Posted on 04/20/2006 9:00:14 AM PDT by ShadowAce
The past few weeks have revealed much about the great paradox that is China. It is a nation that wants a capitalist lifestyle with centralised totalitarian rule. The past weeks have also revealed a lot about the Western World's biggest IT companies, Namely, they'll do just about anything to crack the giant fortune cookie market. Some will give away their software, others will allow their search results to be censored and others may even be prepared to help the Chinese Government track down its dissidents. The more principled ones among us may say: "IT companies beware of the Chinese trap." I say: "China, remember your 19th Century history. IT capitalism is a far more powerful drug for an emerging technology nation than Opium."
The meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates may have seemed to some a polite symbolic gesture on the part of China to show that it is serious about adopting Western standards of intellectual property and proprietary ownership. However, coupled with the $1.2 billion sweetheart deal that Microsoft just announced with Chinas number one PC maker Lenovo, the intent of the leader of the IT capitalists is crystal clear: lock in.
Microsoft, which has around 90% of the global PC operating system and office productivity software market, has achieved its remarkable stranglehold through a process called lock-in. Those of us, which is most of us, who have had the Windows operating system on our desktops for more than a decade, know all about lock-in.
We Windows users know all about the files we have created in Microsoft Office over the years, not to mention the numerous other applications that have been developed for Windows by software companies such as Adobe, Macromedia, and smaller independent software vendors. We know how we have come to depend upon those applications and the data attached to them.
Our dependence has never become more apparent than when we discovered that there is a whole world of innovative and most excellent software that is freely available and collectively labelled under the banner of open source. Much of this software, such as Open Office.org, an excellent free replacement for the overpriced Microsoft Office, will run on both Windows and the alternative operating system Linux. Likewise, the increasingly popular Firefox internet browser, which is superior in both functionality and performance to Microsofts Internet Explorer, will run on both operating systems.
However, there are many applications that will run only on Windows. While there are usually equivalent and even superior applications that will run on Linux, they are not easily interchangeable. This is what we mean by lock in. The longer you use the drug called Windows, the more you become addicted and locked in. The harder it becomes to make the break and move to a free and open environment where applications dont cost an arm and a leg.
China is a nation with a unique opportunity. Yes there are a plethora of PCs on the market with pirated versions of Windows. Despite what anyone may say, it is a sure bet that Microsoft is happy about that. Its the initial hit of free Opium. Eventually, as China is forced to tighten its regulatory requirements on PCs being sold into the market its already happening with the no naked PCs rule users will be forced to pay for their Windows operating system. In the meantime, they will be busily locking themselves into the plethora of Windows specific applications. The more they get locked in, the higher the price will be.
China make note. Windows is a drug that much of the world is trying to wean itself off. Look to the EU. Look to Brazil. Look to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the US. There is an alternative called Linux, which includes all of the applications you need to do business, and it costs a fraction of the price. You may want to buy an Xbox 360 if you want to play games however.
Nope, he still hasn't retacted it. His last lies on the matter were quote "a hotfix isn't an update". Some MCSE huh, LMAO!
Well obviously you are that obtuse..
This is another example that he is either the most dense person on these threads or an outright troll
In the context of the conversation, that part you usually leave out, its clear my meaning was a security update is not the definition of an update and I was referring to feature updates and patches to non security related bugs both of which ended with mainstream support... As an example we wont see ie7 on windows 2000...
LMAO!!!
HERE HE GOES AGAIN!!!
This is actually even better than his "a hotfix is not an update"!
a security update is not the definition of an update
Is that not hilarious! Coming from the guy who claims he's an MCSE! More like BSCE!
Do you know the differnece between a sub-set and a super-set?
I understand this, for sure.
Typical bunk thread from overseas posted called: "MS issues final software update for Win2K"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1434031/posts
N3WBI3's latest excuse is "a security update is not the definition of an update".
LMAO!!!
Im sorry it was a really easy question...
Do you know what a sub-set and a super set is..
I know that a security update is a type of update, if that's what you mean. LOL!
Please define a sub-set and a super-set, give us an example..
If you think you've got an answer for your lies, let's hear it. Right now you're stuck trying to claim security updates aren't updates. Good luck.
Sorry I'm late--ran into the troll on another thread and had to skewer him myself...
Anywho, here's the Expanded OSS thread troll report card:
[X] Stallman is a leftist
[X] Red Flag is the Communist chinese OS copied legally from Red Hat
[ ] The father of Linus ws a Communist and lived in Moscow
[ ] The DNC loves Linux
[ ] Communism.org likes Linux
[X] Somebody has sub-par English...
[ ] IBM sold their PC division to the ChiComms.
[ ] (insert OSS company) has been kissing up to the Chinese for years
[X] 80% of ChiComm servers run open-source/Linux
Scoring system:
4) Wow! That bug in your butt must have laid eggs!
Nice list. Now, if you'll just start hyperlinking them, since most people are already trained to discount anything you normally say.
You said them all within the last month.
I'm just keeping score of all your baloney on this thread. So far, you're missing five of your usual talking points.
sarc See if you can work them in... /sarc
More important question: are you going to rail against Planned Parenthood, now that they switched to Linux? Or are you going to gloss the whole thing over and try to pretend that their primary mission is to provide condoms to Africa, like you always do?
"More like BSCE!"
Wow, that's dumb.
An apple is a fruit but a fruit is not an apple.
A security fix *could* be called an update but an update is not a security fix. When you cut off feature enhancements such as the next version of ie or windows media player, not to mention functional features within windows itself it is not longer a supported operating system.
All of this ignores my point that if you wanted to keep an environment homogeneous you could not longer do it by getting PCs from your OEM and worst of all XP was, at that time, slated to suffer the same fate not more than 1 year and later. Thankfully MS's complete inability to get vista out anywhere near its scheduled date has extended that to a more reasonable window.
We could have discussed the merits of their schedule but not you, not when you could latch onto a disagreement about the definition of supported OS. Heck that could have been a decent civil thread but in reality trying to have such a conversation with you is throwing pearls to swine.. I have on other occasions than this given you the chance to back up and have that conversation but you are not interested in talking..
LOL, you're still lying about it!
Go back and look at the original thread title again:
"MS issues final software update for Win2K"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1434031/posts
That indicates there will be no more updates, at all, for Windows 2000. In that thread, I immediately exposed the lie, just like I always do when you boys post your bunk from overseas websites.
You started lying some more, claiming that security "patches" and "hotfixes" were not "updates".
LOL, look at this comment:
"No you'll be patching your systems for five years like everyone else, thats not updating!"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1434031/posts?page=44#44
Or this one LMAO:
"a hotfix != an update."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1434031/posts?page=48#48
Funniest of all, you roll out a link to Microsoft, where the word "update" is defined:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1434031/posts?page=50#50
What does that link say? Quote:
Software Update Definition: A software update is any update, update rollup, service pack, feature pack, critical update, security update, or hotfix that is used to improve or to fix a software product that is released by Microsoft Corporation.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=824684
LMAO! Now here today, months later, you're still lying about it, and your latest incarnations in this thread are just as hilarious!
""a security update is not the definition of an update"
and
"an update is not a security fix".
Hysterical! N3WBI3 is working hard on his upgrade to his BSCE, he's actually the pilot for the new program LOL!
Can I have a link to the conversation? It's not that I don't trust you not to take things out of context, it's just that I don't trust you.
This reminds me of when you couldn't tell the difference between software patents and all patents.
Just another one of those times you were defending Richard Stallman, who you yourself admit is a radical leftist. Kind of like when you create those threads claiming Democrats are ahead of Republicans.
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