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Comment Re:Malice vs. Incompetence (Score 1) 479

by recoiledsnake (#45112097) Attached to: Charlie Stross: Why Microsoft Word Must Die

The article was 2006 talks about stuff that happened back in the nineties. The cruft from then is still present in modern day Word. Calling it outdated is like saying your grandfather's recounting of his childhood is outdated.

The first article that's more relevant to this discussion was written in 2008 and covers the new XML version i.e OOXML. The spec hasn't changed much since then and ALL the points that he makes are still valid even today.

Can you tell us exactly what is outdated about the articles and what is not relevant today or to the FTA? Or I'll have to assume you didn't read the articles.

Comment Re:I still don't understand... (Score 1) 187

by recoiledsnake (#45042161) Attached to: Steam Machine Prototypes Use Intel CPUs, NVIDIA GPUs

If you have a gaming PC already, then just run steam and put it in Big Picture mode if you want the same experience. This is for people who don't have gaming PCs and/or want to play in the living room on their TV.

Uhh, then what are the gaming consoles for? PS4 and Xbox One are launching very soon.

Submission + - Windows Phone nears double digit marketshare in Europe

Submitted by recoiledsnake
recoiledsnake writes: Windows Phone is continuing to make inroads over the Atlantic, almost doubling its share of new phones sold in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. According to Kantar Worldpanel, Windows Phone has now hit 9.2 percent share in those key European countries, up from just 5.1 percent share last year. Most interesting of all, perhaps, is Windows Phone’s performance in Germany, where Microsoft’s mobile platform hit 8.8 percent. That’s just one single percentage point below iPhone — a massive achievement. In addition, Windows Phone hit 10.8 percent share in France and 12 percent share in Great Britain, the first time it has ever hit double digits in either of those two countries. Perhaps this will lead Google to stop blocking the Youtube app for Windows Phone?

Comment Re:This should not be a surprise (Score 1) 144

by recoiledsnake (#44951637) Attached to: A Timely Revision of Elop's "Burning Platform" Memo

Or perhaps, the mobile business is a very stinky place to be in right now, if you're not Apple, Samsung or a cheap Chinese OEM.

Between iPhone at the high end and Chinese OEMs at the low end, and Samsung in the middle, every other company is suffering.

Motorola switched to Android and is increasing it's losses bringing down Google's earnings.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/07/19/google-earnings-ad-rates-motorola-losses/

HTC's profit is down 98% and is barely ekeing out a profit.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/apr/11/htc-profit-slump-samsung-apple-smartphone

LG isn't doing that well either.

The less said about Blackberry, the better.

Meanwhile, MS partners like Dell, Sony, Compaq, HP, Acer, IBM/Lenovo etc. have made billions of dollars in profit in the past three decades by selling Windows PCs. Or take even HTC which started off as a Windows Mobile OEM.

Submission + - BlackBerry Confirms 4,500 Job Cuts, Warns of $950 Million Loss (reuters.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Today BlackBerry announced that it expects its quarterly net operating losses to be somewhere between $950 million and $995 million. It also confirmed earlier reports that it would be cutting 4,500 jobs, roughly 40% of its total workforce. 'The loss is mainly the result of a write-off of unsold BlackBerry phones, as well as $72 million in restructuring charges. The company said that it would discontinue two of the six phones it currently offers.' According to the press release BlackBerry is going to 'refocus on enterprise and prosumer market.' 'The failure of the BlackBerry 10 line of phones quickly led to speculation that the company, like Palm before it, would be broken apart and perhaps gradually disappear, at best lingering as little more than a brand name.'

Submission + - BlackBerry Says It Will Cut 40% of Workforce, Revenues to Plummet

Submitted by Dawn Kawamoto
Dawn Kawamoto writes: BlackBerry dealt a blow to its employees and investors Friday, announcing it would slash 40 percent of its workforce, with its revenues expected to fall by roughly half the level they were a year ago. The rumor mill was going fast and furious earlier this week with speculation of a 40% cut that has now turned out to be true. The company's Z10 is far from the silver bullet to turn its fortunes around. And with $2.6 billion in the bank with cash and short-term securities, it's quickly running out of time to find a buyer.

Submission + - BlackBerry Shares Plummet Following $1 Billion Loss and 4,500 Layoffs (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by DavidGilbert99
DavidGilbert99 writes: BlackBerry has announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2013 ahead of schedule — and not because they are better than expected. The company has announced that it expects to record a $1 billion loss mostly due to a $930-$950 million write down on unsold Z10 smartphones. The upshot is that 40% of the company's global workforce — 4,500 jobs in total — will be lost. Shares plummeted over 17% following the announcement

Comment Re:way overblown (Score 4, Informative) 254

by recoiledsnake (#44825891) Attached to: Microsoft Botches More Patches In Latest Automatic Update

Please do your company a favor and tell your cluless IT support about the existence of this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_Update_Services

Windows Server Update Services 2.0 and above comprise a repository of update packages from Microsoft. It allows administrators to approve or decline updates before release, to force updates to install by a given date, and to obtain extensive reports on what updates each machine requires. System administrators can also configure WSUS to approve certain classes of updates automatically (critical updates, security updates, service packs, drivers, etc.). One can also approve updates for "detection" only, allowing an administrator to see what machines will require a given update without also installing that update.

Administrators can use WSUS with Group Policy for client-side configuration of the Automatic Updates client, ensuring that end-users can't disable or circumvent corporate update policies. WSUS does not require the use of Active Directory; client configuration can also be applied by local group policy or by modifying the Windows registry.

Comment Re:Ain't that a surprise.. not.. (Score 1) 98

by recoiledsnake (#44825533) Attached to: How IP Law Helps FOSS Communities

NZ banned software patents the same way they're banned in Europe i.e Not really.

Meantime we see patent lawsuits going to places like UK and Germany because they give judgements and injunctions even faster than rocket dockets like East Texas. See Motorola vs. Microsoft on H.264 patents on Windows 7 for example, or Apple vs. Samsung/HTC etc.

If those are not software patents then what are?

http://allthingsd.com/20120502/german-court-backs-motorolas-injunction-against-microsoft/

Comment Re:Ain't that a surprise.. not.. (Score 2, Interesting) 98

by recoiledsnake (#44825503) Attached to: How IP Law Helps FOSS Communities

Outercurve's president seems to be the Apache Software Foundation's cofounder though.

Jim Jagielski, a co-founder of the Apache Software Foundation; a director of the Open Source Initiative; and currently a consulting software engineer for Linux giant Red Hat is now president of the Microsoft-sponsored, open-source friendly Outercurve Foundation's Board of Directors.

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-sponsored-outercurve-foundation-turns-to-apache-for-leadership-7000017596/

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