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Comment Re:Don't they have to update the images often anyw (Score 1) 376

by MoreDruid (#29250083) Attached to: Dell Says Re-Imaging HDs a Burden If Word Banned
It may be a while back, but HP gave me the option to reinstall only the OS and if needed/wanted a selection of the bundled software. Mind you, this was a business laptop, and they are more expensive for a reason. Better build quality is one, and probably the optional software install is another. That said, my current Lenovo 3000 N200 (cheap/midrange laptop) has this option as well - just the OS, and the install of bundled software is optional. YMMV of course.
Oh I just remembered one: a Packard Bell (yuech!) budget laptop (a friend of mine bought it against my stringent advice)... that software image is just utter crap - I don't support that thing as a result :-).

Comment but who is to blame - OEM or MS? (Score 1) 376

by MoreDruid (#29250057) Attached to: Dell Says Re-Imaging HDs a Burden If Word Banned
I can understand that an OEM has to deal with this kind of stuff. But should they be held liable for the errors the software company they OEM for makes? And infringements? That would mean that they would need to scrutinize every software update, every new patch and every program as well. For large OEMs this might be feasible, but for small shops it would be an extra workload, driving up computer prices (or they'll go Linux and don't have to worry about all that crap - I can dream right?)
That would make the cost of OEM so high that you'd be better off buying retail. What if an Adobe program is next in line? And then Norton or McAfee? Should the OEM burden that cost completely? Or would it be wiser to give the software producer a hefty penalty or paying for the cost of _their_ fault - by either having them fix the issue (create new images, etc) or just billing the extra cost to them.

The OEMs _could_ hit MS hard by telling them to fix it ASAP so they can deliver according to contract or they can break the contract (they cannot be expected to sell infringing software right?) and bundle a free software replacement for Word. They now have a heavy lever to pull on MS if ever there was one.

Comment Re:Bloody difficult. (Score 1) 1091

by MoreDruid (#29164449) Attached to: How To Prove Someone Is Female?
so how do we differentiate this from when people are judged on mental capabilities instead of physical?
This is mostly a level playing field (business & colleague attitudes aside) so everyone competes with each other, male or female. I've never heard of a separate womens' chess league.

Still this is hard to judge (if you don't count face value as they did until now). Maybe a psychologic test could yield some results if the woman in question isn't homosexual.

As to the point if she has a rare condition and has more capabilities as a result, then kudos to her that she found something to benefit from that. If we look at mental abilities this wouldn't even be discussed or being thought strange but smart instead.
Microsoft

US Court Tells Microsoft To Stop Selling Word 403

Posted by Soulskill from the somebody's-not-having-a-good-day dept.
oranghutan writes "A judge in a Texas court has given Microsoft 60 days to comply with an order to stop selling Word products in their existing state as the result of a patent infringement suit filed by i4i. According to the injunction, Microsoft is forbidden from selling Word products that let people create XML documents, which both the 2003 and 2007 versions let you do. Michael Cherry, an analyst quoted in the article, said, 'It's going to take a long time for this kind of thing to get sorted out.' Few believe the injunction will actually stop Word from being sold because there are ways of working around it. In early 2009, a jury in the Texas court ordered Microsoft to pay i4i $200 million for infringing on the patent. ZDNet has a look at the patent itself, saying it 'sounds a bit generic.'"
Medicine

The Science of Folding@home 88

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i-prefer-napping@home dept.
mr_sifter writes "As previously discussed, computers running Folding@home now contribute over 1 petaflop of processing power to research into protein folding, making Folding@home the most successful example yet of a distributed computing app. It's also at the forefront of GPGPU computing, with both Nvidia and ATI keen to push how well their graphics chips perform when folding. So the technology is great, but what about the science? This feature looks at how the Folding project was developed, how it's helping researchers and the thorny question of how long it might be until the software running on your PC or PS3 actually produces real-world results."
Windows

Microsoft Kills 3-App Limit For Windows 7 Starter Edition 352

Posted by Soulskill from the crippleware-wasn't-politically-correct-anyway dept.
Chabil Ha' writes "Heard the rumors that the much-maligned Windows 7 Starter Edition would be able to run more than three concurrent applications? Today, the Windows team made it official: 'Based on the feedback we've received from partners and customers asking us to enable a richer small notebook PC experience with Windows 7 Starter, we've decided to enable Windows 7 Starter customers the ability to run as many applications simultaneously as they would like, instead of being constricted to the 3 application limit that the previous Starter editions included. We believe these changes will make Windows 7 Starter an even more attractive option for customers who want a small notebook PC for very basic tasks, like browsing the web, checking email and personal productivity.' Small consolation, of course, if you want to watch a DVD natively, but I'm sure this won't stop the Slashdot crowd from enabling it."

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I'd rather just believe that it's done by little elves running around.

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