I'm switching to linux. I will never buy another microsoft product again. If they had it their way we would be hooked up like batteries in the matrix.
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Microsoft taking over the world?
- Thread starter Spork
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BuddTX
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've always been a rebel, BUT, as an IS person, my live is much better with Microsoft running everything.
Microsoft's latest "thorn in my side" is the "activation" software with XP and Office XP. If I buy a PC and it comes with XP and Office XP, and later on I want to scrap that PC because it is old, and buy another PC, I should be able to just install XP on my new PC.
But anyway, except for Novell, everything is windows based, and all "standard" apps are probably MS based too. (MS Office, IE, Outlook).
I remember fondy the days of DOS, WordPerfect 5.1+, dBase III, Lotus 123, ProComm Plus, Harvard Graphics, and the millions of freeware and shareware programs that I used (anyone ever use LIST, or QEdit, or Norton Commander, or Norton Utilities (for DOS).
While I loved those days, supporting all that stuff was hard! Also, I think that the "leaders" of the day dethroned themselves. WordPerfect OWNED the Word Processing market for years. Then they sold themselves to Novell, and who knows what Novell did, then they sold themselves to someone else. And what happened to Lotus 123 and Ashton Tate?
With the exception of Netscape, the early leaders, in my opinion, dethroned themselves. And, if it weren't for Netscape, IE would not be what it is today. (Yes, I think MS stole the concept of the browser from Netscape).
Yes, I agree with you, but as long as I am not "totally assimilated" I like my "BORG LIFE IN THE HIVE COLLECTIVE", much better than in the early days.
Now, I would bet, that, if MS did not basicly take over the entire PC market, there would have been interfaces and file standards in place to allow us to seamlessly intergrated our data.
Microsoft's latest "thorn in my side" is the "activation" software with XP and Office XP. If I buy a PC and it comes with XP and Office XP, and later on I want to scrap that PC because it is old, and buy another PC, I should be able to just install XP on my new PC.
But anyway, except for Novell, everything is windows based, and all "standard" apps are probably MS based too. (MS Office, IE, Outlook).
I remember fondy the days of DOS, WordPerfect 5.1+, dBase III, Lotus 123, ProComm Plus, Harvard Graphics, and the millions of freeware and shareware programs that I used (anyone ever use LIST, or QEdit, or Norton Commander, or Norton Utilities (for DOS).
While I loved those days, supporting all that stuff was hard! Also, I think that the "leaders" of the day dethroned themselves. WordPerfect OWNED the Word Processing market for years. Then they sold themselves to Novell, and who knows what Novell did, then they sold themselves to someone else. And what happened to Lotus 123 and Ashton Tate?
With the exception of Netscape, the early leaders, in my opinion, dethroned themselves. And, if it weren't for Netscape, IE would not be what it is today. (Yes, I think MS stole the concept of the browser from Netscape).
Yes, I agree with you, but as long as I am not "totally assimilated" I like my "BORG LIFE IN THE HIVE COLLECTIVE", much better than in the early days.
Now, I would bet, that, if MS did not basicly take over the entire PC market, there would have been interfaces and file standards in place to allow us to seamlessly intergrated our data.
Ugh! That can't be legal...somone sic congress on Microsoft again--you wern't joking with "Microsoft taking over the world"
Not just a software monopoly--a world monopoly. The worst part is you KNOW it wouldn't work right--you'd be driving your new 2006 Saab down the road when all the sudden it would just stop with a error message on the infotainment screen--"I'm sorry...you are not authorized to drive this pirated vehicle"
**EDIT**
Ah Dos...what a wonderful OS. We ditched MS Dos for Dr Dos by Novell I believe
Not just a software monopoly--a world monopoly. The worst part is you KNOW it wouldn't work right--you'd be driving your new 2006 Saab down the road when all the sudden it would just stop with a error message on the infotainment screen--"I'm sorry...you are not authorized to drive this pirated vehicle"
**EDIT**
Ah Dos...what a wonderful OS. We ditched MS Dos for Dr Dos by Novell I believe
Whistler
Enlightened
All these hours of restoring/reinstalling Windows
Another way for Microsoft to make money:
Microsoft announced that it is selling advertising space in the error messages that appear in Windows. Acknowledging for the first time that the average user of their operating system encounters error messages at least several times a day, Microsoft is trying to take financial advantage of the unavoidable opportunity to make an ad impression.
"We estimate that throughout the world at any given moment several million people are getting a 'General Protection Fault' or 'Illegal Operation' warning. We will be able to generate significant revenue by including a short advertising message along with it," said Microsoft marketing director Nathan Mirror. He also mentioned that Microsoft is intending to add banner ads into its Blue Screen of Death in the near future.
The Justice Department immediately indicated that they intend to investigate whether Microsoft is gaining an unfair advantage in reaching the public with this advertising by virtue of its semi-monopolistic control over error messages.
Microsoft announced that it is selling advertising space in the error messages that appear in Windows. Acknowledging for the first time that the average user of their operating system encounters error messages at least several times a day, Microsoft is trying to take financial advantage of the unavoidable opportunity to make an ad impression.
"We estimate that throughout the world at any given moment several million people are getting a 'General Protection Fault' or 'Illegal Operation' warning. We will be able to generate significant revenue by including a short advertising message along with it," said Microsoft marketing director Nathan Mirror. He also mentioned that Microsoft is intending to add banner ads into its Blue Screen of Death in the near future.
The Justice Department immediately indicated that they intend to investigate whether Microsoft is gaining an unfair advantage in reaching the public with this advertising by virtue of its semi-monopolistic control over error messages.
Furthermore...
When you start your siny new Taurus, does it make you slide your mag-strip enabled license and registration, which it then verifies at Ford HQ? If your license has been revoked...or if you don't have a license, you can still drive the car. You have to have the right key--which makes it harder for thiefs to drive your car, but that's a local varification.
What happens of the Microsoft software key verifing server goes down? (And it will unless they run Unix) do thousands of companies all over the world loose millions of dollars as their software suddenly stops functioning?
This is the way it would have to be...if the server being down caused the software to go into fail-safe "Run anyway" mode than there would be your loophole....the loophole that would be made so wide by hackers everywhere that the whole world woud be able to squeeze though...
When you start your siny new Taurus, does it make you slide your mag-strip enabled license and registration, which it then verifies at Ford HQ? If your license has been revoked...or if you don't have a license, you can still drive the car. You have to have the right key--which makes it harder for thiefs to drive your car, but that's a local varification.
What happens of the Microsoft software key verifing server goes down? (And it will unless they run Unix) do thousands of companies all over the world loose millions of dollars as their software suddenly stops functioning?
This is the way it would have to be...if the server being down caused the software to go into fail-safe "Run anyway" mode than there would be your loophole....the loophole that would be made so wide by hackers everywhere that the whole world woud be able to squeeze though...
Heads up Sony have jumped on the Microsoft bandwagon
In other news, Sony has announced a new Television Family License which
allows all members of a family or household (up to 5 individuals) to
watch the same television, without violating the Sony Home Electronics
License Agreement.
"Unauthorized television piracy has been a real problem for us.", says
Steve Smith, the newly-appointed Director of Licensing Compliance at
Sony. "Families would buy a single television, and then would sit
together and watch programs without any regard for our license
agreements. Sometimes they would even invite other people over to watch
programs, without even purchasing a Single-Use Event License. We
estimated that we lost over $500 billion in sales last year to this
problem. This [license activation] is just a way to recoup sales lost to
theft."
So how does the system work? When you first plug in your television, a
string of numbers representing the body shape of the person standing in
front of the TV is sent to Sony via the HumanaLicense(tm) dialup system.
At that point, another string of numbers is sent back allowing the
television to view broadcast stations. Without the code, the TV only
plays Sony promotional material over and over again. After initial
activation, the TV needs to be re-initialized whenever a different
person sits in front of it for more than 25 minutes. The TV can be
re-initialized up to four times, after which it needs to be returned to
Sony for repair.
Some TV enthusiasts are concerned: "How can Sony get away with this?"
says Rick Rayman, a self-described "videophile" who often invites
friends and family over to watch movies and sports programs on his
high-end setup. "I already paid them for the TV, why should it matter
what I do with it inside my home?"
However Sony executives dismiss these criticisms. Smith explains:
"That's exactly the attitude we're trying to fix: this weird hippy idea
that once you pay the money, somehow the item is 'yours' to do with as
you please. First, these pirates invite their wife into the room to
illegally watch TV together, next thing you know they're shoplifting
flat-screens from Wal-mart."
But already hackers have tried to break the system. A hacker group
calling themselves "Television Freedom Fighters" have discovered that
cutting one wire inside the television removes the protection system.
The group of six kindergarden students have been identified and are
being prosecuted under new anti-terrorism legislation. In addition,
because the information was released on the internet, Sony is recalling
the televisions and solving the problem by adding a second wire that
needs to be cut.
To help ease the transition to license-based TV viewing, Sony is
starting a new advertising campaign entitled "Compliance is Cool"
featuring an animated talking dog named Larry. Sony plans to extend the
system to other types of home electronics soon.
In other news, Sony has announced a new Television Family License which
allows all members of a family or household (up to 5 individuals) to
watch the same television, without violating the Sony Home Electronics
License Agreement.
"Unauthorized television piracy has been a real problem for us.", says
Steve Smith, the newly-appointed Director of Licensing Compliance at
Sony. "Families would buy a single television, and then would sit
together and watch programs without any regard for our license
agreements. Sometimes they would even invite other people over to watch
programs, without even purchasing a Single-Use Event License. We
estimated that we lost over $500 billion in sales last year to this
problem. This [license activation] is just a way to recoup sales lost to
theft."
So how does the system work? When you first plug in your television, a
string of numbers representing the body shape of the person standing in
front of the TV is sent to Sony via the HumanaLicense(tm) dialup system.
At that point, another string of numbers is sent back allowing the
television to view broadcast stations. Without the code, the TV only
plays Sony promotional material over and over again. After initial
activation, the TV needs to be re-initialized whenever a different
person sits in front of it for more than 25 minutes. The TV can be
re-initialized up to four times, after which it needs to be returned to
Sony for repair.
Some TV enthusiasts are concerned: "How can Sony get away with this?"
says Rick Rayman, a self-described "videophile" who often invites
friends and family over to watch movies and sports programs on his
high-end setup. "I already paid them for the TV, why should it matter
what I do with it inside my home?"
However Sony executives dismiss these criticisms. Smith explains:
"That's exactly the attitude we're trying to fix: this weird hippy idea
that once you pay the money, somehow the item is 'yours' to do with as
you please. First, these pirates invite their wife into the room to
illegally watch TV together, next thing you know they're shoplifting
flat-screens from Wal-mart."
But already hackers have tried to break the system. A hacker group
calling themselves "Television Freedom Fighters" have discovered that
cutting one wire inside the television removes the protection system.
The group of six kindergarden students have been identified and are
being prosecuted under new anti-terrorism legislation. In addition,
because the information was released on the internet, Sony is recalling
the televisions and solving the problem by adding a second wire that
needs to be cut.
To help ease the transition to license-based TV viewing, Sony is
starting a new advertising campaign entitled "Compliance is Cool"
featuring an animated talking dog named Larry. Sony plans to extend the
system to other types of home electronics soon.
GJW
Flashlight Enthusiast
You know I wrote recently about my Compaq laptop troubles and as a result of them I had to re-install my Office products on a different machine.
The whole re-activation process took less than 3 minutes and I actually talked to a human.
Activation horror stries aside it was all very painless.
The whole re-activation process took less than 3 minutes and I actually talked to a human.
Activation horror stries aside it was all very painless.
its not about how easy it is. I don't mean to sound paranoid but its all about how they can control what we can and cant have on our computers so they can make more money. How many of you here use linux? I'm going to install mandrake 9 this weekend and hopefully never use anything microsoft again.
budlight
Newly Enlightened
Whether a car or a kitchen sink, if it's Microsoft it will have to be rebooted.
Tree
Flashlight Enthusiast
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Great, now the ads will crash the error messages and it will be an endless loop. Computers will never work properly again.Originally posted by x-ray:
Another way for Microsoft to make money:
Microsoft announced that it is selling advertising space in the error messages that appear in Windows. Acknowledging for the first time that the average user of their operating system encounters error messages at least several times a day, Microsoft is trying to take financial advantage of the unavoidable opportunity to make an ad impression.
"We estimate that throughout the world at any given moment several million people are getting a 'General Protection Fault' or 'Illegal Operation' warning. We will be able to generate significant revenue by including a short advertising message along with it," said Microsoft marketing director Nathan Mirror. He also mentioned that Microsoft is intending to add banner ads into its Blue Screen of Death in the near future.
The Justice Department immediately indicated that they intend to investigate whether Microsoft is gaining an unfair advantage in reaching the public with this advertising by virtue of its semi-monopolistic control over error messages.
Bill Gates gets a pie in the face.
