Posts by James Gosling
129 posts • joined Friday 3rd December 2010 12:21 GMT
Google...
Google do not have to have any offices or staff in the UK and they would still be able to sell to their customers here, I doubt a single customer would be lost if they closed up their UK offices tomorrow. Yes there is absurdity in the tax system, but Google on the face of it are acting within the rules. Accusing them of doing evil was a real abuse of parliamentary privilege and frankly a bit rich coming from MP's!
Bottom line is if they don't like the tax laws change them, don't moralize to companies. Why would it be less "evil" to give more money in taxes? Surely if you want to do good with money the government are the last people you'd give it to!
I thought the whole thing was an utter farce!
The future...
Well Mr Smith, we were going to offer you this great new job until we saw this photograph of you on Facebook!
Re: ultra cheap homebrew
Presumably you are also eating stuff during these 30 days?
Invest in....
A big stick. Then use this big stick to intimidate those with smaller sticks (or no stick at all) into giving you their £1's. Way of the world unfortunately! Before you know it you'll be the stick salesman!
The Microsoft Approach...
We could always adopt the Microsoft Approach, wrap him in clear plastic, place a set of terms and conditions inside that you accept if you break the seal (i.e. the packaging) but which you cant read fully unless you break the seal. All rights reserved! :)
Somehow I doubt....
Somehow I still doubt they are in profit, I'm pretty sure they will have spent more pushing it than they have made selling it. Seems to be the Microsoft way at present.
Their entire culture is one of inflicting products on users with an underlying assumption that the user will accept whatever they turn out, and that just isn't the reality of a world where Microsoft are increasingly less relevant.
No Good Moaning Now
The gutter press went too far. Freedom cuts both ways. People are entitled to be free from harassment and persecution by the press. There are newspapers in the UK which have made a living out of ruining peoples lives without just cause. If they had behaved like adults this would not have been necessary, but they haven't and so this was inevitable. Unfortunately it reached the point in the UK where the damage done by the press outweighed the good.
Looking at the pragmatically...
Looking at the pragmatically its sounds like all this will achieve is to turn a perhaps a little naive Grey hat hacker into a bitter Black hat hacker. When he eventually gets out of jail I don't imagine he is going to feel very public spirited and no doubt will take out his grievance upon the world either for personal gain or simply out of anger. That clearly is not an outcome in the public interest.
Huawei
The US does have legitimate concerns over how close Huawei is to the Chinese government. There have been allegations of involvement with industrial espionage in the past and there is concern that anything built on Huawei technology might be open to spies from China. I don't know if any of this is true, but it is certainly possible. Maybe it is the rest of the world that is naive about China and the US who are taking the threat seriously?
I imagine they are pulling their horns in...
And focusing on their core business (chips!). They used to make lots of things like network switches, but frankly my experience with those was not good. In an uncertain world where many economies are still in recession they have too much to lose, so rather than risk the company by trying to second guess the market they are probably thinking that pulling their horns in and focusing on their chip business will mean they can play the chip end of whatever games succeed in the market place. Less of a gamble. I don't blame them.
Well, let's face it...
The current self inflicted humiliation Microsoft is going through is long overdue and each installment puts a bigger smile on my face! Microsoft have produced many products, some good, some bad, most not so great. But their overall contribution to the industry has been a negative one. Year on year they become more and more irrelevant, and unless this leopard changes its spots, that all for the good of IT.
Why pay?
When Libre Office is FREE!
So long as Americans continue...
So long as Americans continue to keep loaded guns under pillows, in their underwear draw, handbag or concealed on their person accidents are going to happen. So long as guns and ammunition are stored together lethal weapons are going to fall into the wrong hands. So long as military grade weaponry is sold for "duck hunting" or some other bullshit massacres are going to happen. And I speak as someone who is in favor of responsible gun ownership, and irresponsible gun ownership and lax gun controls are they key to Americas gun problem. Cross the border to Canada and gun crime is a rarity, even though there are still plenty of guns.
The Police....
The Police need less powers not more. Policing these days seems to be a form of sanctioned thuggery. And some the the restraint methods they use are utterly excessive. I saw someone on television being cuffed with his hands behind his backs then they lifted him into the back of the police van by holding just his arms, in other words putting the entire weight onto his shoulder joints bent the wrong way! And more often than not its a public order offense very much left to the interpretation of the individual Police officer or a teeny tiny bit of cannabis. The law is an Ass!
Oh dear...
That'll be the end of The Register then! :-)
A couple of points....
I used to be a Network Manager in a school, I would make these two points:
1.) I came across numerous instances where national curriculum materials were specifically written around Microsoft products - I think that is wrong. I also encountered Microsoft centric attitudes throughout the education system. I remember being issued with computer based exams endorsed by the department for education which could only be run on Microsoft Windows.
2.) The idea that schools need for example Microsoft Office because most companies use word and therefore students would not be prepared if they were taught to use, for example, Libre Office is absolutely ridiculous. It's not the business of schools to provide Microsoft training... introducing students to what a word processor is sure, and Libre Office is a logical product to use because its free and its is widely compatible. If we are saying that a student who has used Libre Office at school would not be able to use Microsoft Office in a workplace then I really worry about about their ability to sit at and work at an office desk without a teacher standing in front of them! I mean, be serious!
Posted in Which qualifications are worthwhile?
My thoughts....
I think the important thing to realize is that IT is now very much a profession. The number one thing you need is experience, but relevant technical qualifications are also important and will become more so as you progress in whatever route you take through it (certainly if you want to maximize earnings). No IT is not the pot of gold at the end of the Rainbow, not sure it ever really was, there have been brief moments of opportunity over the years where money has been thrown about but on the whole what you will get paid will reflect how good and rare your skills are versus the demand for them - what is in demand this year may not be next year. Change is the one constant in IT, if you cannot handle change then stay well clear of IT. Most IT knowledge has a short shelf-life, to work in IT you need a commitment to lifelong learning and self-development. These days companies will rarely pay for any serious IT training, preferring to bring in consultants or contractors with the qualifications already. At some point in your career in IT you will probably want to be a contractor or consultant, it's how you will pay for all those expensive technical qualifications you've earned. But all this is longer term. Actually getting into IT is going to be very difficult. As Network Administrator I had a regular supply of volunteers ready and willing to work free of charge just to gain experience, even then I had to turn most of them down because showing someone else how to do a job takes you away from your own work and as with most teams in IT these days we were a small team managing a large infrastructure. I think the advice given by some to go for an ITIL qualification is sound, as is taking a non technical approach to getting your foot into the IT department. Frankly a geek who plays with computers in his bedroom and cannot communicate well is of little use in todays IT world, enthusiasm is good of course. There's not much point in shouting about coding/programming skills for a helpdesk job. And on the subject of helpdesks its important to realize there is not necessarily a natural path of progression from helpdesk to a technical career in IT, its a different skill set and only very few will ever make the cross over. A degree is pretty much useless in IT. If you feel uncomfortable about not having a degree on your CV then enrol on an Open University course, once your foot is in the door its entirely up to you if you follow through on that course of study. Initially you will not want to try and specialize too soon, you need to be flexible and simply seize any opportunities, later it will pay to carve out more specialist skills so you can reep better financial rewards, and find interesting work! Unfortunately aside from the latest in vogue technical skills the jobs which pay the most in IT are the ones no one else wants to do because they are so damn boring! Above all Good luck!
Silicon Roundabout
In America they have Silicon Valley, we have a Silicon Roundabout in London! Boy do we think big!
All we need now are....
Photos of Steve Balmer kissing babies!
I would imagine...
Apple shops are destinations in themselves, whereas a Microsoft shop is somewhere you pop to kill 10 minutes whilst your girlfriend buys new shoes. Hence Xbox games are about the limit.
Also a Microsoft shop is finally somewhere to complain to a human being (allegedly) about all things they get wrong. Not somewhere to pose and stroke gadgets.
HAL...
Open the bog door please HAL?
I knew it!
I was sure I hadn't ordered that Bangalore Boogie Nights DVD! Damn it!
Clearly...
It will be an astonishing success like most of Microsoft's recent ventures!
Hmmm...
People often ask, is it Microsoft compatible. Maybe we should be asking if Microsoft is compatible with a real world that is cross-platform. Do they really make any effort to be compatible? Seems to me they MS up standards, not to improve them, simply as a barrier to compatibility. This latest debacle will problem end up in court as with so many others, the problem is court proceedings often take years and as Microsoft know well judgements come to late. If there were a legal equivalent of a red card Microsoft would have had it enough time to be looking at a lifetime ban from any kind of sport. Some will say, yes they play to win.... but they don't even play by the same set of rules as the rest! Still, their empire is crumbling.
Inserts coin...
Elf, Elf, Hobbit, Dwarf.... damn!
Hobbit, Hobbit, Hobbit, Orc.... Aaaaaa!
Surely...
If you are going to negotiate a price for licensing intellectual property it would make sense to do that before adopting it and shipping it in your products, otherwise surely you are over a barrel. Personally I hope Google get enough money to give Steve Ballmer a nose bleed!
Well...
Let's face it they are full of shit so ideally placed to do this.
Eeew...
Martian farts!
Pathetic!
How pathetic! And isn't it funny how people compare an out-dated version of the product they want to dump to the new version of the product they want? Almost as if they've already made their minds up. A public body like this should have to demonstrate/justify a change which is going to cost tax-payers money. This is not the way forward for public organizations, which I believe have a duty to use more cost effective products wherever possible. Particularly in this age of austerity!
A Really Worthwhile Project
Congratulations to all involved!
Re: actually quite a good os underneath... - until you try the competition
@dogged
"The trouble is, there's a large contingent here that doesn't know anything, thinks that "MS == bad" - because you get upvotes for that! - and is clearly in danger of being led into further ignorance by your kneejerk blind hate. And that's not good."
There are a lot of people on here that know an awful lot about technology and the IT industry. You are the one behaving like a fanboy. Whilst a good product is a good product whoever makes it, equally when its crap it's crap. There is nothing in the way of flack that anyone can throw at Microsoft that given their track record any reasonable person can argue they aren't due. Personally I would like to see Microsoft turned around, the become a great company, rather than one that constantly takes a dump from a great height on everyone, including their channel partners and resellers, not to mention the engineers like myself who have to make all this crap work.
I've no idea how old you are, but since you seem to think it relevant to speculate about other contributors ages I can tell you that you come across as someone who has either a very short memory or who hasn't been around this industry for long.
Unbelievable, and yet....
Believable. What kind of company tests a product, the tests clearly show it's a pile of crap, and yet they still put it out. Not only a company that does not care about its customers, but a company that will have no future if it keeps this up. Time for a change of management and culture, time to actually start giving a shit!
"Signs are that Redmond has produced a turkey this Xmas"
"Early signs are showing that hopes for the overnight success of Microsoft's Windows 8 are unrealistic, although the tech giant appears to have bet the farm on the brand new operating system with the shiny new interface."
Never mind a Turkey this Xmas, I want Steve Ballmer stuffed and basted! Such an arrogant, ignorant and thoroughly dislikable man, I will laugh when he is sacked. Then Microsoft can try and turn itself into a company that actually gives a shit about users.
Aaah feels good!
Re: No interest..
@t20racerman
Really interesting post. In hindsight this was bound to happen. The people attracted to Windows tablets are attracted by the idea of a familiar interface, which Windows 8 isn't!
Re: Reboot culture
Reboot culture lays at Microsoft's door. It's so pervasive now that I regularly come across the attitude that non windows servers need to be regularly rebooted, like linux boxes. That simply isn't the case!
I must also point out that there are some very dodgy statistics being quoted by some above. 90% of computers do not run Windows. Admittedly Linux hasn't really taken off as a desktop OS but server side it has a massive share of the market and that is continuing to grow. When you introduce IOS and Android you can clearly see why Windows 8 is so make or break for Microsoft, their market share continues to be eroded.
I don't want to see the end of Microsoft, but learning a little humility would do them a lot of good.
Windows on a Phone...
And that phone crashes a lot.... gosh, what a surprise! Still at least you will be able to standardize the same crap OS across all your devices. A Microsoft Phone... whatever were you thinking!
Oh I remember....
Great game. One thing I always remember was the chest in the Hobbit hole. You could open the lid to the chest, climb in, close the lid, but thereafter all you could see was darkness.... you couldn't get out! LOL
Here are some suggestions that would surely get Ballmer mad...
1.) Release a linux version of Office
2.) Make Office Open Source
3.) If it must be closed source, at least reduce the price certainly to under £100 ideally less than £50
That would be yet more anti-competitive behaviour...
That would be yet more anti-competitive behavior which would end up with Microsoft in court again. When you bundle a product with the operating system that gives you an unfair competitive advantage over competitors products. Anyway the world really doesn't need Microsoft Office, Libre or Open Office is ideal and Free!
OMG!
I see stupid people!
The mention of...
Used schoolgirls knickers was a bit random wasn't it? Write something decent for a change you bunch of lazy half arsed pathetic excuses for journalists!
Blind Optimism....
Blind optimism in the face of reality. One word pssst..... "Myspace" LOL!
Let's here it for Engineers
Give me an Engineer who knows what he is doing over some muppet in a suit anyday!
I went in yesterday...
Fully intending to allow myself to be lured into spending some serious cash. I came out 10 minutes later having spent nothing! Most items were only reduced by 15% some by 20%. When you are considering buying something from a company that will most likely not be around if you have any problems those discounts don't even come close enough. What a joke! Half a dozen Comet staff standing around with nothing to do, most if not all the kit they had on sale could be bought cheaper online. What a waste of time!
This is great!
Now all I need is a video on loop of Steve Ballmer getting punched in the balls!
SIMS?
SIMS Prime Minister, so realistic he hasn't yet realized its a game!
Personally....
I hope it sinks like a stone. Microsoft need to face humility before they can change into a more positive company and a key part of that is getting rid of Steve Ballmer.
The Microsoft Curriculum
RM have been fleecing schools for decades, all this will do is give them a chance to get their foot in the door at yet more schools. Last thing schools need is more Microsoft lock-in. And don't fool yourself this is about generosity, it's about reinforcing a curriculum based on Microsoft products. We should be protecting schools and students from this kind of manipulation by big business not encouraging it!
In my experience...
I once found a USB stick lying on the floor that contained a schools entire database system, student and staff records, the lot. Schools do not have a culture used to handling sensitive data in a digital age. I also seriously worry about the motives behind some of these ideas. The absolute icing on the cake is Michael Gove himself, an arrogant man who listens to no one, accepts no criticism and has such an air of self importance its frankly unbelievable.
Probably be easier and cheaper....
If Apple just bought iFone!
