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  • #2179897

    Power User

    Locked

    by tech locksmith ·

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    • #3197176

      Something Pfishy at Sony?

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Being the professionally paranoid individual anyone has to be if they started programming computers in the early 1960?s and is still in the field, not to mention having been a high-tech reporter since before IBM shipped the first IBM-PC, I have been watching the Sony DRM saga unfold with great interest.  After the second major security threat in Sony BMG music CDs appears in a very short period and just before the holiday season, I’ve begun to have some very nasty thoughts.

      You’d have to be pretty incompetent if you were Sony and put these untested chunks of code in your expensive CDs, but you’d have to be a fool to sell Sony this malware and expect to stay in business for long, yet two companies appear to have done so.

      Isn’t it interesting that the rootkit malware and now the SunnComm MediaMax threat both appear just about the time people are thinking what a nice present it might make to cut a few mix CDs for friends and family?

      The new MediaMax threat is particularly worrying because it will be installed on ANY PC which plays the ?infected? CDs, EVEN if you decline to accept the EULA which is presented.

      Now it would be a nice question trying to determine just how much North American business Sony BMG might loose in the short term from people hesitating to buy new CDs under that imprint, and then compare that potential loss to the potential savings from scaring the holy heck out of anyone who might consider loading any Sony music CD into their PC even to make a legitimate backup exclusively for their own use, let alone blocking any thoughts of making up a few gift mixes for the holidays.

      Is it just me, or could this make economic sense? (I say North American because the software in the MediaMax case appears to be only in CDs sold to the U.S. and Canada.)

      For further details about these two digital rights foul ups you can look to this week?s issue of my TechRepublic Locksmith Column which will run soon.

      BTW, the original patch for this second DRM junk had a flaw. Somehow that sounds familiar too and all in all I ain’t about to insert ANY music CD in my PCs for a while.

      • #3135528

        Something Pfishy at Sony?

        by apotheon ·

        In reply to Something Pfishy at Sony?

        You said “The new MediaMax threat is particularly worrying because it will be installed on ANY PC which plays the ‘infected’ CDs, EVEN if you decline to accept the EULA which is presented.” That’s not entirely true: this only applies to Window PCs. There’s always a way around this crap.

        It’s possible that a CD with one of these “DRM” rootkits might prevent a non-Windows PC from reading the CD, but if that’s the case all you’ve done is saved yourself from getting a rootkit on your PC. That seems like a perfect opportunity to return it for a refund.

        This move of Sony’s only makes economic sense if you let it. Get your money back where you can, and stop buying anything of theirs until they get the message that screwing with your computer is not allowable.

      • #3135320

        Something Pfishy at Sony?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Something Pfishy at Sony?

        While Apotheon?s comment is undeniably true, it is also 95% irrelevant.

        Most of these music CDs are not bought by computer security
        experts, they are bought by average individuals ? mostly kids, in fact, who
        love to rip their own mix CDs so any arguments about not playing into Sony?s
        possible plot have nothing to do with reality.

        As
        for non-Windows, come on now ? That is obviously completely off
        base.  95%+ of the home PCs in the world are
        Windows-based, political correctness never stopped a tornado and saying
        non-Windows PCs are the solution to a massive consumer problem simply
        isn?t the
        mark of someone living in the real world. Linux has a place in
        business, a very important place, but not in the average home. As for
        Apple, I don’t like single sourcing hardware for business, never have,
        never will, and I used to work for Wang (my attitude didn’t make me
        terribly popular there, but it did make me correct and kept me employed
        when everyone else there was looking for work).

      • #3198451

        Something Pfishy at Sony?

        by wearsmanyhats ·

        In reply to Something Pfishy at Sony?

        It seems to me that what you suggest, that Sony wanted to scare customers out of playing their (is that Sony or the customer) CD on a computer, is just a by-product of the whole fiasco. Some smart Sony employee may have suggested how, “hey, this could work to our advantage!”. There are people in Sony’s PR department who are paid good money to think about things like that. If they planned to scare people to begin with then Sony’s legal department were left out of the loop because they would probably have had a few strong words about it.

        For me, either way, I have lost respect for Sony as a company. They have no business “scaring me” and they have no business assuming I won’t make use of *my* CD in a responsible way. If they think I am a criminal then they should charge me with a crime, not dick me around because the music I’m interested in happens to be on the Sony/BMG Label.

    • #3197341

      Tax money to buy digital TV converters

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Although the Federal government seems completely helpless
      when it comes to providing radios to first responders so police, emergency
      management, fire, and EMS workers can actually communicate during a disaster,
      at least they have been able to completely foul up the entire digital TV market
      in the U.S.

       Since old TVs won?t work when all stations change over to
      digital TV, the same people who weren?t able to get water to the New Orleans
      Super Dome to save some lives, have decided to take tax money and use a billion
      or so to help people buy converter boxes.

       As a final irony, can you believe this boondoggle is part of
      a bill euphemistically described as an effort to cut spending!

       But, believe it or not, the $1.5B which is being spent is
      actually only half the $3 billion which the Senate wanted ? apparently some of
      the Senators may own professional football teams and need to ensure viewers.

       There is a good story in AustralianIT.news.com

      http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,17619408%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

      if
      this is a major worry for your household.

    • #3197294

      Limit sales of violent video games

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Saying, ?these video games are stealing the innocence of our
      children,? Senator and former first lady Clinton yesterday submitted a bill to make it a
      federal misdemeanor to sell adult-rated video games to anyone under the age of
      17. (In the U.S.of course.)

       What?s
      your opinion? As a journalist of 30+ years I am pretty strong on freedom of
      speech but I am also against child abuse and I feel that selling violent video
      games to kids should be criminalized.

      • #3198438

        Limit sales of violent video games

        by wearsmanyhats ·

        In reply to Limit sales of violent video games

        I absolutely love the visual quality and beauty of many “video” games that I see currently. But I myself do not play video games, I am just a part-time artist that loves where the industry has been able to go with the imagery of gaming. However, visual art whether it is a film, a painting, or a video game, very often takes a back seat to the message being given. In many cases the message of video games is not a positive one. The message is usually violent, cruel, horrific, disgusting, etc. No child should be exposed to that in whatever medium it is communicated.

        I often see the mistake, in my opinion, of people who believe that Freedom of Speech absolves them of responsibility. If someone walks into a grade school and starts showing pictures of dead bodies and violence to underage children, is that a crime? I think it should be. They have the right to do the “freedom of speech” but they also have the responsibility to deal with all of the angry parents, teachers, police, etc. that I’m sure would take offense.

      • #3081483

        Limit sales of violent video games

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Limit sales of violent video games

        Freedom of speech doesn’t absolve anyone of anything under the
        constitution – I think that is the REAL problem, thinking that it does
        (not the respondant to my posting, WearsManyHats, but the people who, I completely
        agree, DO seem to think it it leaves them unaccountable.) That is why
        reporters go to jail to protect sources rather than fleeing the country
        – they recognize that freedom requires taking personal responsibility.

        FoS is actually Freedom of the Press, not just license for anyone to
        say anything they want – this has been distorted too much in recent
        years.

        I do think that taking too much freedom at the expense of
        responsibility, especially just to make money, is irresponsible – the
        problem is just WHO draws the line – it is usually government and the
        big concern faced by reporters and the ACLU is really whether the
        govt. is limiting speech because it is bad, or because it criticizes
        the government.

        That is what really frightens a lot of people about what the administration with wiretaps sans warrants.

        But, it is an established point of law that
        “The Constitution is not a suicide pack”
        The problem comes in reconciling that with FoS.

        However, I just don’t see how this can be legitimately applied to
        marketing violent video games to children – that strikes me as a
        question of public health, albeit mental health in this case.

        When weighing FoS questions, I, as a reporter and member of The
        National Press Club of many year’s standing, like to pose the question:

        What is the harm if I (or society) am wrong in limiting this?

        In cases of religion, government ethics, corruption, etc, the harm of
        preventing opposing or even outrageous ideas from being explored
        publically, can be enormous – as big as risking freedom and democarcy.

        But the harm, if any, of not letting children be immunized to participating in virtual killings??

        The good posed by enforcing a ban which is already agreed upon, verses some imiganary harm, is simply not worthy of debate.

        Game makers try to make this an FoS argument at the expense of society.

        If we can’t enforce the prohibition aginst kids buying and using these
        games, I, for one, would gladly give up my persona lright and freedom
        to
        play Doom in the interest of living in a less violent society – even,
        and I want to emphasize this, if it is only a slight chance that the
        society would benefit.

      • #3096254

        Limit sales of violent video games

        by jdclyde ·

        In reply to Limit sales of violent video games

        An excellent point that many people miss.

        Yes, you have freedom of speech to pretty much say what you want.

        The part that people forget is there can be negative impacts from saying whatever you want.

        I have a right to say something racist, and then everyone around me has the right to treat me like an idiot for being so.

        Journalist have a right to freedom of the press, and I have a right to
        not buy their publication if I think they are out of line.

        The best interests of our children and our socety should be our first
        concern.  People care about the enviroinment being poluted, why
        not our minds?

        Responsiblity.  What a concept.  (it will never catch on)

      • #3078460

        Limit sales of violent video games

        by deonz ·

        In reply to Limit sales of violent video games

        All too simplistic?

        I started gaming back in the 80s on the Commodore 64. Before that I toyed with Atari. I’m now in my early thirties and still love gaming as much as I did then. I have no criminal record. I got my first speeding fine last year (15 km/h above). I’ve been in one fight all my life – and both of us got some. I’ve pretty much played everything PC related out there and still participate in LAN events. As an experienced gamer I have started taking exception with titles such as Doom 3 and Quake 4. I wiped both half-way through. Why? Because they are an insult to anyone with 2 brain-cells. They contain no story-line and their only selling-point is the graphics. Gameplay is utterly predictable. Yet, there are recent titles like the Knights of the Old Republic series (or earlier Deus Ex) – brilliant. A believable uninverse. Are they any less violent that Doom or Quake – no. The point here is that for some the gaming industry has stood still. Games are becoming increasingly like interactive movies, and movies have plots. The good gaming houses have realized this.

        This brings me to my point – at which age should a kid be exposed to violence? None during the childhood years and then straight to George Bush’s army? I am of the oppinion that children should be exposed to violence in a constructive way. Have them kick the daylight out of each other in a martial arts class. Once you’ve gotten kicked in the ribs you know it hurts like hell and will think twice about doing to someone else just on the off chance that he/she may do it back to you. Simply put, sanitize your childrens’ world from violence and you raise adults with no experience of it, no respect for its extremes, totally self-centred because they believe what they dish out never comes back, or totally pathetic ending up being bullied anyhow. Violence is part of human nature. Deny that at your own risk. Prohibition has never worked and it never will. Rather, take an interest in what your kids are doing. Play the games with them. Then at least you’ll know what they are being exposed to. And there may be the off chance that it keeps you young and thinking.

      • #3078447

        Limit sales of violent video games

        by deonz ·

        In reply to Limit sales of violent video games

        All too simplistic?

        I started gaming back in the 80s on the Commodore 64. Before that I toyed with Atari. I’m now in my early thirties and still love gaming as much as I did then. I have no criminal record. I got my first speeding fine last year (15 km/h above). I’ve been in one fight all my life – and both of us got some. I’ve pretty much played everything PC related out there and still participate in LAN events. As an experienced gamer I have started taking exception with titles such as Doom 3 and Quake 4. I wiped both half-way through. Why? Because they are an insult to anyone with 2 brain-cells. They contain no story-line and their only selling-point is the graphics. Gameplay is utterly predictable. Yet, there are recent titles like the Knights of the Old Republic series (or earlier Deus Ex) – brilliant. A believable uninverse. Are they any less violent that Doom or Quake – no. The point here is that for some the gaming industry has stood still. Games are becoming increasingly like interactive movies, and movies have plots. The good gaming houses have realized this.

        This brings me to my point – at which age should a kid be exposed to violence? None during the childhood years and then straight to George Bush’s army? I am of the oppinion that children should be exposed to violence in a constructive way. Have them kick the daylight out of each other in a martial arts class. Once you’ve gotten kicked in the ribs you know it hurts like hell and will think twice about doing to someone else just on the off chance that he/she may do it back to you. Simply put, sanitize your childrens’ world from violence and you raise adults with no experience of it, no respect for its extremes, totally self-centred because they believe what they dish out never comes back, or totally pathetic ending up being bullied anyhow. Violence is part of human nature. Deny that at your own risk. Prohibition has never worked and it never will. Rather, take an interest in what your kids are doing. Play the games with them. Then at least you’ll know what they are being exposed to. And there may be the off chance that it keeps you young and thinking.

    • #3198612

      Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Locksmith Opinions that just didn’t fit my usual newsletter/column format.

      Satchel Page said, ?Don?t look behind you,? but Santayana said,
      ?Those who don?t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it,? while Dr. Phil (pop
      behavioral psychologist and not much of an original thinker) says, ?The best
      predictor of future behavior is past behavior.?

      Over 45 years in the IT game I?ve found that the real trick
      is to decide what recent events are predictive and which ones are just
      background noise.

      In IT security you need experience and technical skills but
      you also need the right kind of education to see into the future ? personally I
      studied both quantum physics AND behavioral psychology. Before I began in
      computer security I fleshed out that meager resume with several years working
      for law enforcement and later a private detective firm. In fact, I was even a
      real locksmith so, while I?m not always right about future trends, I?m seldom
      uncertain.

      I?ll leave it to you to decide which recent events were background
      noise and which predict the future but I have my opinions and I bet you can
      guess what they are.

      >A few years ago Congress passed anti-spam laws (which did
      little except to make spam from big businesses legal) but the same legislators
      have failed to protect private data or pass any laws against phishing (it isn?t
      even a federal crime to COLLECT someone?s private data, only to ?misuse? it
      later).

      The lesson ? Don?t look to Congress
      for protection in personal data matters. The old saying, ?We?re from the government
      and we?re here to help you,? is still a good reason to hide your wallet and run
      for cover.

      My reasoning ? most people elected
      to Congress are lawyers and their campaigns are paid for by businesses that
      simply LOVE to collect data about customers and potential customers. Why would ?their?
      legislators vote against it?

      >A number of serious vulnerabilities in the much-touted open
      source Firefox browser surfaced soon after Rel. 1.0 appeared ? this despite
      years of development in the ?superior? open source environment.

      The lesson – although it is sometimes
      patched more quickly, the open source model isn?t necessarily more secure
      except to the extent that it is often smaller (smaller is always more secure).

      My reasoning ? useful software is far
      too complicated to ever be perfect. As for the open source idea of fixing vulnerabilities
      before they cause damage, why would malicious hackers share any bugs they had
      found before they had a chance to exploit them? Only the honest testers report
      problems.

      > FBI Assistant Director Louis
      Reigel, head of the agency’s Cyber Division, said in December 2005, ?Al-Qaida
      and similar groups do not have the ability to disable power plants, airports
      and other ‘critical infrastructure’ through the Internet.”

      The lesson ? terrorists can
      probably disrupt the Internet or at least some vital services whenever they
      want to.

      My reasoning ? much as I respect
      FBI work in some areas, outside the crime lab technology isn?t their strong point. It
      took more than a decade for the FBI to really grasp that child predators were
      actively prowling the Internet for victims; they routinely reject ideas and ignore
      threats reported by non-FBI sources or even by agents outside HQ (remember Minneapolis
      agent Coleen Rowley and 9-11?
      ); and the bureaucrats quickly at the top dismiss
      threats they aren?t really able to address adequately.

      My evidence? Just a month before The
      Assistant Director?s statement, the FBI?s own computer system almost collapsed under
      the flood of emails triggered by the Sober worm. Most worms have been created
      by individuals, so is it difficult to believe a well-funded terrorist
      organization couldn?t do something a 17-year-old German hacker can do?

      >President Bush gave secret orders allowing The National
      Security Agency to spy on people in the U.S., including citizens, without
      warrants either before or after the fact. Both the CIA and NSA are precluded by
      law from conducting surveillance of people inside the U.S. For better or worse,
      that job was specifically given to the FBI. Even worse, they could have done
      the same surveillance legally by getting secret warrants.

      The lesson is ? if the president
      can decide on his own to turn the NSA loose on anyone, then none of your data is
      ever really safe, not even from the people who are required by The Constitution
      to protect us and by their oath of office to protect The Constitution. If you
      have really critical data, never transmit it electronically.

      My reasoning ? politicians will
      always do whatever they think is in their best interest, even in violation
      their own laws. Heads of state often do so. Why? They do it because they think they can get
      away with it, even when if it is illegal. Several Senators, including Russ
      Feingold (D) Wisconsin, have said
      the White House activities are illegal. Sen. Feingold said on TV that President
      Bush is just making up laws as he goes along.  In addition, US District Judge James
      Robertson of the same Foreign Intelligence
      Surveillance Court that would have had to pass on
      wiretap requests recently resigned in protest. (Some in Washington are even whispering the dreaded ‘impeach’ word.)

      >Open source advocates continue to ignore flaws in their favorite
      software development and support methodology. They point out how bad Microsoft
      is, while failing to explain why Microsoft continues to enjoy a massive
      market share despite being so terrible. Open source advocates cite all the
      reports of problems with Microsoft software but, until open source fanatics (as
      opposed to those who, like me, are merely reasonable advocates of using open
      source where appropriate) temper their rants and admit that the main reason
      Microsoft flaws are so well known is simply because most people use Windows and
      IE.

      The lesson comes in two parts –
      Microsoft is likely to remain the dominant force in business and home software
      for years to come. Open source will never gain a real foothold until there is a
      solid business model to make money off of it. Marx and Engels thought people
      would work hard for the good of others without compensation ? communism failed
      because most people do what is in their own interest or benefits them.

      My reasoning also has two aspects ?
      First, most people using computers don?t understand them and will continue to
      use what is shipped pre-installed on their computers ? they will also continue
      to demand Microsoft because that is the brand name they know. Second, many open
      source fans fail to grasp what Newton demonstrated and every sailor knows in
      their bones, it takes a very, very long time to turn a supertanker and there
      needs to be a very good reason to start the process.

      Quick snippets

      Some trends I intend to watch in 2006 include:

      >The threat from bird flu (if it hits some government plans call for drastic
      quarantines of large areas, including closing national borders); increasing
      world-wide terrorism; and especially the end of the age of oil (world oil
      production may already have peaked, see http://www.peakoil.ie) will continue to
      push e-commerce and e-business activities including teleconferencing,
      telecommuting, and online collaboration, while reducing the need for big
      companies to have centralized management in large cities. Bet New Yorkers have
      some special thoughts on that just now!

      >Outsourcing from industrialized countries, especially to China
      and India will continue and accelerate. While the number of U.S.
      engineering graduates
      continues to drop, China and India are graduating a vast number of
      high-level
      engineering students each year and will soon host most of the world?s
      engineer
      work hours. In the past many of the top foreign students studied in the
      U.S. and stayed here to work. With today?s improved communications they
      are now training
      at home or heading back because they can live like kings on relatively
      low
      incomes within their familiar cultures.

      >The real pocket book threat to average computer users is
      identity theft and that is mostly due to social engineering, not worms or flaws
      in browsers. Social engineers don?t care what OS or browser people are using.
      Far too much is made of technical threats and far too little attention is given
      to the human threat. More people and companies will realize that in 2006.

      >Some sophisticated users are beginning to move from
      Google to Clusty.com, a search site which does a far superior job of sorting
      and displaying ?hits.? Clusty?s superior interface will soon force other search
      engines to make it easier to locate just the information you want.

      >California
      passes cyber and privacy laws which force Congress into taking action – that almost
      always weakens state cyber laws. Look to your state for legal cyber protection but
      realize that you stand to loose protection when Congress steps in if there is
      any business anywhere which benefits from weaker laws and has a lobbyist in Washington.

      >Look for China to take piracy much more seriously in ten years when their engineers are
      responsible for most new inventions. A sign of the times? Chinese could always
      buy Marlboro cigarettes, but they were counterfeit ? Altria (Philip Morris) is about
      to license the cigarette in China.
      Can movies and software be far behind?

      Final word

      I?ve been doing this a very long time ? too long according
      to my wife (GRIN) but I?ve always been fascinated by computers and constant
      advances in the IT field have always kept my interest fresh.

      Never before in history has any new technology had such a
      massive immediate impact on society so quickly as PCs have in the past quarter of a century.

      Automobiles essentially governed social changes in the 20th
      century and personal computers will do so in the 21st.

      It is already hard to imagine a world without computers but
      the first PCs were sold only 25 years ago. This technology is still in its
      infancy. Comparing a Pentium computer to a Model T isn?t far fetched.

      Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz were born before the American
      Civil War. The first Benz was sold in 1894 and Steinway (the piano people) built
      Daimlers on Long Island before WWI. Ford was selling Model T?s in 1909 but most
      roads in the United States were still unpaved in the 1930?s and the car didn?t
      radically change life in the U.S. until after WWII (motor vehicles also
      radically changed the way wars were fought) ? that was essentially 60 years from
      the initial product to major societal changes.

      By contrast, the first microcomputer kit (the Altair 8800)
      appeared on the cover of Popular Electronics in January 1975 (the magazine cost
      75-cents and also carried a story about a $90 pocket calculator ? more powerful
      ones are now given away as advertising premiums.)

      But while computers are making information available even in
      rural China, I am concerned that the United States is falling far behind in the
      technological race. In terms of scientific and mathematical literacy the U.S.
      is rapidly becoming a third-world country seriously debating Darwin.

      Computers were essentially invented in England and became a massive
      agent of change when IBM built the first PC. Most computer components now come
      from overseas and ?IBM? labeled computers are built and sold by a Chinese
      company.

      But that is only a concern to me because I live in the U.S. and,
      anyway, I really work on the Internet so it has little major effect on
      me. I mention it because it is a major power-shift in the world of
      technology, not because I think it is either bad or good. For
      developing
      countries, the growth of businesses which don?t consume massive amounts
      of
      natural resources and export knowledge while keeping workers (and their
      incomes) at home is probably the greatest single advance in society
      since the
      end of Feudalism.

      I may be wrong, but I’m not uncertain – 2006 will be an interesting year.

      • #3080943

        Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        by glennaaa1 ·

        In reply to Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        Debating Darwin does not automatically qualify a country as ‘a third-world country seriously debating Darwin.’.

        In fact I challenge you to produce one incontrovertible fact that proves ‘Molecules to Man’ evolution. Micro evolution happens all the time, but Macro evolution is unscientific and is based on faith not fact.

        A man of your ‘scientific’ training should be aware of that or do you really swallow everything you are told without thinking it through?

      • #3080923

        Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        As a scientist, what I always notice first about the
        complaints that evolution hasn?t been absolutely proven with every single piece
        of evidence filling in every single gap
        , is that, while there are millions of
        pieces of data supporting Darwin?s
        concepts, there isn?t a single piece of evidence for creationism or intelligent
        design
        .

         Faith, or an inability to understand just how statistics work
        and how many possible things might happen in a couple billion
        years,  isn’t the same thing as evidence.

        So, the current score is:

        Millions of pieces of evidence proving evolution

        Zero evidence proving intelligent design

         

        Science and technology are all based on scientific
        method rather than faith. What non scientists tend to forget is that,
        when you
        come to the bottom line, airplanes fly, people can easily create new
        breeds of
        dogs and chickens in just a few years, medicine works, and so forth. If
        scientific method didn’t work then we couldn’t have medicine,
        technology, etc.

        And, looking only at a single instance, the famous penguin movie –
        just what is so intelligent about laying eggs on glaciers and birds
        having to walk miles to the sea to gather food?
         

        Faith is a wonderful thing, it just isn?t science. Also, of course,
        there are an awful lot of different faiths and believers in each one
        say their is the only correct one so that poses a problem when you try
        to make faith the basis of technology.

        In science it is easy to see what works.

        While a scientist can certainly believe in god and have a firm
        faith, a scientist doesn’t let faith substitute for facts and never
        confuses the two.

      • #3095297

        Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        by darinhamer ·

        In reply to Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        Look, I’m not going to try to convince you that intelligent design is correct. What I find offensive is that if someone disagrees with Darwinian evolution, those people are written off as stupid. The truth is, that there are millions of pieces of evidence that support the theory of evolution, but nothing that proves it. The same evidence often supports a belief in intelligent design.

        And it is not a lack of understanding of statistics that causes people to not believe in evolution. In fact it is a growing understanding of how statistically impossible it is that life evolved as Darwin suggests in the short time that the Earth has existed–yes, billions of years. The reason, as you say, that intelligent design doesn’t have any ‘evidence’ to prove it, is because every time that someone presents evidence, it is utterly ignored or the definition of ‘evidence’ is changed by those who have a blind faith in Darwinian evolution. I believe that there is real natural evidence that points toward intelligent design, but at the very least, there are millions of pieces of evidence that point away from Darwinian evolution. But that evidence is ignored by neo-Darwinists.

        And the scientifice method is not what the orignal posted comment was criticizing. I think we can all agree that the scientific method has produced some pretty tremendous technical advancements in the past 100 or so years. The problem is that Darwinian evolutionists tend to ignore the scientific method when they argue in favor of their idealism–naturalism. No amount of evidence can be presented to a neo-Darwinist that would cause them to ask any of the pertinent questions that scientists should be asking. They simply stick to their ideology in spite of the evidence. That’s fine and you have a right to do that, but don’t disparage others who do ask the questions and come up with different answers.

        The main point of my post here is to say that there are many extremely intelligent people who support intelligent design theory. They include biologists, mathematicians, philosophers, doctors, lawyers, computer engineers, and many others. Disagree with them. That is your right. But please respect that this difference of opinion about the evidence does not make these people unintelligent or incapable of coming up with technological advances.

        I enjoyed your article and think you have some good points. And even though I think you’re wrong in you’re posted comment, I enjoyed reading it and getting your perspective. Good job.

        By the way, creating new breeds of chickens and dogs is more an example of intelligent design than evolution. 😉

      • #3094872

        Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        Sure, there is no proof of evolution, just millions of pieces of evidence it is true.

        There is also no proof that the sun will rise tomorrow, just millions
        of pieces of evidence and none to the contrary. When I hire someone to
        work for me I give preference to the ones who expect the sun to rise.

        If you don?t believe it is important that people understand
        the difference between theology and science, then logic says you should
        hire
        your engineers and doctors from Yale or Harvard Divinity Schools.
        I?ll hire mine from MIT , CMU, and Harvard
        Medical. My point, of course, was that most successful technology
        companies will prefer to hire engineers over graduates from a theology
        school, at least to design products. Theocracies tend not to be highly successful in business or scientific fields.

        I do have lots of good Amish neighbors but they don?t
        believe in electricity or internal combustion engines any more than they
        believe in Darwin and you probably do have a car and electric lights. I did
        notice some Amish in my cardiologist?s office last week though so perhaps faith
        depends a lot on where you place your priorities and what threats you are
        facing.

        (Actually the Amish just think that living without electricy and
        such gives them just as good a life as modern life, but at least they
        are honest about it and don’t just accept all the benefits of science
        and technology while denying their underlying logic.)

        I could be wrong.

        I am encouraged by the fact that you admit
        that intelligent design doesn’t require much intelligence and you see
        that even people can design things, such as new dog breeds – I guess
        that might indicate that it doesn’t take all that much intelligence to
        design when even your average puppy mill owner can do it. Kinda makes
        you think that it could even happey just by accident, doesn’t it?

      • #3096567

        Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        by darinhamer ·

        In reply to Locksmith Looks Forward (and back)

        I’m encouraged that you can admit that evolutionists can’t seem to tell the difference between theology and science. I, too, would only hire engineers, or any employee, who thought the sun was going to rise tomorrow. Whether that engineer believed the sun was created or just came into being by chance and natural law really has no bearing on whether he or she can design computers or bridges, etc. An engineer can be a fine engineer and a scientist can be a fine scientist regardless of their beliefs related to the origins of life and the universe.

        Intelligent design theory is the study of natural evidence to point to the origins of life and the universe. Evolution theory is also the study of natural evidence (and ignoring much of it) to point to the origins of life and the universe. Carl Sagan, a scientist, when presented with the statistical improbability of life starting on this planet through nothing other than chance and natural law, given the age of the universe, suggested that perhaps there were an infinite number of universes. Surely if there were an infinite number of universes, one of them would be able to have the right conditions for life to begin, and we just happen to live in that universe. Of course, science cannot study those universes because they would exist outside our own. I wouldn’t argue his point, but it requires a great deal of faith to believe something like that. Sounds a little like theology doesn’t it. Would you not hire Carl Sagan? Intelligent design theory is not theology. When the discussion gets to the nature of the designer, if there is one, then that’s theology.

        By the way, I doubt that either one of us could design and build a dog. That is beyond either of our capabilities. But evolutionists tend to refer to creating new breeds being evidence of Darwinian evolution. It is not. Darwinian evolution requires a genetic mutation which results in a feature that was not present in the parents. Dog and cat breeding is simply removing the unwanted genetic material and concentrating wanted genetic features by carefully planning breeding as opposed to allowing it to happen naturally. So you’re point about design being a simple task is really erroneous.

    • #3077550

      Buying an Xmas PC

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      OK, I stipulate that I?ve been doing this for far too long
      to have any illusions but still I recently agreed to buy a computer for a
      friend.

      If all goes well (and it seldom does,) they will think it
      was no big deal. If it doesn?t, and there are a million ways it can go south,
      then they will blame you.

      Nevertheless, I agreed, as a friend, to help my farrier (the
      person who cares for the feet of my miniature horses and donkeys) buy the least
      expensive computer possible to meet her needs.

      I always tell people that the ONLY way I will do this is if
      they set a specific amount they want to spend and I will hit that on the dollar
      ? otherwise the number of options is simply too bewildering to contemplate.

      Although it took three hours of arguing and demonstrating
      the number of options available to get her to agree, she was the first person
      who actually set a fixed price ? in this instance $320.

      I had already decided to give her an old monitor of mine
      (which was worth more than the entire computer she could afford) which saved on
      shipping too.

      So, first I went to Dell and ordered a closeout model which
      cost $335 ? I was going to eat the delivery cost as an xmas present. I
      got a confirmation email from Dell complete with the invoice and exact
      configuration I had ordered online.

      This and that, yada, yada, yada, two weeks later Dell
      finally confirmed (after the 5th or 6th email back and
      forth), not only that it was NOT on it?s way, but that it was an ?improper?
      configuration and the computer wasn?t available any more, mind you, that was
      two weeks AFTER I got my first confirmation from Dell that the order went
      through.

      So, not being a complete dummy, I also cancelled the order,
      just to be sure (my computer CYA instinct is very strong), even though Dell had already told me in two emails that the
      order hadn?t gone through in the first place.

       Now it was a week before Xmas, so I turned to WalMart.com
      and found a PC, without monitor, but apparently with everything else, including
      XP Home, DVD, and CD-R, for $328.95 including shipping.

       
      The WalMart computer arrived in three days. It had taken me all of five minutes to order it online.

       I hooked it up, loaded in some essential software
      including OpenOffice and Firefox, and, to safeguard my
      reputation and sanity, a complete Norton/Symantec security suite.

       Great! It booted a half dozen times and ran for 24 hours
      here so I called Blu and she took it home at noon, along with a free trial to
      PeoplePC on a CD-ROM.

       By 7 p.m. she had called, leaving a message that, not only
      couldn?t the software  locate the modem, it was now refusing to boot ? on the day before Xmas
      eve, the computer was back at my place.

       
      Only then did I discover that WalMart had sold what may be the
      ONLY home PC in the Western world which didn?t include a modem. Blu had somehow
      plugged an RJ-11 phone cord into a 10/100 Ethernet port ? this PC came with
      powered speakers, but not the phone connection advertised (the listing was
      brief and didn?t specifically say there was a modem but did say there was a
      phone jack which I foolishly assumed meant it had a Windows modem built into
      the motherboard).

      So I ran GoBack to before I had gotten the PC (strangely the
      software I installed was still there, but it booted fine now),
      installed a USR modem I had recently pulled from a
      computer that was now on a wireless network.

      Everything was fine, but my good deed had still turned
      around and bitten me on the A**, despite having taken every precaution I could
      reasonably think of, and, despite having experience buying personal computers going
      back to a Tandy terminal which predated the Tandy CoCo, which predated the
      first IBM PC.

      This has actually restored my faith in the computer industry
      ? as I near retirement age, if not actual retirement, I can see that I will
      always be able to find a job for the next thirty years or so of my golden years
      – helping people buy and keep their computers running!

      Oh, BTW, guess what happened the day AFTER I ordered the WalMart PC?

      Yep! I got a
      build/ship notice from Dell for the PC which they had told me multiple
      times  I hadn?t actually ordered –  and a full three days
      after I cancelled it just to be sure.

       It only took five more emails to get the shipment stopped!

      AHH the joys of online shopping and how the mighty have fallen
      – I actually got FAR better customer service from WalMart, spent FAR
      less time placing the order, got delivery FAR faster, and even saved
      money!

      To be fair, only a week before I had
      ordered Dell’s fantastic 24-inch LCD monitor and it arrived in perfect
      condition, in only a few days, and at a great discounted price (there
      was a sale available to everyone, they didn’t know I was a journalist).

      So, based on two orders Dell gets a 50% rating from me for last year on electronic purchases.
      Based on three purchases WalMart gets a 100% rating (I also bought some Linksys and USR hardware in the local store.)

    • #3099314

      Use a cellphone? everyone knows your name

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Some people think and even say out loud that I am paranoid.

      Of course as a security specialist I am professionally
      paranoid but even the average person on the street is now learning that you can
      never be paranoid enough.

      You may not have seen the reports on TV yet but you will
      soon ? your cell phone records of incoming and outgoing calls are all a matter
      of public record available online for about $100.

      This should be particularly scary for those who are trying
      to hide from domestic violence, celebrities, or executives who will now find
      that all their private contacts are well known and will probably be posted on
      the Web in one Blog or another.

       But it is also a major concern for anyone in IT management
      or security because of the massive potential for social engineering.

       Who would question a call to a very private cell phone
      number which you think is only known to company executives or the help desk?

    • #3258798

      Supreme Court Rejects RIMM

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Your blackberry may stop working now that the U.S.
      Supreme Court has declined to hear Research In Motion?s request for a stay in
      the lower court ruling which involved a patent infringement suit.

       RIM has been involved in a patent fight with NTP over the
      wireless email technology used by Blackberry devices.

       RIM had petitioned the Supreme Court to review the claim by
      the Virginia-based NTP on the basis that RIM is based in Waterloo, Ontario and
      is therefore not subject to U.S. patent rules. 

      This has been an ongoing battle since the Virginia U.S.
      District Court ordered RIM to pay an 8.55% royalty on any U.S.
      Blackberry sales back in 2003.

      Today the Supreme court rejected the appeal which puts the
      case back in the U.S. District Court but RIM hasn?t been sitting still and
      relying on the lawyers, they have also developed an alternative technology
      which, unfortunately for RIM, has been rejected by the U.S. PTO.



    • #3134449

      six more weeks of winter!

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      OK, it’s not technology, but I am on location so I thought I would share this with my readers here.
      7:23 a.m., Feb 2, 2006, Phil DID see his shadow!
      There Will be 6 more weeks of winter!
      Special bulletin – Phil emerged carrying TWO Terrible Towels!

      For groundhog day lore and links to photos from this year’s GHD celebration, visit http://www.punxy.net.

    • #3133876

      Kama Sutra, Blackmal, BlackWorm minor threat

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Early reports out of Australia indicate that the latest big worm threat hasn’t turned out to be much trouble so far.

      I predicted that as soon as I saw that it was being reported on TV.

      I haven’t seen any big damage reports out of Europe either so I think this one will fizzle out.

    • #3096836

      If it’s on TV it’s probably a false scare – here’s why

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Well, surprise, Kama
      Sutra was a big bust, so to speak (pun intended). I was concerned at first
      about this first big worm of the new year as I saw reports on the number of
      infected computers, but most anti virus vendors were rating this a low-level
      threat and the virus was known and in AV update packages long before the
      trigger date so, while concerned, I certainly didn?t panic my clients.

       But I can trace the exact moment
      when I knew it was going to be a bust ? the morning of February 3 when I saw the first national
      TV news report on Kama Sutra – when it was too late to
      do anything about preparing for it by installing AV software or updating
      signatures.

       In case you hadn?t noticed, TV
      news is in the business of scaring people and is very self-absorbed. After some
      news organizations were taken down by malware because they didn?t take any
      precautions, newsrooms are now hypersensitive to the threat.

       Don?t agree? Well, how else do
      you explain the incredible amount of coverage given to an injured TV talking
      head when he and his cameraman were injured in Iraq?
      There was more time devoted to them than to all the injured or dead Iraqis AND
      all the injured and dead military personnel in the entire previous week!

       TV folks are always announcing
      that so and so is off on assignment, or caught a cold, or is having a baby or know
      someone who did. Who cares? They, including the weather person who mostly
      reports what already happened or what you can see by looking out a window, do
      little but wear makup and read news reported by other people who actually go out and find
      facts. That and chat among themselves trying to seem more interesting than all those other talking heads.

       If you scare people enough, they
      will be very certain to watch every news program to see what new threat is coming.
      This makes it difficult to separate real threats such as avian flu or failing
      schools (which are mostly the fault of governments), from artificial threats
      such as home invasions or random shootings which are actually extremely rare
      with violent crime dropping steadily for nearly a decade!

      Likewise, you seldom see a report on TV
      about the real threats to computer security from insiders, or social
      engineering, or the dangers of donating computers to charity without removing
      the hard drives, or the dangers to privacy posed by  poorly designed software.

       Of course I reported in my column
      about the Kama Sutra/Blackmal threat and many here on
      TechRepublic covered the threat. It would have been irresponsible not to pass
      along a warning because we cover all IT threats here and Kama
      Sutra did have the potential to be dangerous. The difference is that we cover
      the REAL threats also.

      Don?t forget what I said about
      this worm in my Locksmith Column back on January 30,

       ?I just don’t know how dangerous
      this new threat is. However, I suspect it won’t amount to much because it’s
      already in the virus signature databases of most antivirus programs.

      Keep your head down and maintain your security software!

    • #3254277

      Stupid OS Tricks

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      If you are reasonably cautious about keeping your
      AV
      software and firewall configured properly and especially if you aren?t
      dumb
      enough to open every single stranger e-mail promising a glimpse of
      porno, you
      probably won?t experience any serious malware attack so I haven’t been
      driven in desperation to abandon all my favorite programs and buy a
      more expensive Mac.

       
      But there are still things about Microsoft?s operating
      systems which drive me absolutely up the wall.

       
      Is there anything worse than not having an easy way to
      configure Word to ALWAYS display the latest files I’ve worked on? Why
      isn’t there a simple way to configure the dialog to ALWAYS default to
      the desired “details” VIEW?

      Sometimes one view shows up, somethimes another
      and, since I get complaints about this all the time from clients I KNOW
      I’m not the only one who cares.

      My install of Office XP also seems to have some glitch which causes it to close improperly about 8 times out of 10, triggering annoying error messages I can’t do anything about and hiding
      my latest files when I reboot. They aren’t damaged, they are still
      where I put them, but they don’t show up unless I search for them. That
      only happens once or twice a week when I am forced to reboot for some
      reason, so it isn’t nearly annoying enough to force me to reinstall XP Office and discover new and exciting bugs.

       So, is there anything worse than these periodic file storage annoyances in Word?

      Yes, there is.

      I happen to have several old computers which only have USB1
      hubs. They also don?t have room for a new USB board which would give those old
      systems USB 2.0.

       I know this. If it were important
      to me I would fix it
      somehow. But the point is that I have no need for the extra speed of
      USB 2.0 on these particular PCs and, besides, I ALREADY KNOW about the
      problem.

       So, why does Microsoft program XP to constantly pop up error
      messages reminding me of this?

       I can understand one error message, one time, or even once when I reboot, with an option to shut off the useless
      warning, but three warnings every single time I turn on my monitor or plug in an external USB hard drive?

       What idiot decided this was necessary but was too dumb to
      simply have the software perform a further check to see that there IS no USB
      2.0 port I can switch to?

      I do not suffer fools gladly and, if I had the
      option, the one who programmed this stupidity would be fired instantly
      and permanently banned from the programming profession.

    • #3101120

      WildBlue two-way satellite Internet offers speed and reliability to remote locations

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      The Job

      Our business is located on a ranch with no available cable or DSL high-speed options. In addition, we needed secure and highly-reliable service which doesn?t depend on telephone or cable providers? reliability. The solution must also support remote Internet access and a separate secure workgroup network. Our options were a two-way satellite link or wireless Internet service (only available in limited areas).

      The Tool

      After carefully considering our available options, we went with a two-way satellite system from WildBlue.

      Click here to see our gallery of John’s WildBlue installation.

      WildBlue offers several subscription options based on bandwidth usage, including special enterprise business packages for more than 10 sites. We choose the Value Pak with provides download speeds to 512Kbps and upload speeds to 128Kbps for $50 a month.

      A WildBlue modem is required to connect one or more customer PCs to the WildBlue network. WildBlue uses standardized modem technology based on the DOCSIS cable modem standards to offer a low-cost, small satellite modem. WildBlue provides professional installation of the WildBlue equipment which will take 2-3 hours. Wildblue offers a limited warranty on equipment.

      Putting it to the test

      A week after checking out a local demo installation and placing the
      order, a local installer arrived to install the WildBlue satellite
      dish, run cable to our cable closet, and install the high-speed modem. This took about two hours total. My installer team included a close neighbor, but other users report their installer traveling 100 miles or more at no extra cost to the customer.

      Since the system is entirely self-contained, you only need to connect a PC to the modem for configuration ? no software or hardware is installed on your computer. For convenience we used a tablet PC then connected a wireless switch/router in its place but setup could have been done through the wireless network so the dish and modem don?t even need to be hardwired into your building.

      The dish is larger than satellite TV dishes, measuring 28-inches by 26-inches. We have mission critical businesses so the modem was connected to an inexpensive UPS. Total power consumption for the modem, which also powers the 30GHz. dish transmitter, is 85 watts. Since we have a remote location a 802.11g network can be secured easily and we use a Linksys wireless switch/router.

      We immediately achieved about 450Kbps downlink speed and about 100Kbps uplink speeds across our network. This has varied somewhat during use but has never been as slow as dialup and is above 300Kbps downlink speed virtually all the time with uplink speeds averaging about 80Kbps. We contracted for 500Kbps downlink speeds and you can upgrade to 1Mbps or 1.5Mbps simply by paying the higher rate, no service visit is involved.

      The dish was conveniently mounted on a storage building but could have been mounted on our main building. The only consideration is a view of the south-west sky (from the east coast) and a certain minimum height because the dish is a powerful microwave transmitter and has to be mounted where no one can reach it accidentally. The installer had to add extra bracing inside the wooden building which he did quickly and professionally at no extra cost. He also ran the cable, although we buried it (our choice, he was prepared to do so.) The 1.4 lb modem/power supply (9-inches high, 8.5-inches deep, 2-inches wide) is connected to the dish by two supplied cables and output is 10/100 Ethernet via a standard RJ-45 connector.

      Right tool for the job?

      After several months use which included high winds (gusts to 65MPH), snow, sleet, and rain storms, we have only experienced a few minutes of weather-degraded performance. Peak performance wind rating is listed as 45 MPH; the maximum operating wind speed is supposed to be 60 MPH; and dish survival is specified as 100 MPH wind speed. We are in a very high wind area and selected the mount location so we could easily add a small windbreak for the dish but haven?t found that necessary.

      Once or twice a month the link has gone down for no apparent reason ? it usually reinitializes in a few minutes, but always restarted immediately when the system was cycled through a cold restart (powered our UPS off for a few seconds, then back on.) System configuration is stored in non-volatile memory and reboot requires no user intervention.

      WildBlue is a shared-bandwidth service with no fixed bandwidth guarantee, but we have only experienced a few minor slowdowns which were definitely related to satellite or ground station overload, a few other problems were almost certainly due to problems on our local wireless network ? they disappeared too quickly to be able to test. Just to see if I experienced unusually good service, I researched WildBlue at http://www.dslreports.com/ and found that virtually all the comments were positive.

      WildBlue did experience some growth problems at the end of 2005 and they temporarily halted new installations until they could increase capacity to keep up with surging demand. Contacting customer care was easy and got a fast response, although I had no real problems so I couldn?t fully judge the quality of the service. Overall I give WildBlue a 9 (out of 10) Service and 5 (out of 10) Price. Among the solutions many positives, the system provide a fast, reliable installation, easy speed upgrade if desired, we own the equipment, the service and hardware are guaranteed, the system can be run off a small UPS, and no PC is required for installation. On the downside, WildBlue is the cheapest of the two-way satellite services I explored, but is considerably more expensive than wired options such as cable and DSL.

      Write your own review
      If you’ve found the perfect tool for the job, we want to hear about it. Send us an e-mail
      describing the product and the job you’re using it for. If we feature
      the product in The Right Tool for the Job? blog, you’ll earn a little
      cash and be featured across the TechRepublic Web site and in our
      newsletters.

      • #3101641

        WildBlue two-way satellite Internet offers speed and reliability to remote locations

        by ds4211a ·

        In reply to WildBlue two-way satellite Internet offers speed and reliability to remote locations

        I live in an isolated area where DSL is not available. My fastest dial
        up speed was 26 KBS. It was usually even slower. I read about Wildblue
        in The Wall Street Journal and decided to give it a try. It started out
        great. Everything was so much faster. I decided to download a few Linux
        releases so that I could decide which one was best for me. That was the
        start of my problems with Wildblue. All of a sudden my browser speed
        was down about the same as when I had dial up. This was around the
        holidays. So I figured Wildblue had some servers down or tech staff
        off. So I didn’t pay much attention.

        The slow speed continued into January. So I finally called Tech
        support. That was when I was first told about “the fair access policy”.
        Actually, it was in the fine print of the contract that the installer
        gave me after I signed off on the installation. It turned out that I
        had exceeded the 10,000 MB download limit for December. I actually
        downloaded 10,266 MB in December. So Wildblue reduce my acces speed
        down to 100 KBS. I was told that my acces speed would go back up after
        I dropped down to 80% of the 10,000 MB cap.  I did know that I was
        allowed to connect up to 3 PC’s to Wildblue under the terms of the
        value pack. So I connected my PC and the PC’s for two family members. I
        asked how it could be called “fair access” if I was limited to 10,000
        MB for three PC’s while someone using a single PC could use the entire
        10,000 MB. The Wildblue representative could not answer the question. I
        also sent an e-mail message to Wildblue tech support asking the same
        question. I never received a response to my question despite a follow
        up e-mail.

        The really good news is that Wildblue decided that 10,000 MB was just
        too much band width for the value pack. So I will be limited to 7,500
        starting with March 2006. The upload limit will drop from 3,000 MB to
        2,300 MB. By the way, the more expensive plans will also have
        reductions in their bandwidths. That part has never been a problem for
        me. In fact, I wonder why I couldn’t exchange my unsed upload for
        download. But never mind that.

        I realize that satellite time is expensive. My major complaint is 
        that this policy was never explained to me when I inquired about
        Wildblue. I am also not happy about Wildblue further decreasing the
        bandwidth after I signed a one year contract for the service.
        Naturally, Wildblue’s attorneys had to forsight to add this possibility
        into the fine print on the contract.

        Other than that, I am satisfied with their service. My service was down
        one night when I decided to do something in the middle of the night. I
        called tech support and was informed that routine mainteance was being
        performed on the servers.  The tech support person could not give
        me an estimate of the down time. But the service was up and running the
        next day. I recently had a temporary outtage during a heavy rain storm.

        Back to my Linux downloads. I have had no problem connecting to
        Wildblue with any of the Linux releases that I have tried. My most
        recent experience was browsing using a “Damned Small Linux” release
        running on nothing but virtual memory.

      • #3100677

        WildBlue two-way satellite Internet offers speed and reliability to remote locations

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to WildBlue two-way satellite Internet offers speed and reliability to remote locations

        I’m sorry you had a problem. I found the fair use policy to be clearly
        explained to me but that doesn’t mean you didn’t have a different
        experience.

        I agree that the main site should probably have more prominent
        information about the fair use policy, I guess they may be relying too
        heavily on local installers to be up front with the information.

        I do know that running two PCs 24X7 with streaming stock quotes and lots of other activity, I never came close to my limits.

        I am curious, are you sorry you tried WildBlue? I think that would be a
        valuable comment for other readers, along with your thoughtful
        explanation of the problems you encountered.

    • #3267276

      Bird Flu, is IT Prepared?

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Companies are just beginning
      to recognize the incredible impact a bird flu pandemic and the resulting panic would have on world
      business activity.

      Fortunately, increasing
      reliance on teleconferencing and telecommuting would greatly reduce the impact
      on those businesses which are prepared to take full advantage of their IT departments.

      I don?t want to scare anyone
      unnecessarily but the fact is that H5N1 is LIKELY to become the next big
      pandemic and organizations such as theInternational
      Monetary Fund
      are now warning businesses that they should be prepared for
      short term economic disaster.

       The World Health Organization is now
      predicting that human deaths from bird flu (if it migrates to people)
      cound be in the millions worldwide which will trigger a real panic.

      What IT can do is prepare to
      support more telecommuting, put remote support procedures into effect, and
      encourage upper management to pay attention to the danger if a pandemic hits
      and 50 percent or more of the workforce are absent.

      Remember that Governments and airlines
      already have quarantine plans in place to stop all movement and, if an airplane
      lands in most countries with someone who has the flu onboard, all passengers
      will be kept isolated for 7-10 days.

      That means that your
      executives and sales staff may be isolated even if they aren?t sick and
      IT
      needs to prepare them to operate entirely electronically from any
      isolation location.
      That means, among other things, that they will need VoIP from laptops,
      perhaps satellite phones, as well as simple things such as carrying the
      power supply for a laptop even on short
      trips when they would normally just rely on the battery.

      Although the TV networks are
      just now beginning to discover the danger, I have been covering it for more
      than a year and you can always turn to my free research page for current
      information on this and other topics. http://www.helpdotcom.com

       BTW, I am recommending to my
      clients that they lay in a supply of N95-category dust/flu masks for their
      workers. Using those and frequent hand washing will greatly reduce the chance
      of catching or spreading bird flu or any flu.

      The biggest danger may be from public panic which
      could disrupt business activities even if bird flu turns out to be
      mostly a false alarm.

      • #3267131

        Bird Flu, is IT Prepared?

        by tundraroamer ·

        In reply to Bird Flu, is IT Prepared?

        So who will help IT when it’s one or few people are all down for the count?

      • #3267087

        Bird Flu, is IT Prepared?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Bird Flu, is IT Prepared?

        IT people need to be given special status and permission to do unusual things such as remote support/management.

        Every situation will be unique, but in some situations I could see closing the office to everyone EXCEPT IT, or forbidding anyone else from interacting face to face with IT, or perhaps staggering their work hours to keep them from contact, and giving them all masks in case one of them is beginning to catch the flu.

        The critical period for any given location would probably be just a few weeks.

      • #3266210

        Bird Flu, is IT Prepared?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Bird Flu, is IT Prepared?

        IT people need to be given special status and permission to do unusual things such as remote support/management.

        Every situation will be unique, but in some situations I could see closing the office to everyone EXCEPT IT, or forbidding anyone else from interacting face to face with IT, or perhaps staggering their work hours to keep them from contact, and giving them all masks in case one of them is beginning to catch the flu.

        The critical period for any given location would probably be just a few weeks.

    • #3076895

      MS Vista fumble and IE6 flaws

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Just as Microsoft gained some points when it turned out that
      the Redmond Giant was providing
      great assistance behind the scenes to the police in tracking down international
      kiddie port criminals, they dropped the ball on their core software.

       

      Microsoft has delayed the release of the next generation Vista
      OS into next year.

       

      Could this drive more PC makers to selling hardware with
      some flavor of *nix installed rather than see a flood of complaints when buyers
      are told they need to upgrade to a new OS a month or two later?

       

      I know I wouldn?t advise any clients to buy new office PCs
      with XP Pro this fall when I know a major new OS will be released early in
      2007.

       Meanwhile, Microsoft is checking out two new serious or critical flaws in IE6.

      More on that as things develop.


    • #3074299

      latest on bird flu

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      There is both good news and bad news on bird flu.

       

      It turns out that the reason bird flu in the current
      mutation doesn?t spread easily to or between people is because it is a deep
      lung infection in humans, whereas it infects the upper respiratory system in
      birds.

       

      Actually that doesn?t say anything about the probability of
      it mutating to something which spreads easily between humans, but it does show
      what mechanism needs to change and the reason it is so deadly in humans.

       

      That does expose a glimmer of hope that if and when it does
      mutate to an easily spread upper respiratory infection in humans and DOESN?T retain
      the ability to cause a deep lung infection, it may be considerably less deadly
      than the current 50% mortality rate in humans.


      <
      http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=4024c032-5413-46bf-9b01-67d6dfa83f4a&k=69192

       

      (Small comfort perhaps since the 1917-1918 pandemic was
      devastating with only a 5% mortality rate.)

       

      The BAD news this week is that it has been confirmed that
      there are now two strains of H5N1. The older one from 2002-2003 (clade 1) which
      people pointed to as evidence that it was unlikely to mutate to a human form
      since it had been around quite a while, and the new one (clade 2) which
      apparently only appeared about 9 months ago and has been responsible for most
      recent cases.

       

      http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/24/content_4338869.htm

       

      Meanwhile, it has spread to Japan
      in birds.

      http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24565391.htm

       

      Of course the biggest threat to business may simply be the
      panic which could ensue this fall and winter when people start coming down with
      the regular flu and everyone panics, begins to hoard food (as Homeland Security
      and other agencies already recommend but they call it stockpiling or
      preparedness) and starts calling in sick just to avoid the chance of catching
      it.

       

      This threat poses major economic consequences even if there
      is never a single case of bird flu in the U.S.

    • #3100255

      If cars were more like computers

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      There was a story in the Financial Times the other month
      which indicated that Microsoft wanted to be in every car.

      We already have loads of computing power in cars and trucks,
      but have you considered what would happen if cars really became significantly like
      computers?

      >Their power would double every few years.

      >The price of a car would have gone down by about 60%
      every decade.

      >They would take so little energy to run them that it
      would be difficult to measure accurately.
       

      Sounds great and you?ve probably heard such comparisons
      before.

      But consider the rest of the picture:

      >Your car would suddenly stop working several times each
      week for no apparent reason and no one would know how to fix it, but sometimes
      just turning if off and on a few times would do the trick. Other times you
      would need to have it completely dissembled and then reassembled EXACTLY THE
      SAME WAY and it would work perfectly.

       >The car would have to go to the dealer for regular
      updates every week or two and for a major rebuild every couple of months ?
      otherwise your warranty would be void.

      >It would take weeks and several training sessions even
      for experts to learn how to drive a new car well and use all its features,
      after which you would periodically have to spend several hours on the phone to
      someone in India trying to learn where the gas gage was moved during the latest
      update and how to get the brake and gas pedals back on the floor and the
      gearshift out of the trunk.

      An unknown (but large) number of keys to the car would be
      hidden under the bodywork where the owner can?t see them, the manufacturer doesn?t
      know about them, but every thief has a diagram pinpointing their location. At
      every update a few more keys would be hidden, along with an occasional copy of
      your credit history.

       The mind boggles.

      Is it any wonder that my favorite cars are 2 240Zs, one 1973
      Trans AM, and a Sunbeam (Carol Shelby)
      Tiger? The only real common denominator is that none of them have any digital
      computers.

      • #3264113

        If cars were more like computers

        by covenant5 ·

        In reply to If cars were more like computers

        Neither does my cat, but I still need to house-train it.

      • #3263957

        If cars were more like computers

        by apotheon ·

        In reply to If cars were more like computers

        Well, sure, if I was using a Windows car all that would be true. At least half those problems would evaporate with an open source car, though. Plus, y’know, it’d be free.

        Have you seen Neal Stephenson’s In the Beginning was the Command Line? It’s a truly excellent piece of writing, and the analogy of the OS business to the car business is thoroughly hilarious. Hysterical, even. I recommend it quite highly.

      • #3084108

        If cars were more like computers

        by colonel panijk ·

        In reply to If cars were more like computers

        I have no love for Windows, but if this were an Open Source car:

        • Where the driver sits would vary from model to model. Let’s say in the right-rear seat.
        • Some would use a steering wheel (possibly turning left to go right!),
          some would use aircraft-style pedals, and others would use a sailboat
          tiller.
        • While in Windows the hood [bonnet] is welded shut, not only can it be opened
          in OS, but the complete blueprints are stuffed in the glovebox and
          there’s a complete machine shop in the trunk [boot], in case you ever
          want to build a new car.
        • The speedometer is under the hood and is calibrated in furlongs per fortnight,
          the gas [petrol] gauge is under the front passenger seat and reads “full” on the
          left side, and the turn signal flashers have been replaced by a mechanical hand
          that points left or right.
        • There’s a different (but similar looking) key for each door, and the
          trunk, and the ignition.
        • The four fenders [wings] come from four different make and model cars and are
          different colors. They’re faired together with generous applications of Bondo.
        • The owner’s manual consists of two Xeroxed sheets filled with indecipherable
          engineer talk.
        • Well, you get the picture…

        — Phil Perry

      • #3084038

        If cars were more like computers

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to If cars were more like computers

        No, I like the author but I hadn’t seen that; thanks for the heads up on that apotheon!

      • #3084027

        If cars were more like computers

        by somebozo ·

        In reply to If cars were more like computers

        Microsoft car.

        1. your car may stop responding under heavy load or traffic and you will be required to turn it of and back on again.
        2. it will have a high price tag
        3. will need regular updating from the manufacturer
        4. everything is will be at the right place and will fit in correctly
        5. the mechanics will be the hardware and the interior will be the software, therefore you can just buy the parts and build yourself a custom engine for your car..however you cant fiddle with the interior.. not even a bit.. not even relocating that start button..
        6. and then we would have pirated cars all over the street and third world.. i bet its easier to catch pirated cars than software
        7. corporates will have volume lisenced cars
        8. they will have stylish designs (GUI)
        9. installing accessories will be a plug in and plug out job.
        10. your car will interoperate with pocket pc, xbox, anything M$

        Open source car.

        1. Everything comes from a different vendor with no approach to collabration.. therefore everything will just sort of work..
        2. All broke ass nerds hacker wanna be’s will own one
        3. it will be free.. at the cost of gas guzzling
        4. u can choose the GUI (car design) to be KDE or GNone
        5. the car will not die on you in middlest of heavy traffic or on a race track 😉
        6. you will look at your cool buddies at the signal driving MS car and having all cool features which you will probably never have
        7. your documentation is all.. gibberish figure it out yourself stuff
        8. even to install a minor accessory in your car, you have to go through the hell of compilation and shit
        9. you will have a lot of flavours of cars available to choose from
      • #2964978

        If cars were more like computers

        by phcarmaster ·

        In reply to If cars were more like computers

        If cars will have computers then hackers have the power to take your car away. But giving the positive side its better to have computers because they will give accurate result. You can see if you have low battery or its not recharging. You can change alternator before they give you more problem.

    • #3265102

      Is Microsoft about to collapse?

      by tech locksmith ·

      In reply to Power User

      Is Microsoft about to collapse?

      That?s a pretty bold question when you ask it about a
      company with $56 billion in cash, but just take a look at it from a business standpoint
      ? fortunately we have a solid example for comparison (that?s how Harvard
      Business School

      does this sort of thing.)

      Take GM (Ford is similar but less dramatic) ? GM makes cars
      and trucks which fewer and fewer people want except for a few enormously
      bloated, expensive, and resource-hungry SUVs.

      What people want are comfortable, safe, low-cost, efficient,
      well-designed and, above all, reliable products which are readily from other
      vendors.

      GM needs a minimum of 3-5 years to produce a new product and
      those are so similar to older products that most potential buyers don?t see any
      difference.

      >Product development is a weak component.

      As a company General Motors had a relatively captive and
      competition-free market (except for Ford) for decades but, once the market
      turned against it and competition arrived, management failed to respond. Consider
      how much worse shape GM would now be in if they had NO competition from Ford!

      GM has far more employees than it needs to produce what people
      actually want to buy and, compared to other workers with similar job skills, GM
      pays them far too much.

      A major problem at GM is the way they offer guaranteed
      lifetime employment ? not a recipe for encouraging innovative employees. GM
      even has to continue paying workers who aren?t working, to the tune of about
      $120,000/year in total costs.

      Last week?s riots in France
      (many of us know how wonderful it is to deal with French shop employees) were triggered
      by a new law which would make it possible to fire a new employee within two
      years without going to court. (Quick – name three highly successful French
      companies.)

      It only takes a glance at a Chrysler dealership to see that
      some companies can make both rapid and successful product design changes.

      What does all this car talk have to do with Microsoft?

      GM got where it is by having, a near monopoly ? essentially being
      able to print money ? which lead to complacency in product design, quality
      control, and even in the way employees are paid.

      Microsoft ? when you make billions of dollars by essentially
      duplicating CDs, you can pay employees as much as you feel like and load on the
      benefits, which is what they did.

      But, how many people does it really take to develop a powerful,
      relatively secure operating system?

      I?m not certain, but I bet Linus Torvalds could make a good
      guess and it would probably be about ten thousand fewer than Microsoft needs to
      NOT turn out products on time.

      Let?s say 10 people could develop a reasonably secure OS ? according
      to the latest annual report, Microsoft
      spent $6 billion on research and development last year.

      Now, how many people does it take to publish, pack, and ship
      software?

      Well, we could ask the various groups which deliver multiple
      CDs with multiple versions of Linux. They sell them for little more than the
      cost of shipping. Certainly less than a double decaf late

      Microsoft spends $12.8 billion on marketing it?s products (some
      of which is the cost of publishing and shipping.)

      I bet Amazon.com could handle Microsoft?s production volume
      with a couple hundred people.

      Are you beginning to see a trend developing here?

      Now, you would be right to point out that Microsoft also
      produces Office ? true, but the situation is identical (see openoffice.org).
      Office XP has a lot more features than OpenOffice, but how many of them do you
      actually USE?

      Microsoft is still making a lot of money. But so was GM a
      few years ago, so what clues are there that I might be right?

      Well, Wall Street is often a lot smarter than people think,
      so let?s check their opinion of Microsoft.

      MSFT (Mr. Softie to the street) stock hit a split-adjusted peak
      of about $60 a share early in 2000, since mid-2002 it has never gone above $30
      and, in the last year has hovered between about $24 and $28 ? not exactly a
      screaming bull market.

      I realize that Microsoft does a LOT more than just sell
      Windows and Office ? there are server, Internet, development software, and
      enterprise products, but other companies also sell those things. The big
      difference for Microsoft is Windows combined with the Office suite.

      What brought this all to everyone?s attention was the way Steve
      Ballmer and Jim Allchin totally failed to produce Vista AND Office 2007 by the deadline
      that would have put them on computers and in stores for the gigantic Xmas 2006
      buying season (which is the same as the end-of-the year capital investment tax
      buying season for businesses.)

      MSFT ? signs of the time

      Number of employees ? 56,000

      Canary in the mine clues:

      >Stock benefits to employees being cut to save $60
      million annually.

      >Medical benefits to employees cut drastically (proposed
      $40 drug co-payment will save another $20 million.

      >Vacation time cut for new employees from three weeks to
      two.

      >Paid parental leave restricted.

      >Flagship product shipment delayed past peak selling
      period.

      >Competitors selling equivalent products for far less ?
      actually many competitors are simply giving away equivalent (even superior) products
      such as Firefox and FreeBSD.

      >A stock value that has declined for five years in a row when
      you factor in just the government?s claimed rate of inflation (that?s the one
      which ignores the surge in cost for housing, food, and energy.)

      Now I?m not saying Microsoft is on the verge of collapse; it
      certainly isn?t. But, although people always fail to see it, water eventually
      runs downhill and the trend isn?t promising.

      Lots of once gigantic companies have lost their way and become
      small players ? some common factors involved include:

      >Formerly highly innovative, new products have become predictable and cheaper generic
      competitors appear.

      >Management and employee payrolls become so bloated that
      rapid changes to meet competitive challenges becomes impossible.

      >Founders who build a company on one or two ideas become
      less involved in the low-level product development.

      >Market dominating complacency leads to massive waste and
      lack of quality control.

      Just my opinion of course but I can tell you that, even if
      it weren?t unethical for me to own stock of a company I report on, I wouldn?t
      be lining up to buy MSFT ? I might think about shorting the stock but I have to
      cover all my GM short positions first and the tax consequences of taking THAT profit
      would be horrendous!

      Want to see who’s next On the Soapbox? Find out in the Blog
      Roundup newsletter. Use this link to automatically subscribe and have it
      delivered directly to your Inbox every Wednesday.

      • #3263686

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by taskman! ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I think that a balanced discussion about Microsoft’s future
        prospects must include a list of the things they do right. I don’t have the
        time or the inclination this morning to attempt a complete list, but I’ll
        contribute a few just-off-the-top-of-my-head items – in the hope that others
        will flesh out the list.

        I became a Microsoft developer by acquisition – Fox Software to be precise.
        Despite years of predictions of FoxPro’s imminent demise, MS has continued to
        develop the platform. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed when VFP was not
        merged into the “grand vision” with the other programming platforms
        in Visual Studio, but all the same Visual FoxPro has not been treated as a poor
        relation.

        I have, actually, tried hard not to be further usurped into the MS camp – I
        have experimented with Linux, Perl, PHP, MySQL, Open Source, Open Office, etc.
        I develop applications for the small business community, and keeping costs in
        check is important. Linux came with the same price that I found Unix/Xenix to
        have 15 years ago – hard to configure, hard to maintain, and expensive to hire
        assistance for. Raw Perl and raw PHP are primitive compared to modern desktop
        programming languages. IDEs are available, but everything seems to come from a
        different source and tends to be as hard to implement as Linux itself.

        Don’t tell me it can be done. I know that. It has been done. Many developers
        are highly successful with the whole mish-mash of MS alternatives that are
        available. My point is NOT that MS alternatives are not viable. My point is
        that MS has done a few things right, and an unbiased look at this comparison
        has to include a few of the things they are doing right::

        – They have a KnowledgeBase that is – to the best of my knowledge –
        unparalleled. It is free to all and well-indexed by Google. As a developer, I
        have not had to call their tech support line in years. Virtually everything I
        bump my head on has been documented, along with step-by-step instructions for
        resolving my issues.

        – Taking into consideration the vast array of software they develop, Microsoft
        is fairly consistent with their interfaces. Once you know how to work in MS
        software, you can find your way around most any other piece of MS software.

        – Microsoft DOES study usability. Whether you agree with their interface
        choices or not, they design with the end-user in mind.

        – Microsoft has an incredible developer training program, which includes both
        live and webcast events almost every business day of the year. Much of their
        training is free and it is real training – not just marketing.

        – Microsoft continues to dominate the OS and browser market, despite the
        gigantic target on their back and their forehead. All the talk about Apple,
        Linux (desktop) and Firefox being more secure is largely based upon the fact
        that their market share is miniscule compared to MS. (For the record, I use
        Firefox as my primary browser, and IE7 will have to be pretty awesome to change
        that.)

        – Microsoft applications work together. They publish reams of documentation on
        how to integrate their offerings.

        – While Google is throwing mud at the wall and watching most of it slide right
        off, Microsoft has a tendency to enter markets with purpose and resolve.

        – Microsoft bundles most of the products a developer needs into subscriptions
        that make being a MS developer a very reasonable proposition.

        – However skewed MS comparisons may be, the fact is that it IS more expensive
        to implement a platform that is poorly supported. Microsoft is out to make a
        buck – and they deliver commercial quality product with commercial quality
        support for the buck they charge.

        – Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 is an awesome tiny adaptation of the Windows
        platform, and the integration of mobile development into Visual Studio will
        paying increasing dividends for at least several years to come.

        As a developer, I finally came back around to Microsoft for several of the
        reasons listed above. It became very frustrating to try to work around them. I
        think Open Office is a great alternative for any business which does not need
        the most advanced features of an office suite, and MySQL is an awesome SQL
        platform if cutting-edge SQL features are not necessary. I recommend, consume
        and deploy these (and similar) free resources whenever possible. But I am tired
        of trying to mix solutions from 12 different sources in order to avoid MS. I am
        tired of having 12 different installation/configuration experiences in 1
        deployment (and – yes – I HAVE heard of LAMP). It makes more sense for my
        clients to pay a little extra for the necessary platform, if it means that the
        implementation can be simple and consistent.

        Smart people think too much. Most of the havoc in my own life was created by
        other-thinking – always trying to outsmart the world. I have come to view all
        the Microsoft-bashing that is going on in the media currently as just more of
        this over-thinking, fear and misplaced “rebellion”. Fear that MS may
        take over the world. And rebellion of the sort lampooned in the Sprint (?)
        commercial (Boss says, “It’s just my way of sticking it to the man.”
        Subordinate responds, “But, sir – you ARE the man!”)

        As mentioned in the original blog post – there are quite a few large
        competitors, and there is still plenty of new turf to compete over.
        Anti-Microsoft religion is no better than Pro-Microsoft religion. It clouds our
        judgment. As developers, we should be rewarding the companies which provide us
        with tools to do our jobs more efficiently. So far as I can see, Microsoft is
        currently doing enough things right to fend off the wolves at their door for
        many years to come. And – if my assertion is true – MS platforms should receive
        the same consideration as any other when planning a new project.

        I believe Google is in a much more precarious position than Microsoft right
        now. Virtually all their income comes from advertising sales – driven by a computing
        infrastructure that must be exceedingly expensive. They have invested heavily
        in a diverse array of other web adventures – most of which have come out of the
        oven half-baked. If they do not have a vision that goes beyond what I have seen
        so far, they may eventually find themselves no more than a gigantic advertising
        brokerage. Google’s future is a far more interesting speculation than that
        about Microsoft, in my estimation.

      • #3263641

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        While I had no intention of being fair and balanced in stating an opinion, I wasn’t bashing Microsoft.

        Mr. Gates has made me a small fortune with his softwere and done civilization a great service in making
        PCs popular and relatively easy to use (I well remember when I had to program RAM disks to make a computer fast enough to use.)

        And, on a personal basis, he seems like a very “good” person; certainly there are lots worse ways to spend a
        gigantic fortune than the ways the Gates Foundation has selected.

        If you read a few of my columns you’ll find that I am very fair in addressing Microsoft software
        issues (and Microsoft’s PR people agree.)

        I’m merely conducting a rough financial analysis of sorts – the type I would do for any company
        I might invest in.

        To carry the car analogy one step further, I was very partial to my old Stingray and enjoy driving my 455 Trans AM, but
        doing a few things right wasn’t enough to save GM. When the majority of people (especially companies) eventually realize they are paying a lot of money for software which is neither secure nor reliable, Microsoft will be in really deep trouble.

        BTW, the reason I keep stressing stock values is simply because they are the way you measure both the value
        of a company and the consensus about its future prospects. MSFT doesn’t have an impressive chart, not even with the dividend.

      • #3265388

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by georgeou ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        With all due respect, you?re trying to compare Microsoft?s stock to that of a dot.com which is nuts.  MSFT along with Cisco, other leading companies, and the S&P 500 have been in a relative slump for the last 5 years because they were way over valued at the height of the dot.com era.  Most of these stabilized companies have settled in to the proper P/E ratio.  You can?t compare it to a fast rising dot.com with no profit and an infinite P/E ratio.

        For the first time in recent months, Microsoft has surpassed UNIX in data center market share.  People aren?t migrating away from Microsoft on the desktop.  Declaring the death of Microsoft is just silly.

      • #3264115

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by george.martinho ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Microsof will not collapse mainly because there aren’t any good alternatives for desktop pcs that are user friendly, stable (not that Microsoft are) and that offer big corporations assurance that will be there for the next 3-5 years. Furthermore, look at office family, look at email servers and clients options, etc… there aren’t really any big contenders out there and that’s why they are still the giant they are.

      • #3264101

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by deniskc ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I can appreciate your viewpoint, but it is a well-worn one which I have heard for well over 10 years now.

        The prediction of the MS collapse is as popular as the doomsday myth.

        The problem with open source is how to set standards and how to sustain these in an economy that depends on revenue. The adage that “you pay peanuts, you get monkeys” is especially true, resulting in the demise of all those socialist societies at the end of the last century.

        I am pro MS, but I am also interested in the goings on of the open source community.  I also develop in Java and like many others have investigated Linux, PHP, and all the rest.  But for everyday use, it’s Windows all the way.  That’s the key to the Microsoft success.  They have the secure market penetration, they have the image.  It has become a mindset as anyone who has tried to push Linux onto a non-geek will know.

        As for your sustainability analysis, well maybe you could check back with Bill in about 10-15 years time.  You might just be able to say “I told you so” …

      • #3264098

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by beyond borders ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Interesting read but do not miss the fine print in Microsoft?s business style ?

         

        ?    Microsoft is the ONLY large enterprises who admits it has missed something then goes aggressively after that market ? Macintosh gave birth to Windows, Novell to Windows NT, Lotus to Excel, WordPerfect to Word, Netscape to IE, Google to Windows Live, Playstation to Xbox, Palm to Pocket PC etc etc etc & by version 3 they are dominant! Their $56b cash allows them to get it right over several iterations! And eventually its very own competitors utilize MS products ? Sun releases Windows servers, Palm releases a Pocket PC

        ?    Microsoft admitted in 2004 that their current development method was outdated and they will not be able to compete in the future if they don?t change ? so they did change and starting rewriting Vista in components and that is why Vista is coming out late THIS year instead of early 2005! Moving forward we will all witness rapid feature releases on Vista.

        ?    It is because of people?s desire for reliability that Microsoft has delayed the release of Vista by another 2 months. This delay means that it will be released in October but that gives too little time to get it onto the shelves for Xmas so it is being generally released in January and anyway do you think consumers will spend on an new PC with Vista or PS3 this Xmas?

        ?    Microsoft has been doomed to die so many times because of the impending takeover of the web browser, internet appliance, open source and now Web 2.0 (of which I believe MS is already the undisputed leader ? Google aside!).

         

        What everyone forgets is the staying power and aggression of Microsoft!

      • #3264087

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by beyond borders ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Interesting read but do not miss the fine print in Microsoft?s business style, see details below  ?

         

        ?    Microsoft is the ONLY large enterprises who admits it has missed something then goes aggressively after that market ? Macintosh gave birth to Windows, Novell to Windows NT, Lotus to Excel, WordPerfect to Word, Netscape to IE, Google to Windows Live, Playstation to Xbox, Palm to Pocket PC etc etc etc & by version 3 they are dominant! Their $56b cash allows them to get it right over several iterations! And eventually its very own competitors utilize MS products ? Sun releases Windows servers, Palm releases a Pocket PC

        ?    Microsoft admitted in 2004 that their current development method was outdated and they will not be able to compete in the future if they don?t change ? so they did change and starting rewriting Vista in components and that is why Vista is coming out late THIS year instead of early 2005! Moving forward we will all witness rapid feature releases on Vista.

        ?    It is because of people?s desire for reliability that Microsoft has delayed the release of Vista by another 2 months. This delay means that it will be released in October but that gives too little time to get it onto the shelves for Xmas so it is being generally released in January and anyway do you think consumers will spend on an new PC with Vista or PS3 this Xmas?

        ?    Microsoft has been doomed to die so many times because of the impending takeover of the web browser, internet appliance, open source and now Web 2.0 (of which I believe MS is already the undisputed leader ? Google aside!).

         

        What everyone forgets is the staying power and aggression of Microsoft!

      • #3264084

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by sailer ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I had a strong sense of deja vu as I read this blog.  Twelve years ago the the comparison was Unix and Windows NT.  Then as now, the reader was assured that Windows would never amount to much in the business environment.  Them as now, Unix/Linux strong points were compared to Windows weak points.  The logic employed is similar to that used to prove Elvis is still alive. 

      • #3264078

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        As an MSDN Universal subscriber and long-time tester, I have every version of Windows.

        I don’t know any office manager who would swap NT for Unix.
        I too remember that people were predicting the death of Microsoft more than a decade ago.

        However, I wasn’t one of them.

        A couple differences:

        OpenOffice

        FreeBSD

        Massive security threats

        Major delays in major products

        Entire countries and mini-empires (EU) demanding that MSFT straighten out it’s game.

        Stock which is in a slow decline instead of a screaming uptrend.

      • #3264068

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by smogmonster ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Let’s look at what Microsoft do.

        The vast majority of their business is to produce software. They are a business much like any other (but a hell of a lot bigger) and are therefore entitled to produce their wares within copyright or patent laws.

        Linux is open source and programming code is available to anyone – so be it. BUT IT IS NOT SECURE. You have the source code for any version out there and that means that anyone can screw around with it. If microsoft want to keep source code it locked away in a safe in a deep cave in the middle of nowhere, behind a gate saying “BEWARE OF THE TROLL” then so be it. You make a lock some dipstick will want to pick it.

        Microsoft are upfront when there is a problem, and fix it asap. They also scan releases to check for other bugs and security issues. No other software supplier except for anti-virus developers release updates as often.

        Credit where credit is due.

      • #3264058

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by andrewrbruch ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Quick – name three highly successful French companies

        Alcatel
        Vivendi (water services)
        Les Lyonaises des Eaux

      • #3264054

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tony hopkinson ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Well I feel MS will keep struggling on for a while yet, the home desktop market will keep them alive if nothing else, along with their hand inglove operation with various hardware manufacturers. I don’t think we’ll see a big chnage in MS’s fortunes either way untill we get another step change in technology. If their sheer inertia makes them late in or puts them in denial, they’ll die a death, if they grasp it as an opportunity, their empire will have new life breathed into it.

        So it’s rumours of my demise are in error, senility however is a point.

        PS SmogMonster. Yes Open Source means you are at liberty to change the code, however if you choose to do something underhanded in there, your peers will spot it. If a closed source company chooses to do something underhanded for instance a rootkit to be topical, your only chance of detecting it is to notice the effects. Open Source means it’s open to peer review, it’s actually less open to abuse because of that, not more.

        Sorry to go off topic but I couldn’t less that piece of misinformation go past without comment.

         

      • #3264051

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by jaqui ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        With the current trend in software to be in selling support services until Microsoft reduces the cost of the software and targets the support services market I don’t see their stock value as having much chance of increasing.

        The French Government’s recent assault on proprietary content from Apple, and the EU’s assault on Microsoft itself for anti competition practices both are sending a clear message, “that the time has come to change the commercialsoftware industry”.
        It appears that both are saying that Apple and Microsoft should look at the successful open source software company’s business model and adopt it as much as possible.

        Strictly from a business viewpoint, looking at the commercial software vendors decline or holding pattern on the stock markets since the dot com bust, then comparing them to the incredible improvement by only one open source company in that same period, I would have to say that the open source model seems to be where the best investment is currently. The open source company I am referring to is Mandrakesoft.sa in France, they went from being very close to invoking bankruptcy protection on 2003 to being able to outright purchase 2 other distributions in 2005. To completely turn the business direction around in a 2 year period and make such a drastic improvement in their financial situation does say that they have implemented a business model that is worth looking at.

      • #3264048

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by dcmantommy ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Like the stereotypical, cynical CS mind that denies the existence of God because they have an innate contempt of authority and fear of submitting their will and intellect to ANY higher authority or mainstream success, this individual makes unjustified leaps and bounds where cynicism defies reason.

        I developed Finite Element Method and Medical Imaging software in open source.  Once I began programming in a Microsoft IDE it was clear to me why they are the best and most successful software company in the world.  Why any developer who has been on the other side of the fence would CHOOSE to not use Microsoft is beyond me.  It’s like saying, “Please, make me less effective at achieving my goals in life.”  The FireFox guy is absolutely right.  You cannot put a pricetag on productivity.  Unless you are making Avionics and truly need Ada, why would you want to spend your time in Open Source, battling the dirty and monotonous pitfalls, when MS platform shields you from the majority of those pitfalls with integrated guidance, frameworks, SDKs, and KB. Personally I’d rather spend my brain power and time in design and implementation, and let the platform remove my dirty work so I can be better at what I do.

        Also does this guy know anything about OS development?  10 developers LOL!  To achieve what MS has achieved with Windows and Server?  LOL!!!!  What is this some PhD hypothesizing their little project on a campus somewhere?  Sure you can build a rudimentary OS with 10 people like a University Prototype for some class project but LOL!

        The majority of security threats are to Windows, why?  Ignoramises assume that it is because Windows Security sucks.  It doesn’t.  It is the best!  MS simply has the hardest job because of supply and demand.  Everyone knows that 97% of systems run on MS platform.  You are a hacker.  Who will you target?  3% of the population, Macs, Suns, Linux, Unix?  That’s like a terrorist who goes to Skokie and suicide bombs a convenience store instead of the World Trade Center in NYC.  That’s why MS also has to employ the highest number of White Hats outside of the Government.  Do you know what a White Hat is?  Yet you can assume that you know anything about OS development and the true wonders that MS has achieved with Windows?  I couldn’t wait to see how some Open Source platform would respond to the volume of targeted attacks that Microsoft faces daily.  The inefficient Open Source development platform would definitely aid their response in turn LOL

        Microsoft will continue to succeed because they are the best at what they do.  They will continue to be the best at what they do because we have yet to see anyone even approach their achievements in the software community for consumer and business software.  When that day comes, and I see the comparable competition with my own eyes, I will start to worry about our friendly Giant.

      • #3264042

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by reconlabtech ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        This is paid blogging just to generate hits on the website right?

        Are you kidding me?  Comparing MS to GM? Why don’t you compare apples to Wonder Bras?

        Do you know how many people are demanding that MS NOT SHIP ANOTHER version until the current perfectly acceptable versions are fixed, secure, and debugged? 

        As for stocks, you better stick to your day job.  Your recommendation is the joke of the day with the real traders.

         

      • #3264039

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        quick, name three!

        While that comment about French companies was in the way of a joke,
        since someone took me up on it:

        Vivendi Universal was about 65 in 2001.

        V hit 34.55 yesterday (split adjusted)

        Although it is based in

        Paris

        , it has significant
        operations in the

        U.S.

        and the rest of

        Europe

        .

         

        Alcatel was about 38 in 2001.

        It was 15.64 yesterday.

         

        Sorry, 

        Lyonaises
        des Eaux isn’t a company I follow, but I think two out of three show that they aren?t doing
        extremely well, having lost a minimum of half their value in five years.

         

        Of
        course it depends on your definition of highly successful. (GRIN) AND FRENCH (GRIN)

         

        Bear in mind that those numbers are in U.S.$
        and don?t count inflation. When you hear that gold has doubled and housing has
        gone up 200%, that actually means that the dollar has gone down in value.

        Oil is different because it
        is a supply-demand problem but part of that increase is also inflation.

        If you count inflation then their performance is a LOT worse.

      • #3264033

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Reconlabtech

        ?As for stocks, you better stick to your day job. Your recommendation is the joke of the day with the real traders.?

        Can you let me in on the joke of the day? I can always use a good laugh.

        Not that I necessarily disagree with your opinion of my trading skills, but WHAT stock recommendation did I make?

        I don?t make stock recommendations except by accident. Mentioning a company doesn’t constitute a recommendation that someone buy or sell the stock.

        I mentioned Chrysler’s success, but I don’t even follow that company, I was referring to the vehicles, not the stock price (whatever it is now).

        I mentioned Amazon.com merely because they are experts in inexpensive distribution.

        In general, other than shorting GM a couple years ago, I spend most of my days trading FOREX and commodities along with some energy and precious metals stocks since they all profit from the incredible inflation which most people are ignoring. (I studied macroeconomics at a very old Ivy League school in New England and mathematics at another well-known school so I tend to think in numbers and money vs currency terms instead of whether I like a company’s press releases.)

        But if anyone thought I was recommending any specific stock investments, please ignore them.

        I wouldn’t even short GM at this point.

      • #3264032

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by md4 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        This article is completely stupid.

      • #3264008

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Lest anyone think they have wandered into a financial web site by
        mistake, I wanted to point out that the only reason I keep citing stock values
        is because that is the broadest measure of the value of a company.

        Stock values are simply a good way of making sure we are all seeing the
        forest and not the trees ? this is a special problem for security technicians
        who are always seeing the various features and vulnerabilities of products and
        sometimes fail to see the big picture.

      • #3263991

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by mllwyd ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        GM had competition, Microsoft doesn’t

        GM had competition from Ford, Toyota, Honda, and a dozen others. Consumers had a real choice. To say that open source products are any competition for Microsoft is ludicrous. So many businesses are absolutely dependent on Microsoft, and have no viable alternatives, that Microsoft is safe for a long time to come. 

        Why not viable? Open source and Linux are not a good idea for most businesses. Open source has no technical support. Forums staffed by the faithful isn’t good enough when the future of your business requires your software to function properly. If it goes down and you can’t figure out why, there has to be someone to call who can get it working again. If you’ve already invested in a technology like SQL Server, you aren’t going to want to spend the time and money converting it all over to MySQL or Oracle. If your tech staff know Microsoft, and don’t know Unix or Linux, you’d have to hire all new people who do know it–you don’t want to trust your Unix system to a newbie. Finally, your users can barely understand Windows even though they use it at home; they sure as heck aren’t going to get Linux.

        To make matters worse, Microsoft keeps buying up the companies that make the software that businesses are already using. Great Plains is now owned by Microsoft, for example, and Axapta, and Navision, and Solomon. I hate Microsoft, personally. My background is Unix and I use a Mac at home. But there’s no way I would recommend that my company move off of the Microsoft platform. We are far too enmeshed in its evil web of world domination.

      • #3263979

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I’d like to point out that the federal government is turning more and more to linux and that
        many small companies I know have switched to OpenOffice with no problem.

        Viable competition is growing, especially with decent GUI interfaces for Linux.

        Eventually companies will run on hard times again and start looking around for a place to save money.

        I think a lot of them will ask themselves “What has Microsoft done for us lately?”

        It may be too late to start learning Linux development and Linux security at that time.

        Those who read my column may find my comments a bit strange because I concentrate on Microsoft there.

        The answer is simple, Microsoft has the largest part of the market – TODAY.

        But I wasn’t at the forefront of covering MS-DOS and later Windows because I waited for everyone to start buying PCs or switch from DOS to Windows. I saw the trend and prepared for it – that’s also why I published two of the first few books on optical storage and CD-ROM.

      • #3263970

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by jmeredit ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Your GM and Microsoft comparison is perhaps relevant if we consider the GM of the 60s.  What first caused American auto makers to have serious competition was the so-called energy crisis of the 70s.  This event caused enough pain for the average user of the product for them to do something considered unimaginable.  That was to consider a Japanese car for the fuel savings.  These Japanese car companies then used quality as a differiencator to retain that market share.  Americans didn’t initially flock to Japanese autos because of quality differences.  They really wanted to just plod along doing what they had always done.

        Until some event forces Windows users to consider an alternative, no real threat to Microsoft will emerge.  Yes, they are cutting employee benefits, but that is more a sign of the times than an indicator of financial instability.  Even the GM of the 60s followed the general trends of US business.

      • #3263969

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by allthegoodnamesweregone ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        wow. just wow.

        comparing a company that essentially sells intellectual property to a company that sells cars?  Completely different situation.  If windows was open source, and we could all see how they make their product, then there would be reason to worry.  Other companies could take the best features of Microsoft’s product, give it thier own twist, add their own features, and undercut them on the price. 

        It’s going to be a long, long time before anything overtakes Windows as the #1 operating system.  How many people do you know who can deploy/administer FreeBSD and OpenOffice on the enterprise level? 

        61,000 employees, not 56,000.

        thanks for the laugh.

      • #3263968

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by michael ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Interesting question you pose. Though I don’t agree with ALL of your assessments, the big question is pertinent just the same. However, I’d like to present another side to this story … those who WANT Microsoft to fail… even at the expense of, well, great expense and effort.

        I am contracting for a very large company that made a decision to basically outlaw .NET (it’s on the “Restricted List” as a development tool in their company) and chose IBM’s Websphere Development tools as the environment and development tool of choice. Why? The only unique reason I can see their “informed research” made the pivotal decison is because Microsoft could not trump IBM’s claim of “cross-platform” portability.

        While “cross-platform” is an admirable goal, let’s see what the end result of this decision has cost in real work done.

        ********** More developers program in Visual Studio tools than any other in the world!

        The company I just left, I can stand up in my cube and talk to a Microsoft developer in the next cube in front, the one behind, the one to my side … I can go into another department and find a VB, ASP, VB.Net, ASP.NET,  C++, C#, SQL Server developer and address issues they may have already encountered.

        I can go to the most extensive Knowledge Base in the world for help on most any Microsoft product. I can Google and find pages of links to code samples of ANYTHING I may want to do. I can go to the book store and find scores of books on Microsoft development products for $19.95 to $59.95. A company can find a Microsoft Products developer just about any day of the week to fill a need.

        ********** Now, I’m not going to bash IBM …

        I’m glad they are trying to compete. But, they are just not Prime-Time ready with Rational Application Developer yet, when it comes to the scope of how Microsoft makes this thing easy. IBM’s Tool is VERY much more expensive to buy. It’s installation is bloated, cumbersome and cryptic (and we thought Microsoft was bad).

        I called IBM customer support, and to their credit, they were helpful. But, let?s face it … with a multitude of resources for Microsoft Development products; I don’t need their tech support. I haven’t called Microsoft Tech Support for their development tools since … hmmm… I remember a case in 1998 or so, when ASP was evolving into the integrated environment level and was being used probably beyond it’s ability at the time.

        With ASP.NET, I built an Intranet website for this company (to display reports) in a day and showed them the prototype. It took them weeks to finally determine their top brass had deep-sixed purchases of Visual Studio.NET and another week to get IBM’s tool to me. The site is not up yet.

        I can’t find a SINGLE book if Rational Application Developer in stock at the Barnes and Noble bookstore down the street. They could order me one, but the prices ranged from $69.95 to the mid $100’s! Code samples are rare and there is little discussion on the web about all the types of tasks a developer might want to do. I stare at the Splash Screen when I start the Development Tool long enough that I take a break for water and come back. They have arranged the interface to be functional like Visual Studio, but rearranged it to make it awkward to use.

        I hope you don’t mind me telling you I sincerely hope your prediction of Microsoft demise is truly wrong.

        The only thing I hate about Microsoft over the last few years is typing in that long-azzed Registration code for products I have to install.  ;~(

        Keep asking the good questions and getting the varied responses!

        Michael Buie

      • #3263967

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by allthegoodnamesweregone ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        “I’d like to point out that the federal government is turning more and more to linux”

        more and more? from 5 boxes to 7?  i’m an admin for a large federal network, we have maybe 2 or 3 boxes running linux.

        what part of the government are you referring to?

      • #3263963

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by unclerob ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        You cannot compare GM to Microsoft, it’s a bad comparison.

        GM has always had strong competition for it’s main product lines from all of the other major manufacturers: Ford (let it be known that Ford wasn’t the only main competition GM has faced over the years), Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, etc.   Microsoft to date doesn’t have strong competition against it’s main product line: Microsoft Windows.  Name another software vendor which makes an operating system that is used by the global majority (that means most of the inhabitants on this third rock from the sun known as earth) and show me that it makes comparable profits off of that operating system.   There are other operating systems: Linux in all it’s flavors, FreeBSD, Solaris, Apple’s OS X & previous releases, Unix (probably the only close second, although a distant one at that), etc, but none are as far reaching & encompassing as the MS Windows operating system & all of it’s releases (this includes desktop, pocket pc & server os’s).  

        Add to that the fact that M$ has some $56 billion in liquid assets, name another company in that type of position to date – I can’t think of one.  GE comes to mind but I don’t think they have that much cash in the bank.

        How else can you explain the fact that they’re so successful even with market dominating complacency as you put it and loads of quality issues, delays in RTM schedules.  Employee benefits being cut are only sign of the times for many companies not just Microsoft, and M$ isn’t doing this just to improve their bottom line, they’re doing it to make sure they have employees that stick around for the long haul instead of employees that stick around, get rich in a year and leave afterwards, several years ago employees would literally get rich off the stock option plans that M$ provided, it’s hard to hold on to talent when you make them so rich they can retire at a young age.

        You want to call M$ a cash cow that seems to be slowing down because of it’s immense size & weight, great go ahead.  But don’t compare them to GM – that company has had problems for the longest time, never ever had the kind of liquid cash that M$ has at it’s disposal, and will soon become a Chinese owned American Automobile manufacturer which will turn GM around and make it more profitable at the expense of it’s existing labour force & product quality.

        Heck I could start a rant on this topic that would never end but unfortunately I have to work during the day.

        Bottom line, IMHO, M$ & GM is not a good comparison (although you will probably be hard pressed to find a good comparison), although some of your arguments against M$ are factual that isn’t going to stop this company anytime soon.  It’s too big a company that has stretched it’s arms around this planet and won’t be letting go for quite some time, probably not until the planet is renamed to something like “Microsoft Earth (stick in version number here)”.

      • #3263959

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by apotheon ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Hey, Tech Locksmith — the loonies have really come out of the woodwork in response to this one. Were you a lightning rod in a former life?

        Good article. I’m not sure I entirely agree with the conclusion, but it is plausible at least. Keep up the good work, and don’t let the destructive impulses of people with an inability to imagine weakness on the part of their favorite software vendor get you down.

      • #3263944

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by beoweolf ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

          The problem with Microsoft is they have been TOO successful! They are and have been a target for not only their competitors…they are a target and threat to many governments and all levels. Their influence extends across idealogies, religions and borders. The democratization of Information is a threat that can not be tolerated.

        Please do not misunderstand this to be a rant about consipracy theories, its a statement of facts, easily verified by the range and number of attacks for open standards, open code at the same time as requests are being made for Back Door access to security features.

        M$ will be a target due to its size and the fact that in its current incarnation, it is resistant to influence. Gullivers travels is the model, today, once again..is the time and place.

      • #3266019

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by scott44 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Your analogy overlooks one key point.  GM’s fall began with the rise of Japanese competitors like Honda and Toyota.  There aren’t any Windows or Office competitors of that scale.  Linux is not analogous to Toyota.  I would equate it with something more like Fiat:  it’s cheap, easy to tinker with, and has a devoted following to be sure, but on a volume basis it’s never going to give MS/GM a run for its money.  Unless some new competitors (foreign or domestic) enter the marketplace with viable large-scale alternatives to Windows and Office, Microsoft isn’t going anywhere.  You can bash them all you want for taking too long to come out with new versions (frankly I’m probably more upset when I plunk down $ for a new OS just to have it become outdated in 2-3 years…I’d rather see more updates and fewer version changes), but nobody’s coming out with anything better on a mass scale.

         

         

      • #3266017

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by pickleman ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        No, Microsoft isn’t about to collapse.
        No, open source won’t take over the world.
        No, there are no little green men living on Mars.
        No, psychics can’t really talk to the dead.

        Any other stupid questions while we’re at it?

      • #3266003

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by shorne ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Not sure that stream of consciousness business
        analysis by a guy who is not a business analyst is very useful. Of course you
        are starting from a ludicrous premise. MS certainly has some business
        challenges but “about to collapse”? Come on. It would take many many
        years of bad business decisions and blowing through a boatload of cash before
        that question could even be considered. That’s assuming that somewhere along
        the line the company didn’t realize it had to make serious changes (ie IBM in
        the early 90’s).
        Also, as many posters have now pointed out, comparing software to cars or
        comparing a media company to a mining conglomerate doesn’t work.  
        Having said all this, had you given the premise a long view (Will MS be around
        in a dozen years?) and compared with a company like IBM, it would have been
        very interesting.

      • #3266002

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by codebubba ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        As “Pickleman said” …

        ———————————————————————–
        No, Microsoft isn’t about to collapse.
        No, open source won’t take over the world.
        No, there are no little green men living on Mars.
        No, psychics can’t really talk to the dead.

        Any other stupid questions while we’re at it?
        ———————————————————————–

        There’s little new about this situation (MS vs. Open Source, etc.) really.  The most highly successful one is the target of a bunch of tomato throwing by the “competition”.  I’ll be concerned about MS “collapsing” when I can no longer walk into an Office Depot and find exactly what I need to do the job which is exactly what Microsoft products do – and with excellence, to boot.  Visual Studio, Office … in a word OUTSTANDING pieces of work.  The biggest characteristic I read from all the other competition boils down to one simple thing: Envy.

        -CodeBubba

         

      • #3265994

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        allthegoodnamesweregone@…

        Actually, both my lady and I used to work for the federal government and I just retired from 20 years of writing the Power User Column for Government Computer News. I also have a very nice thank you letter here from the ATF for helping on a research project so perhaps I have a broader picture.

        There’s NASA AMES, DoD?s High Performance Computing Modernization Program, the recent FOSE convention, etc.

        http://appserv.gcn.com/cgi-bin/texis/scripts/gcn-search/search.html?client_id=gcn&qf.key=&frm_func=search&query=linux

        As for intellectual property, what else is GM selling if not for design ideas? Most countries have shown the ability to build cars.

        Check out the commercials ? are they selling a way of life? Or a way to transport yourself from point A to point B?

        Most businesses are in the intellectual property business, not just the music industry and software vendors.

      • #3265993

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by andytryna ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

            Microsofts delay of windows vista is a ploy to bully others in the industry. Manufactures are now wondering what componets to make and struggeling to make projected earnings. Stock prices will fall because of this ripple caused by microsoft delay. Is it better to stay on bills good side? We shall see.

      • #3265984

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Shorne

        Actually you might be surprised at my background in business analysis.

        I did study business for a while  – coincidentally the same place Mr. Gates went to school, and happen to know several GM engineers as well as people at Microsoft so I?m not speculating entirely in the dark here.

        But no, I certainly am not one of those talking heads who show up on business shows to make stock picks. I long ago noticed that they go on to the shows year after year; the host always reviews their past picks which are almost always very disappointing – usually one great pick, several mediocre one, and one real stinker; then the host hypes them a bit and asks for their new recommendations.

        But to address your comment directly, I have noticed that Microsoft HAS blown through a lot of cash (remember the dividend ? a failed attempt to bolster the market value of the stock?), AND made a lot of bad business decisions.

        Microsoft is also essentially a one idea company ? it was a good idea ? Windows, but it was just one idea. There was also Mr. Gates’ marvelous business idea of retaining ownership and licensing the OS, but that wasn’t a product idea.

        MS-DOS wasn?t really new, just an improvement. Windows wasn?t entirely new, but it was a vast improvement ? enough to make it a new idea.

        But what else has Microsoft done other than essentially invent Windows and all the software needed to develop for the platform?

      • #3265981

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by allthegoodnamesweregone ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        While you may have a broad view of it, mine is by no means narrow.  While Ames is primarily a linux-based environment, it’s the only NASA site that can be said for (it’s also the smallest) and will likely end up behind the curve once NASA gets everything they have planned in place.  The *nix based servers are for the most part being phased out.  The Army, including reserves, is headed toward a full windows environment, with a handful of exceptions, of course.  I can’t say i know much about the FBI/ATF/other networks but i would at least assume they want to head in the same direction.  but that may not be possible due to money issues.

        driving a car and operating a computer are two totally different things.  the steering wheel works the same way, the gas and brake pedals work the same way.  if all OS’s worked the same way, it might be a good comparison.  GM is failing due to horrid management practices for 40+ years

        even if Vista is out late, will it really effect the sales of the product that much?

      • #3265958

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by thumper1 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I think your comparison is a little flawed. GM builds cars. Anyone can build cars. Microsoft builds Software. So far, no one has come along with the expertise to challenge them in this area. (When one does come along, MSFT simply waves enough money under their noses to make them go away, without their product)

        You also do not mention the one thing that has hurt GM the worst, the Union. GM and Ford?s primary competition, the Japanese are not saddled with unions. They can afford to build cars with higher degrees of quality because the people who build the cars work for about thirty percent less than American auto workers.

         

      • #3265950

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by edwards ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        GM has been making retirement benefits promises to the UAW that it can’t possibly afford.  Most companies shifted from the defined benefit retirement programs to defined contributions.  Rising healthcare costs and declining revenues have squeezed GM to the breaking point.

        Microsoft doesn’t have a legacy of overpaid union workers with excessively lavish benefits.  Microsoft doesn’t have the same problems with material costs and they certainly don’t have myriad foreign competitors.  Microsoft is not screwed by demands to improve gas mileage and reduce pollution.  The business model is completely different.

        As for Linus Torvalds, the Linux OS is a fine example of what you can build when given the benefit of years of research by other eminent computer scientists.  Linux started with the fine work of Andy Tannenbaum (Minix).  Linus received massive
        support from the UNIX development community in both commercial and academic settings.  I personally know the people who contributed to his success by testing and exposing mistakes and offering suggestions.  It was not a solo effort.  The majority of command line applications in Linux were developed as part of the original UNIX operating system at Bell Labs.  Good stuff.  Worthy of promoting and use, but not the product of Linus alone.

        The “open” software community has enjoyed a big subsidy from commercial company employees who have taken the code and made it useful….often on paid time at their commercial company.  The commercial company probably derived a benefit from the repair, improvement and deployment of the open software application, but they certainly subsidized the open software community.

      • #3265947

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by industrial controller ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        The title of this article is “Is Microsoft
        about to Collapse?”  Then later in the article you state “Now I?m
        not saying Microsoft is on the verge of collapse; it
        certainly isn?t.”  So the point of the article is to draw
        comparisons between GM and Microsoft.  I think a far more
        interesting topic is the huge difference between the software industry
        and the automobile industry.  The software industry is a
        completely different business model.  For example, once Microsoft
        creates a software product, copies of the product from that point on
        are essentially free. Their profit margin is outrageous.  GM, on
        the other hand, has to design the car, and from that point on, copies
        of the product are always very expensive in relation to the purchase
        price.  Their profit margin is tiny by comparison.

        One other thing. The passion and zeal for Microsoft in these posts is
        almost scary.  If Microsoft fills your needs, great.  But be
        aware that blind allegiance can lead your business down a path that
        will severely limit your options in the future and will make you
        vulnerable to competitors employing disruptive technologies.

      • #3265941

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by adamb29 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        While all of your comments may be true, how likely are you to switch to Linux or Mac? And for those of you who said “I already have switched to Linux”, you represent a very small portion of the entire market. I’m willing to bet that even though you may have switched to Linux, that you still use or own a Windows PC, which kind of defeats the purpose of switching. When it comes right down to it Windows rules the market, and they are not going to be leaving anytime soon.

      • #3265938

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by delphidoc ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Very thought-provoking article. My thoughts:

        1) I take exception to the “enormously bloated, expensive, and resource-hungry SUVs” statement: a) GM autos in general and SUV’s in particular are considerably cheaper than their Japanese or German counterparts. b) I get 14 mpg in town, 23 on the highway in my V-8 GMC Envoy. It actually gets better highway mileage than any 6-cylinder passenger car I have ever owned. c) I like enormously bloated vehicles for me and my family. My wife, both children, and I are all 6 feet tall or better. I can’t sit upright in most passenger cars. My teenaged children will definitely be driving large vehicles while under my roof. It isn’t worth getting 30 mpg in a sardine can if the paramedics have to dismantle your car to get you out of it after some drunk runs a red light and T-bones the driver side.

        2) My SUV has more than 5 computers on it. I WANT them to spend 3-5 years developing their products before releasing them. How many times have you heard people complain about being paid beta testers for software that was rushed to release before it was ready?

        3) GM’s employee overhead is not a product of their over-generosity. Unions have a stranglehold on American car makers (Yes, I live in an open shop state- Texas). Later in the article mention is made of employee benefits being reduced as a sign of fiscal weakness. I rather see it as undoing excessive overhead the unions imposed on GM. Same thing happened to many major airlines- they were almost union-benefitted to death.

        4) GM got where it is by being at the right place at the right time. The creation of the interstate highway system is one of the biggest infrastructure advances of the last century. GM was there to fill the need for additional autos that was generated by the phenomenal change in the transportation system during that time. Same thing applies to Ford, being the first major mass-producer of self-propelled transportation devices in America early in the 20th century.

        5) Much is made of MSFT’s status during the last few years. How does this compare to the computer technology sector in general? Remember the “Dot.Com SuperBowl” a few years back? More than half of the commercial time during that game was bought by internet and computer- related companies. MSFT probably looked pretty good during that time period. How many of you lost IT jobs a year or two later?

         

      • #3265925

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by sterling “chip” camden ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Pretty scary when even users can’t bear to hear the wake-up call.  I definitely detect the “enterprise bloat” in Microsoft lately.  More thoughts here: http://www.chipstips.com/microblog/index.php/post/296/

      • #3265922

        Any system based on ruthless control will collapse

        by jared4 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Interesting premise… actually something I’ve blogged about in the past as
        well.

        What *really* amazes me is the number of people whose hackles go up, and whose
        brains shut down as their mouths (ok, fingers) engage and are unable to
        think past the status quo. I’ll openly admit that I don’t like Microsoft. I
        don’t like people who blatantly abuse the law and harm industry-wide innovation.
        I don’t like people who use their size and power to crush smaller companies
        and steal their ideas. And I don’t like people who defend the bullies by saying "but
        everyone does it" or "you think they’re the only one" or "yeah,
        but even Apple stole ideas from Xerox PARC!" All true, but we’re not discussing
        Apple, we’re discussing Microsoft.

        I do think the GM analogy is incomplete, however, because at some point
        in GM’s past, their product was the key to their success. In the case of
        Microsoft, however, they have never had a product-based business model.
        Their business model has always been based on controlling their partners, competition,
        and customers through brute force, litigation, and monopoly power.
        How else can a company that produces inferior and ungainly products control
        the market? Unfortunately for them, the world is taking notice and taking steps
        to force them to behave… effectively stripping them of their business model.
        And now, after 30 years of shoddy workmanship, unrelenting litigation, and brutally
        stifling the market, they’re trying to engender warm fuzzies by presenting
        a "kinder, gentler
        Microsoft."

        DOS gained power because IBM licensed it and replaced the Selectric typewriters
        of the world with PCs. That gave MS enough money to buy power and an "in" to
        almost every desktop sold since then. So the success of Microsoft isn’t
        even based on their own work, it’s based on a typewriter line from a another
        company altogether. It was winning the corporate lotto, but that’s all it was.
        Since then, they have worked very, very hard at sniffing out anything that may
        pose a threat, stealing the idea, and dragging out the court cases till the
        opposition died. By leveraging their marketshare to stifle processor innovation
        at Intel. By threatening the viability of PC business units at HP, Dell, et
        al, by threatening to increase fees or pull licenses altogether if these manufacturers
        sold a system with a competing OS.

        In terms of product development, MS has consistently released poorly crafted
        software based on what could be most easily stolen or bought. The choice
        between licsensing a better product or writing their own (or "acquiring" something
        they could own) has consistenly yielded an array of MS-owned products that
        don’t work as well as the alternative while being pressed on their customers
        as "the
        only way it can be done." Every link in the chain was another step toward
        dominating their customers’ IT business units for their own gain, not for
        the benefit of their customers and, in fact, many times producing an inferior
        solution that was substantially more expensive to maintain than the alternative,
        implemented by well-trained personnel would have been. Everything they’ve ever
        produced has marketshare based on ruthless control, not on quality. Now that
        their business model has been taken away by governments around the world, they’re
        floundering, hemorraging marketshare to alternatives that they once would have
        simply buried in legal briefs till they suffocated.

        If you want an example of a very large and successful company with the opposite
        approach, look at 3M. Their network of innovators and partnerships with
        smaller firms is huge. They’re twice the size of Microsoft. They innovate.
        They adopt new ideas. They have no need for Napoleon Syndrome, and the world
        has benefitted as a result. In contrast, Microsoft has done more damage
        to innovation and progress in the IT sector than any company that’s ever
        existed.

        Had Microsoft not taken the perspective that crushing a better idea to forward
        your own, that controlling their partners by threat of financial harm, and
        that their customers’ needs are less important than their ability to dominate
        an entire industry, I might very well have my flying car today.

      • #3265915

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Thumper1

        I didn’t mention GM’s staff problems?

        What do you think this meant?

        “GM has far more employees than it needs to produce what people
        actually want to buy and, compared to other workers with similar job skills, GM
        pays them far too much.

        A major problem at GM is the way they offer guaranteed
        lifetime employment ? not a recipe for encouraging innovative employees. GM
        even has to continue paying workers who aren?t working, to the tune of about
        $120,000/year in total costs.”

        Thanks for contributing.

      • #3265914

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by jrico ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Can’t Live With ’em? Can’t Live without ’em.

        There are many reasons to love and hate Microsoft (As some do their wives) but the fact is we do have to live with them whether we use their product or not.

        The only way Microsoft will fail is if a sudden and radical change in technology occurs that would make MS and its products obsolete.

        As was commented on earlier, Microsoft doesn’t plan on failing and is establishing R&D and development outposts in India and China, exponentially increasing their think tank at a much lower cost.

        I use Micrsoft products from DB development to Network architecture to writing notes to the lovely wife.

        Does MS stifle innovation? No. If you ask me the best minds want to be better than the biggest boy on the block. And that means a lot of hard meditation on what you can do to be more innovative. (even if they do eventually gobble you up with a handsome sum of money)

        MS has hired some of the greatest technological pioneering minds of our age to help them with their vision.

        Investments? One day MS will spin off one of its businesses and I bet that will bring about the competition that MS has long been waiting for, and we all can put our money on.

      • #3265909

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Industrial Controller

         Actually, you make my point for me. Yes, duplicating
        software is easy and cheap. Hence the barrier to entry is very low and a savvy
        competitor can come along and displace Microsoft much more easily than someone
        can build a hundred gigantic car factories.

         I don?t see the competitor yet, but MS is in a very shaky
        position.

         And,
        BTW, the profit margin on SUVs and trucks is the highest in the industry ? that?s
        why GM makes them.

      • #3265906

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by rockinra ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I am glad to see a view comments were some people actually have their head screwed on straight. However, I am quite frankly tired of Microsoft bashing on one side and just as tired of Microsoft extremests on the other. Some people hate them because they are too big and other can’t see how Microsoft can do any wrong. Won’t everyone just give ’em a break!

        They are just about like any other for proffit company. They create products and sell them for a proffit. If you like their products then buy them. If you don’t then DON’T buy it. I’ve heard arguments how Microsoft stole Internet Explorer from Netscape, NT from Novell, Pocket PC from Palm, etc. Hey, get over it! That is competition.

        I was a Netscape fan for years. I didn’t like Internet Explorer because it stunk. But when MS released IE 5 it had better features than Netscape and Netscape crashed all the time. It wasn’t Microsoft who killed Netscape. It was Netscape themsevles, they didn’t innovate and they fell behind the competition.

        I also loved Novell at one time and I didn’t like Windows NT. But when Windows 2000 came out and I saw how easy Active Directory was, anyone would be crasy to keep wanting to support a slow bloated Novell Client. So I switched to Active Directory and I haven’t looked back. The funny thing about Novell, the last time I check the Novell server was still sitting on top of a DOS kernal. Novell died because they didn’t innovate not because Microsoft killed them.

        I still use many non-Microsoft products because like them better. I still use Quicken and I have a Palm. That is not to say that Money and the Pocket PC aren’t better. Is just like the features better at THIS TIME. In the future if the competition doesn’t keep innovating they will fall behind and I’ll start using the Microsoft product. But please don’t blame Microsoft! Once again it is all about competition.

        BTW. Hats off to Quicken because they in my book have done the best of anyone to stay either with or ahead of Microsoft in innovation. They still have a very strong share in their market even with Microsoft competition. Way to go, so far.

        As for Microsoft collasping, I think it isn’t going to happen anytime soon. They may fluxuate up and down. But they aren’t going anywhere. Sorry.

      • #3265905

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Delphidoc

        I like big vehicles too. I still drive my restored 75
        Lincoln and our everyday family vehicle is a Chevy Astro ? of course that?s due
        in large part to the fact that it is the ONLY 4×4 van and my grade school chum
        owns the GM dealership in town.

        That doesn?t stop the Lincoln from being bloated and
        resource-hungry or GM from being on the verge of bankruptcy.

        Would I have bought the Astro if it got 25 MPG instead of
        15? Sure, as long as I could still get the miniature horses into the back. In fact, given the option I would have opted for a smaller, more efficient engine in the Astro.

        Lots of people use Windows, that doesn?t mean it isn’t bloated and resource-hungry or make it the best
        possible OS.

         Yes,
        tightening up employee benefits is a good business move, but you don?t do it if
        your company isn?t in trouble, it causes dissention among the troops.

      • #3265904

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tpsman ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        If people could switch from using Windows to something else as simply as they can switch  from one car to another you’d have a better argument. But its not that easy and so MS is likely safe for a while. But they may shrink considerably in the near future. I can remember when the entire company would update to the lastest version everytime there was a new release. Thats not the case any more. We(a large DOD company) are still on Windows 2000 for the most part and there is a lot of push back to upgrading. MS is likely to see less profit down the road but not because of people jumping ship. That said, where I work we have moved most of the servers off of Windows and on to Unix. It cut down on headaches and maintence by a great deal.

      • #3265902

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        But what can we learn?

        Just a reminder so we can keep this discussion more on point, here
        are some definitions of ANALOGY:

        a process of
        reasoning whereby two entities that share some similarities are assumed to
        share many others.

        an inference that if things agree in some respects they
        probably agree in others

        a comparison between two things that are alike in some
        aspects, inferring that they will therefore be similar in other ways.

        The common threads of all definitions of analogy are that the
        things compared are never IDENTICAL, they are similar in SOME more or less important ways.

        All the enjoyable and interesting posts which mostly point out the fact that my comparison between
        GM and MSFT isn?t PERFECT seem to miss the basic concept of what an analogy is. Most people can tell the difference between a car and an OS. For one thing, if dropped on your foot, the car will probably cause it to break. The average OS will probably just cause a bruise (although I do remember a shelf full of SCO documentation which could kill a small horse if dropped on one.) The question is, can we find any ways in which Microsoft’s position is similar to the one which GM was in a decade or so ago? If so, will Microsoft find itself as embattled in ten years as GM finds itself now?

        Analogy is a way of
        comparing the similar parts to see if it provides any insight into how other
        parts may turn out to be similar.

      • #3265901

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by jared4 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Rockinra,

        I’m not talking about the big things that we see. When I say that Microsoft
        has stifled innovation I’m not referring to Novell. I’m referring to the
        thousands of patent lawsuits in the mid and late 90s over concepts that
        Microsoft stole… like .avi video (which was impressive in 1996) which
        was patented by a small company in California (I believe they were from
        Venice Beach, but I’m not sure). Microsoft simply used it without license
        and then used the court system as shield, drawing out the litigation until
        the firm folded and MS smiled all the way to the bank. This kind of abuse
        was a weekly even in industry headlines throughout the 90s. During the big
        Microsoft court case in the US a few years ago, HP and Intel testified that
        MS threatened them with reprisals should they make any kind of move that
        would jeopardize Microsoft’s stranglehold on an already stifled industry.
        HP (and Dell, and Gateway, and all the rest) was warned that, should they
        release a Linux desktop they would face dire consequences in terms of license
        revocations, increased license fees, and other anti-competitive threats.
        Intel was warned that, should they threaten the linear progression of x86
        hardware development they would face similar reprisals.

        Microsoft didn’t steal IE from Netscape, they wrote an inferior and totally
        worthless product that they (eventually) almost got sort of right. I’ll
        believe that IE 7 isn’t another disaster when I see it.

        So yes, they have stifled innovation… that’s not even debatable, nor a question
        of opinion. It’s a matter of court record. They lost a monopoly case (and
        faced mamby-pamby consequences… bah) because their core business model
        was one based on the ruthless stifling of innovation and competition. And
        now that they can’t do business that way their flagship product has faced myriad
        delays. Their marketshare is dropping. Their only defense against many alternative
        solutions is to disseminate pure FUD about the competition (more of the
        same for Microsoft marketing) and hope they can scare people away from them.
        The other pillar upon which they base their business is companies whose
        investment into MS technology is too high to change to an alternative now.
        The interesting thing is that, for the first time since PCs became ubiquitous,
        anyone purchasing a new computer has a valid choice, OSX or Linux on a Mac
        or a PC… take your pick.

      • #3265899

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by whitedo ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I am certainly not a big Microsoft fan, but one thing missed in this analysis so far is Microsoft’s absolutely free sales force (actually cheaper than free – it’s a sales force that pays Microsoft for the privalege of selling their products). I’m talking about all the Microsoft trained developers and MCSE geeks who by nature of their paid for indoctrination program become certified Microsoft product evangelists.  When you have paid thousands of dollars over several years to learn how to use a hammer, it is amazing how many things start to resemble a nail.

        That said, I while I don’t see a collapse of Microsft anytime soon, a slow decline is more likely. The business case for business users abopting each successive product release is increasingly thin.  The cost for large enterprises migrating thousands of desktops from Windows XP to Vista is going to be enormous – but what is the benefit? Likewise for their back office products.  This is a hidden cost with Microsoft that is often left out of the TCO calculations.

      • #3265855

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by joe mctroll ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Hello.
        I found your comments about Microsoft very interesting. I, too, believe monopolies to be devastating for both consumers and (although only visible in the long term, as in GM’s and MS’s case) companies alike. However, there are some points with which I profoundly disagree:

        “A major problem at GM is the way they offer guaranteed lifetime employment – not a recipe for encouraging innovative employees. GM even has to continue paying workers who aren’t working, to the tune of about $120,000/year in total costs.”

        Classical libertarian/neoliberal nonsense. Although funny, since almost every book I’ve read on Japanese-style management says exactly the opposite – that guaranteed lifetime employment IS A BIG INCENTIVE!!! I myself may be an example. I don’t know in the USA, but in Mexico at least economic situation ensures companies an endless flow of job applicants, so they feel free to fire people whenever they want or to reduce their income at wish – there will ALWAYS be people around who will work the same or more hours (my work-day has usually 12 hours, in the last 3 years I’ve worked everything from 10 to 16 a day) for less pay. Do you believe it’s really that nice to come work, not knowing if tomorrow you’ll have a job?

        My father too has to worry – in his late 50’s, he’s way too old to find a new job (most companies prefer people in their 20’s or 30’s, who can be exploit… er, I mean, who can work more for less), and 20+ years in his company don’t give him any peace of mind, coworkers of him have been sent to the street with 30 years or more at the slightest mistake. Do you really believe you can TRUST the company you work for, or have LOYALTY towards it, knowing in advance they have no loyalty whatsoever towards you? That no matter how much you’ve worked for them, what success you’ve deliverd or how much time of your life you’ve given up, you can be laid off any time the CEO pleases? I’ve found the increased productivity of Japanese companies natural – people tend to work harder when they feel safe at work, and even harder when they know their increased effort will result in direct benefits to them, such as in Japan (where not everything a boss says is done if quality circle finds it’s counterproductive, no pointy-haired-bosses allowed)

        “Last week’s riots in France (many of us know how wonderful it is to deal with French shop employees) were triggered by a new law which would make it possible to fire a new employee within two years without going to court. (Quick – name three highly successful French companies.)”

        I’m sad you don’t read the papers/Internet well enough. The law says only that YOUNG PEOPLE (understood by these law as anyone younger than 26) can be fired AT ANY MOMENT WITHOUT EXPLANATION within the first 2 years. This law is unlawfully discriminating young people (are 24’s or 25’s inherently less responsible than 26’s? why? which study or respected psychologist investigator determined it?) and also puts employers at mercy of employers.

        It says nothing about courts, it states that “la jeunese francaise” doesn’t even deserve an explanation, which runs also against common sense, ethical conduct in business (even rightist/neoliberal Jewish organization Aish.com says this every now and then in it’s column “The Jewish Ethicist”: you MUST warn employers in advance of their short commings before firing them and give them at least one chance to correct behaviours) and also against current French workplace regulations.

        By the way, 3+ succesful French companies:
        BIC (at least in Mexico, their pencils and pens are wildly popular)
        Peugeot
        Renault (they aren’t as good as they were/could, but here they are)
        Carrefour
        Alcatel (yes!! they’re French!)
        Lanc?me, Gardnier, L’Or?al, etc (which woman can live without make-up?)
        not to mention the veeery long list of wine-related companies…

      • #3265785

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by techrepublic ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Other people have already mentioned some of the big French companies.  Here are a couple big French companies that even Americans are familiar with:


        • Michelin

        • Dannon

        I think those two are pretty good examples.

      • #3265783

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by grolan ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I just have to correct some misinformation posted by “rockinra”:

        I also loved Novell at one time and I didn’t like Windows NT. But when
        Windows 2000 came out and I saw how easy Active Directory was, anyone
        would be crasy to keep wanting to support a slow bloated Novell Client.
        So I switched to Active Directory and I haven’t looked back. The funny
        thing about Novell, the last time I check the Novell server was still
        sitting on top of a DOS kernal. Novell died because they didn’t
        innovate not because Microsoft killed them.

        1) The *company* is Novell, the *server product* is NetWare.  Thanks.
        2) eDirectory was out long before AD, and is still more robust and scalable than AD.  That’s part of that innovation they “didn’t do.”  MS had never heard of a directory when NDS came out.
        3) I’ve never had a problem with the Novell client – perhaps you didn’t know how to configure it?  As far as bloated clients, lets talk the MS client…
        4) Repeat this 100 times:  NetWare DOES NOT, and NEVER DID, sit on top of the “DOS kernel”.  I get so sick of people who don’t know what they’re talking about perpetuating this garbage.  NetWare runs on – are you ready? – the *NetWare kernel*.  Or, these days, the linux kernel, take your pick.  DOS is used ONLY as a boot loader.  It could just as well be linux or anything else.  It’s there to load server.exe.  Once loaded, NetWare takes over the hardware, and DOS is shoved out of the way.  You can even unload it from memory if you want, it has no effect on the server.  Get it?  One more time – NetWare does not “run on DOS”, it runs on the bare metal.  I really wish people would figure out what the hell they’re talking about before posting it publicly.
        5) Novell isn’t dead, it’s a linux company now.
        6) As for innovation, Novell has always been about nothing but innovation.  eDirectory, ZENworks, iPrint, iFolder, BorderManager, the whole history of their product line is one of truly excellent products developed by Novell and, usually, winning all the relevant technology awards.  Microsoft, on the other hand, is the company that does not innovate, but steals other company’s ideas and then crushes the competition – often through monopolistic practices, which is why they are a convicted illegal monopoly.  NetWare lost out, not because of any lack of innovation (I still run my network on NetWare, which provides the full range of web services, and will continue to do so, along with SuSE in the mix, for years to come – and which, BTW, is a huge security advantage to me, because no one attacks NetWare deliberately and the (anti-MS) script kiddie tools don’t work on it), but because of superior MS marketing (god help them, the one thing Novell could never figure out is how to market), MS FUD, and MS’s illegal monopolistic practices.

        Sorry for the tangent on the blog thread, but I had to get this off my chest, as “rockinra” doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about in regard to Novell and NetWare, and apparently learned it all from Microsoft.  Watch out for that FUD, rockinra, it’ll trip you up every time.

      • #3265775

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by jmgarvin ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Let me start with one comment on what I’ve seen in the responses and
        then I’ll respond to the topic at hand.  The amount of ignorance
        about FLOSS and Free Software is staggering.  First I’d like to
        mention Free Software does not suggest it is free, as in free
        beer.  It means the software is free as in free
        intellectually.  Further, FLOSS is not more suseptable to abuse
        due to peer review.  It’s pretty easy to notice when somebody has
        snagged your code and tried to use it outside the GPL or FLOSS
        EULA.  FLOSS also means that code can be reviewed more quickly and
        by more eyes than closed source.  Plus the benefit of open source
        is that 3rd party modules can be created quite easily.  With
        community oversight it is easy to pick and choose. 

        It seems like many IT folks are so averse to choice that they’d rather
        stick with a kludgy OS than move to an OS with choice to it.

        As for the government moving to Linux, yup…It’s happening.  The
        NSA is using SELinux (and releasing modules for it), the government has
        also certified Red Hat and various apps to be used.  Just because
        you don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

        As for MS:

        The bottom line is MS is acting like IBM in the mid/late 80s.  MS
        doesn’t care about innovation, development, R&D, or anything of the
        sort.  MS cares about soaking the consumer for the most amount
        possible for the longest time.  Sounds VERY similar to the IBM
        days.  What’s going to happen?  Simple economics. 
        Consumers will find substitutes for MS.  It’s already
        happening…there is a HUGE push towards Linux (and even Unix to some
        extent).  The city of Munich is the first, but won’t be the last
        to migrate away from MS because it is just too costly.  Ya, that’s
        right…No matter the FUD, various independent firms have verified that
        the TCO and ROI with Linux IS better than MS.

        My suggestion to MS.  Get on the ball, innovate and deliver. 
        Your customers are not just a number, but the people who keep you in
        business.  Don’t force manufacturers to do stupid things (ala the
        driver signing mess)…give the consumer a choice and you might be
        surprised….esp if you actually go back to what you do best…innovate
        and standardize.

      • #3265732

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by balloonchaser ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        The main reason GM is so bad off now are the unions. GM didnt want to offer someone a job for life but was forced to. No one has a job for life at MS. Another thing to look at is the sheer size of MS’s user base. With that many installations, you need a huge support and development team.

      • #3265718

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by opensource windowsxp ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        “Visual Studio, Office … in a word OUTSTANDING pieces of work.” – CodeBubba.

        I have used both before. Then I used Open Source code editors and office platforms, and I now wholeheartedly disagree with CodeBubba. I thus dare anyone who rants and raves about MS’s “excellence” to

        • download a copy of the latest Knoppix LiveCD,
        • test out KDevelop/Quanta/Bluefish in writing C# code,
        • check out the ASP.NET and C# 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 supplied documentation
        • press Ctrl-Alt-F2/F3/F4 and then F5 (for simultaneous shell switching to a) compile the code using Mono mcs, b) export a WMF file to Flash Video (FLV) using ffmpeg, and c) install a copy of Plucker to convert a folder of web pages to Plucker format)
        • export a long OpenOffice Writer document to PDF and SWF

        and then come back and tell me the same quote that CodeBubba mouthed. I dare call anyone who couldn’t be bothered to try these simple steps a coward and an ignoramus. I don’t think anything MS has done can rival the Open Source community. In my example:

        • I didn’t need to purchase a MSDN subscription
        • I have code hinting in Linux that supports the latest .NET platform
        • I have an Office platform on which I can deploy XForms and connect to MySQL directly or via JDBC (no need for slow ODBC)
        • I could export to PDF and SWF without plugins!
        • I can use a slower computer with the LiveCD (with VS2005 man, I couldn’t do that)
        • My IDE-generated code is Web Standards compliant (unlike VS2005 which can’t even hit XHTML 1.0 compliance)
        • I can see SVG in my browsers (both Firefox and Konqueror)
        • I can compile ASP.NET scripts, Windows .exes and DLLs… on Linux!

        Also,

        • I could fire off an Active Directory domain controller using Samba as well off the CD (just in case you try to sing praises about Windows Server 2003)
        • My LiveCD could interoperate with Windows very well, so isn’t that a good benchmark of quality?
        • My LiveCD is the cost of a download and a DVD disk!
        • My Windows-sworn colleagues are quietly turning to OpenSource for all sorts of functionality which cannot be found on Windows.

        Now, I don’t disagree that MS products are good products. I love Visio and Windows XP. I just disagree when someone places the label “OUTSTANDING” to products that don’t deserve that title at all.
        Trust me on this one 🙂 Even better, trust Jesus Christ, the Way the Truth and the Life. Windows and Linux and MacOSX are one day going to perish in supernatural Divinely-Ordered ultrathermal destruction, but those who believe in Jesus Christ and receive His Love will enjoy being taken up to heaven and be supernaturally transformed into immortals. That beats sitting in front of a bash prompt or VS2005 project anytime 🙂 Now you can trust me on this one!

      • #3265713

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by andy goss ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        The most obvious difference between GM and M$ is that GM don’t own the road.
        I remember when IBM “owned the road”, and when a new “road” – the PC –
        emerged, they lost their dominant role. M$ manged to survive the
        appearance of another new “road” – the Internet – and are now trying to
        develop a product that will shackle Internet users to M$ in the same
        way Office did (and MSN didn’t) – M$ Live. M$ Live is neat, it allows
        third party developers to build applications in an almost open source
        way, but with control, and revenue, still securely in M$ hands.
        The “lock in” model that Bill Gates has used so successfully in the
        past may be obsolete, and I suspect that the open source model will
        prove more efficient at giving users what they want, when they want it.
        Unless M$ can reinvent itself as open source, as, say, Ingres has, it
        can only fight a long, grim, rearguard action until there is nothing
        left to fight for. It could take decades. But then I thought the USSR
        would last another half century.

      • #3265705

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by shorne ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Grolan

        As a lapsed CNE from the old days, I’m with ya all the way, but you’re missing the point. Novell lost the war YEARS ago. Doesn’t matter if any of their stuff was better – of course much of it was – but they lost. Game’s over. Simple as that.
        Yup they are still around today, but a mere shadow of the giant of the industry they were back in the day.
        Of course they made some major mistakes (Java and Netware 5 – yikes!) and actually from my perspective it seemed to go into a gentle swan dive after 3.11 – we just didn’t know it was a swan dive for a few years.
        So, yes our esteemed friend was a little off base but the sad fact remains – we lost the war.

      • #3265686

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by h_p_hayes ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Damn, I better cancel my plan to become an MCT…
         
        Seeing as M$ is in so much trouble how will I ever recoup the investment?
         
        Blah hahahahha….
         
        Sorry, I know this sort of sarcasm is better suited to slashdot but I couldn’t help myself…
      • #3263222

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by pkr9 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        “Linux is open source and programming code is available to anyone –
        so be it. BUT IT IS NOT SECURE. You have the source code for any
        version out there and that means that anyone can screw around with it.”

        And thats’ VERY secure. That you can srew around with it any way you like, is not the same as getting everybody to USE the screwed up code. You still need to upload that code to one of the distribution servers, or sending it as af faked mail. Even in that case it would be very difficult to spread your virus.

        “Microsoft are upfront when there is a problem, and fix it asap. They
        also scan releases to check for other bugs and security issues. No
        other software supplier except for anti-virus developers release
        updates as often.”

        No comments, except an advise to open your eyes and have a look at what’s happening. Read some of the posts. Right now we have an unpatched IE hole which MS don’t want to patch so somebpdy else did it. A month ago same thing happend with the WMF issue.

        No credit if it is not due.

        rgds

        Peter

      • #3263197

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Just curious, did ANY of those who decided the ONLY thing worth commenting
        on was my little citation of French companies as yet another example of labor
        difficulties causing bottom line problems check the companies they  mentioned to see if they actually ARE doing well? OR, are mostly FRENCH? Or, did you just pick a French-sounding
        name?

        I won?t bother responding with the actual FACTS about any more French
        companies named after this, but here are two more.

        One more bad French company ? Michelin, a family controlled business which
        doesn?t provide much information.

        Stock has gone from about 40 to about 50, but it took 4 years ? you can do that
        well with a bank CD and inflation would have kept the actual value about flat.

        BusinessWeek quote:

        ?When 2,000 angry workers rallied outside the
        headquarters of Michelin in the French town of Clermont-Ferrand on Sept. 21, they plastered over street signs along Edouard Michelin Avenue, renaming it Full Employment Avenue. The workers have no quarrel with the tiremaker’s
        founder, for whom the street was named. But they’re hopping mad at his grandson
        and namesake, a quiet, balding 36-year-old who became CEO in June. He has
        ignited a firestorm by announcing the elimination of 7,500 jobs, 10% of the
        company’s European workforce.?

        Sounds like GREAT labor relations to me as well as a growing business – most growing businesses cut 10% of their workforce!!

        And, BTW, almost half of the company?s
        workers are at Sumitomo or Goodyear so it is about half French.

         
        Groupe Danone stock IS doing well; of course it is only based in France, the
        company does most of its business in the U.S. and Asia AND to keep the stock
        price up it has had a big share buy back plan in place.

        Danone may be a good stock investment, but NONE of the examples cited demonstrate a ?highly successful ?French? company
        depending mostly on French workers and having good FRENCH labor relations which,
        if you read the blog post, was the whole point of the little example.

        France is a
        socialist country with a reputation for surly workers and incredible labor laws (the current government is trying
        to change them, hence all the riots) along with a very poor record of successful, innovative
        businesses.

        Until recently GM operated on a very similar labor plan.

        MSFT has also treated employees incredibly well ?
        UNTIL recently ? it’s the change that is the clue – there?s that canary in the mine again.

      • #3263168

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by jeanl ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        While I share a lot of your opinions about Microsoft technical
        abilities (I bought the original Mac, hate booting by PC every day and
        use Firefox to read and answer this Blog), I think you are missing the
        point:

        MICROSOFT IS A MARKETING COMPANY!!!!

        Microsoft never made the best product on the market (sorry, I stand
        corrected, I can’t possibly live without PowerPoint :-)), but they beat
        everybody else at positioning and marketing their products.  
        Does Dell make the best PCs?  Does Cisco make the best
        routers?  No, but these companies have mastered the art of
        creating products that fit the needs and priorities of most businesses
        and people in the world.  At the end that’s really what counts,
        people “really” vote with their money.

        As for the future, Microsoft is currently a leader in IPTV, capturing a
        good portion of the footprint. They were on your desktop, now they will
        be on your TV-top; and there is an awful lot more of those!!!! (too bad
        our TVs will now regularly reboot!!!!)

      • #3263107

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by joe mctroll ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        One comment on your last comment:

        “One more bad French company – Michelin, a family controlled business which doesn’t provide much information.

        Stock has gone from about 40 to about 50, but it took 4 years – you can do that well with a bank CD and inflation would have kept the actual value about flat.”

        So, you’re saying that stock price is the best or only indicator of performance of a company? Market share – nah, too bad. Gross income – nah, why. EBITDA – what for? Business plans – do they matter after all? STOCK-PRIZEN ROOLES U L0053RS!!!

        Sorry, I don’t buy it. And neither does a couple of professional economists I know personally. Stock price is ONE indicator of the value of a company, but never THE indicator. It should always be taken with suspiciousness, alongside a lot of other parameters.

        Otherwise, when (in order to use an example) SCO Unix’s stock price more than doubled in the days after their stupid assault against IBM over Linux… did that mean they were 2x or 3x a better company than the days inmediately before? That they somehow had discovered the magical tip on how to outperform not just the rest of IT industry, but most other companies in stock?

        And when afterwards their stock prices fall down to levels even lower than before the lawsuit… was their EBITDA significantly lower then? Had they lost a very important deal with government? What about the Japanese real estate bubble? Or Nasdaq’s bubble? Or…

        What this shows, appart that you can prove almost everything with a properly-chosen example, is that stock price, buy itself, MEANS NOTHING ABOUT A COMPANY. And you should learn that before trying to argue about economics – now I’m taking with suspicious all you said before, and I guess a lot other readers will, too.

      • #3263086

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by chas_2 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        It’s interesting that the author of this article has drawn an analogy between the automotive industry and Microsoft, but I don’t think Microsoft will collapse the way Detroit has.

        For one thing, the business community alone uses so many of Microsoft’s products – namely Windows and Office in various releases – and that’s unlikely to end anytime soon.  OpenOffice (and its predecessor, StarOffice, developed by Sun) has been around for ages and yet in these cost-conscious times there’s not been anything resembling a stampede to these free products.  The reason is from the poster that ticked off things that Microsoft has done right – they have created a set of products with a consistent interface that, most of the time, work well and can be integrated with one another.  The value of VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), a built-in feature to everything in Office, can’t be understated.

        There is also, I believe, a measure of comfort companies take from the notion of a paid, commercial enterprise being there to support them, should support be required. Size provides comfort – it’s like the difference between flying in a full-size commercial airplane vs. a tiny 6-seater in which you feel EVERYTHING. “Pay for peanuts, get monkeys” indeed.  And while it’s true that any large-scale, commercial enterprise will make its share of mistakes, Microsoft wouldn’t still be in business if it made too many of them.

        Finally, it was stated by several analysts that Apple Computer would be closing its doors by 2000.  Amazingly, since that doomsday prediction, Apple hasn’t just survived, it has thrived, boldly creating new markets – iPod, anyone?  I think Microsoft has too much talent to just implode – getting everyone on the same page may be a challenge, but the company has what it takes to produce something that the market wants.

        And believe me, there are PLENTY of people pulling for Microsoft.

         

      • #3263032

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by joe mctroll ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        One comment on your last comment:

        “One more bad French company – Michelin, a family controlled business which doesn’t provide much information.

        Stock has gone from about 40 to about 50, but it took 4 years – you can do that well with a bank CD and inflation would have kept the actual value about flat.”

        So, you’re saying that stock price is the best or only indicator of performance of a company? Market share – nah, too bad. Gross income – nah, why. EBITDA – what for? Business plans – do they matter after all? STOCK-PRIZEN ROOLES U L0053RS!!!

        Sorry, I don’t buy it. And neither does a couple of professional economists I know personally. Stock price is ONE indicator of the value of a company, but never THE indicator. It should always be taken with suspiciousness, alongside a lot of other parameters.

        Otherwise, when (in order to use an example) SCO Unix’s stock price more than doubled in the days after their stupid assault against IBM over Linux… did that mean they were 2x or 3x a better company than the days inmediately before? That they somehow had discovered the magical tip on how to outperform not just the rest of IT industry, but most other companies in stock?

        And when afterwards their stock prices fall down to levels even lower than before the lawsuit… was their EBITDA significantly lower then? Had they lost a very important deal with government? What about the Japanese real estate bubble? Or Nasdaq’s bubble? Or…

        What this shows, appart that you can prove almost everything with a properly-chosen example, is that stock price, buy itself, MEANS NOTHING ABOUT A COMPANY. And you should learn that before trying to argue about economics – now I’m taking with suspicious all you said before, and I guess a lot other readers will, too.

      • #3263022

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by drakebrown ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        This is one of the stupidest comments i have ever heard.  Too compare the automotive industry with the software industry is ridiculous.  Ten years from now Microsoft will be dominant.  One obvious reason, there are absolutely no competitors out there yet for Microsoft.  They own 99pct of the desktop os.  GM has competitors up the ying yang.  They never have been able to compete successfully with Toyota or Honda, GM has to try to mimic them to stay even.

        Microsoft has flaws, no doubt about it but there is still no alternative, and don’t sing about Linux for gods sakes.  It’s a nice OS but it has failed to be marketed properly.

      • #3084034

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Isn?t it amazing how much trouble you can
        stir up by asking a simple question?

        I asked ?Is Microsoft about
        to collapse??

         Almost no one
        noticed that I never answered the question.

         My only conclusion
        was that I wouldn?t buy Microsoft stock (who would after looking at the stock
        chart?)

         An even more interesting question now might be, why did so many
        people get so upset with me for even ASKING the question?

         Could it be a lot of people were already
        concerned about Microsoft and didn?t like to even see the question asked?

         Stay tuned to this blog, sometimes I?m even more
        outrageous and a lot of comments from smarter people are needed to keep me on the straight and narrow.

        Since I live in PA, a state where the incumbent governor is pushing education and using gambling to take some of the burden of paying for it off old folks who own homes, and he is running neck and neck with someone whose only qualification for high office is that he played pro football.

        Mr. Swan is doing very well in this area.  Since nothing exciting was going on in computer security today, my next posting is a short statement of my political views.

      • #3084030

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by somebozo ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Real life scenrio here..

        friend wanted an internet caching solution for his internet cafe..and he was tight on budget so is every cafe is

        Linux+Squid sounds good..and its free.. we tried 3 flavours of linux, 2 different hardware, various network cards and then even a branded dell server.. everytimes something wouldnt work right.. either it would be the network card of the RAID controller or something

        finally i was fed up.. threw in a copy of windows 2003 ent with ISA server 2004 std.. off my MSDN collection..yeah i know its not a properly lisenced software but leave the lisensing issue aside.. atleats it works now.. the server has been up for 31 days now.. support is not a problem at all..a basic techie can can told how to check the logs and keep an eye..

        another scenrio.. sometimes i used to do web development..

        i can use php with mysql running on apache on some god knows what flavour of linux.. all of the vendors are making the software independently with minimal collabration.. talk about annoyances..i choose to take it all from on vendor so i know it is designed to work together..

        If microsoft doom was to happen, it should have certainly happend when they were selling us the crappy windows 98 and NT.. the stability was a joke with two of them..and that was the time when unix and linux still had very very strond benefits over windows..but it did not happen.. people continued to use windows 95, 98 and NT no matter how crap they were.. heck even windows millenium sold well..the point is.. MS designed stuff with the view of dumb consumer in their mind who doesnt give a shit abt behind the scene technology..what he cares more is to get his / her work done..afterall how many PC users are really techie’s or tech oriented..???

        the beauty of microsoft is that a two years old can be taught how to start a pc, log on, install a program or play solitire.. thats not the same with linux..and then if you were to roll linux in the corporate scene.. there are millions of flavour out there.. and none of them are soo perfect.. they all have their nicks and bits..even if you succed rolling linux in the corporate scene, the issue of support and available applications renders is a useless paper weight.

        open source is good as a test bed for geeks all over the world to show their wish list of features..im not totally trying to bash linux here.. being in the networking scene.. i have worked with linux programs which cost me nothing where as a similar solution wouldnt be available to me on windows or cost me too much $$$$…Bost OS’s have matured for their targetted use now..its just a matter of what an end user really wants to accomplish..

      • #3084022

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by x10nd ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        the Center of Gravity better stay somewhere inside microsoft, that should help it from falling.

        http://www.irin.co.uk

      • #3083963

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by jmgarvin ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        ifarooq

        Real life scenrio here..

        Liar.

        Linux+Squid sounds good..and its free.. we tried 3 flavours of linux, 2 different hardware, various network cards and then even a branded dell server.. everytimes something wouldnt work right.. either it would be the network card of the RAID controller or something

        Please post the hardware issues in detail. 

        Most RAID controllers are supported or there are 3rd party drivers for them.  I can’t think of a single NIC that ISN’T supported by Linux in some way shape or form.  As a matter of fact, many of the Linux platforms are setup to be servers, so the only conclusion that I can come to is that either you haven’t a clue or you are lying. 

        finally i was fed up.. threw in a copy of windows 2003 ent with ISA server 2004 std.. off my MSDN collection..yeah i know its not a properly lisenced software but leave the lisensing issue aside.. atleats it works now.. the server has been up for 31 days now.. support is not a problem at all..a basic techie can can told how to check the logs and keep an eye..

        Lemme get this straight.  You had to pirate a copy of Windows 2k3 to keep with in budget…What about the licensing for the clients?  What about the various apps?

        Support *IS* an issue.  MS still hasn’t patch two critical flaws in IE, but 3rd party vendors have.  http://www.securitypipeline.com/news/184400787;jsessionid=VSNXNDYDGJ2WAQSNDBCSKHSCJUMEKJVN

        i can use php with mysql running on apache on some god knows what flavour of linux.. all of the vendors are making the software independently with minimal collabration.. talk about annoyances..i choose to take it all from on vendor so i know it is designed to work together..

        What the hell are you talking about?  PHP, mysql, and apache plug in perfectly to each other.  Once they are “put together” it is done…you need do no more.  What doesn’t work?  What product isn’t supported in the 3 you mentioned?  Have you talked to the devs about the bugs?  What are the bugs?  What can’t you do?

         

      • #3083942

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by igimaster ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I find people’s comments about linux very interesting. Can anyone say with conclusiveness how many copies/aplications of linux have infiltrated the corporate world/home?
        The fact that a few people who have not realized you can’t think about Linux the same way you do Windows fail to get hardware or features to work due to failure in the two key areas to “Linux style computing” Research and implement. If noone has gotten the hardware to work with linux before you have to be a real hotshot or programmer extrordinaire to expect you will be the first. THIS DOES NOT MEAN LINUX IS BROKE AND DOESN’T WORK. It means that either the hardware developer has written drivers and software for Windows meaning MS isn’t great it’s having life handed to them on a platter or you haven’t researched it enough to find the propper drivers and get them installed.

        We don’t know how much Linux is in use, just as we don’t know how much pirated Microsoft software is in use. If you consider legal applications of Microsoft versus use of all flavors and versions of linux/unix. You cannot get a fair comparison, as there is no licensing or Linux. Unless someone admits they are using Linux, it is not counted.
        Does the knoppix disk that is used to recover files from a crashed windows computer count towards the amount of legal Linux used in corperate america? 
        Do we know of all the small businesses that have used redhat 9 to operate a small file server?

        What I am most tired about is people that say Windows is so user friendly their 2 year old could use all sorts of features and install programs. Funny I have had a hell of a time getting Risk 2 to run on my windows box after XPsp2 has come out. (driver on cd no longer works with windows I’d have to buy the latest version) Last I checked Risk 2 is still being sold on the $10 racks brand new in stores. I haven’t met a 2 year old yet who knew how to press control + alt + delete then was able to remember a user name and password. The fact is the easiest of windows is compared to the most difficult of Linux. If I set up solitaire tux racer and automatic login with icons on the desktop. I think the same level of person you speak of could perform the same function. This especially true with all the new choices for packet management tools. Some of them don’t even force you to open a web browser or compile code.

        I’m tired of Apples to oranges comparisons. Choice means you have to search for the options that are right for you. It doesn’t mean the first fruit you find in the produce department will be an apple.
        I’m not a Linux only person. The fact that you can go to a store buy a piece of hardware and it will work on your windows box is nice, but to say linux isn’t good because not everything works on it is wrong. You have limited choices in the hardware that will run on a mac. People don’t go to big box store buy a sound card and expect it to work in their imac or laptop. Not even windows supports every piece of macintosh hardware. Windows has a great library of software for it’s operating system. If all the software companies started writing software only for Macs, It may not lead to everyone buying a mac, but people would stop buying Windows.
        The biggest factors most people contribute to a good os have more to do with marketing and deals between companies. If Microsoft had the best OS and no marketing or weight to throw around we wouldn’t have a Giant in Microsoft.
        I hate the people that say Linux is the best or Windows is the best. I still use windows at home, because it has a hold on the file formats people choose to use. People choose to write the software I want to use for Windows.
        Microsoft is struggling the Console market, because they haven’t found an exclusive market of companies that want to produce games for only Xbox. For example Xbox games sell at the level they’re expected to or below. Nintendo however though it has the worst system comes out with adictive games with low expectations for sales, then sometimes excedes expectations. Playstation became big, because of it’s exclusives and hits. Windows is big because of it’s huge line of exclusive programs at the costs lower than the same program for Macintosh or Linux.
        I still use Windows along side Linux, because I can’t get the same tools I use for linux at the same cost and because businesses demand me to view their webpages with Explorer due to their use of proprietary languages and programs that will not work with browsers written on open standards(let alone running on other platforms.) Untill all companies make themselves capable of receiving and distributing using faithful applications of open standards I cannot kick Windows out of my house. I tried to apply for a job by using their webtool to send them my resume in file format using firefox. It told me I had the wrong file type. When I used internet explorer it worked. I blame it on a group of programmers that is unwilling to learn new languages that are actually platform(and browser) independant.

        my 2 cents

      • #3083892

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by mark miller ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        GM had a relatively competition-free market?

        I haven’t been around long, but I remember another big competitor to GM (besides Ford) was Chrysler (still is). That’s why they were called “the big 3”. A smaller player that I remember from years ago was AMC (American Motors) who made Jeeps for a while. They were eventually acquired by Chrysler. I’m no expert on the market share numbers. I vaguely recall from recent retrospectives done on GM that they once had a majority share of the car market, something like 65% (don’t quote me on it), but have since fallen to the mid-30s. So accepting the 65% figure for the sake of argument, that would leave 35% to split between the others, with Ford and Chrysler making up most of that, way back when. In terms of competition, there isn’t even a “big 3” among the operating system manufacturers for PCs. There’s just “the big 1”, MS. Apple and Linux together don’t even come close to the market share numbers of Ford and Chrysler in comparison to GM. Probably a better place to look for a comparison is in the web services market, among Google, MS, and Yahoo.

        I think the downfall of American car manufacturers was a top-down management style, and yes, the unions. My guess is creativity was stifled within GM, rather like in the culture of IBM in the 1970s and ’80s. I’ve heard it said that back then, at IBM, it would’ve taken 6 months just to ship an empty box. As I’m sure is the case with GM, there was an enormous amount of bureaucracy to wade through just to get anything done. GM and Ford are dinosaurs in the way they are organized. I’m not saying their product at a basic level is ancient, but rather their corporate structure, which was forged at a time when top-down, command and control management was seen as the best way to run a company. The unions reshaped this some, forcing the companies to provide ever higher salaries and benefits, which it’s now looking like they won’t be able to provide.

        One of the main reasons IBM lost in the PC business is that, except for the BIOS, they left much of their IP in the hands of other companies. Once Compaq reverse-engineered the BIOS it was all over, but only because Compaq and others were able to make “clones” of IBM’s PCs more cheaply than IBM did, and the fact that MS retained rights to DOS and was willing to license it to the clone makers. If others were not able to make 100% compatible PC clones, in terms of hardware and operating system software, the computer industry would be a very different place today. IBM would probably still be dominating this market as it once did. Back in the 1980s, before clones came along, there were PC “compatibles” that were kinda-sorta compatible, but they never took off. The lesson of the experience is in order for a competitor to have a chance, they either have to be a 100% compatible substitute for the incumbent, or they have to sweep in at an inflection point in the industry, and grab customers away from the incumbent with a compelling product, and hold on to them. Such instances were the transition from a command-line based environment (DOS) on the PC to a GUI-based environment (Windows, OS/2, GEOS, GEM, etc.) in the early 1990s, and again to a web-based environment (Netscape, IE) in the mid-1990s. MS won in all of these inflection points. Another one appears to be going on right now, so-called “Web 2.0”, what could be called “consumer-based web services”, with Google (though right now it’s acting as Jonny one-note with ad-funded search), MS with MSN and “Live” services (rather directionless), and Yahoo (which is making its play in media).

        In retrospect, MS basically used and outsmarted IBM. They used the opportunity IBM gave them to build up their own base of support among hardware manufacturers, ISVs, and in business. IBM believed that the real profit center was the hardware and that no one else would be able to keep up with them on that front. MS believed that the profit center was the software, and they were proved correct.

        Today IBM believes that the profit center is not in the hardware or software, but in managing and providing consulting for IT operations. Hence the reason they sold off their PC unit to a Chinese company. It’s been doing well with that. It’s managed to raise its stock price from around $60, after the dot-com bust, to around $80 a share. It looks like its stock has been hovering between $80 and $100 for the last few years. Google has been doing very well, around $400 a share last I checked, though its stock has also topped out. Its market cap is less than half that of MSFT. So a more plausible argument is not that MS is in trouble because of commoditized software, but because of services. It’s in the wrong market, though it’s just beginning to address that.

        “Let?s say 10 people could develop a reasonably secure OS”

        I think you’re rehashing the same argument that the Linux advocates have made for years, that Linux will take over because it’s free/low-cost, and it’s secure. Well apparently that doesn’t cut it in terms of what desktop users want. It has not taken off as a desktop OS. More realistic folks than yourself who are not exactly fans of MS have said that open source is only compelling when it forges new territory, not when it follows a well-worn path.

        I think Linux has managed to be compelling, because it was seen as the next generation of Unix. Likewise, Firefox has gained market share not only because it wasn’t a target of attack, but also because it offered nice features that no other browser had. It wasn’t a mere copy of IE.

        “Office XP has a lot more features than OpenOffice, but how many of them do you actually USE?”

        How many people use most of the features of OpenOffice, for that matter? This project is following a well-worn path. Look. For people who just want to write simple papers with a little formatting, different fonts, and some highlights like boldface, italic, etc., they can use Wordpad which has come with every Windows OS since Windows 3.0 (if not earlier). If people want something simple, they don’t have to go anywhere to find it. And gee wilikers, it uses a standard format, RTF. For simple calculations, there’s a calculator that comes with Windows. About the only thing OpenOffice does that you can’t do with Windows out of the box is nice looking slide presentations. OpenOffice is basically copying MS Office, and is not as efficient a workhorse either.

        People have used MS Office for the darnedest things. I didn’t even think it was possible, until a few years ago, that there are many businesses who use Excel spreadsheets as databases. It does this effectively, up to a point. I personally wouldn’t use it for that purpose. I wouldn’t try using Calc in OpenOffice for that unless you like making a trip to the water cooler every time you open it.

        “MSFT (Mr. Softie to the street) stock hit a split-adjusted peak of about $60 a share early in 2000, since mid-2002 it has never gone above $30 and, in the last year has hovered between about $24 and $28 ? not exactly a screaming bull market.”

        After the dot-com bust, MSFT was at around $45 a share. It split in ’03 (I think), and has been in the mid- to upper-20s ever since. The reason it’s gone to the lower value was due to the recent stock split. If we’re comparing stock prices, I’d be more worried about Sun. Back in 2000 it was (I think) up in the mid-20s. It hit a low a couple years ago of $2.50 a share (dangerously close to a penny stock), and more recently has gotten up to $4.50, but it’s hovered at $5.00 or below for the past 4 years.

        “Competitors selling equivalent products for far less ? actually many competitors are simply giving away equivalent (even superior) products such as Firefox and FreeBSD.”

        This would seem to be infallible logic, rather like the logic that IT in the U.S. is dead because all IT jobs are going to move to India because they have billions of people (to our millions), and they work for $6 an hour. It really oversimplifies things. I’ve seen many OSS advocates use it, but from what I’ve read, the uptake has not materialized as expected for all OSS products. For the most part, larger companies have used OSS as a bargaining chip to get MS to lower its prices in contract negotiations, and MS has typically responded by lowering its prices to those customers until they buy in. I’ve heard more than one story (one of them first hand) about established companies that won’t even consider FOSS precisely because it’s free. I’m not sure what the problem is, but Sun may have provided a clue. Sun originally tried to give away StarOffice to corporations, and they weren’t getting as much excitement as they expected. The reason? Customers said, “You’re giving this away for free. You don’t appear to have a financial incentive to support or improve the product. Therefore, we’re not going to use it.” So Sun decided to start selling it for $50 a copy. Interestingly they got more business customers to bite when they did that. The moral of the story is giving a product away for free does not necessarily mean that customers will clamor to get it.

        Startups on the other hand are embracing OSS, mainly because of the impression it has made that it lowers the barrier to entry. You don’t have to pay a lot to get the technology you need up and running. I suspect it’s most often used for specific functions, such as e-mail, setting up an e-commerce site, community forums for customer feedback or intracompany collaboration, etc.

        “Founders who build a company on one or two ideas become less involved in the low-level product development.”

        In case you missed it, Bill Gates resigned his business leadership position at MS to become Chief Software Architect in 2000, I believe, around the time the judgement came down during the antitrust proceedings that MS was a monopoly. I don’t know what you mean by “low-level”, but I think it’s fair to say he’s involved in creating the overall direction of many of their software products. From what I understand Larry Ellison got involved in a similar role at Oracle at around the same time.

        I’m an applications developer, and I’ve used OSS in the past, and I’ll use it again in the future, where I think it’s practical. I refuse to use it, as it seems some do, to be politically correct, to rebel against MS. I’m more interested in getting the project finished in the quickest time possible, and so are my customers. I’m not going to make my job harder just to avoid MS. To me that’s a fool’s game. I know what it’s like to work harder than I have to, using tools that are flexible, in some cases OSS, but which provide no assistance in configuring them to do what I want. I call it “do-it-yourself development”. I like putting in some work to get a project done, but if a tool can help make the process easier, I’ll use it. I don’t care who it’s from. To me the morality arguments that say I’m supporting a criminal monopoly that stifles innovation by using MS software are moot. If I take longer to get a project done just so I can be morally satisfied with myself, that I stuck it to The Man, is the typical customer going to be satisfied with that explanation? Are you kidding me?? Get real! If, on the other hand, they have requirements that stipulate that the software I write work on multiple platforms with minimal adjustment, then there is a definite business case for Flash, Java, or use of OSS for development of the project. I’m interested in getting the job done, not in shoving my agenda down someone else’s throat.

        Below I respond to past comments.

        Tech Locksmith: “Eventually companies will run on hard times again and start looking around for a place to save money. I think a lot of them will ask themselves ‘What has Microsoft done for us lately?’ It may be too late to start learning Linux development and Linux security at that time.”

        You’re straying into territory you know little about. I didn’t really start familiarizing myself with PCs until the mid-90s. But the IBM PC came out in 1981 and took off. Was it too late for me? No. Having barely touched a PC up until then, I started developing for DOS in C right away. Later I moved to Unix (in C–was trained on that in college), and then moved back to the PC, developing for Windows in C++/MFC. Gee, Windows had been around since 1985. Was it too late for me? No.

        I saw some comments about how MS has crushed all of its competitors. Not true. Here are some that have survived for years: Intuit, Apple, RealNetworks, Corel, IBM, and more recently Sun. There are some who have grown significantly even while competing with MS, like Red Hat.

        jared: “Their only defense against many alternative solutions is to disseminate pure FUD about the competition (more of the same for Microsoft marketing) and hope they can scare people away from them.”

        I see plenty of anti-MS FUD out on the internet, though it’s of a different variety: it’s based on many people’s experience, but not totally on facts. The biggest anti-MS marketing I see is that Windows is insecure and buggy, and that Linux or OS X are better for all things a computer is used for because they’re designed better and are more secure. Part of this is based on real world perception. People have had bad experiences with Windows in the past. The difference now is Windows has more security features than it used to.

        I got my training in computer science, and I don’t accept the notion that either alternative OS is bug-free or 100% secure, or that all your software will magically be more secure running on either of them. Code is fallable because people write it. The fact is they haven’t been truly tested in the wild the way pure Unix (not counting OS X here) or Windows has. Part of my reasoning is based on actual reports. For example, Apache, whether it’s on Linux or on Windows, is easily hacked these days. True, worm attacks haven’t succeeded against it, but vandals have gotten in too many times to count. It doesn’t matter which OS you use. OS X does have security holes. I see the reports from time to time. The difference is the vulnerabilities are hardly ever exploited because it’s not worth it to the perpetrators. What notoriety are they going to get by taking down OS X?? The point is every platform has its pluses and minuses. I reject the notion that any one is “superior” or “inferior”. Each has its strengths.

        whitedo: “all the Microsoft trained developers and MCSE geeks who by nature of their paid for indoctrination program become certified Microsoft product evangelists.”

        Technology politics is nothing new. I remember years ago I worked on a client-server Unix project. We developed it on SCO. The customer site used nothing but Solaris. We tried to convince them to let us deploy our solution for them on SCO. The sysadmins at the customer site threatened to revolt if they allowed the SCO box in. They insisted our software had to be deployed on Solaris. And so it was.

        Joe McTroll: [The change to the worker contract saying that those younger than 26 can be fired w/o explanation/appeal to gov’t] “This law is unlawful discriminating young people (are 24’s or 25’s inherently less responsible than 26’s? why? which study or respected psychologist investigator determined it?) and also puts employers at mercy of employers.”

        You’re missing the point, Joe. The reason why youth unemployment in France is so high is because companies are afraid to hire them. Why? Because it’s extremely difficult to fire them. First they have to get government permission to fire anybody, and that can take a long time. I read a story several months ago about a trash collecting company who hired a young worker. The worker either showed up chronically late, or just didn’t show up at all. Meanwhile the employer had to pay him. Finally the employer got fed up, made an appointment to meet with a government minister to get permission to fire him. It took a while before they could meet. Then the employer had to wait another 6 weeks while the government minister decided whether he could fire him. All the while he had to continue to pay the employee who refused to work. Then he finally got permission to fire him. After these sorts of experiences, it would cause an employer to avoid hiring ANYONE. It’s just not worth it.

        The reason this modification to the worker contract is positive is it will encourage companies to take a chance on young workers. If they don’t work out, they can let them go easily. If they do work out, obviously they would want to keep them. Once they’re past 26, then they would have to go through the difficult process to fire them. Personally, if I were them I would make it two years probationary for anybody who’s hired, not just young workers. The reason being that the current proposed policy is going to lead to age discrimination. Employers are going to ask “How old are you?” If you’re older than 26, tough luck. But hey, there’s a 24-year-old over there. “I’ll hire that person,” they’ll say.

        jmgarvin: “First I’d like to mention Free Software does not suggest it is free, as in free beer. It means the software is free as in free intellectually.”

        Yes, yes. I know you guys like to talk about this, but that isn’t the reason most companies adopt it. They like it because it’s free, as in beer. I worked on a project last year where I used a FLOSS web control. I looked at the license, and all I was really interested in was whether it would be legal for me to use it in my project. Turns out it was, but I had to wade through paragraphs of this ideological diatribe about how “open source was about sharing” and all its other virtues. I could’ve cared less. I just wanted to use it. I wasn’t interested in being converted.

        jmgarvin: “It seems like many IT folks are so averse to choice that they’d rather stick with a kludgy OS than move to an OS with choice to it.”

        I moved to Windows from Unix because it has better support for RAD, both for GUI apps. and the web. Speed of development is what I’m interested in. I like to design things well, but I don’t like a lot of busywork if I can avoid it.

        Eclipse is the most promising OSS dev. tool I’ve heard about, though it appears to have limited web development capabilities.

      • #3104486

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by wayne ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        Well I dont know about the demise of Microsft, personally I don’t see that anytime soon. But as this seems to have decended into a pro MS and pro open source debate I feel I should comment. Most of the comments have come from developers and the like. As an administrator MS has definate advantages, one of which is quite simply users are comfortable with the user interface. An advantage for both an efficient help desk and finding staff for the help desk. But why are people either pro MS or pro open source, both have definate advantages in different commercial situations. The advantages of Microsoft operating systems have been well discussed here. One which I can’t agree with is the reliability of MS OS’s. The Linux servers on my network never crash. None of the Windows servers can match the uptime of these servers. This makes them perfect for print servers etc, the only requests from users is for ink and paper not complaints that they can’t access printers. Quite simply both MS and open source have advantages that organisations should be utilising on their networks. Niether will die any time soon, however I can see Microsoft loosing some market share as open source continues to move forwards in terms of it’s usability and ease of administration. With those things moving forward all the time, at least partial implementation of open source OS’s makes sense and saves money. Obviously this will have some impact on Microsoft’s bottom line, open source is still the only credible threat to MS’s domination. Will this cause the demise of Microsoft? I doubt it.

      • #3263461

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by oosai9 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I have been an active user, developer and supporter of
        Microsoft and UNIX products from as far back as 1982. As a platform agnostic
        Security professional, I am also an active adopter and supporter of the renewed
        Open Source Competitive efforts. It is always necessary to bring out the ?best
        features? of user platform whenever possible. I strongly believe that Microsoft
        will continue to thrive and prosper for the following reasons: 

        1)     
        Open Source competitors are in disarray and not
        able to muster any ?action plan? in winning ?people? over, product success has
        very little to do with technological superiority, Windows is a living proof.
        What ever happened to United-Linux? It appears it has been divided and about to
        be conquered.

        2)     
        MS has mastered the art of Corporate survival by ?any
        means necessary? (radical) ? witness Massachusetts OpenDoc slugfest, Uncle Sam?s
        Litigation and subsequent adoption of MS Office Suite by many of Uncle Sam?s
        Agencies, on going sparring with EU and on and on.

        3)     
        Ability to see opportunities where everyone perceives
        only threats ? It has the ability to morph into what it lacks. 3 years ago it
        looked like the end was imminent with the deluge of worm against Windows
        Platform and outright syndicated effort to extort money with mal-ware from East
        bloc Countries code mavens. It is safe to say that Microsoft has turned the
        corner with revamped kernel and product acquisitions to make up for areas of
        Company weaknesses. These acquisitions are making their way into new products
        and are coming out as tools to improve reliability on Microsoft platforms.
        Furthermore, it never loses sight of the competition, taking the ?carrot and
        stick? approach to the Linux challenge.

        4)     
        It is socially engaging through the Philanthropic
        efforts of ?Uncle Bill & Melissa? World-Wide. This ensures there will
        always be room to negotiate and accommodate. If ?Uncle Bill?s? Knighthood doesn?t
        awe you, Chief Ballmer?s Sumo size will put you in check.

        5)     
        Most importantly it is a battle-tested and battle-hardened
        Company leaving many mighty foes in its wake; as to bloated operating costs ?
        since when has it become illegal to dump employees by the ?boat load? in ?difficult?
        times for Corporate America. There is always a first time for everything. With
        a global economy that has allowed it to tap into relatively ?modest-wage?
        hi-tech specialized professionals, there is no downside to this equation.

      • #3263453

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by oosai9 ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I have been an active user, developer and supporter of
        Microsoft and UNIX products from as far back as 1982. As a platform agnostic
        Security professional, I am also an active adopter and supporter of the renewed
        Open Source Competitive efforts. It is always necessary to bring out the ?best
        features? of user platform whenever possible. I strongly believe that Microsoft
        will continue to thrive and prosper for the following reasons:


             1)     
        Open Source competitors are in disarray and not
        able to muster any ?action plan? in winning ?people? over,
                   
            product success has
        very little to do with technological superiority, Windows is a living
        proof.
        What ever            
                    happened to
        United-Linux? It appears it has been divided and about to
        be conquered.

        2)     
        MS has mastered the art of Corporate survival by ?any
        means necessary? (radical) ? witness Massachusetts OpenDoc slugfest, Uncle Sam?s
        Litigation and subsequent adoption of MS Office Suite by many of Uncle Sam?s
        Agencies, on going sparring with EU and on and on.

        3)     
        Ability to see opportunities where everyone perceives
        only threats ? It has the ability to morph into what it lacks. 3 years ago it
        looked like the end was imminent with the deluge of worm against Windows
        Platform and outright syndicated effort to extort money with mal-ware from East
        bloc Countries code mavens. It is safe to say that Microsoft has turned the
        corner with revamped kernel and product acquisitions to make up for areas of
        Company weaknesses. These acquisitions are making their way into new products
        and are coming out as tools to improve reliability on Microsoft platforms.
        Furthermore, it never loses sight of the competition, taking the ?carrot and
        stick? approach to the Linux challenge.

        4)     
        It is socially engaging through the Philanthropic
        efforts of ?Uncle Bill & Melissa? World-Wide. This ensures there will
        always be room to negotiate and accommodate. If ?Uncle Bill?s? Knighthood doesn?t
        awe you, Chief Ballmer?s Sumo size will put you in check.

        5)     
        Most importantly it is a battle-tested and battle-hardened
        Company leaving many mighty foes in its wake; as to bloated operating costs ?
        since when has it become illegal to dump employees by the ?boat load? in ?difficult?
        times for Corporate America. There is always a first time for everything. With
        a global economy that has allowed it to tap into relatively ?modest-wage?
        hi-tech specialized professionals, there is no downside to this equation.

      • #3106785

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by aapjanaya ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        “Things don’t last forever”.

        Certainly Microsoft won’t survive thru eternity, somehow one day it
        will cease to exist, perhaps dismantled a piece at a time as many other
        corporations did before, or maybe will be engulfed by a larger being.
        Possibly a sudden catastrophe will destroy the corporation as a whole
        along with many others, among those maybe your own business.

        These guys are absolute leaders of their business. Lord masters on
        devising gadgets consumers enjoy the best. Always watching on new
        arrivals at the IT scenario, eager to take ownership on other’s ideas
        and products if they mean valuable profit. Their products are launched
        thru hollywoodesque campaigns at highly profitable -yet affordable-,
        prices. For them innovation is a mean to achieve profit, and not
        otherwise. Very few corp’s have been so successful as them, undoubtely
        their main goal is making business.

        Willing to defeat rivals of any sort and size at almost any arena,
        Microsoft is very concerned about its public image, always trying to
        keep a neat and clean face, casual but professional, even when they
        loss at the courtrooms they look fresh. Most of other large corp’s are
        far from achieving this, plenty of CEOs fired here and there because of
        mismanagment or lack of competence.

        Today some people address ‘compatibility’ as a major disease at
        Microsoft, just recall that most of ordinary consumers plead for
        preserving it. If you are not an ordinary consumer don’t forget you
        possibly make your living out of them.

        About Unix-like operating systems worshiping, recall that UX is an
        aging soul, conceived in late 1960’s as a response to the need of a
        formal OS on non-mainframic computers. UX has evolved a great deal
        since then, but in its depths still is somewhat influenced by its
        heritage, as a matter of fact, it is coded in a frankensteinian version
        of its former C language, this is C++ (even Wins use it!). If UXs have
        been enhanced, Wins also have, but with different focus.

        Really new OSs have been there since always, thru decades some of us
        witnessed the rise and fall of many, some surpassed the conceptual
        designs of today’s ordinary OSs, but most of these had the curse of
        being proprietary. At research places and universities new
        architectures shall arise and wait for their right time to come. Some
        of those will be adopted, maybe by Microsoft or by the ones left at his
        business ‘niche’.

        Microsoft’s end won’t be some sort of Comics story with UX-superheroes,
        Win-villians, Mac-wizards and User-victims, possibly it will come as a
        natural event, as a byproduct of business evolution.

        If Microsoft falls all of a sudden, as if it were some sort of Roman
        empire defeated by Heuns, we better get ready for Middle Ages and start
        praying for an early Renaissance.

        A note about GM, its fall was caused by much more than just failed
        managment, unmanageable factors made large contributions to it. Just
        think on this, thru the years consumers changed many habits, among
        other they became more receptive to foreign goods, not just because
        these were fine and perhaps cheaper, but also because it became a
        fashion. Somehow consumers have contributed to GM’s defeat, and to some
        extent to their own.

        But don’t worry, world won’t come to an end.

      • #3264564

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by shinkendoka ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        I’ll say this only once. Vista is the last benchmark software for Microsoft.

        As recent as the last few days the Asian market (India) has started to embrace open source like it was mothers milk.

         The Indians and Asians have a history of cutting the crap from an idea and re-presenting it in a lighter, more efficient and less cumbersome form. All this with a hugely reduced cost at retail and a much lower capitol outlay at production.

        Couple the Indian IT boom with the Chinese market ( which Microsoft have recently stitched up a flimsy deal) and you have two thirds of the world PC market that have no sense of loyalty to ” same old same old”.

        Woe betide he or she that discounts the volume of business this growth is going to create or the momentum that is building. 

        The EEC is dragging it’s feet at the prospect of blindly following Microsoft?s lead and could be said to be being blatantly digging their heels in opposition and unafraid to be defiant at the megalomania that has become Microsoft?s arrogance.

         The next real battle is not so much operating systems per se, but the operating system format in which the world will use the new Internet.

        Europe has again put the in boot in respect of the American insistence and presumption that it alone should control Internet governance. American dominance is showing cracks.

        An alliance of European and Asian interests will quickly form a formidable alternative to American corporate and governmental dominance of the IT industry.

        The existing regime wallows in the argument of the old American car manufacturers prior to the impact of the Japanese car industry. Silicon valley and Texas chip development now have well established asian competition.

         Microsoft is destined to become another GM, Ford or Chrysler.

        The American market may be loyal to Microsoft and its car market ,but the rest of the world drives Japanese and likewise the rest of the world will compute on a cheaper and a more widely available platform that will cater for high end use but still allow open source to integrate at will. -A feature that Microsoft neutralized in its urge to be the dominant computer operating system. A feature that is probably the biggest gripe of existing computer users the world over.

        Start selling those Microsoft shares, look to European satellite investments, look to production facilities in China, look to investment possibilities in Indian R&D.

        While the financial administrators and IT propeller heads in corporate America debate mergers, acquisitions and technical bullshit about the next network rollout, the bigger world is looking toward a new dawn.

      • #3153880

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by a_chadili ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        First here are some successful French companies: Michelin, BiC, Alcatel, AirLiquide, to name a phew.
        France doesn’t relie only on the french market, it has global companies. let’s go back to the Microsoft/GM analogy.
        I don’t agree with your analysis because the software industry is not the same thing as the auto industry. While it is easy to come up with a good OS or an application, it is not easy to keep it updated and deliver high quality customer service globally. Open source community created superbe frameworks and propose them for free, but you’re on you’re own when it comes to support or you have to pay the same if not more than what you pay for non open source products.
        The advantage Microsoft has over GM is it has a lot of cash to do more R&D, hire the best creative minds to come up with new ideas.

      • #3153793

        Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        by tech locksmith ·

        In reply to Is Microsoft about to collapse?

        This might help some readers better understand entries in this blog

        Definition of ANALOGY

      • an inference that if things agree in some respects they probably agree in others
      • drawing
        a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect; “the
        operation of a computer presents and interesting analogy to the working
        of the brain”; “the models show by analogy how matter is built up”
        wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
      • An analogy is a comparison between two different things, in order to highlight some form of similarity.

        en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analogy

        and
         SIMILE

      • (sim-EH-lee):
        a simile is a type of figurative language, language that does not mean
        exactly what it says, that makes a comparison between two otherwise
        unalike objects or ideas by connecting them with the words “like” or
        “as.” The reader can see a similar connection with the verbs resemble,
        compare and liken. Similes allow an author to emphasize a certain
        characteristic of an object by comparing that object to an unrelated
        object that is an example of that characteristic. …
        http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm

      • In ragard to the comments about the French companies
        HYPERBOLE
        a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement
        http://www.iclasses.org/assets/literature/literary_glossary.cfm

        Exaggeration used for emphasis. Hyperbole can be used
        to heighten effect, to catalyze recognition, or to create a humorous
        perception. Example:
        home.cfl.rr.com/eghsap/apterms.html

        These are all literary devices which you will occasionally encounter in literate writing.

        As a homework exercise some readers may wish to look up the following words:

        humor
        and
        exaggeration

        You might also wish to look at stock prices for companies such as Microsoft.

        Thank you for your comments.