I don't know if anyone has considered the full implications here. If this could be applied to other types of programs, it would end having to upgrade all of your old software any time you upgraded the OS or PC itself beyond a certian point. You'd still need to get functionality upgrades and patches, as no software is absolutely perfect, but this could become an incremental cost to the consumer and a constant revenue stream for companies making the programs in the first place. They would have to only develope one set of code to be used on Mac boxes, MS Windows, Linux boxes, etc. Older programs, whose companies were bought out by other companies, could be dusted off, upgraded for the new compatibility, and sold again, adding whatever upgrades that the user would like to purchase from the company. The issue here would be corporate responsiveness to user requests for upgrades and the amount of time rquired to write the new code. People writing the code would be paid on the basis of how many users buy the new upgrades, as well as how many buy the core product in the first place. The core software would have to be pretty solid to begin with, as any upgrades would have to allow it to perform without issues on a variety of platforms. Programs sold to new users would come with all the previous upgrades built in, (up to a set yearly 'drop dead' date, being the lead date between the load up onto the media that it is being sold on, packaging and shipping, and setup at the stores. (Obviously, advertising time would be added in as well) The core program would be sold with upgrades, and a yearly update package would also be available those who already own the core package, sold on the media of their choice.

Not at all a suprise. However, as much as I am loath to support hairbrained, insufficently researched commentary masquading as valid scientific information, I have to admit, Global Warming is happening. BUT, I have a caveat to this; Global Warming is happening, but not due to the actions of the Human Race. Simply put; the sun is going through a warm period in it's cycle. In fact, if you look back a few years ago, in Slashdot.org's own archives, you will find that there is a place where Global Warming is happening at such a rate that the ice caps will be compleyely gone in a thousand years. The place? The planet Mars. If you look, not just at the enviromental effects that are happening here on Earth, you'll discover that a lot of VERY weird weather is happening on Venus, Mars and even Jupiter, where the Great Red Spot appears to be dying after hundreds of years, only to be replaced with a new Great Spot forming to its' south west. What caused this? Carbon pumped into our atmosphere? Hairspray aresols? Cow farts? No, simply the largest heat engine in our solar system, the sun. Some of you may remember when Mount Penitubo (Sorry about the spelling) blew its' top in the Philipines. This mountain put as much of the various pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitric acid, CFCs, and sulfur compounds, into the upper stratosphere, as the entire Human Race did in the previous one hundred years. The effect? Global cooling of on the average of three degrees Centigrade for three years. In the week after 9/11, when all the planes were grounded. Due to the fact that the reflective contrails of these aircraft were no longer present, one would expect that the country would warm up slightly, right? Wrong. The average temp dropped by about one and a half degrees Centigrade. Don't believe me? check the archieves right here on Slashdot. I am quoting from the articles all posted here. I'm NOT saying that we shouldn't cut down on pollutants. Quite the opposite, I prefer to breathe clean air and drink clean water. I just hate panic mongers who, in my opinion, lie through their teeth or spin the results of studies I found rather dubious in the first place, to support their cause of the moment. (I also notice how quite frequently, especially when there is massive amounts of snow on the ground, they tend to get REAL quiet. Funny that). So, in a nutshell, (A rather compact place at that) we, both as individuals and as a group, need to get a clue and start researching and thinking for ourselves, for all too often we let the media shape and form our thoughts, ideas and opinions in such a way that it not only does ourselves a disservice, but endangers the futures of our children. Jason A. Witgard III