It seems that the drm will still be there in some form though.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/07/forza-5-requires-download-before-it-can-run/

though they've been backpeddling from that too.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/18/forza-motorsport-5-install-offline-details-clarified

best case i could give them is a wait and see approach.

when i look at these factors:
the xbone fiasco.
the windows8 mess.
consumers seem to like apple now.
ms' abysmal presence on mobile devices.

it's seeming very plausible that consumers will realize there just is no good reason for microsoft to exist anymore. about the only customer they haven't alienated is the ms office user.

at the moment d3d is useful.

i wonder how long d3d will stick around now. its future seems to be tied to the success of the xbone. if the bone fails who would write anything in d3d when ogl will work on all non-bone platforms? ms could push for mandatory removal of ogl for windows driver certification (given their recent "all-or-nothing" decisions they just might) but that will probably just further hamstring window's relevance.

but isn't it stranger than that?
1) we get taxed
2) iirc ~20% federal goes towards defense spending.
3) then some fraction of that goes to defense contractors
4) some fraction of that goes to the defense contractors lobbying budget...
5) which they use to buy our lawmakers into purchasing more of their products for use against us...

To illustrate how quickly firearms can be stripped, I just timed myself as I field stripped my AK47. Including magazine removal and clearing the rifle, it took 19 seconds. I guess I'm rusty, this is *not* considered quick for an AK.

He probably doesn't take the gun-safe with him while he's concealed carrying.

What I'm guessing he means is: say there is a transponder wristband you have to have on you while shooting your smart-gun. What if the wristband comes loose? It could, and that is another point of failure.

Realistically the signature grip makes little sense really. Firearms are inherantly mechanical things and they are much simpler to work on than internal combustion engines. Getting past an immobilizer in a car's ECU can be a big challenge because you need the ECU for the fuel injection to work. I can't even think of a way to make "smart-gun" difficult to defeat. Most people who don't own firearms don't realize that an essential part of firearm operation includes field stripping (tearing the gun down) to clean it after a day at the range. after a strip it should not take long to modify the smart-gun to operate for anyone, and you'll also have a more reliable weapon than before. This means the only benefits of the techology are those cases where your gun would be used against you.

I'll place my trust in a complex machine, but when that machine needs a battery to operate is when I start to doubt it. It's like when you cross your fingers to start a car that hasn't been run in a while.

and about 106 times the (human) population of earth.

here are some possibilities:

a) they're scared they won't make it out of the room, though if the board organized they would probably be able to overpower him with only minor casualties.

b) his net worth of 15.2billion (not sure how much is ms stock) they could be scared of what happens afterward.

c) the ms board is as out of touch with the market as ballmer is, and don't think something is wrong.

uhh, i think the fact that he hasn't been caught yet (and disappeared) suggests he knew exactly how bad the backlash would be. he knew enough that he could plan for it.

he did not take the path of least resistance here. if he were a coward, he wouldn't have leaked the info in the first place. knowing what he knew, and not doing anything about it, is probably what he saw as cowardly.

That sounds awesome!! But i thought a mass driver with discrete magnetic stages was considered a coil-gun...and a rail-gun had two straight rails and a conductive launching armature or conductive projective.

Games are the best foothold windows has for me.
the htpc in the living room with the 60 inch tv is for games (movies and music more-so, but linux could handle that easy).
the linux machine in the office is where i do all work now (programming, 3d modeling, image editing, word processing, etc.).

i also like to test my c code on windows too to make sure my source stays cross-platform.

i think the volt is a serial hybrid. the via motors vtrux as well.

some anon yesterday(i think) suggested that all the info info we're getting about the drm sheme is just ms doing clandestine market research.

they leak news that makes it sound bearable - people respond positively.
then they leak news that gives them more control - people respond negatively.
through enough iterations they may find out the approach that will be most accepted.

who knows if that's what's really going on; but it sounds plausible.

that has gotta be the first ever idea i've heard on "how". interesting idea, but you could still print the barrel with a smaller hole then over-bore it manually with a drill.

I don't think that is even remotely technically feasible. The govs of the world avoid currency duping by making their paper currency designs very specific and difficult to replicate. cotton paper, the internalized vertical stripe, under a magnifing glass there is no dot pattern visible.

it is even less technically feasible to do with 3d printers for a few reasons
a) a rediculously large library of illegal shapes would need to be made. sold with every printer, this also won't work because slight deviations would make the shape not match a fingerprint and it would be just as functional.
b) the kind of people who are interested in 3d printing and home cnc typically reject the idea of unnecesary technical limitations in their tools. they would rip out all the controller circuitry and install their own. or strip the machine for its linear actuator armature and make their own box.

so basicaly, outside of orwellian home searches...any laws will have no efficacy.

an advertisment for cosmetics? just kidding, i'm sure we all know what you mean.

the game argument is still valid, it's certainly the only reason i keep a windows system around. hopefully with more kickstarter games coming out for linux (and drm-free too) i'll be able to ditch windows entirely in the future.