It takes two to tango, my friend.
Every power relationship is bi-directional, especially where there is one-way FUNDING involved.
"He who pays the piper dances to the tune" would adequately describe the situation.
On an even sadder note, notable man-of-words, TV presenter, actor and gadget-lover Stephen Fry has been virtually taunted and flamed to (digital death), leading to his apparent resignation from Twitter.
Once upon a time, there was only character assassination, now it's digital as well...
When I was a penniless student, I pirated software because I was penniless and needed hands-on expertise... we all did it. When I started earning money of my own, I would faithfully read all the knowledgeable reviews, try the lite (free) versions of software that interested me, and then buy the full version if I liked what I saw.
Nowadays, I probably have far too many paid apps on my iPhone and on My PC than I have time to use more than thrice (if at all that many times), but I set great store by encouraging software innovation through patronising good developers. I was pretty good at Pascal, Assembler and C++ in class, but never took things the extra mile through a lack of encouragement by teachers and the absence in college of development tools like the newer IDE's that came in the wake of Borland Delphi and Visual C++ etc..
What saddens me and convinces me that the statistics quoted here are not BS is the fact that I work in a busy Network Operations Centre with iPhone owners who earn in the region of $70k plus who will simply not download any apps that are not free, and will not hesitate to pirate any paid apps if the opportunity presented itself. At least that is the view that they are constantly airing when we discuss new apps that we find interesting.
It's always "yes, yes, I like that app on your iPhone, but it's not free - why?"
"Employers will see short-term job hopping and wonder if the reason isn't you."
Not if they are aware of the the Theory of Almighty Redundants, which in a nutshell goes like this:
A competent worker is a perfectionist and is thorough, and knows his or her worth, regardless of economic conditions or the stupidity or otherwise of upper management. They rarely stay employed though, because of the other kind of worker, the Almighty Redundant.
These are the "real dirt-bags" that "stay employed" because "plenty of people in HR and other decision making positions who will underestimate and undervalue some while overestimating and overvaluing others"
Fact is, the Almighty Redundants are just as aware of their lack of worth, and in a recession/downturn, when the proverbial "axe" is about to swing, protect themselves with arrays of fraternity
With every successive downturn and swinging of the proverbial axe, the Almighty Redundants consolidate, and eventually a point is reached where none remain other than the Almighty Redundants.
At this point the company is doomed beyond any salvation, and no hirings and firings will recover the company from certain death.
Any company worth its salt and still holding its own commercially will be well advised to be on its guard to avoid hiring Almighty Redundants, particularly in a recession, and should also be on the eternal lookout for Competents, who are neither people with long or short job terms on their CVs, but simply people good at what they do, period.
"To Apple it is an abstract thing just due to simple market share."
I see how you sneaked that one in there, a sweeping statement that it is part of a much larger debate about the non-prevalence of viruses on Macs.
Much as no-one wants a diversion from the main thrust of this topic, you cannot be allowed to sneak away with such a fallacious and ill-considered statement.
A "Proper Business Model" in your view obviously means one that calculates for society's philistinism, self-centredness and lack of a group ethic.
"They're only "cute" when they are very young, and quickly become uncontrollable, no matter how well-trained they are -- precisely because they have that kind of intelligence"
How about their uncontrollability being down to the fact that they have been sentenced to a life behind bars when they are probably aware that they have committed no social crimes, precisely because they have that kind of intelligence?
It was only a matter of time before Microsoft would start to "lash out", given the series of adverse results it has suffered in recent times, culminating in today's headlines "Microsoft shares hit 11-year low".
On the bright side, it could have been much worse had MS embarked on the foolhardy acquisition of Yahoo just before the worldwide recession broke, as that would have prompted even more desperate action (considerably more layoffs at MS plus a total dismembering/asset-stripping of Yahoo) and a wider sweep of patent litigation.
MS should stick to its software strategy and stop trying to pathetically imitate companies that have a much better hardware track record in reaching for the consumer electronics market, whether by litigation or shameless, mediocre imitation.
Stick to your strengths, Microsoft, they are still quite considerable but will atrophy and diminish (naturally) if neglected.
If you think the system is working, ask someone who's waiting for a prompt.
