a year or two. There's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that the public isn't necessarily aware of, and getting rid of Java is definitely very high on the Microsoft priority list.
Yes. Yes I do. It's usually something to do with the latest S6 headlines
Doesn't seem to me that D doesn't anything which can't be done perfectly well in C++ or Java, both of which are massively supported by contemporary technology. Inventing a language like this is fun and is a useful mental exercise, but is about on the same level of utility as trying to learn Klingon.
I guess you could call it the Cluster's Last Stand....
"Oh, you can take that, eh? Well let's raise it a few hundred volts...."
I think this is all part of CmdrTaco's plan to rename Slashdot to what he wishes he had chosen in the first place: Banjodot.
Bug Report: There are no stories or comments. Don't know how that made it through the rigorous testing process...