Microsoft, Starbucks To Offer Wireless Service 133
rfsayre writes: "Ever embed video in a Word 2000 file while drinking a venti half-caf low fat frappucino? You will." Think about this: if Microsoft and Starbucks provide their "customers with high-speed Internet access for their wireless laptops, smart phones and other hand-held device," how long would it be until no one is more than 30 feet from an access point? (And does this include Starbucks-serving Barnes and Noble Cafes?)
Re:I will, huh? (Score:1)
Nonsense (Score:1)
Barnes and Noble, eh? (Score:1)
Will this be Standard or MS ``Enhanced'' Access (Score:1)
Re:More at NY Times (Score:1)
I think it would be nice if there was such scheme but platform-independant... so I could synchronize my Mac keychain with my palm pilot, and the Linux box at the cyber cafe could use the keychain from my palm, etc.
And to solve the forgetting to logout problem, maybe a custom timeout could be set depending on the place/service used?
Re:More at NY Times (Score:1)
By george, where as that program been all my life? My humble thanks. (I found it here [multimania.com], BTW).
Re:Updated trapdoor drivers for Windows NT? (Score:2)
Small. . . portable. .
Ahem... Yes, I suppose. Sort of the way that a VAX looks small and portable when you park it next to ENIAC.
Re:Try Decafe! (Score:1)
The reason why (Score:1)
Don't get me wrong, I use my cellphone's 14.4Kbps connection all the time to check specific text data, but it isn't really well tuned for a "full Web browsing experience" (Help me, I'm starting to think in MarketSpeak!)
Re:Bad deal for Starbucks (Score:2)
That's exactly what is needed. Y'wanna cater to the masses, you implement the common denominator. 10/100 switched Ethernet, TCP/IP, and DHCP. Plug it in and go. That's how hotels do it, and that's how offices with "guest desks" for visiting execs do it.
This is part of the concept that Sun called 'WebTone' -- a set of commonly-available Internet standards that are as readily accessible as your typical POTS dial tone. (Microsoft countered with a 'WinTone' concept which quickly got laughed off by the industry.)
I'll gladly plug my laptop into an Ethernet jack at the coffee shop. I'll gladly pay a few bucks extra to hang out on the 'net while I drink my coffee. But I won't hook up to some bizarre wireless network, especially one controlled by the Devil of Redmond.
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How to stop Starbucks with Politics! (Score:2)
Starbucks lattes are ass-nasty. Thank goodness there is no Starbucks in my town. I don't want one even near me.
They're coming to get you.
Soon, they'll be in the next town.
Then, they'll be in the shopping mall near your friend's house.
And before you know it, you'll be next door and downwind of one.
Get used to the burning plastic and hair smell, a Starbucks is coming to your area!
LIBERTYBOARD.ORG - News for Libertarians. Stuff that's about freedom.Cool site! Loved the link to the politics test.
If I hadn't already given up on Canada (you know, like your wonderful but tired old car, there's a time when it's just too broken to even bother trying to fix), I had been considering running as the Libertarian candidate for the Beaches-East York riding in the recent Canadian federal election.
Excuse me while I vomit... (Score:1)
People using laptops in a public place are abhorrent.
People using their laptops in Starbucks are doubleplus abhorrent...
But it's worse. Much, much, worse. According to this article [theregister.co.uk] at The Register, people want to computerise pubs...
Personally, the sight of a computer in a pub makes me want to spill my beer over it. Or preferably the trendy piss-water drink of the pretentious twat showing off his new laptop.
The horror, the horror....
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
What's the point? (Score:1)
So let's say that I would go to Starbucks, order a "venti" coffee and check my mail? Sounds like a VIP-sales-guy syndrom to me. Hell, I don't carry my laptop with me other than to work and home. Why would I take it to Starbucks just so I can check what's new on Slashdot? Personally I don't live to get a first post.
Then, this wireless stuff is making me wonder. A colleague of mine just had a microwave station "rigged" on top of his computer at work. I can't imagine that it is very fun to sit by that thing and get, whatever is left of, your brain fried. Not dangerous? Perhaps not just one device, but think about all the cell phones, wireless ethernet, radio, TV and other technologies stream through your body each day... I am all for RJ45 as far as it can go. Airlines should pick up on this too. Put an RJ45 jack in the back of the seat in front.
We don't really need to be "connected" that much anyway. Think about your average day. How much is actually work being done because you have that Internet in your face? Most of it is probably reading e-mail with 50MB attachments and Slashdot.
When Starbucks pushes it into it's employees to understand non-jargon about coffee cup sizes, I will raise an eyebrow. As far as this wireless stuff goes, I could give a shit.
Have a good one!
Alex
Re:And now for some espionage... (Score:2)
Yes, I do work for a company that makes access points. No, I haven't done much work on that product line myself.
_____________
My God !! "AUSTIN POWERS 2" got it right !!! (Score:3)
Bad deal for Starbucks (Score:3)
Whave people *do* have is laptops/notebooks. Now, if Starbucks offered a 100 MHz local net with RJ45 connectors along the counter...
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I can see it now! (Score:1)
Either that or they'll have signs "No eating or drinking at computers" Which would defeat the purpose.
Confusious say "Man who walks through airport turnstile sideways going to bangkok"
Wireless Access in Barnes & Noble would rock (Score:1)
Question: If you order coffee from Starbucks.com while in a starbucks, do you get a terrible Net feedback loop?
Vulgrin the MAD
Re:I will, huh? (Score:1)
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seumas.com
Point Missed? (Score:4)
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SecretAsianMan (54.5% Slashdot pure)
'Latte'? (Score:2)
Starbucks press release.... (Score:1)
I will, huh? (Score:1)
I don't run Windows.
I don't use Word.
I don't drink coffee.
I especially don't drink "frappucino".
And even if I did, it wouldn't be at Starbucks.
So no, I won't be doing this.
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MailOne [openone.com]
How we can really screw with M$ and starbucks (Score:1)
Anyone living close enough, could tap the signal without actually being inside of a starbucks, then reroute it to the rest of the neighborhood via some cat5 cable thrown over the fence. Hell id do it.
--toq
Like a bad 50's Movie (Score:5)
What next, AOL Time Warner merge with Microsoft Starbucks, and do battle against Pepsi Exon Coca Cola, while us little people cower in fear and dodge peices of sky scraper that are falling from the skys as the evil corporations Mega-Money-Rights-Stomping-Robots do battle in the cities (Especially Tokyo; robots always do battle in the streets of Tokyo).
I feel a film coming on. Warner Fox Disney Corp. would love it....
Oh man.... (Score:1)
Ummmm..... (Score:1)
Not with 2% milk they're not. "Lowfat" would be at most 1% milk and more likely skim.
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MailOne [openone.com]
Evil Empire is forming... (Score:1)
barnes and noble (Score:2)
I very seriously doubt it... unless this blows up, and b&n jumps on the bandwagon. The starbucks in b&n stores are not real starbucks (along with most of the kiosks in airports, hotels, etc), they are just sold coffee by starbucks, none of the starbucks corp. stuff applies to them.
The Empire Strikes back... (Score:2)
The last few years have seen the rise and rise of OSS, but with moves like this is Microsoft looking to quash the rebellion ? By owning not only the software but the network will they achieve the subjugation of free software.
Maybe ultimately this is why Microsoft will dominate, even if broken up. They own the computer (X-Box), the software... and now the network.
Re:Try Decafe! (Score:1)
Re:Point Missed? (Score:1)
MS and Starbucks Antitrust? (Score:1)
Is it Internet access? (Score:1)
"Customers will be able to download the latest information on local arts and entertainment and shop online"
Is that all they can do? What about ssh to your home Linux box and recompile the kernel.
The article also says: "The service will be provided over MobileStar Network Corp.'s wireless broadband network and connect people using Microsoft's MSN services."
And now for some espionage... (Score:2)
We just got a Starbucks in our lil' downtown a few months ago. At night, it's the turf of the hip-n-trendy 90210 college students from south Florida. During the day, however, it is overrun w/ attorneys on their way to & fro the courthouse, judges doing the same, DEA faggots, etc...
Once these folks start slinking into Starbucks w/ their laptops & nursing steamy lattes while their insecure o/s does a NetBIOS broadcast over the 802.11 net--ooh, it's almost too much to bear.
Some nutcase could intercept all kinds of cool shit & really change the outcome of court cases, etc... Imagine if the DEA starts doing raids on the wrong houses (oops, they've already done that). The possibilites are endless.
I'd rather be a unix freak than a freaky eunuch
Starbucks Expert Speaks! (Score:2)
hey, starbcuks expert, whats a...
quad/quattro breve latte
Another Starbucks product that is about as overmarketed and annoyingly named as a 1984 Cadillac Cimarron (read: 1984 Cavalier with heated leather seats), served in an annoying sleeved paper cup in a restaurant that stinks like plastic and hair burning, and comes with a wooden stir-stick that gives you a splinter when you lick it to save the last drop of precious caffeine.
Ugh. I hate Starbucks. Not that the coffee is bad, but from ordering with their really annoying names for everything (tall, venti, grande, etc.) to the stink of beans roasting in the store (and I can't figure out what they could possibly be doing to make coffee beans smell bad) to the really stupid hippy tree-hugger cups and stir-sticks, I avoid the place like the plague that it is.
Burning Hair in Starbucks' Air (Score:2)
And you can't smoke in any of these places either.
No, they wouldn't want the familiar and relatively pleasant smell of tobacco to obscure their precious and Pavlovian this-place-smells-like-burning-hair marketing tool and trademark odor.
I'd still love to know how they make coffee beans roasting smell so incredibly bad.
M$FT Caffinated Wireless Java... Good lord.... (Score:1)
Mail Access? (Score:2)
But at least you can get your email...
I can just see this...
Attempt to log into a POP server from Starbucks access:
"We're sorry, you can only access POP mail from the MSN.COM and HOTMAIL.COM domains. Have a nice day."
Updated trapdoor drivers for Windows NT? (Score:2)
The only thing they missed, is that Gates isn't Bald, doesn't wear Grey Nehru jackets, and doesn't, to my knowledge, have a minature clone. .
I guess the trapdoor/disposal system malfunction in the first movie was just an "undocumented feature" in the Windows NT drivers?
Re:Wireless communications (Score:1)
Re:Point Missed? (Score:1)
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SecretAsianMan (54.5% Slashdot pure)
Re:Ummmm..... (Score:2)
At Starbucks, "lowfat" is 2% - I know, I worked there, dumbass.
Re:My God !! "AUSTIN POWERS 2" got it right !!! (Score:2)
This just in. (Score:1)
"Microsoft today announced that it would be installing computers with internet access and a full licensed copy of Office 2000 on every tree in the forests and wilderness areas surrounding the greater Seattle area.
Microsoft spokesman Steve Ballmer said in an interview that "he knows that people want this, they just don't know it yet. If you can't check your email while on vacation in the woods, what good are you in this world anyways? I check my email when I am on the crapper, everyone else should too."
In an unrelated story, Microsoft claims that 'forest creatures are now responsible for the stolen Windows source code', and that they are in the process of acquiring a thermonuclear warhead to use on the cute and fuzzies of Washington state."
What will it be called? (Score:1)
kc.
C'mon... (Score:1)
I personally prefer the relative comfort of my desk @ work or my home (in both of these places I can also drink coffee, and it doesn't cost $4 a cup).
The only coffee shop I want to spend time in is the kind they have in Amsterdam
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Re:'Latte'? (Score:2)
time to link whore... (Score:1)
Re:Oh man.... (Score:1)
Damnit! I don't want to liscence my coffee...
Re:Point Missed? (Score:1)
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SecretAsianMan (54.5% Slashdot pure)
Re:Starbucks Expert Speaks! (Score:1)
--
Re:the question is... (Score:1)
Are you serious? Of course you will. Or they will try for that anyway....
Microsoft isn't doing this out of the goodness of their heart. They aren't doing it to promote cross-platform functionality. Look at their past. Most of their products have some sort of hook in them to try and get you to buy other products if you want full functionality. This will be just another method to reward you for running WindowsME on your laptop or having the right mobile phone [microsoft.com].
Re:And now for some espionage... (Score:3)
802.11b specifies WEP, but it does not have to be used. I would imagine that they will enable WEP however. Plus, the SS should help keeping things private.
From the Buffalo AirStation [buffalotech.com] FAQ:
Re:Bad deal for Starbucks (Score:1)
Ever embed....? (Score:1)
"Ever embed a Trojan embedded in a video in a Word 2000 file while drinking a venti half-caf low fat frappucino? You will."
Ack! Just remember! Just don't accept any attachment files sent you by someone in a Starbucks!
NY Times partners link (Score:1)
Re:'Latte'? (Score:2)
Re:Is this safe for Users and for the Resteraunt (Score:2)
Anonymous client misbehavior via CyberCafe, or (name your favorite public access flavor).
How is the chain of accountability maintained in these arrangements where the public can temporarily connect to the net using their own systems? At home, I have a permanent relationship to my ISP, so my misbehavior is easily punished by terminating my service! I just can't imagine how this Starbucks service provider can control "foreign" clients - they just stroll in from the street and connect!
Maybe this could prove to be a useful form of civil protest in the future - especially if this break in accountability is never addressed.
Betcha a Nickel .... (Score:2)
Then there's the security aspect. "Microsoft has installed monitoring software, with man-in-the-middle cacheing for SSL, for your Web surfing and e-mail convienence."
Skroom. By Seattle standards, at least, Starbuck's is bottom shelf coffee anyway.
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Re:Bad deal for Starbucks (Score:1)
Still, it would be incredibly cool to see an RJ-45 sticking out of a coffee house table.
Re:'Latte'? (Score:1)
It's caffè lattè (although nobody really cares which way round you write the accents) and pronounced - well imagine saying 'merry' but without the 'rry'. (or rather, imagine a British person saying 'merry'... urghh.)
Good Grief! (Score:1)
Microsoft AND starbucks, oh my! Hanging out at starbux using the net is where geek ends and yuppiedom takes over. Via Geek- creative, alternative, inginuity and fun! Evil Greedy trendy ass yuppies suck (methinks). Is /. losing it's geek roots?
Who pays the bill (Score:1)
Actually, the customer pays the bills. They are using MobileStar which already has access points in Airports. If this is the people I'm thinking of then expect to pay more for the access than for the java. I think they charge $5/10 minutes (but it could be $10/5 minutes).
What people *do* have is laptops/notebooks. Now, if Starbucks offered a 100 MHz local net with RJ45 connectors along the counter...
I agree, if Starbuck is doing it to attract business, then I think they would be better off with plain vanilla ethernet jacks charging $5 an hour.
By the way, per the MobileStar website [mobilestar.com], it does use 802.11 standard. It's a weird website since even though they are targetted partly at mobile phone users, you need the latest Flash player just to get a list of locations served.
I think we're missing something (Score:1)
802.11 is more convenient (Score:2)
I have a Starbucks near my home that, if it had this service, would certainly have my patronage more often. Now if their coffee were just a bit better...
Re:'Latte'? (Score:2)
But you have to be carefull - Starbucks is slowly inventing their own language - you don't order a 'large' latte - you order a 'vente' when youask the people serving there what this means they look dumbly at you - of course it's Italian for 20 - 20 what you might ask? 20ounces - I guess they assume all Italians order their expresso in ounces - rumor has it SB is openning in Italy sonn - I wonder if they'll be forced to rename their drinks (or dish up 20 litres or ml neither of which would be what people expect)
You wanna bet? (Score:1)
Oh no, I won't...
t_t_b
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I think not; therefore I ain't®
they had tried this once... (Score:1)
...but not exactly this. i was actually on the team that was doing the budget for the plan. they basically wanted broadband and free internet terminals with webcams. theyre plan was to have it set-up for web confrencing with other starbucks customers (mostly those long lost friends and family), and have a few cameras in each location that broadcast all of the stores to the internet.
obviously as you can imagine, this was going to cost a boatload of cash (5 terminals, each with webcam, 1 server to be a gateway /firewall /controller for the internet webcams, at every location). It was pure madness. The support bill was more than they had wanted to spend on the entire project.
With this plan however, a lot less hardware is needed. probably a much wiser way to go over all.
Drink more tea
organicgreenteas.com [organicgreenteas.com]
Re:I will, huh? (Score:1)
I'm proud of my frothing mustache!
Caribou... (Score:1)
Kris
botboy60@hotmail.com
Nerdnetwork.net [nerdnetwork.net]
The last mile... (Score:4)
I've been trying for some time to get DSL into the home and have been getting the run-around: ``Yes, you're close enough'' ``No. You're too far away''. Seems to depend on the phase of the moon. Either that or my neighborhood just happens to sit on a hitherto undiscovered and unusually active tectonic plate.
Now Starbuck comes along and offers wireless internet access. I'm pretty darned sure that there's a Starbucks closer than my local phone company's CO. (Heck, in Chicago, you can stand on most street corners in the Loop and see at least three Starbucks shops.) Could Starbucks be the high speed provider I've been looking for?
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Mega Partnerships (Score:2)
Starbucks will provide high speed access, Microsoft will provide the software,
Dell will provide the computer,
The Gap will provide the clothes,
Bayers will provide the drugs (trust us, you'll need em),
McDonalds will provide the food,
Etrade will provide the stock trading services you will need to afford all this,
and if you ever go anywhere else to drink-coffee-while-you-browse-and-look-stylish-an
If something has never been said/seen/heard before, best stop to think about why that is.
Re:Oh man.... (Score:2)
Nah. It'll just be a comprehensive disclaimer that reminds you that coffee is hot and that Starbucks isn't responsible if you are stupid enough to take the lid off while driving in traffic.
Also, Starbucks won't be held responsible if you spill coffee all over your keyboard while you trying to press Ctrl-Alt-Del.
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Why would I bother to do this? (Score:2)
Why even care? (Score:1)
If you don't like it then don't buy it. It's just that simple...I wouldn't use nothing like that any ways. =)
P.S: Don't let the name fool you... I'm a Linux user.
Not free (Score:1)
from the times article:
The arrangement will enable customers, for a fee, to connect to the Internet from a laptop computer or other device equipped to handle wireless data. In addition, Microsoft will create content and services through MSN, its online service, catering to Starbucks customers.
Singapore Airport (Score:2)
At Singapore Airport they're building this kind of thing up too. They've had little access points all over the place for Palms a long time (which is neat if you have software installed that can make use of it - like a ssh client (mmmhm)).
Now they're setting up a place with several round desks with flat screens, mouse and keyboard, infra red ports for Palms, notebooks, etc., wires to plug your notebook into the screen/mouse/keyboard and all hooked up to high speed internet access. I believe you can use those terminals without your own PC too, but I may be wrong there.
In any case, it's all quite neat if you have some time there (I just returned from 45 hours of flying/sitting in airports).
Re:Point Missed? (Score:2)
Microsoft and Starbucks to offer Wireless? (Score:2)
Starbucks.
Coffee.
WireLESS.
krystal_blade
Uh, really. (Score:3)
"Yeah, I'll have a half-caf, no-fat, double latte, mocha swirl with the Firewire upgrade." Sheesh!
Forget BN... (Score:3)
"We have reached our cruising altitude of 29,000 feet...you may now frag."
Neutron
At how much a minute? (Score:2)
Living above Starbucks? (Score:2)
I'm just picturing the joys of wireless coming up through my floor and the extra bandwidth available after they close for the night.
Re:'Latte'? (Score:2)
More from Mobilestar and CBS Marketwatch (Score:3)
My question was, and still is, will access be limited to MSN only? (Thursdays CBS Marketwatch article [marketwatch.com]) Note: Customers will be able to access Microsoft's MSN...
Personally, I think Austin Powers 2 was more factual than we were lead to believe. Obviously this is Dr. Evil and Mr. Bill getting ready for world domination. What next, wireless broadband in the mall, at McDonald's, on the jet? The possibilities are endless. I suggest dubbing this 'eKudzu'.
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+++ Out Of Cheese Error +++
+++ MELON MELON MELON +++
MICROSOFT/STARBUCKS EULA!!! HOT!!! (Score:2)
Maximum Number of Professors: *Refer to printed "EULA"*
END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR MICROSOFT/STARBUCKS COFFEE __________________________________________________ _____________________
IMPORTANT-READ CAREFULLY: This End-User License Agreement ("EULA") is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and the manufacturer ("Coffee Manufacturer" or "Manufacturer") of the Coffee or Caffeine system component ("WETWARE") with which you acquired the Microsoft liquid product(s) identified above ("LIQUID PRODUCT" or "JOE"). If the LIQUID PRODUCT is not accompanied by a new caffeine system (coffee pot)or caffeine system component,(coffee mug) you may not use or drink the LIQUID PRODUCT. The LIQUID PRODUCT includes caffeine wetware, the associated media it is served in, any printed materials used to soak up spills, and any "online" or electronic documentation of how such "JOE" is made. By drinking, brewing or otherwise using the WETWARE PRODUCT, you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, Manufacturer and Starbucks/Microsoft Corporation ("Microbucks") are unwilling to license the WETWARE PRODUCT to you. In such event, you may not use or brew the WETWARE PRODUCT, and you should promptly contact Manufacturer for instructions on return of the product(s) for a refund, unless it is cold.
krystal_blade
Re:Forget BN... (Score:2)
Hey, if the deal with Microsoft and Starbucks starts to modify United Airlines it could bring a whole new meaning to the Blue Screen of Death. I can see the head lines, "The crash of the United Airlines 737 was aparently due to a Microsoft Blue Screen causing x deaths."
the question is... (Score:2)
All the answers... (Score:2)
No, to the other question, as well.
starbucks?? my local coffee-shop.. (Score:3)
//rdj
More at NY Times (Score:3)
Speaking as someone who admins in a Cyber Cafe, I can say that the idea is cool, as long as you can overlook the mega-corporations aspect. Many customers come in with their Palm Pilots replete with passwords; if they could use their own machines it'd be great. I know I get sick of de-securing the password list on my pilot, looking it username and passwd, logging on and then going back five minutes after I left because I forgot to log off again.
GSOCD! (Score:3)
Hhmmm... I think I should start stocking up on Yaucono...
Similar trend? And some ideas... (Score:2)
Now don't get me wrong. I'm running Win2K in a VMware box and I haven't gotten it to crash yet, which means it took Microsoft about five or so years to get Windows close to what Linux is now. They also merged alot of Win98's ease in, which is much better than WinNT 4. Securing a box is probably easier in Win2k (but I haven't tried it yet). Ideal? No, but probably stable enough that 90% of the masses are confortable with it.
Now if they have both wireless and IR connectivity, *THEN* they got 98% of the market covered (including the PalmOS devices).
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WolfSkunks for a better Linux Kernel
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.keenspace.com";
Coffee? (Score:2)
You know.
Coffee that tastes like coffee.
And you can't smoke in any of these places either.
::sigh::
But at least you can get your email...
Re:I will, huh? (Score:2)
Starbucks is one of those places where you go not to buy a good cup of coffee, but to pay four dollars for poorly flavored water in order to appear cool, because you can afford four dollars for poorly flavored water.
Either that or you aren't a troll and just have a seriously whacked set of taste buds.
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seumas.com
Re:Similar trend? And some ideas... (Score:2)
If my information is correct one could say it took MS 9-11 years to get to this level. Technically NT 4.0 was not supposed to have been a product when the NT timeline came up, it was a "we need this is in the market NOW so take what we have and try to stablize it." NT 3.51 was supposed to be the only steping stone, then the leap to what is now NT 5.0, err Windows 2000. But even so, the NT product started development sometime between 1989-91. Also, technically Windows 3.11 was supposed to end the DOS line, then 95, then 98, now Me.
Re:More from Mobilestar and CBS Marketwatch (Score:2)
Well, it's not broadband but... http://www.cybiko.com/cyberxpo/ [cybiko.com]
Rich
Whilst on the now-called-Ronald-Reagan-turnpike... (Score:2)
To end this rant:
MicroSoft + StarBucks
= Little Quality + Astronomical Prices
!= Astronomical Quality + Little Prices
(now maybe someone will make that into a haiku)
No Starbucks if you live in these neighborhoods... (Score:2)
Luckily for me ... I live in Seattle, and my Linksys card is on the way.