More like drug dealers every day (1 Viewer)

Martin

Martin

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#1
Dec 31, 2000
56,913
#1
"Microsoft is effectively giving away Windows 7 free for a year with the launch of the Release Candidate. The Release Candidate is now available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, and will go on unlimited, general release on 5 May. The software will not expire until 1 June 2010, giving testers more than a year's free access to Windows 7. "It's available to as many people who see fit to use it, although we wouldn't recommend it to just your average user," John Curran, director of the Windows Client Group told PC Pro. "We'd very strongly encourage anyone on the beta to move to the Release Candidate.""

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/30/1352249&from=rss

They license software under price to schools, they give it away to students, they will even give it to you for free if it means winning a contract. And now they're handing out Windows 7. All so that you get hooked on it. And once you start working for a company or government they can screw you forever on the license fees and mandatory "upgrades", by making new products deliberately incompatible with old ones.

Having said that, giving out Windows 7 like this might actually be a good way of building something that doesn't suck, with all that user feedback.
 

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Martin

Martin

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Thread Starter #5
Dec 31, 2000
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    That's the idea. Guy who tried heroin the first time said the same thing.

    Addiction has everything to do with lack of foresight. You love something right now but if someone were to actually convince you that if you choose this you'll be stuck with it for the rest of your life you wouldn't be so quick to jump in.

    People just don't think ahead. We're idiots.
     
    V

    V

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    #6
    Jun 8, 2005
    20,110
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    • V

      V

    Well software and drugs aren't exactly the same. Sure, it's a monopolistic, sneaky, underhanded move by MS but in the end I couldn't care less if the end product is good. I don't mind paying for good software.
     
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    Martin

    Martin

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    Thread Starter #7
    Dec 31, 2000
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    vlatko said:
    Well software and drugs aren't exactly the same. Sure, it's a monopolistic, sneaky, underhanded move by MS but in the end I couldn't care less if the end product is good. I don't mind paying for good software.
    Click to expand...
    It's actually not so much about whether it's good or not, it's about control. You buy into MS and when they say jump you jump. You have no choice. Oh, what's the matter you don't like the idea of paying through the nose for a new version of Office that has precisely zero features you want? Too bad you can no longer do business with all the companies and governments that bought the upgrade, because your communications are 100% tied to proprietary formats. Imagine if the post office worked that way. Upgrade or we don't deliver your mail.
     
    V

    V

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    #8
    Jun 8, 2005
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    • V

      V

    I don't see that changing in my lifetime, so I don't bother with it.

    Though the new office I feel is also good. Really. :D
     
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    Martin

    Martin

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    Thread Starter #10
    Dec 31, 2000
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    • Thread Starter #10
    vlatko said:
    I don't see that changing in my lifetime, so I don't bother with it.

    Though the new office I feel is also good. Really. :D
    Click to expand...
    I hope you love it because chances are every public institution in Croatia has licensed Windows and Office and who knows what over the crap, all at an inflated price compared to what you can get on the free market. That's yours and Alen's tax money not going to roads or schools or anything useful like that. But at least those government workers have the new Office ribbon.
     
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    Martin

    Martin

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    Thread Starter #11
    Dec 31, 2000
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    Zé Tahir said:
    Who really pays for software these days anyways?
    Click to expand...
    Forgive me Ze, but you would be hard pressed to make a more ignorant statement. You wanna know who pays for software? Go to your college computer lab and ask them how much they paid to have Windows and Office running on their machines. Go to ANY company and ask the same thing. And so on and so forth. What, you thought it was your copy of Windows sold with your laptop that's funding Microsoft? It's not. It's businesses and governments that have the big budgets.
     
    V

    V

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    #12
    Jun 8, 2005
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      V

    Martin said:
    I hope you love it because chances are every public institution in Croatia has licensed Windows and Office and who knows what over the crap, all at an inflated price compared to what you can get on the free market. That's yours and Alen's tax money not going to roads or schools or anything useful like that. But at least those government workers have the new Office ribbon.
    Click to expand...
    It is like that. When I send monthly tax reports and similar stuff via net, the goverment sites actually state: "make sure the Excel files are filled with Microsoft Office, absolutely not with similar software, such as Open Office, otherwise they won't get loaded in the system". :D

    But like I said, I can't do anything about it and it's not changing any time soon. I'm open to free software, I support it, I even educate some people who have no idea about it, but the society is what it is. Everything is MS based. It's not a good thing, I'm aware of it, but neither is the whole capitalistic world we live in. Doesn't mean I'll stop living.

    And rest assured, when it comes to my country anyway, that money sure as hell wouldn't go to schools or building roads, if it didn't went to microsoft.
     
    Zé Tahir

    Zé Tahir

    JhoolayLaaaal!
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    #14
    Dec 10, 2004
    29,281
    #14
    Martin said:
    Forgive me Ze, but you would be hard pressed to make a more ignorant statement. You wanna know who pays for software? Go to your college computer lab and ask them how much they paid to have Windows and Office running on their machines. Go to ANY company and ask the same thing. And so on and so forth. What, you thought it was your copy of Windows sold with your laptop that's funding Microsoft? It's not. It's businesses and governments that have the big budgets.
    Click to expand...
    Hey relax, I was talking about me and Joe the Plumber :D I don't pay for that shit; piracy for life.
     
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    Martin

    Martin

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    Thread Starter #15
    Dec 31, 2000
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    Zé Tahir said:
    Hey relax, I was talking about me and Joe the Plumber :D I don't pay for that shit; piracy for life.
    Click to expand...
    Of course you do. College is free, yes? No? What you mean tuition fee? What you mean taxes? What you mean I could get a raise if not for the fact that Pakistani Airlines have to pay their crazy license fees to Microsoft?

    And let's not forget that with few exceptions you can't buy a damn computer without paying for Windows.

    Yes, that's how clever you are, Ze. You're paying for it and you don't even realize it. They got you good.
     
    V

    V

    Senior Member
    #18
    Jun 8, 2005
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    • V

      V

    Martin, we pay for EVERYTHING without knowing about it.

    There's this thing called "statue rent" in my country, for example. It's one of the most ludicrous things ever! It's sort of a tax which all firms, companies, etc. have to pay in order to preserve the city's old core, older authentic buildings and such stuff. Doesn't matter where your company is located, 10km out of town or in the damn center of it. Sometimes it's 200kn, sometimes it's 300kn, which means it can be bigger than your telephone bill. Point is it's big money taken for God knows what and for nothing of use to you.

    Sure, it's my corrupt country after all but there are stuff like this in every country, you just don't know it. The little man, always pays for everything.
     
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    Martin

    Martin

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    Thread Starter #19
    Dec 31, 2000
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    vlatko said:
    Martin, we pay for EVERYTHING without knowing about it.

    There's this thing called "statue rent" in my country, for example. It's one of the most ludicrous things ever! It's sort of a tax which all firms, companies, etc. have to pay in order to preserve the city's old core, older authentic buildings and such stuff. Doesn't matter where your company is located, 10km out of town or in the damn center of it. Sometimes it's 200kn, sometimes it's 300kn, which means it can be bigger than your telephone bill. Point is it's big money taken for God knows what and for nothing of use to you.

    Sure, it's my corrupt country after all but there are stuff like this in every country, you just don't know it. The little man, always pays for everything.
    Click to expand...
    Yes, but I'm not in conservation, I'm in software. So I care most about software, because it affects me the most.
     
    V

    V

    Senior Member
    #20
    Jun 8, 2005
    20,110
    #20
    • V

      V

    Martin said:
    Yes, but I'm not in conservation, I'm in software. So I care most about software, because it affects me the most.
    Click to expand...
    I'm not in conservation either, neither is my firm. Yet we pay tens of shit we couldn't possibly care about.

    Microsoft ain't the only big bad wolf but I understand what you mean since it's your field afterall.
     
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