August 30, 2008
mitch @ 2:28 pm on August 30, 2008
I know I currently have an iPhone, however… I must say… I don’t like the requirement for iTunes. Its not that I don’t like iTunes specifically.. (for the most part I dont find anything wrong with it… other than the proprietary formats for music that you typically buy off the iTunes store…), but my main complaint is that I run Linux, and only Linux on my desktops and servers. Yes I have a virtual machine of windows XP, however, getting USB to pass through to it for iTunes and syncing my iphone just isn’t really what I Like to do. I really want something to integrate. I want what windows and mac have had forever, but on my linux desktop. Don’t flam and bitch that I could if I just used those other operating systems… thats not an option. I love my linux desktop so much that my latest laptop (Lenovo ThinkPad T61) I bought with SuSE preloaded simply because I have no need for windows outside of the stupid iPhone sync process. The Linux desktop is amazing if you ask me… I however am not a Linux elitist that I try to force my personal preferences onto others. It just works for me, allows me to work and perform my job very well, so I don’t plan on going to any other OS for myself… ever.
Anyway… I ran off on a tangent… My new phone will run Android. I’m hoping for a new one sometime this year… maybe they’ll release the HTC Dream by then and I can get it for my birthday.
Anyway, in case you don’t know what Android is… there are youtube videos all over about it. Look it up. Looks just as amazing as my linux desktop. I honestly cannot wait.
Apple· Linux· Microsoft· Technology· Thoughts — No Comments
December 29, 2005
mitch @ 9:30 am on December 29, 2005
Its a sad day… Peter Quinn, CIO of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is resigning effective on the 12th of January. Seems the personal attacks hes had in the media and else where, when politicians decide to play dirty, have over whelmed him. Its horrible. Why must we result to such tactics? Is Microsoft this affraid of the results of one state switching to a format (their welcome to support I might add…) thats free for *everyone* to use? I really do try to be fair, even though I’m not a fan boy of Microsoft by any sense of the word, about the goings on in the IT world. But, honestly… this all started when the commonwealth stated that Microsofts ‘Open’ XML Document format did not meet the requirements they setup. They even went out of their way to answer Microsofts question about what they needed to do to be considered. Since then… Microsoft’s kinda half-assed their way to meeting the requirements… tring to meet them by the letter of it, not the spirit of it. The commonwealth saw this and luckily they worded their requirements such that its hard to streach those two apart. So they didn’t cave to the presure. After all, I really don’t think its much to ask Microsoft, if they want to compete they need to meet the same requirements our current format choice does. They really don’t even need to open their own format up… for their software to be considered when procurment starts, all they need to do is support the ODF standard(if they refuse to open up their own format to the requirements set forth). So, when the technology wrangling didn’t work so well… then the political games started. And spats with the local media, which crafted personal attacks on Mr. Quinn. I don’t have kids yet, but this sounds an awfull lot like a kid kicking and screaming when their mother took something away from them because it wasn’t theirs. Is this really the grown up world we live in? Doesn’t anyone believe in honor anymore? Or do we all just follow the money?
Legal· Life· Microsoft· Technology· Thoughts — No Comments
December 9, 2005
mitch @ 9:56 am on December 9, 2005
I liked his letter so much, I thought I’d link it up from GrokLaw. I must say I agree with his statements 100%. I loved the how simple he made the explination. Makes the reasoning straight and to the point, why people don’t understand this is beyond me. Why the commonwealth is still debating over it is even more beyond me. Microsofts always made promises… who knows if and when they’ll actually come through with it. The best way to keep them honest is to make them use ODF too. (Not through laws/restrictions) Simply, market presures will be fine. After all, if you let them win with their ‘Open’ XML format standard, he who makes the rules can always change them. Pardon the skepticism, but they’ve done it in the past (even recent past), whats to stop them from doing it again? It needs to stop, Mass. has a chance to make a stand and really show Redmond that we’re serious, that we want them to abid by rules of the industry not whatever they feel like. To actually do whats in their *customers* best interests. It really shouldn’t be this hard to fathom.
Legal· Life· Microsoft· Open Source — No Comments
December 1, 2005
mitch @ 10:56 pm on December 1, 2005
Been a long time since I last posted… not sure why really, just haven’t felt like writing lately. I’ve worked out a deal with school and redid some of the payment options, so I’ll be getting back underway with school starting monday. However, one of my classes is all about Windows. Lately my Windows install on my laptop has been driving me nuts. I don’t understand anymore why people like that operating system… Why people willingly put up with the crap that happens with it… you install a couple apps and they’ll over run your machine making it crap slow… whats wrong with that picture? I don’t understand… why would you subject yourself to it? I guess not knowing that it doesn’t have to be that way is one thing, but please for the love, when will it die! Joking, joking… partly atleast 
Windows has its place, its not on my desktop however. I won’t willingly subject myself to that much torture. I do understand why others use it, for the apps mostly, familiarity and hardware support tied for second. The day will come (hopefully soon, but I won’t hold my breath) that Windows won’t be the only common thing on the desktop anymore, the market is big enough from multiple players. When that day comes we’ll see real innovation, after all, what innovation really needs is healthy competition. I guess the question that remains is, Will Windows and Microsoft know how to play a game with the turf being equal? If you’ve been paying attention to the MS vs ODF ordeal, it seems they’re pulling out every last stop they can come up with to prevent the turf from being equal for *all* sides. Their latest is an attempt to “open” their new Office XML format, thats turning out to be not so “open”. They must think people are dumb. The “open” format they’re trying to push, still prevents people from writing GPL’d apps that support the format…. Now how open can an “open” format be that still has restrictions? Silly Microsoft, tricks are for kids.
Legal· Microsoft· Open Source· School — No Comments
September 6, 2005
mitch @ 2:11 pm on September 6, 2005
In a recent unsealing of a court document in the Microsoft vs. Google lawsuit(I mean who isn’t in a law suite against microsoft?), over the hiring of Kai-Fu Lee. In a swarn statement made by Mark Lucovsky, Ballmer is being accused of threatening employees not to leave for Google. Heres the quote:
“At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office,” Lucovosky recounted, adding that Ballmer then launched into a tirade about Google CEO Eric Schmidt. “I’m going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I’m going to f***ing kill Google.”
Now… I’ve never been found of Microsoft, nor have I ever been impressed by Steve Ballmer as a person with character. This, however, is not a display that should *EVER* be presented in front of employee’s… no matter who you are. I can understand the fact that hes upset…(he probably feels that way alot lately…) but to start acting like this in front of an employee that is leaving for another company. (the fact that he despises Google is beside the point) Is very unprofessional. In a statement issued by Ballmer about the incident:
“Mark Lucovsky’s account of our conversation last November is a gross exaggeration of what actually took place,” Ballmer said. “Mark’s decision to leave was disappointing and I urged him strongly to change his mind. But his characterization of that meeting is not accurate.”
Which it might be, though it might not as well. Since it is Ballmer that has the most at risk if it is true. Also notice the wording, he doesn’t specifically deny throwing the chair or having a tantrum… I’ll let you make your own conclusion however.
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August 28, 2005
mitch @ 10:19 am on August 28, 2005
For atleast a year, Microsoft has been announcing that we need software patents because they are needed to protect innovation(no doubt they mean their own innovation). However, I’m really having a hard time figuring out just what they’ve ever innovated? Apple… they have many to their name, and Windows Media Center is not an innovation… Its a best effort copy of Tivo. And MythTV has been extending that original innovation into more… which could be argued as innovation in its own right… What exactly has Microsoft innovated? Their new graphics rendering engine(Avalon) for Vista? Nope… at best it extends whats already in Mac OS X(cocoa?). A database that is the filesystem(when its eventually released), nope been done already, say IBM AS/400. As I said… having a hard time thinking of one thing Microsoft has ever innovated on (technology wise only). So if any of you know please let me know by all means.
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July 4, 2005
mitch @ 10:58 am on July 4, 2005
In the wake of more than 5 anti-trust suits, the new one on the block is Go. They are claiming that Microsoft threatened Intel(which had invesed in Go), and coerce Compaq, Fujitsu, Toshiba and other computer makers not to use Go’s operating system. Given MS’s history, I don’t think its that far of a stretch. They’ve been paying out millions in anti-trust settlements as of late, to the tune of atleast 3 billion. I understand their place in the computer industry, unfortunatly its not where they are currently. I guess it goes without saying that I’m an open source advocate, however that does not mean I think linux should take MS’s place, nor do I think Linux will completly erradicate Windows in all markets. I do think however, that Linux will take the business sector. Why? MS is killing themselves in this market. I think the more applications they buy and package as their own, the more they eliminate what got them where they are in the first place. They’re transitiong to a point where, your either going to have to be all Microsoft or everyone else. Which I don’t think alot of companies are going to like. And they will choose “everyone else”. More and more companies aren’t liking vendor lock in. Why? because vendors abuse it, they take it for granted and then have the nerve to charge you out of this world prices for their lack of responding to your companies needs, and then act offended when you tell them your thinking of going to other vendors and/or products. I find it somewhat amusing that these vendors don’t seem to get the transitions that are happening. The IT market is changing, but they’re trying to play the aged old game they’ve been able to play since IT began. Its not going to work, if they don’t adapt they’ll suffer a slow and painful death… Just look at SCO. They’ve excellerated the process by attacking it when they don’t fully understand it, and they’ve meet their end. They’ll be out of customers long before they get their trial. Thats still assuming they can make it that far.
The IT market is changing, IBM seems to get it, as does Novell. SCO doesn’t… which are you?
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April 5, 2005
mitch @ 4:13 pm on April 5, 2005
Was browsing GrokLaw today, and came across and article of a college student getting sue’d by Microsoft. Because their return policies are rediculous, he ended up selling some unopened software he bought at his universities book store on eBay.
One part that really got me going was this:
It wasn’t until the day after Christmas that Zamos realized he’d actually been sued.
He found his case on LexisNexis. “They were so shady about the whole thing,” he says.
So they run around sue’ing people and not telling them? Or making the wording so convoluted that the average person that doesn’t speak legalize doesn’t understand that thats what they are reading… *that* my friends is *MESSED UP*. Who is this company that is now acting so threatened by anything that moves, they need to sue anyone that even mentions their name?
Its honestly getting to the point where its all rediculous. I mean really… Guess when you have it all, the only way you can go is down?
How did it turn out you might ask? Well, its all under an NDA of coarse, but here is what he said he wanted out of the whole thing:
Finally, Zamos gave Microsoft the migraine it hadn’t expected. He requested a trial by jury, knowing that the company wouldn’t want to spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills just to snuff one kid in Ohio. He was right. The lawyers said they’d drop their suit — if Zamos dropped his countersuit.
But that wasn’t good enough for Zamos, who’d wasted hours of his time and $40 in Kinko’s copies. He didn’t want billions of dollars or a new Ford Mustang. He wanted an apology and reimbursement for his copies.
I love it, I want $40 for my copies and an apology.
Think they’ll think twice before they sue again? I wouldn’t hold your breath…
Legal· Microsoft· News· Technology — No Comments
July 29, 2004
mitch @ 3:34 pm on July 29, 2004
It has just come to my attention that my website here doesn’t render correctly in the latest version of IE… (on XP atleast). And, all I can say is… get a decent browser. I mean, with all the security problems with the browser AND its lack of support for even the basic standards (full CSS1 comes to mind), and on top of it, Microsoft thought it would throw in a couple of non standard stuff that it can use as well. Its horrible. Sure, i know, windows users don’t care because “everything just works for me”. But the web is suppose to be a medium where it doesn’t matter what OS, or browser, or anything else your using. The experience is supposed to be the same for everyone. Hence why standards are important. Last I checked, this site renders fully compliant with standards, except for my news feeds…. which I will be fixing as soon as I get around to it…
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