Quote;
"Is Microsoft the company of the righteous? "
or rather the naive.
----------------------------------------------------
www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070810165237718

Titled; "Court Rules: Novell owns the UNIX and UnixWare copyrights! Novell has right to waive!"

But the money behind SCO's case against IBM, Novell, and others (indirectly Linux) came from where?

news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39283921,00.htm

Just more of M$ righteous business ethics. Perhaps its why some people call them the evil empire.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39148078,00.htm

Some more good readings. No, yes, no, yes, decline to comment.

"Irony: Microsoft is all talk about choice. In the one Dulles concourse, Zune is the only choice"

But you don't like the fact that you get many Windows Vista choices?

And you like the idea that Mac OS X can only be installed on an iMac and not any other Intel based motherboard? Or allow other OEMs to make iMAc and the only choice is Apple?

What if that was iPod and iTunes only?

Are these double standards?

But I guess if you really want choices then you need to build a Linux OS. That can be customized and you have many choices from the ground up (the kernel). Get out your CNU C++.

I know we have those typo/spelling people out there. Like I don't know how to spell Nyw York.

In that last post that was GNU C++.

This is typical of how Microsoft 'competes': Sweep the competition away.

This is typical of how Microsoft offer choice to the customer: Choose Microsoft products.

If Microsoft are to sell its 'me, too' MP3 player, it must ensure the 'Redmond choice' is available freely, unhindered by other, similar products.

Is the iTunes for iPod available freely and unhindered by other similar products, can I install MusicMatch, FYE, Napster, or Urge?
I think if one wants an open MP3 player they should not choose MS or Apple.
What I don't understand is the competition with in the competition.
For MS it is like Gerneral Mills cereal they will tell you to buy cheerios (PlaysForSure) telling you that it is good for your heath and is important cereal with low sodium and sugar. Yet the same company sells me other cereal like Trix (Zune) which is full of sugar and sodium. Is General Mills interested in my choices, yes? And they play both sides of the coin. Hey we are for good food and want you to buy it, but if you choose to you can get the other cereal if you want. So, is it General Mills or those who can't make a decision without the help of General Mills? Do you not know what is good for ya.
Is Zune for the consumers or a shift in business model where MS is following Apple's all inclusive one stop shop for media? See if MS did that to start with and did the all inclusive one stop shop before apple we would hear the Monopoly drum a beating. If PlaysForSure was the answer to the iPod onslaught and to provide an environmenet of having choices then why create Zune? Was it because the industry built an area of choices and the people choose not to have multiple choices and instead went back to the only perceived choice and that is the iPod. Is the PlaysForSure thing dead and now we are only left with two choices the Zune or iPod? Whith like General Mills many cereals to choose from like many different iPods and Zunes. Why do I need Cheerios, Chex, and Wheaties, when I can have Trix, Lucky Charms, or Cocoa Puffs? I'll have both please.
http://www.playsforsure.com/
http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/brands/brand.aspx?catID=50&groupID=19412

Is the iTunes for iPod available freely and unhindered by other similar products, can I install MusicMatch, FYE, Napster, or Urge?
I think if one wants an open MP3 player they should not choose MS or Apple.
What I don't understand is the competition with in the competition.
For MS it is like Gerneral Mills cereal they will tell you to buy cheerios (PlaysForSure) telling you that it is good for your heath and is important cereal with low sodium and sugar. Yet the same company sells me other cereal like Trix (Zune) which is full of sugar and sodium. Is General Mills interested in my choices, yes? And they play both sides of the coin. Hey we are for good food and want you to buy it, but if you choose to you can get the other cereal if you want. So, is it General Mills or those who can't make a decision without the help of General Mills? Do you not know what is good for ya.
Is Zune for the consumers or a shift in business model where MS is following Apple's all inclusive one stop shop for media? See if MS did that to start with and did the all inclusive one stop shop before apple we would hear the Monopoly drum a beating. If PlaysForSure was the answer to the iPod onslaught and to provide an environmenet of having choices then why create Zune? Was it because the industry built an area of choices and the people choose not to have multiple choices and instead went back to the only perceived choice and that is the iPod. Is the PlaysForSure thing dead and now we are only left with two choices the Zune or iPod? Whith like General Mills many cereals to choose from like many different iPods and Zunes. Why do I need Cheerios, Chex, and Wheaties, when I can have Trix, Lucky Charms, or Cocoa Puffs? I'll have both please.
http://playsforsure.com
http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/brands/brand.aspx?catID=50&groupID=19412

Is the iTunes for iPod available freely and unhindered by other similar products, can I install MusicMatch, FYE, Napster, or Urge?
I think if one wants an open MP3 player they should not choose MS or Apple.
What I don't understand is the competition with in the competition.
For MS it is like Gerneral Mills cereal they will tell you to buy cheerios (PlaysForSure) telling you that it is good for your heath and is important cereal with low sodium and sugar. Yet the same company sells me other cereal like Trix (Zune) which is full of sugar and sodium. Is General Mills interested in my choices, yes? And they play both sides of the coin. Hey we are for good food and want you to buy it, but if you choose to you can get the other cereal if you want. So, is it General Mills or those who can't make a decision without the help of General Mills? Do you not know what is good for ya.
Is Zune for the consumers or a shift in business model where MS is following Apple's all inclusive one stop shop for media? See if MS did that to start with and did the all inclusive one stop shop before apple we would hear the Monopoly drum a beating. If PlaysForSure was the answer to the iPod onslaught and to provide an environmenet of having choices then why create Zune? Was it because the industry built an area of choices and the people choose not to have multiple choices and instead went back to the only perceived choice and that is the iPod. Is the PlaysForSure thing dead and now we are only left with two choices the Zune or iPod? Whith like General Mills many cereals to choose from like many different iPods and Zunes. Why do I need Cheerios, Chex, and Wheaties, when I can have Trix, Lucky Charms, or Cocoa Puffs? I'll have both please.
links to - PlaysForSure dot com - remove due to validation. If put links in the post then it will not show up.
links to - generalmills dot com - remove due to validation. If put links in the post then it will not show up.

I have a question !!
Why does Linux have TWO mascots ??
One is the "Satanic Goat", the other the "cute" little penguin !
Everytime I see something to do with Linux on neowin they show the "penguin".
But the GNULinux has the "Satanic Goat", GNU Linux is pushed at Linux, so why two ???
And if it is the "Satanic Goat" then I as a good christian would never go down that path, and I don't think a lot of other people would either (mind you I like windows better anyway).

"Airport concourse availability—and exclusively, at that—is quite good."

Yup, for the two people who are interested in buying a Zune at the airport. Microsoft should discontinue the Zune and shut down the entire unit. I'm not sure even a Halo is going to rescue it. I've had two consoles tank on me and am in no mood to buy hardware from MS.

Neil,
I have an answer. There are two mascots for two separate, though symbiotic, bodies of software.

Linux, which is a kernel and not an operating system, has one mascot: The cute little pengiun.
The GNU software that is used to build the kernel (GCC and G++, in particular) and the GNU software that is used to build the utilities that are often packaged with a Linux kernel (and also with BSD Unix and Mac OS/X) has its own mascot: The smiling head of a gnu. GNU as a recursive acronym and also the name of the animal have everything to do with creative whimsy and nothing to do with satan.

The GNU software repository (www.gnu.org) also comes with its own kernel (hurd, another whimsical pun). But it never gained traction, with the BSD kernel much more popular, and now the Linux kernel even more popular.
The gnu is not a satanic goat, though goats, cats, owls, and other magnificent creatures have been associated with evil, black magic, witchcraft, and satan by people who were ignorant and fearful. Without an understanding of disease, bacteria, and basic sanitation, it was easy to demonize innocent creatures and transfer the blame to them. Even today, a small owl with long-distance prowess that migrates across the equatorial regions is slaughtered by ignorant people who view owls as harbingers of evil instead of the magnificent and noble creatures that they truly are.
By the way, a quick Google search turned up a number of explanations, and one is from Wikipedia.
See the Goats in folklore and mythology section of the article Capra (genus). In particular,

The goat has had a lingering connection with Satanism and pagan religions, even into modern times. The pentagram, a symbol used by both Satanism and Wicca, is said to be shaped like a goat's head. The "Baphomet of Mendes" refers to a satanic goat-like figure from 19th century occultism.

You may rest assured that your religious beliefs are not threatened, attacked, or otherwise tainted by the FSF's smiling gnu.

By the way, the gnu is also known as the wildebeest. It is an antelope and not a goat.
From http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wildebeest.html

The ungainly gnu earned the Afrikaans name wildebeest, or "wild beast," for the menacing appearance presented by its large head, shaggy mane, pointed beard, and sharp, curved horns.

See the URL for more details.
By the way: Thanks, Neil! I enjoyed this bit of research and learned a little more about the natural world... a nice break from software and business.

Brian
While you are it ...explaining things that is ... if Linux is only the "Kernel" ...why is it only referred to in ALL articles as just Linux.
Not just in "Microsoft Watch" either, go have a look at neowin.net
Not only that ... the GNU part is never mentioned apart from a very small minority and even then they mostly (the same people) just refer to it as Linux !!
I think that they have so many flavours of it that even they just call it Linux.
Now here's another question ... Why is there so many different types of Linux, why isn't there just the ONE.
Linux (and other) users keep on going on about microsoft having different types in "Windows".
So what is their excuse ??

Neil, you're pretty sharp and so you must know that "they" is not a single-goal group of folks with a rigid top-down hierarchy. Even large companies can't focus like this, and this is especially true for the so-called open source community at large. And you must know that with any large group of people, when considered as a single group you always find that opinions and mis-information vary wildly from one extreme to another. Some organizations (dictatorships, for example) force dissent from view, but you and I both know it still exists.
With that in mind, I take the majority of what any group says with the proverbial grain of salt.
Go to http://www.gnu.org/ and you will find a relatively calm and sane description:

The GNU Project was launched in 1984 to develop a complete Unix-like operating system which is free software: the GNU system. Variants of the GNU operating system, which use the kernel called Linux, are now widely used; though these systems are often referred to as "Linux", they are more accurately called GNU/Linux systems.

Follow the link http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html and you will see that Richard Stallman himself agrees wholeheartedly with your lament: "Many users are not fully aware of the distinction between the kernel, which is Linux, and the whole system, which they also call "Linux". The ambiguous use of the name doesn't promote understanding."
Alas, Microsoft Watch, the link you mention, and even I myself often fall into the trap of calling the entire operating system "Linux". But that collective ignorance (or slight sloppiness, I prefer!) doesn't change the truth.
From what I understand, there is basically one Linux kernel whose development Linus drives. There are offshoot kernels, some with varying degrees of alteration for avionics, realtime control, embedded devices, and other special applications. You will also see the same wide choices today in proprietary Unix. This choice was almost the undoing of Unix, and certainly ensured it would never reach widespread use on the desktop.
The Embedded Systems Design magazine shows an equally wide variety of realtime operating systems. You won't see them mentioned much anywhere else, as they are generally out of sight, buried deep within products.
So why are there so many flavors of Linux distributions? Well, I guess it's because the cost of entry to the "party" is very low (a cheap machine and reasonable internet bandwidth and a CD or DVD reader/writer, and not much else). And there are a wide variety of environments. For example, my product is targeted for a 64-bit Unix (AIX and HP) platform. And so for my desktop, I find that the 64-bit build of Fedora Core 5 meets my needs the best. It offers nearly identical source code and build environment compatibility and a workable email, documentation, and IM corporate application set. Of course, there is no 64-bit Flash player, and I'm not about to use the 32-bit Firefox just to use the 32-bit Flash plug-in. But for me, 64-bit development is the #1 priority. It isn't for a lot of folks, and there are different distributions to target them. Just as there are different versions of Windows to target different needs.
Beyond that, I never would have predicted the current growth of Linux. And I'm glad, because Linux spurs Microsoft to make Windows better, which in turn spurs various open source teams to make Linux, GNU, OpenOffice, and other tools better. And for me, Linux offers me a much more cost effective alternative when delivering Unix-based products, so for me it's a matter of replacing Unix and not replacing Windows (I just boot my Windows laptop when I need to, but otherwise have kept it). The competition is wonderful!
So, Neil, relax and watch the drama. Don't let it bother you to hear folks go on about how Windows yada yada yada and Linux yada yada yada. Among the noise are some gems, and yes, you have to sift through a lot of silt to get them. And when tempted to correct the mass majority of ignorance, don't forget some great quotes (well, I hope I remembered them accurately enough):

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It can't be done and only annoys the pig.
No businessman ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. (PT Barnum, I am guessing)
Only two things are infinite: The Universe and human stupidity. And I'm not so sure about the Universe. (Einstein, I recall)

And thanks for keeping us more honest and balanced, Neil.

So why are "Linux" devotees hitting Windows so hard for having:
Home, Home Premium, Business or Ultimate ??
Surely (from what you have just said) there is a whole heap of different Linux "out there".
And would you agree or disagree that Linux is not for use by beginners.
My daughter has used ubuntu as part of her studies and has said to me as such. (Advanced Diploma of IT).
And in general surely Linux (whatever flavour it is) is an OS as is Windows, is does no good for Linux devotees to denegrate users of Windows (or Apple either). As there is always going to be a "backlash".
My thoughts on the matter are "if you like a particular OS that works for you ...fine, but don't insist to me that I MUST use it as well, because I am happy with mine!"

Tis nice to see the paster has a sense of humour.

Is this whats always happens to MS partners?

http://slashdot.org/articles/07/08/13/208231.shtml

Article is titled; " Investors Bailing On SCO Stock, SCOX Plummets"

SCOG are getting what they deserved. It will be interesting to see what happens in the other cases.

BTW it's a good time to buy SCO stock don't you think?

Neil,
You are right. Even if microsoft comes out with 30 more different versions of Vista, it would still be easier to choose a Vista Version from a Linux Distribution...

Forbes wonders if increased Linux Use is likely With SCO's Defeat Predicted;

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2007/08/13/novell-sco-update-markets-equity-cx_af_0813markets29.html

Quote from the article;
"The SCO Group frightened potential business users away from Linux with lawsuits demanding billions in royalties. But the litigious company's claims were shot down in a ruling that will likely boost uptake of the operating system."
---------------------------------------------------

Quote from evan;
"Even if microsoft comes out with 30 more different versions of Vista, it would still be easier to choose a Vista Version from a Linux Distribution"

Its only easier if you already use windows. Also, with windows, you would have to buy all 30 versions to try them out. How much would that cost compared to trying out 30 free versions of Linux? Many of the free versions of Linux also run from live cd's. Which makes them a lot easier to try out on your hardware, rather than just installing Vista, and then find out that it dosen't like your hardware later.

"Also, with windows, you would have to buy all 30 versions to try them out."

Not really. With Windows Vista, every DVD contains all versions of the OS, so you can actually try all of them.

Microsoft provides a tool to check your hardware and see which version is right for you.

Quote;
reflections :
"Not really. With Windows Vista, every DVD contains all versions of the OS, so you can actually try all of them."
---------------------------------------------------
Yea, you just got to buy the "DVD" first, that not going be cheap either. Unless M$ has a link to download a "free trial" DVD of Vista. Sure you could provide the readers here with that link?

I thought not on the M$ link. Also the "tool" Microsoft provides to check your hardware and see which version of Vista is right for you, has been widely complained about from users all over the web, just google for that.

But here is a good link with lots of free Linux downloads that are not crippleware or trial versions at all;

http://distrowatch.com/

I recommend PCLinuxOS, Mepis, Mint for beginners to try. And of course, they are free and free of virus problems.

Nope, no link. You said you had to buy all DVDs. I corrected you and said you had to buy only one.

Regarding the Upgrade Advisor, I'm sure you can find a lot of horror stories about it on the net, just like you can find horror stories about anything related to MS on the net. It doesn't mean they're all true. One person reports it, everyone else quotes him and soon the net is filled with these stories. A good example is this:
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1762

Quote;
reflections :
Nope, no link. You said you had to buy all DVDs. I corrected you and said you had to buy only one.
------------------------------------------------------
Yes, that is correct, you only have to buy One Expensive DVD.

But the thread started out by evan was "Even if microsoft comes out with 30 more different versions of Vista, it would still be easier to choose a Vista Version from a Linux Distribution..." So 30 version would have to be more than one DVD, if.

But thanks for getting back to us reflections, and letting us know that there is not a link for a free trial or crippleware Vista.
----------------------------------------------------
More on the Distrowatch.com site, to use it click on the right hand side links, that is where the distros and their popularity are listed. Those will bring you eventually to the iso download links.

The three distros I suggested are all live cd's, and you can try them by just booting to the cd, without messing up your current OS install on your hard drive. They will of course, run a lot slower from a cd compared to how fast they run from a hard drive, but this is a great way to see if your hardware is all supported, if the OS runs ok, and if you want to install it to the hard drive later. distrowatch.com

I don't think there's even a software known as "Crippleware Vista", let alone a free trial. Regarding Linux, I actually use Ubuntu and like it a lot. As I've mentioned before, it's not the software that I dislike.