and you´re writin that on.. ? iphone? ipad? desktop?

and you´re writin that on.. ? iphone? ipad? desktop?

I'm not normal, I run gcc on a 5 year old machine.

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Last quarter, Apple made more profit than Microsoft.

Making more profit doesn't equate to selling more. More often it means larger profit margins. My guess is that most of it is coming from devices like iPods and iPads and from revenue sources such as the iTunes Music Store.

I certainly wouldn't conclude that because Apple is making high profits that they're taking marketshare away from Microsoft.

That depends on what market share means. If you mean desktop systems only, you have a point. If you mean computing devices you don't have a point. I believe Apple is way out in front and desktops are a dead market.

I mean market share in where Microsoft is actually strong. The quote suggested that Microsoft's market share is dwindling and they are scrambling to remain relevant, and that's far from the truth by any interpretation except for ML1's.

I personally believe there's going to be a desktop market for a long time to come, and devices are just a natural extension of a connected world.

Restaurant uses iPads, not menus

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So much for the personal touch of having someone take your order. Or screw it up. Great idea, executed poorly for attention.

So much for the personal touch of having someone take your order. Or screw it up. Great idea, executed poorly for attention.

Think Startrek Food Replicator. Those were just a bit faster and you didn't need a credit card.

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So much for the personal touch of having someone take your order. Or screw it up. Great idea, executed poorly for attention.

Think Startrek Food Replicator. Those were just a bit faster and you didn't need a credit card.

If it's made by Apple, I'm afraid they'd tell me what I want and how I want it instead of how I ordered it.

So much for the personal touch of having someone take your order. Or screw it up. Great idea, executed poorly for attention.

Think Startrek Food Replicator. Those were just a bit faster and you didn't need a credit card.

If it's made by Apple, I'm afraid they'd tell me what I want and how I want it instead of how I ordered it.

Only after they check with your doctor.

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I believe Apple is way out in front and desktops are a dead market.

I hope I'm still around to remind you of that in 5 years time! :-)

Youth and stupidity will win this battle. That should be obvious. Hell, the only sales now are from companies whose XP boxes die and they can't get another XP box. Since the internet is going into TV's now, why would any home have a desktop? Twitter works fine off a smartphone.

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Restaurant uses iPads, not menus

Another twist on that is that one of my 'local' pubs now hands out an 'iPad' for use with the WiFi. There's still the old paper news papers also if you wish to stay low-tech.

In contrast, another local pub has no public WiFi and has a mobile devices ban with dire threats that you will be escorted out if seen using one. There's even on prominent show a sacrificial mobile strung up on string partially submerged in a beer glass of water!

Both places serve good food and beer with friendly helpful knowledgeable staff. Both are busy to capacity.

For both, larger is available but the emphasis is definitely on serving beer and wine. You don't get to see many teenagers in there...


Times move on, in different places differently.

Cheers,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Youth and stupidity will win this battle. That should be obvious. Hell, the only sales now are from companies whose XP boxes die and they can't get another XP box. Since the internet is going into TV's now, why would any home have a desktop? Twitter works fine off a smartphone.

Very good comment.

Other than for 'industrial' or 'engineering'/'scientific' use, I would expect the big old clunky desktop format to be eventually thrown out of the home window.

Perhaps times will move on to reduce 'computing' as a 'hobby' to that of a very niche group of geeks.

Computers are now commonplace and all around and cheap... And all powerful?


... All under the control of what/who?

IT is what we make it...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Hell, the only sales now are from companies whose XP boxes die and they can't get another XP box.

I would openly challenge this statement for factual analysis. Many, many companies are still on five year cycles of computer hardware, not the least of which is the current company I'm contracted to upgrade to Windows 7, and they've already deployed over 1,250 new Core i5 desktops and laptops to bring their hardware up to speed.

While out looking for contracts I've seen many similar scenarios from other companies. When my contract is up at the end of June, I will likely take a similar job if I can't find another Systems Admin or Network Infrastructure position to plant my feet into.

Since the internet is going into TV's now, why would any home have a desktop? Twitter works fine off a smartphone.

Because doing anything on my smartphone is tedious and difficult. Services like Twitter might be perfect for smartphones considering how few characters you're allowed to post, but for almost everything else more is required.

I'm not arguing that there won't come a day when devices are just as powerful as traditional computers, but something about the small size of the display and low battery life when using advanced functions for extended periods of time will prevent them from displacing traditional computing units for some time to come.

the company I work for has not made a peep about deploying 7. we are happily using XP and unlikely to change in the next 2-3 years at the least

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Ok, that's one company out of many. As I already stated, I've seen lots of interested companies that want to begin the switch to Windows 7.

Some recent snippets:


Samba case hearing: How Microsoft’s gamble backfired

... for ten years now, after Microsoft had finally released interoperability information after years of dragging its feet, and the Commission had fined the company the record amount of EUR 899 million.

But yesterday saw the parties back in Luxembourg, in a hearing room on the eight floor of the European Court of Justice...

... After the hearing, Carlo Piana said:

“The hearing established that Free Software is central to restoring competition in the workgroup server market,” said FSFE’s legal counsel Carlo Piana. “Everyone agreed to this, including the judges. This case matters because it highlights that interoperability is more important than a company’s interest in keeping its dominant position.”

From Microsoft’s arguments it became clear that the company’s instincts have not changed one bit, despite repeated claims to the contrary. It is still bent on locking down any market it enters, and blocking the path of competitors wherever possible. ...

... This is where you get to say “patently absurd”

Microsoft was forced to release the information to put an end to an unprecedented abuse of the market. In proposing the conditions, it could not take in consideration the value that stems from the strategic role of keeping the interoperability information secret. ...


... All under the control of what/who?

(I believe there are parallel examples for "certain other big companies", even if not so far down the road as has been pushed for Microsoft... So far...)

In contrast:


Microsoft Skype

... How will this affect the success of Skype's spyware, they ask?...

... All those questions alter nothing that matters for us.

The Skype client program is nonfree software: it gives its owner power over its users. Presently it will give the same power to a different company. The identity of the master is just a detail, because freedom means not having a master.

One part of freedom, for computer users, is not using Skype.

The GNU Project is developing free software to do more or less the same job, and multiple free programs by others also already do the basics. When free software makes it possible to do full-featured VOIP while maintaining your freedom, that will be a real change.


Our baby is here: Mageia 1

We are the Mageia community, and today we are happy to tell everyone that our first release, Mageia 1, is out and available for download.

For people who want to cut to the chase, you can see what’s available, choose your version and download it from mageia.org/downloads.

What is different about Mageia?

Mageia is about people – the people who make and the people who use Mageia the Linux distribution. We’re a good community, and we like to include our users in our community; the people who continue to join us make it better still. ...


... Or all under the control of you?

IT is what we make it...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

the first snippet gives you impression that, without microsoft, or it´s marketshare, linux would blossom and be more used by normal computerusers, but that is not the case.
good os will sell itself, no matter what.

good os will sell itself, no matter what.

Why is a good os different than any good product? VHS vs Beta. Bad quality won.

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good os will sell itself, no matter what.

Why is a good os different than any good product? VHS vs Beta. Bad quality won.

Poor example. Bad quality won because it was given away for free whereas Sony charged a royalty fee for BetaMax. If we follow the example to the logical conclusion, Linux should be in the dominant position.

Time flies and times move on ever more quickly. Here's a brief round-up for a few things Linux and the rest of the world for this week.

The real (non) "biggie" is that after many years of development, the Linux kernel has moved up from version 2.6.x to a new version 3.0. That's rather a sweet and rare event! Indeed, all the more sweet for the honest and open reasons for the momentous jump:


Linus says "absolutely nothing" changes in Linux 3.0

Linus Torvalds, the man behind the open source Unix-like Linux operating system kernel, has signed off the release candidate version as Linux 3.0 RC1. With most operating systems, a new version number would signal significant changes, but in this case Torvalds says: "So what are the big changes? NOTHING. Absolutely nothing." There are "no ABI changes, no API changes, no magical new features -- just steady plodding progress."

The increment has more to do with the fact that Linux is close to entering its third decade, the original having been released on August 26, 1991. In a post at LKLM.ORG, Torvalds writes ...


Another more humorous view of Linux in Tokyo is shown in:

Linux 3.0 RC1 Released

Linus Torvalds officially announced Linux kernel version 3.0 RC1, which was released as a 93 MB download late Sunday.

Torvalds noted that 3.0 will be released close to the 20th anniversary of Linux in August of this year, but there was no particular reason to actually switch from the current 2.6 tree to version 3 (which will be released as a 3.0.0 sequence number.)

In fact, the new feature list is rather short and Torvalds noted that his position as "alpha-male" requires him to make decisions such as a new version number once in a while. The announcement is filled with random silly notes such as the remark that the real reason for the new version number is that Torvalds can't count as high as 40 (the current version is 2.6.39). The first version of Linux was announced on August 26, 1991. Linux 2 was released in 1996. ...


Nicely light hearted jesting aside, Linux develops further, and now into the third decade!


Various other bits 'n' pieces:


Mageia 1 Final – Summary Videos for Linux Newbies

... So, you are a Linux Newbie and want to know if Mageia is easy to install? Below is a 96.4 MB / 15 minute MPEG video to show installation of Mageia...



Day 2: Wow--That Was Really Easy

30 Days With Ubuntu Linux: Day 2 ...

... The whole process took a matter of minutes. It didn't require me to format or re-partition my hard drive. It didn't require me to understand the inner-workings of Linux. It didn't require anything more than installing any other Windows application, yet I now have Ubuntu Linux installed and up and running.

It was amazingly easy. Impressively so. So much so, that I recommend any of you who are curious at all about Linux to go ahead and try it out yourself. You've got nothing to lose. The Windows security blanket is still right there only a reboot away, and if you don't like Ubuntu you can simply uninstall it from the Windows Control Panel like any other application.



Day 4: Tweaking the Look and Layout of Ubuntu Linux

30 Days With Ubuntu Linux: Day 4 ...

People don't like change. One of the things that some people get hung up on is the look and feel of the desktop. More precisely, some Windows users who look at Ubuntu Linux get hung up on how it doesn't look and feel like Windows. Well, it isn't that difficult to customize the look and feel of Ubuntu Linux to make it be whatever you want it to be. ...

... Suffice it to say, as long as it is that complicated to get things done, Linux geeks of the world should not expect the Linux to catch on as a mainstream OS. I realize it is not the fault of Linux that Apple has not developed a Linux version of iTunes, but Linux has to live with that catch-22 anyway. ...

Now, let's move on to today's topic. In Windows, the Start button is part of the Task Bar, and it is located at the bottom of the screen. In Ubuntu, there is a sort of task bar and systray equivalent at the bottom, but the menu options are on top of the screen. No problem. Just right-click on the bar-called a Panel in Ubuntu Linux-and select Properties. In the Properties box, expand the list next to Orientation, and click Bottom to move the Panel to the bottom. Simple.



Asus will preload Ubuntu Linux on three Eee PCs

... Previously the majority of Asus Eee PC netbooks came preloaded with Microsoft's Windows operating system, although it wasn't always that way.

When Asus introduced the Eee PC back in 2007, it shipped with the Xandros Linux distribution, however once Microsoft realised that netbooks were becoming a big seller, it came out with a cut down version of its Windows operating system. Since then the majority of netbooks sold have been preloaded with Microsoft's operating system, however it seems that Linux on netbooks is having something of a renaissance. ...



HTC Desire HD hacked to run Ubuntu Linux

The HTC Desire phone range are pretty nice as it is, but it would also be cool to see how the phone runs under another operating system. It didn't take the guys over and the XDA Developers forum too long to get the Android phone to boot Ubuntu natively. ...



Meanwhile, Microsoft keeps up various and multiple avenues of 'pressure'...

Microsoft's patents shakedown betrays spirit of Gates

... Microsoft once prided itself on minting profits from licensing copies of Windows and Office. Now it seems more content with eking out $5 per unit from HTC and others it bullies over patents. That's right: instead of selling product, it's peddling intellectual property (IP).

But the question is whether this is a strategy born of necessity, as Microsoft has failed to keep up with the consumer market, or a deliberate change in direction. ...



Microsoft's cloud business depends on Linux

Writing in his bog, Sandy Gupta, Supreme Marketing Man for Microsoft's Open Solutions Group, said he has spent a large chunk of his year selling mixed Microsoft/Linux cloud ideas to hosters and service providers.

Today he is expected to announce how Microsoft will be expanding its interoperability plans to the Linux community. ...



Microsoft eyes Ubuntu and Debian love on Hyper-V

... Linux on any sort of Windows might be anathema to the Microsoft old guard and anybody outside Microsoft's Server and Tools unit, but Linux on Azure would be a big win for the company's customers. ...



Will Microsoft Kill Skype For GNU/Linux, Android?

... Microsoft is not doing well in the cloud, mobile and online business. It's Bing is making losses, and the rest of the online products are not known to exist. It seems Microsoft will try to integrate Skype with its communication suite Lync. Is Microsoft targeting enterprise customers with Skype? ...



Skype protocol cracked - what happens next?

... An open source project to create a Skype-alike software product would therefore be an interesting beast.

In fact, open-source Skype implementations for Linux and OS X would probably be in Microsoft's overall interest - Microsoft could simply give up on the existing Linux and OS X code bases without creating any bitterness amongst those communities. They'd be able to take up the software development reins - just as gung-ho open sourcers are supposed to if they don't like what's already on offer. ...



5 Skype alternatives for Linux users

If news of the Microsoft/Skype deal sent you searching for a replacement for your VoIP needs, look no further...



In amongst all that lot, note the distinction on "free". That one word can mean various things, including any or either or both of "of no cost" and/or "of freedom to do as you wish". There's also other inferences such as to be "cheap" or of "no value" or of "being badly (too cheaply) made".

The main emphasis behind the open source "GPL" license is to have a licence that very directly declares your freedom to use software and develop that software as you wish for the good of all. Often, that is also free of cost, and of tremendous value.

IT is all what we make it.
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Soooooooo, we take it you are a Linux fan then ?

Not specifically so, no.

Unfortunately, what else is there?!

There is BSD "unix", however development of that system is very slow and possibly even stymied due to the BSD license allowing developments to be secretly hoarded even if the freedom to use the original code is maintained. The freedom for that example is a little too free to be subsequently cynically abused...

Then there is OpenSolaris but is that alive?

Any others? Nothing that I know of is as well developed as is Linux...


I'm more against the vandalism and restrictive practices and outright extortion perpetrated by some... And all because they simply can. That is a high cost for everyone in sabotaging faster and cleaner development.

Keep searchin',
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)