Slashback: Newton, Wal-Mart, Eats 473
Honestly, where would they have unloaded that anyway? yorgasor writes "Yahoo reports that the stolen copies of Newton's Principia have been successfully recovered. The thieves are also suspected of other thefts from several Moscow and St Petersburg libraries."
They have everything. An anonymous reader writes "Looks like Lycoris joins Lindows and Mandrake in being preloaded for walmart.com: 'The new $199 Desktop/LX Certified MicroTel PCs include the Desktop/ LX operating system. Desktop/LX also includes the following incredible software features without any additional downloading:'"
Who needs a war? Krieger writes "I found this link to the definitive browser wars at HardOCP, where you get to play checkers to prove your browsers superiority. Taking the browser wars to a new high/low?"
Here's the hook, can you pass that sinker please ... JoeWalsh writes "According to this article, earlier this month RMS visited India and tried to convince them to use Free (as in freedom) Software. Then along comes Bill Gates this month, handing out free (as in beer) software, and suddenly India isn't interested in RMS's message. A choice quote: "We are a poor country. We cannot develop operating systems and platforms on our own." Did RMS tell them they couldn't use GNU/Linux, or is this more Microsoft propaganda at work?"
Phew... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Phew... (Score:5, Funny)
Oops, you a verb.
THIS sentence no verb, his had one (Score:5, Funny)
I'm = I am
The verb is present. The sentence is missing a predicate adjective/nominative. Not, as another Slashdot English whiz pointed out, an object. "To be" is not transitive (and thus taking an object).
Re:THIS sentence no verb, his had one (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Phew... (Score:5, Funny)
>I'm very the stolen copies of Newton's "Principia",
(the only rhyming word of which I have found is "Bolivia")
I was lifted from Petersburg's Russian National Library.
I contain the formulations of the principles of gravity.
My captors were a group of thieves from the town of Saratov
The Russian police have solved the case like Rocky besting Badinov
Someone else take it from here
Re:Phew... (Score:3, Funny)
Walmart "computers" (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:5, Insightful)
It's gonna use the lowest cost stuff they can find and you know what? That's entirely appropriate. Get over it.
Rustin
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:2, Insightful)
Not everyone needs a blazing fast machine when most home consumers just use the web, email and a word processor. I have a Pentium 233 that still performs these basic tasks quite adequately. For $200, that's not a bad deal.
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:2)
Up to 8 MB shared video memory
and
Watch DivX, AVI, Mpeg, files and other supported formats full screen with dynamic sound
in a confortable way?
At least, they dont talk about 3D games.
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:5, Informative)
1024*768=786432 (total pixels)
786432*3 = 2359296 (we have 3 color per pixel)
2359296 / 1024 = 2304 kilobytes (1 byte per color-pixel) (assumed 24 bit color, 16 million...)
end result is 8 megs is more than enough for some very nice triple buffered video, and double the amount needed for double buffered.
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:5, Informative)
Now you're probably wondering "but my Pocket PC PDA can play DivX.." Which is true, up to a point, and that point is that at extremely low resolutions, an an extremely low resolution screen, DivX playback becomes possible. and the Windows Media PocketPC edition is designed to optimize for a no-fpu environment, so, even though a DivX codec might need to emulate FPU, nothing else on the system is, so you can get by.
so forget 1024x768 resolution on the cyrix PCs for DivX playback, you'll have to full screen the movie, and decode at it's Native resolution, not at the current desktop resolution. avoiding the scaling should save enough cycles to allow clean playback. but, again, only because the DivX codec can turn off most features that enhance visual quality when playing back on a slower machine.
Also, keep in mind that your calculations are only per-frame, and that can only hold true if the video memory can dump and rewrite the data at least 30 times per second. With shared memory, you might have problems, as you need to use 70MB/s of the memory thruput Just for the video card's usage... the decoder is also goine to use an identical amount of memory thruput, plus whatever memory thruput the OS and the codec need for themselves. True, even SDRAM should have enough thruput, but theory and practice aren't the same, playback is going to take more out of these systems, and stress it harder.
Getting these cyrix $200 systems is almost like getting a 3 year old celeron box... for someone who has a three year old celeron, they might be looking at the current crop of computers with envy, but if they bought this bargain machine from wal-mart they'd be dissapointed.
I really can only recommend this machine for people so financially strapped that it's the $200 linux box, or nothing. Or people willing to use it as a $200 all-in-one firewall/router/(possibly a personal ftp/webserver), and who don't have linux compatable hardware in thier old PC. (eg: a machine that would be a nightmare to try to get linux running on)
MMX!=FP (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:3, Informative)
Losing 8 megs isn't really much. I run mplayer full screen on my "media box" all the time, which is an IBM Aptiva, PIII 450 with 96 megs of RAM, and it does so just fine. mplayer doesn't use *that* much memory.
And I'm using a cheap video card (not shared memory though) using the vesa output (something that should work about the same on any modern video chip). Not to mention the other tasks that box is always doing (firewall/gateway, network file server, Apache/PHP/MySQL pretty much idling but still using RAM).
There's a big difference between decoding and displaying MPEG video (Divx), and playing 3D games which require intense GPU processing. We had full-screen MPEG video back in the 486 days. Not as high quality, sure, but even the Weezer video on the Win95 CD wasn't all that bad, and worked nicely on a DX or, better yet, a Pentium system...
I'm just rambling again...
Clueless masses (Score:4, Insightful)
Most people "in the know" would avoid them would they not? Most Linux geeks that I know would want high end equipment not cheap junk. I've got an old celeron that has trouble running X. How the heck is this going to run Lindows, lycoris or Mandrake 9?
So I can't figure out who this is marketed at? College students? First time "trailer home" computer buyers?
Some one there made a bad business move IMHO.If you have stock in Walmart I'd sell.
Re:Clueless masses (Score:4, Insightful)
Um, one of my machines here is a Pentium 130. I've run X on a 25MHz 486 box (NetBSD, not Linux, but still...) If you can't run X on a Celeron box, either XFree86 doesn't support your card (unlikely), or something is hideously misconfigured.
Re:Clueless masses (Score:3, Funny)
Some one there made a bad business move IMHO.If you have stock in Walmart I'd sell.
Indeed. As we all know, one small misplaced cheap product can doom a multi-billion dollar empire.
Re:Clueless masses (Score:3, Funny)
Correction: isn't the "small misplaced cheap product" the very cornerstone of this particular "multi-billion dollar empire"?
Re:Security Through Obscurity (Score:3, Interesting)
My "old" Celeron 366s on an Abit BP-6 have NO problem running X and generating more than 1000 frames per second when running glxgears through my Voodoo4 4500.
It's true that the Via C3 is not a modern processor design but it is PLENTY adequate for running Linux.
As for the target market for these machines, well who knows
My question is this
Re:Clueless masses (Score:5, Informative)
Walmart sells a wide range of products to the 'lowest comment denominator' customers. They may not have the money to buy high end but they're not dumbasses; they know if they buy a computer for $200 while Dell advertises computers for $1000, their computer is not going to be the newest and fasters and it's not going to run everything.
Leaving aside the traditional Walmart customer...
Many Linux geeks I know run multiple boxes, often on old hardware. A cheap no-frills box you can pick up with a 20 minute trip and use for a mail server, firewall, database, etc isn't a bad deal.
Re:Clueless masses (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not a super-powerful computer, of course, but for $199, it's certainly not a rip-off. I'd have no trouble recommending that to some people.
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:2, Insightful)
Sure, as long as nothing goes wrong with the bos, you're fine.
But, in my experience, with bottom-of-the-line cheapo components, your life can become a living hell in short order if something breaks. I guess as long as I don't have to help them nurse the box back to life, it's a good bargain. Otherwise, I'd recommend that they go with a major namebrand, pay a couple hundred more, and get bundled technical support.
Personally, I think these boxes *are* well suited for newbie/seasoned linux guys who need a cheap starter box or a secondary/backup machine. I'd actually considered getting one myself, for that purpose.
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:2, Insightful)
Intel and AMD also available (Score:2)
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:3, Insightful)
I realize this PC uses older technology, but it is still warranted for 1 year. I hope WallyWorld sells these machines in Mexico, and other countries wherever they happen to do business.
Actual WalMart Computer Experience (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Actual WalMart Computer Experience (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Walmart "computers" (Score:4, Informative)
The only thing that I'm worried about is the cheap components breaking. If they don't, then the sytem is more than worth it. I'm seriously thinking about buying another one to upgrade my Pentium 90 firewall.
Don't forget to comment on the DMCA (Score:5, Informative)
Good luck figuring out what they want (Score:3, Interesting)
(I posted this in response to the Copyright office submission link earlier today. I thought it might bear repeating. Bottom line: Commenting on the DMCA is not nearly as easy as one might think.)
I just went there with the full intention of submitting. The problem is that I don't have time to wade through their fairly obtuse, 36K Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies [copyright.gov] [copyright.gov] document so that my submission must follow the "format detailed in the notice of inquiry". Specifically, I wasn't able to determine what the proposed class or classes of copyrighted work(s) to be exempted were, nor whether they met the requirements laid out in the scope of term "class of works" [copyright.gov] . Briefly, the term "class of works" means:
Is the CD collection I habitually store in MPEG and/or OGG format a "musical work" or a "sound recording"? Can I just pick one? I don't know.Worse than that, I don't know if I can submit comments at all. If I understand their requirements for argument(s) in support of the exemption proposed [copyright.gov] [copyright.gov], I'm not sure I can say that adding lame, easily circumvented copy proctection to CDs is enough to allow me to ask for an exemption. Here's what they say I need to tell them:
First of all, they'll say that the work is available on cassette and I can copy from that (a comparision between DVD and VHS is buried in that doc). Second, can I quantify adverse effects the lack of an exemption has caused or provide legal arguments in favor of an exemption? I don't know. Do I already have a legal right to use-shift or time-shift copyrighted works I've purchased? Search me; I'm not a lawyer. Do I need to know this before I research arguments towards an exemption? Good question.I'm glad you mentioned the submission form, and I hope enough people with more free time on their hands than me can put together enough arguments that the DMCA ia reviewed and exemptions are provided. I'd just like to point out to people that it's not as easy as filling in a web form with "I need to be able to make my Eminmem MP3s..." They want people to say things like "If the only way to access the complete works of Charlie Parker are via DMCA-restricted means, then we need an examption" and then show them, in a way detailed enough for a government employee to understand, why that is the case.
-B
That much? Wow! (Score:3, Insightful)
Was this a joke or did the submission get cut off? Or does Desktop/LX just have no incredible software features? Inquiring minds want to know (without having to click the link at a filter-happy workplace).
Re:That much? Wow! (Score:3, Informative)
* Includes a full photo editing suite with over 25 filters, layers, transparency, and capable of opening and saving select Photoshop(R) files
* Pump up the volume with Ogg Vorbis, MP3, CDs and WAV digital music, streaming music, playlists, and online music database access
* Be productive right out of the box with the included Word Processor, Address book, Calendar, Spreadsheet and Presentation software
* Watch DivX, AVI, Mpeg, files and other supported formats full screen with dynamic sound
* Communicate digitally via email, AOL(R) instant messages, and relay chat
* Send and view digital faxes
* Pre-configured with RealPlayer(R), Flash(R) plugin, Java(R) and Acrobat Reader(R), the built in Web Browser gives you an interactive Internet experience
* Burn your own music CD's and backup your data onto CD-R or CD-RW.
* Maximize your home network by viewing shared files with the Network Browser
* Simple right click file sharing
* Built-in Firewall for air-tight Internet security
* Data snapshot, backup, and recovery program for configuration changes
* Video Recovery mode
* Use Desktop Sharing to export your desktop for remote control or demonstrations on the network
* Powerful Remote Assistance included for fixing problems via the Internet
* 10 games including Tetris(TM), Solitaire, Galaga(TM), and Asteroids(TM)
Lycoris... (Score:3, Insightful)
It is not for everyone. But give it to someone with no Linux experience who has worked with Windows for years and they'll feel right at home.
The $199 walmart PC... (Score:4, Interesting)
I spent $62 and replaced the CPU with a 1.2 Ghz Celeron. The hard drive is still very slow, but it is now an okay machine.
I dumped Lindows and loaded RedHat.
I purchased it to eval as a low cost load generator. Next time I'll probably build a cheap Athlon system for just a little more money (but get a lot more machine).
WalMartFree Software (Score:4, Funny)
RMS vs. BJG (Score:5, Insightful)
I think India's rationale for going with Bill Gates offering over Richard Stallman's offering is fairly simple to explain: Bill's offering a finished product, no polish necessary, at no cost. RMS is saying you can have the greatest software in the world if you put your mind to it and pointing to a bunch of half-written software.
Which would you rather have? Just take a look at the statistics in the places where people can choose to pay for Windows or get Linux free to get an idea of why the opportunity is so tasty to India.
Re:RMS vs. BJG (Score:5, Funny)
It is not because you
[...] pointing to a bunch of half-written software.
Wow, can you imagine how big Emacs will be once they are done with it?
Re:RMS vs. BJG (Score:5, Funny)
Probably around as big as Microsoft Word.
Re:RMS vs. BJG (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:RMS vs. BJG (Score:2)
Re:RMS vs. BJG (Score:4, Interesting)
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0
New motto for the new millenium:
Freedom? Yes!
for us
Re:RMS vs. BJG (Score:2, Insightful)
you pay now...or you REALLY pay later.
linux...you pay some up front in time and effort.
microsoft...you will pay later. period.
Re:RMS vs. BJG (Score:2)
Um, wouldn't you count service packs as additional polish? (I would)
And just what additional `polish' is needed with Linux? An awful lot of people seem to find it quite polished right out of the box.
Heh. Are you referring to Hurd? :-)
It also has something to do with M$ (Score:5, Insightful)
The MS TRAP (Score:3, Insightful)
1. MS isn't going to offer this software to India for free forever. As soon as MS deems that they can suck India dry, they'll start charging. Now, they're simply trying to make India dependant on Microsoft, so that people there have to use MS Windows and MS Word. Later on, they'll start charging outrageous prices. Just like what drug dealers do: free to try, addictive, and then you get to pay through the wazoo.
2. Substantial costs of using Windows such as security, downtime, etc have been ignored.
3. The cost of dealing with the BSA and paying them off of they threaten to sue has been ignored.
4. If India needs Windows to do something it doesn't do, they're screwed. If they use Linux, all they have to do is hire a few programmers.
For what the government needs to do, Linux is fine -- perfect, in fact. It can install on many standard types of hardware, and it has some good GUI defaults (i.e., KDE/GNOME) along with good windowmanagers (i.e., WindowMaker). Office suites like OpenOffice are quite easy to use. If they really want MS Office, they can use CrossOver Office.
The most important point here is #1. MS is like a drug-dealer. Sure, they'll give stuff to you for free in hope of making you dependant on it. Then once they're sure you're dependant on it (and they'll do things to make you dependant on it through their updates), they start charging. Sort of like the MP3 FRAUD: let them use MP3's for free, then when everyone's using it and it'll be difficult to switch to something else, suddenly introduce royalty payments. THESE FRAUDULENT FUCKS ARE NO BETTER THAN DRUG DEALERS.
Re:RMS vs. BJG (Score:2)
Shit, don't you think they know that? Indians are not stupid people. Hell, in case you've forgotten, they're the ones that took the US IT job market. Of course they know they'll pay eventually. They still think that MS is cheaper in the long run, because they don't have the resources to train thousands and thousands of kernel hackers.
tha webz (Score:3, Funny)
or post on
I would like to add (Score:5, Funny)
Punch and Pie (Score:4, Funny)
Kyle: We're not gonna' have punch and pie!
Cartman: More people will come if they think we have punch and pie!!
Re:I would like to add (Score:3, Funny)
LV
Hilarious war ensues! (Score:5, Funny)
OH GOD, The Humanity!
An orgy of clicking and death! (Score:5, Funny)
Sorry, but it's a true story.
Heh, scroll on my scrigidies. Goddamn Right.
Re:An orgy of clicking and death! (Score:3, Funny)
Poor as in "Poor Judgement" (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Poor as in "Poor Judgement" (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Poor as in "Poor Judgement" (Score:2)
Features (Score:2, Funny)
Wow... so many incredible features... I'm at a loss for words!
Illegal collections (Score:2)
I think that's pretty damned low, (Score:2, Funny)
You have to give Microsoft credit... (Score:5, Funny)
As they say.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Eats? where? (Score:4, Funny)
I thought that this was a comment on something like the Dilberito [dilberito.com].
Rustin
Some newfangled checkers? (Score:5, Funny)
Walmart selling 300K Linux PCs / Month (Score:5, Informative)
They are having some server problems so I have included portions from the article here
Via wins big Wal-Mart Linux PC order
C3-Cyrix-Centaur selling 300,000 PCM?
By Mike Magee: Tuesday 19 November 2002, 09:58
TAIWANESE SEMI firm Via has secured an order from massive shop Wal-Mart for two of its C3-Cyrix-Centaur X86 based processors. The Economic News reports that Via and Wal-Mart will create two budget machines running flavours of the Linux OS. There's also a plan for the chip company to make low cost sub $300 machines running Windows Eyecandy. The article claims that Medion is also set to clinch a deal with Via, while Legend and the Founder Group also use some of the C3 processors.
Correction: Via selling 300K Cyrix C3 chips / Mont (Score:4, Informative)
RMS's tactics vs. BG's (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe it's as simple as giving away disks with GNU/Linux already on them, verses just saying it can be downloaded. Having the disk that can be used (by anyone) to perform an install, is a lot different than having to first download a distros ISO, and burn it to a CD.
I don't know what RMS did on his trip, he may have actually tried to give disks away...
The problem is...it's probably easier to take the hand of someone offering what appears to be the quick fix, rather than reach for the life vest that someone else tossed you.
FUD R US (Score:5, Insightful)
"We can save money in terms of speed of development or by being able to run on less expensive hardware."
So I guess that's why WinCE handhelds are less expensive than Palm pilots. Oh, wait, they aren't less expensive. Oh but then there is desktops. Oh wait, what about the $199 walmart PC running linux being less expensive than the Windows counterpart... Considering that Linux runs on just about anything, the "less expensive hardware" just is totally untrue. Let's see Windows XP run on a 386 with 8M ram. Nice FUD Bill.
Re:FUD R US (Score:2)
Usable Age and Moore's Law (Score:3, Insightful)
As dubious as the origional poster's claim is... he still has a somewhat valid point. It is possible to make older systems functional under linux that simply would not be at all useful under the latest windows. Of course - Linux "cheats" - it doesn't NEED a GUI to operate.
I've given up on old 386 hardware, but I do have a 486 DX2-66 still running the latest Debian release (Unstable - currently with a Linux kernel 2.4.19). Its a very useful little machine for what I need it for. And the software is current - unlike the suggested DOS 6.22. Granted - this box could possibly handle Win95... but then, that is long past its EOL and is no longer developed. Unlike Linux.
Which brings up an interesting point. Its long been pointed out that Linux' GUI environment has had a bit of a disadvantage... XFree86. Granted, its a tradeoff. There are some advantages. But there has always been that hit on speed from a system like X Windows.
But I wonder if its beginning to not matter anymore.
As I traverse between my Linux and Windows workstations, I've always noted the performance hit for Linux. I'm a sucker for eye candy, so a great deal of that suffering is self-inflicted. But as my desktop hardware has become more powerful, and as the various cycle-sucking eye candy GUI components for Linux are improved, that difference is less and less noticeable.
The GUI is not the only benefactor here. Emulators such as VMWare and "compatability layers" like WINE/Transgaming/Crossover also enjoy the available spare cycles. Even when there is not a native port for the desired software package, running it under Linux is more often a valid option.
Sure, Microsoft has a well-deserved reputation for raising the minimal requirements for a desktop. And the mantra for Linux and its supporters has always been efficency. But in the end, it may be that Moore's Law is becoming more a friend to Linux than Microsoft.
Effecient design and constant improvement should continue to be a part of Linux development. And native applications are better than emulated environments. But it is less likely to be noticed when, for one reason or another, one is forced to rely more available cycles than the perfect ideal.
It should cause some gnashing of teeth in both the Windows and Linux camps. But the irony is that "good enough" has often been atributed to Microsoft's products. With more power in the avarage desktop, Linux may suddenly find itself the new "good enough".
this is all boring news, so I'll tell some jokes.. (Score:2)
Damn.. why did we have to get the laws of physics back.. my wifes tits were starting to look mighty fine without gravity.
Walmart Joke:
Do we really want Linux to be associated with people who sport mullets?
Where's the food reference? (Score:4, Funny)
When things seem really bleak and hopeless, just think about what a total, colossal failure that must have been, and you'll be cheered up in no time!
Re:Where's the food reference? (Score:4, Informative)
Well... (Score:4, Funny)
Browser Wars! (Score:2)
Walmart is killing the Middle class (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Walmart is killing the Middle class (Score:2)
Re:Walmart is killing the Middle class (Score:3, Insightful)
That's a four-part statement, and each of those parts is horse shit.
part 1> The job market is changing.
Well job displacement is what happens when a more efficient system replaces an older and less efficient system. Carriage makers and stable boys were displaced by car manufacturers and mechanics. Legions of accountants and file clerks have been displaced by personal computers. In a society where people are free to buy and sell according to their own interests the purchasing trends of the public change with technology and fashion. What do you advocate ? a system where government officials dictate at what stores you can shop and what you purchase, all for the purpose of acheving a technologically stagnant society which perfectly preserves every job category and rate of compensation?
part 2> If mom-and-pop stores die out, then middle-incomes salaries will cease to exist.
Everyone in the US who earns near the mean income level works in mom-and-pop retail stores. If those stores disappear, the distribution of incomes in the US will become bimodal, with no salaries near the mean income level. Riiiight... Why don't you put down that crack pipe until your head clears and then think about this again. You could start by considering if maybe there are any jobs, other than some of those in mom-and-pop stores, which pay near the mean income level.
part 3>Wal-Mart jobs pay less than jobs in Mom-and-Pop stores.
Do you have any evidence fot that, or are you just making that up ? Until you provide links to income data, I think its safe to assume that you are full of shit.
part 4> Because the number of jobs in Wal-mart stores is increasing and the number of jobs in mom-and-pop stores is in decline, then therefore those who would have worked in mom-and-pop stores are now working in Wal-mart.
You do not know from where Wal-mart employees are drawn and you don't know where those who otherwise would have worked in mom-and-pop shops work instead. Just becasue one job category is growing and another is shrinking does NOT mean that employees are transfered between those categories. For all you know, those who are not managing small retail businesses today could be working for Microsoft, and the new Wal-mart employees have moved up to those jobs from something less rewarding.
Re:Walmart is killing the Middle class (Score:3, Insightful)
People keep trying to avoid the fact that the innovators dilemma applies to nation states as well as to businesses. A long time ago this was mitigated by the fact that social standards influenced import rules. GATT buried that so now the west can't easily refuse goods created in dangerous circumstances by underpaid workers and child labour.
Maybe because... (Score:2, Funny)
Maybe India just noticed how Bill doesn't get bent out of shape when you don't refer to it as Microsoft/Windows.
Bill Gates a true benefactor. (Score:2, Funny)
Speaking of Walmart... (Score:2)
Newton, Wal-Mart, Eats?! (Score:2, Funny)
2. ???
3. All your base are belong to us.
There is a saying In India... (Score:2, Funny)
Bill Gate looked better without makeup than RMS did
Browser War is Rigged! (Score:5, Funny)
I went to that site to play a fair game of Connect Four in the hopes of getting a final answer as to which browser is truly better than the others. Unfortunately, hoodlums have logged in with multiple browsers to throw the game by playing poorly with one browser in the hopes of defeating a defenseless opponenent!
I mean, truly, who plays checker 3 to slot 1 when the opponent has opened with a classical Harvey the Wonder Hamster attack in slots 4,5, and 6!!
Outrageous! I see the only way this will ever be settled is through the time-honored (and FAR less unruly) game of Go Fish! Harumph, I'm taking my checkers and going home...
Very degrading... (Score:5, Insightful)
Whenever someone says something like that I hear: "We are a very poor country. We are all dunces. We can't raise our standard of living. Therefore we will eat at the crumbs and wallow in our own pity.
It's a shame people don't respect themselves more. And it's not like php requires that much more development ability then ASP does.
-BrentWalmart == clever (Score:3, Insightful)
I've gotta hand it to Walmart, they have really figured out how this game should work. I realize that right now, they are offering 3 distros, but ultimately I suspect that, for support purposes it will be easier to trim it down later on. They can just let these guys fight it out for a while to see which one gets the best response from the public.
..it's too bad (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't necessarily approve of walmart,it's business model in general, not really, but at least there's finally some effort to break the stranglehold of microsoft-only and expensive-only for computing.
RMS had his blinder on in India (Score:5, Insightful)
Principia Recovered! (Score:3, Funny)
Been there, done that. (Score:4, Interesting)
You see, it was like this. RMS came to our (non-descript, but *very* highly funded) university a couple of months back, evangelising on copyright misuse. The lecture theater was full to the brim of course and the audience, mostly consisting of CS grads, were quite taken by his rather impressive beard and his persistent plucking of his nose. Not to debase his talent or vision, but he has some very interesting stage-habits.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks back when Steve Ballmer made a stopover at our university. The theater, this time the largest available, was again filled to the brim. The university President shared the dais with him and we all had to register for the talk with our name and university IC No. The official reason for the registration is that seats are limited, which, in any case, was a sort of valid reason; seats were booked within two days of the announcement. Needless to say, everyone (that is, from all faculties) turned up to watch him speak.
I wasn't down at Mr. Ballmer's talk, but friends tell me that it had very little to do with the stated topic "Innovation and Entreprenuership" and more to do with X-Boxes and Tablet PC's. Ballmer's shiny scalp was, I believe, impressive, but apparently the audience found the X-Boxes and Tablet PC's more interesting.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that Bill Gates made a better impression on India than RMS.
WalMart is really pushing the Linux PC (Score:4, Interesting)
Think about it. This is WalMart telling Joe Sixpack that Linux is the way to go. In their words "Desktop/LX is an exciting new Linux-based operating system (OS) that offers a user-friendly, powerful and open alternative to Microsoft Windows." Hundreds of thousands of kids are going to be doing their homework on those boxes.
Lynx on Browser Wars (Score:4, Funny)
Cost of computer: $2500
Operating System: $40 retail
Broadband Internet: $50/mo
Owning Graphical Browsers at Connect 4 using a Text Browser: Priceless
Re:Linux practicing anti-competitive behavior? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Linux practicing anti-competitive behavior? (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft has never dumped its OS(or Office suite) onto the market at a low price.
What people complain about is that MS uses the rediculously high profit margins on their nigh-monopolized products as leverage to enter other markets. ie: video games.
If Linux companies fail in their venture, they don't have a multi-billion dollar stockpile and a monopolized market to fall back upon. They stand or fall on their own merits.
MS can hemmorage money out of its ass without feeling it in situations that would cause other companies to fold. THAT is what other people are complaining about.
It's not that they have a monopoly; it's that they abuse that monopoly and use to an unfair advantage in other markets.
Re:Linux practicing anti-competitive behavior? (Score:2)
No.
Linux doesn't have a monopoly, therefore even if you were to characterize giving away GPLed software as "dumping" it wouldn't matter because Linux doesn't have a monopoly. Everyone hates Microsoft not because they obtained a monopoly position, but because they repeatedly used that monopoly position as a giant sledgehammer to bludgeon up-and-coming competitors out of existence.
It's a JOKE! (Score:2)
Re:Browser wars? That's so three years ago (Score:2, Troll)
Netscape lost because they got fat and lazy while Bill sank millions and millions of dollars into the bottomless pit and waited for them to bleed to death first. Just like the USA did to the Soviet Union in the Cold War.