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Comment Re:Nobody else seems to want it (Score 1) 727

by Pigskin-Referee (#47727413) Attached to: Linus Torvalds: 'I Still Want the Desktop'

Your answer, while well intentioned, is way over simplified. I am in a position that I am able to talk with the person or persons involved in driver development in many companies. The general consensus is that developing a driver or drivers that offer the same usability that the ones developed for Microsoft is just too expensive and time consuming.

I recently had a conversation with a developer from Brother USA. The individual uses Linux on his person PC at home. He explained that one of the major stumbling blocks were the many flavors of *nix that are available. Developing for all of them, especially the niche market ones like FreeBSD is not feasible. With Microsoft, a driver developed for WinXP might very well still work on Win-8.1, whereas in the *nix world, a driver developed for one flavor of Linux is usually useless on another flavor. If the FOSS world came together and developed one uniform driver model that employed a uniform installation routine, etcetera, then the costs of developing drivers for *nix would no longer be the problem that the presently are.

Not mentioned here, but important to remember is that Microsoft develops drivers for many devices on their own. They are usually "universal" drivers, but at least they offer some limited use of the device it was developed for. In some case, even more than the one written by the device's developer. Microsoft also offers "in-house" support for authors attempting to write drivers for its operating system.

It is also worth noting, that in many instances, the operating system does not offer the support that the device needs to operate to begin with. In the FreeBSD word, it took nearly 10 years for them to get support for "n" protocol drivers, and it is still woefully incomplete.

Submission + - Nadella named new Microsoft CEO; Gates out as chairman (nbcnews.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: Microsoft named its top cloud computing executive, Satya Nadella, as chief executive on Tuesday.

The company also said Bill Gates would step aside as chairman of the board but would remain a technology advisor to the company. John Thompson, who has been the lead independent director, will become chairman.

Nadella's appointment ends a longer-than-expected search for a new leader after Steve Ballmer announced his intention to retire in August.

Nadella is only the third CEO in Microsoft's 39-year history, following co-founder Bill Gates and Ballmer.

The company took to Twitter to introduce its choice as CEO to the world.

Submission + - US appeals court strikes down net neutrality (msn.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: The FCC did not have the legal authority to enact 2011 regulations requiring Internet providers to treat all traffic the same, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court has struck down the government's latest effort to require internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, meaning mobile carriers and other broadband providers may reach agreements for faster access to specific content crossing their networks.

The Federal Communications Commission's open Internet rules, passed in late 2010, require internet providers to treat all Web traffic equally and give consumers equal access to all lawful content, a principle known as net neutrality.

But the FCC lacked legal authority to enact the regulations, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Tuesday, siding with Verizon Communications Inc that challenged the rules.

Verizon has argued the rules violated the company's right to free speech and stripped control of what its networks transmit and how.

"Even though the commission has general authority to regulate in this arena, it may not impose requirements that contravene express statutory mandates," Judge David Tatel said.

The FCC has classified broadband providers as information service providers as opposed to telecommunications service providers and that distinction created a legal hurdle for the FCC to impose the net neutrality rules.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on Tuesday said the agency was considering "all available options, including those for appeal, to ensure that these networks on which the Internet depends continue to provide a free and open platform for innovation and expression, and operate in the interest of all Americans."

The FCC could appeal the ruling to the full appeals court or to the U.S. Supreme Court. Or it could attempt to rewrite the regulations to clear up its authority over broadband providers — a move urged by consumer advocacy groups.

Supporters of the rules worry that without FCC's rules, internet providers such as Verizon or Comcast Corp would be free to charge websites for faster access to their content or slow down or even block access to particular sites.

"That's just not the way the internet has worked until now," Matt Wood, policy director at public interest group Free Press, told Reuters.

But opponents say the rules inhibit investments, represent government meddling in free Internet and are not necessary to ensure open access to the Internet.

"Today's decision will not change consumers' ability to access and use the Internet as they do now," Randal Milch, Verizon's general counsel and executive vice president for public policy, said in a statement.

"Verizon has been and remains committed to the open Internet which provides consumers with competitive choices and unblocked access to lawful websites and content when, where, and how they want. This will not change in light of the court's decision," Milch said.

Similarly, the Broadband for America coalition representing various internet service providers and CTIA, the wireless industry association, pledged commitments to an open Internet.

Major content providers Netflix Inc and Google Inc who may face new hurdle referred inquiries to the Internet Association representing them.

"The Internet Association supports enforceable rules that ensure an open Internet, free from government control or discriminatory, anticompetitive actions by gatekeepers," the group's President and CEO Michael Beckerman said.

Facing strong resistance from Republicans, Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday pledged to help FCC redraft its rules to regain authority over broadband providers.

Comment Why Continue to Develop So Many Differnt Versions (Score 1) 133

by Pigskin-Referee (#45026533) Attached to: FreeBSD 9.2, FreeBSD 10.0 Alpha 4 Released

Why does FreeBSD continue to develop two different versions rather than concentrate on making on superior product? They are years behind *nix and a decade behind Microsoft when it comes to drivers, wireless support and printer support. It just defies logic that they spread their all ready meager resources between to products rather than concentrate on making on superior product.

Comment Re:Hurrah? (Score 1) 143

by Pigskin-Referee (#44864537) Attached to: Feature-Rich FreeBSD 10 Alpha Released

They are still running 5+ year old linux_base-f10. You would have thought by now they would have updated it. Check out their base system installations. Virtually all of them are old versions. You would have thought for a new release, they would have updated their application.

Submission + - Caixa Econômica Federal Turns to Microsoft Solutions for Cost Saving (technet.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: Caixa Econômica Federal Turns to Microsoft Solutions for Cost Savings and Improved Interoperability

Established in 1861, Caixa Econômica Federal is not just a bank, it’s an institution that impacts the lives of millions in Brazil. The 100% public company has a key role in promoting urban development and social initiatives across country, giving priority to sectors such as housing and public services and contributing significantly to improve the lives of citizens, especially those of low income.

Recently, Caixa was looking to significantly revitalize its IT solutions to support growth, accelerate decision making, and take advantage of the transformative benefits of cloud solutions and mobile integration. At the same time, they needed to ensure new technologies would work well with existing IT investments, including open source software.

Caixa decided to implement a robust suite of Microsoft solutions, including Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and Office, to better support its 118,000 employees and 3,000 branches. Now Caixa is realizing a broad range of efficiency improvements – from streamlined communications to enhanced mobile productivity to significant cost savings.

In one year there have been impressive results, including the migration of 140,000 mailboxes, almost 40,000 desktops running Windows 8, and 100,000 users migrated from ISA Sever to Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) Server using Microsoft Reputation Services (MRS).

Employees and management alike are pleased with the improved functionality and business agility. “I believe this will revolutionize the way we work at Caixa,” said Marcelo Xavier, IT Consultant at Caixa.

Caixa’s new Microsoft solutions integrated well with their existing IT, including some legacy and open source solutions, such as OpenLDAP, Expresso Email, Apache web server and PostGreSQL.

Caixa is representative of a broader trend of previously open source customers embracing Microsoft technologies, or a mix of Microsoft and open source solutions. We’re fortunate to regain their business, as organizations have seen Microsoft investing heavily in work with open source vendors and communities, in supporting standard document formats like ODF, in building rich integration with Linux on the desktop and the server, and in mainstreaming the new stack of web standards like HTML5. They like that we have made a commitment to ensure our technology works well with others, combined with the overall platform value we deliver.

Submission + - Microsoft released Office Mobile for Android phones. (google.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: Microsoft Office Mobile is the official Office companion optimized for your Android phone. You can access, view and edit your Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint documents from virtually anywhere. Documents look like the originals, thanks to support for charts, animations, SmartArt graphics and shapes. When you make quick edits or add comments to a document, the formatting and content remain intact.

Submission + - Microsoft has announced the retirement of the TechNet Subscriptions service (microsoft.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: Those who qualify for TechNet get access to nearly all of Microsoft's software (Office for the Mac being a notable exception), with a limited number of license keys for each application. Microsoft's recently announcement stated that TechNet users could buy or renew a one-year subscription through Aug. 31.

Microsoft hasn't specifically stated that software piracy is the root cause of TechNet's demise. But there's no doubt that a significant number of TechNet subscribers have abused the service. In truth, the program has been rife with petty-level pirating for all of its nearly 20 years.

Back in the early days, packs of TechNet CDs arrived in the mail. It was like manna from the mother ship. And those CDs got passed around.

Today, TechNet's many offerings are simply downloaded as easily copied and shared ISO files. For the most part, the downloads are managed through a sort of honor system. That makes it easy for some subscribers to game the system — i.e., download genuine copies of Microsoft software along with perfectly legitimate keys and then either give the software to family and friends or sell it at the local flea market. Undoubtedly, a few unscrupulous PC resellers sold systems with free TechNet software keys — and charged their customers "discounted" application fees.

Submission + - Supreme Court upholds DNA swabbing of people under arrest (nbcnews.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the police practice of taking DNA samples from people who have been arrested but not convicted of a crime, ruling that it amounts to the 21st century version of fingerprinting.

The ruling was 5-4. Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative, joined three of the court’s more liberal members — Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — in dissenting.

The five justices in the majority ruled that DNA sampling, after an arrest “for a serious offense” and when officers “bring the suspect to the station to be detained in custody,” does not violate the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of unreasonable searches.

Submission + - Supreme Court Rules For Monsanto In Patent Case (huffingtonpost.com)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has sustained Monsanto Co.'s claim that an Indiana farmer violated the company's patents on soybean seeds that are resistant to its weed-killer.

The justices, in a unanimous vote Monday, rejected the farmer's argument that cheap soybeans he bought from a grain elevator are not covered by the Monsanto patents, even though most of them also were genetically modified to resist the company's Roundup herbicide.

Justice Elena Kagan says a farmer who buys patented seeds must have the patent holder's permission. More than 90 percent of American soybean farms use Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" seeds, which first came on the market in 1996.

Comment What if Microsoft had pulled this "bullshit" (Score 1) 299

First of all, this is old news. Secondly, has it occurred to anyone that if Microsoft had pulled this stunt, the resident "Slashdoter's" would have been up in arms crying over the inhuman policy of a tyrannical corporate entity. However, since it is Google, who personally I believe is far more evil than Microsoft, the posts are mostly low keyed and benign in nature.
Firefox

Submission + - Mozilla Firefox browser upgrade taken offline due to vulnerability (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Pigskin-Referee
Pigskin-Referee writes: The latest version of Mozilla's Firefox browser has been taken offline after a security vulnerability was discovered.

Users who had upgraded to version 16 were advised to downgrade to the previous safe release until Firefox developers released a fix.

The vulnerability allowed "a malicious site to potentially determine which websites users have visited", Mozilla said.

The non-profit company said that only a "limited number of users are affected".

The download had been taken off-line within a day of its initial release, the organization's UK spokesman said.

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