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The Ideas Behind Longhorn
MicrosoftPosted by michael on Tuesday June 25, @08:45AM
from the cult-of-bill dept.
An anonymous reader writes: "Fortune magazine is carrying an interesting article on the new and improved Bill Gates, as well as some details on Longhorn: 'Because Gates' geeks are completely overhauling the operating system, they'll also have to redesign most of the company's other software products and services to take full advantage, including the MSN online service, its server applications, and especially Microsoft Office, the productivity suite that accounts for nearly a third of the company's sales and profits. If this enormous undertaking succeeds, it will make computers more personal than ever. Equipped with Longhorn, your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours--making all those things easier.'"

 

 
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The Ideas Behind Longhorn | Log in/Create an Account | Top | 739 comments | Search Discussion
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amazing (Score:1, Funny)
by tps12 on Tuesday June 25, @08:48AM (#3761735)
(User #105590 Info | http://www.columbia.edu/~tps12/ | Last Journal: Thursday June 20, @02:45PM)
Wow, I can't believe how far we've come. Are there any plans to put these kind of features into Linux? I would love bash to know that I usually start the day with "pine; cd pron; ee *" and anticipate it for me.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
  • Re:amazing by oliverthered (Score:2) Tuesday June 25, @08:56AM
      Re:amazing (Score:4, Funny)
      by tim_uk on Tuesday June 25, @09:07AM (#3761841)
      (User #123339 Info)
      I've been looking at tieing up nural nets/ heristics and systems components for 4 to 5 years on-and-off.

      And in all that time you never learned to spell properly?

      [ Reply to This | Parent ]
    • Re:amazing by carlos_benj (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @09:35AM
    • Re:amazing by colmore (Score:2) Tuesday June 25, @10:03AM
      • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
    • Re:amazing by sg_oneill (Score:2) Wednesday June 26, @02:59AM
    • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
  • Re:amazing by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @11:32AM
  • Re:amazing by sixdotoh (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @01:20PM
  • 2 replies beneath your current threshold.
What it really means (Score:3, Insightful)
by pigeon on Tuesday June 25, @08:49AM (#3761739)
(User #909 Info | http://www.nakedcellist.org/)
Is that it won't play nice with samba anymore, office won't be compatible with openoffice anymore, linux and *bsd won't be able to read the filesystem anymore, wine will not be able to run MS applications anymore, and you are not compatible with privacy anymore.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Here's another... (Score:4, Informative)
by kylus on Tuesday June 25, @08:49AM (#3761741)
(User #149953 Info)
...discussion about this on the Register [theregister.co.uk].

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Oh the Irony... (Score:3, Insightful)
by night_flyer on Tuesday June 25, @08:49AM (#3761745)
(User #453866 Info | http://www.gargoyleslanding.com/)
Equipped with Longhorn, your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours--making all those things easier.

Weren't we just talking about that
 [slashdot.org] ?
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Security vs Privacy (Score:2, Interesting)
by restauff (ricke314 AT hotmail DOT com) on Tuesday June 25, @08:50AM (#3761749)
(User #168301 Info | http://www.geocities.com/restauffer/)
As I am sure many people will post, do we really want the computer tracking everything we do and everyone we talk to? I am happy that Microsoft is aiming towards better security, but is this new method just leading towards more exploits? Also, one might wonder about compatibility issues if they are talking about redesigning all of their software in order to be more secure.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Easier? (Score:2, Insightful)
by saintlupus on Tuesday June 25, @08:50AM (#3761750)
(User #227599 Info | http://www.roadflares.org/)
your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours--making all those things easier

...to sell to spammers and identity thieves. Thanks, Microsoft!

--saint
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
This has to be an all-time record.... (Score:1, Insightful)
by weave (slashdot@weaverling.org) on Tuesday June 25, @08:53AM (#3761764)
(User #48069 Info | http://www.weaverling.org/ | Last Journal: Saturday November 10, @07:03AM)
This has to be an all-time record...

Pre-announcing a product and starting the hype five years before it's expected to be released...

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Privacy (Score:1)
by antiduh on Tuesday June 25, @08:53AM (#3761766)
(User #548973 Info | http://slashdot.org/)
Doesnt this just sound like an easy way for microsoft to collect information on your personal behaviours?

Sounds like an extreme invasion of privacy, and an easy way for microsoft to determine who would fit which ad the best!

Thank god for *BSD.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
  • Re:Privacy by mansoft (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @09:01AM
    • Re:Privacy (Score:5, Funny)
    by JUSTONEMORELATTE on Tuesday June 25, @09:13AM (#3761881)
    (User #584508 Info)
    You say that like it's a bad thing! Really, if my computer could figure out that X10 popunders don't work on me, that I neither need larger breasts or a longer penis, and that I don't need to MAKE MONEY FAST, that might be worth something!
    [ Reply to This | Parent ]
    • Re:Privacy by lightcycler (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @10:24AM
      • Re:Privacy by Cybrr (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @11:32AM
        • Re:Privacy by lightcycler (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @05:05PM
        • Re:Privacy by Cybrr (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @02:23PM
        • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
    • Re:Privacy by AA0 (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @07:02PM
    • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
Ack! (Score:2, Interesting)
by scottganyo on Tuesday June 25, @08:57AM (#3761782)
(User #65515 Info)
your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours

This is a unifying technology! It will be fully endorsed by the SPA, RIAA, MPAA, FBI, ...
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
  • Re:Ack! by darketernal (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @06:18PM
omniscient MS (Score:1)
by whovian on Tuesday June 25, @08:57AM (#3761783)
(User #107062 Info | http://slashdot.org/)
What makes MS think it can do better than target-ad companies? Since online advertisers can't even get my preferences right, I can't really expect MS to do much better.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Mmmm An All Inclusive OS (Score:2, Funny)
by idfrsr on Tuesday June 25, @08:57AM (#3761784)
(User #560314 Info)

I would suspect that the Open-Source troops can beat 2005 for something similiar...

I am also curious that the article didn't seem bothered that MS broke the law to get to its current dominance.... and of course I couldn't really resist this:

"In 27 years he [B.G] claims he has never called in sick or missed work. Not even once."

Certainly now its proven by science: THERE IS NO REST FOR THE WICKED!

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Longhorn is no big thing... (Score:1)
by BEI01 on Tuesday June 25, @08:58AM (#3761788)
(User #567185 Info)
It still doesn't make french fries three different ways.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Innovation Failing Fast (Score:1)
by Charm on Tuesday June 25, @08:58AM (#3761790)
(User #313273 Info)
I read this in the article and I wonder what he really means by innovation failing fast?

"Bill isn't afraid of taking long-term chances. He also understands that you have to try everything, because the real secret to innovation is failing fast."

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
This is the real story (Score:2, Interesting)
by joel8x on Tuesday June 25, @08:59AM (#3761792)
(User #324102 Info | http://www.mp3.com/latexgeneration)
This "personal" stuff is just fluff for the real initiative - DRM chips in the HW. Read this article and see for yourselves Infoworld.com [infoworld.com].
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
The Hook (Score:2, Interesting)
by ackthpt (WildBillCatt@DeathTöngue.com) on Tuesday June 25, @08:59AM (#3761796)
(User #218170 Info | http://www.dragonswest.com/ | Last Journal: Thursday May 02, @12:22PM)
Equipped with Longhorn, your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours--

Yeah, often not for the better, either, but that's always implied, just like this little beauty was only driven by a little old lady on Sundays.¹ But indirectly, due to my lost patience with the company, I will spend more time with Linux and Open Source, and for the great strides their ridiculous attitudes and poor quality have encouraged in the aforementioned, I do thank them.

The Hook -->> making all those things easier.' (It'll make it easier if it would just not crash and diagnostics agreed with what the system is actually doing, or not doing)

¹At 135 mph around Sears Point Raceway (soon to be renamed (ugh) Infineon raceway.

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
  • Re:The Hook by bofkentucky (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @09:16AM
  • Re:The Hook by Bastard Operator Fro (Score:1) Tuesday June 25, @10:31AM
What is really going on. (Score:2, Interesting)
by Vengie on Tuesday June 25, @09:00AM (#3761803)
(User #533896 Info)
If Longhorn really does turn out to be a Super Windows--a big if--it will handle so many functions of computing that Oracle, Sun, AOL Time Warner, and Sony may find themselves with less to do.
Translation: By using our position as the OS supplier, we will integrate your functionality into our structure and therefore make our software more valuable and drive you out of existence.
While there has been accusation of Apple usurping middle and third party ware.......Microsoft most certainly takes the cake.
Wasn't less supposed to be MORE in an OS?
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
sounds like another Pinky and Brain episode (Score:1)
by PhiberOptix on Tuesday June 25, @09:01AM (#3761808)
(User #182584 Info)
oh no! we failed again...

Hey brain, what do you want to do tomorrow?

Same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world!
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Yay. (Score:1, Funny)
by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 25, @09:01AM (#3761811)
Equipped with Longhorn, your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours...

Your Visa Card Number, your politically incorrect jokes, your passwords, the contents of your bank account, your pr0n tastes and preferences...

Big Brother is Big Brother.

Zoober
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Store it where? (Score:1)
by Josh Booth on Tuesday June 25, @09:01AM (#3761812)
(User #588074 Info)
Are they going to store this info on Microsoft servers? I wonder if Microsoft is going to require that you be always connected to a Microsoft server, using content approved by them and any friends they have in Hollywood.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Clarity is everything (Score:5, Interesting)
by waldeaux (donahue@ s k e psis.com) on Tuesday June 25, @09:02AM (#3761814)
(User #109942 Info)

... making all those things easier.


Uh, if "those things" refer to getting the work done, I already have that down pat - once you're over the learning curve, it's done. Vi is vi is vi (unless it's vivivi - the editor of the beast!).


However, it sounds as if "those things" actually refers to something else, namely the ability for some other entity to complete erode my privacy, have unprecidented access to my system (it is mine, like it or not), and leaving me open to unheard of security issues.


Thank you, but I prefer that *I* keep track of how I work, who I talk to, what I look at, how I make *my* documents, and with whom *I* share them. It's not up to the system to decide which data belongs to me since to do so it must analyze my things. To insinuate oneself either personally, or impersonally through the operating system would be simply rude.


You wouldn't tolerate your officemate or the person in the next apartment or even Richard Stallman rifleing through your desk/sock/nightstand drawers. Why should you tolerate it from Microsoft (or Apple, or Sun, or RedHat)?

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Just How Long is Longhorn? (Score:1)
by Glanz on Tuesday June 25, @09:02AM (#3761816)
(User #306204 Info | http://www.extremetech.com/)
....GeeeeZZZZe...Just what the world needs- a phallic operating system...
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Hrmm (Score:1)
by dewke (dewke at exploiter dot org) on Tuesday June 25, @09:02AM (#3761817)
(User #44893 Info)
WHile I certainly appreciate the obvious utility of this. After all, don't we really want the computer to do all sorts of meaningless mundane crap. The potential for abuse is amazing.

Tailoring the pop up ads you are constantly annoyed with to your browsing tastes? Watching what you listen to. What games do you play etc. The return of "clippy" except in a new ub3r mode? ARGH!

Let alone what will happen when people crack it.

dewke
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
  • Re:Hrmm by arkane1234 (Score:1) Wednesday June 26, @03:42AM
Oh (Score:2)
by mnordstr (matta@@@ftlight...net) on Tuesday June 25, @09:02AM (#3761818)
(User #472213 Info | http://www.ftlight.net/ | Last Journal: Thursday April 18, @01:57AM)
"Equipped with Longhorn, your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours--making all those things easier."

And that's supposed to be a good thing?!
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
  • Re:Oh by grytpype (Score:2) Tuesday June 25, @09:12AM
  • Re:Oh by Darth RadaR (Score:2) Tuesday June 25, @10:02AM
    • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
Trustworthy Computing? (Score:1)
by lennart78 on Tuesday June 25, @09:03AM (#3761821)
(User #515598 Info)
I remember reading a memo from BG a while back, speaking about 'Trustworthy Computing'. Bill told everyone @ microsoft that the focus should not be on great user-friendly features, but on a trustworthy safe and reliable system.

The info about longhorn here once more speaks about features features and still some more features. The more user-friendly an OS is, the less the user (or administrator!) is going to care about securing his/her box. If the install is easy, flashy, and fully automated, the admin will be lured into a false sense of safety.
Flashy features and lots of wizards might turn on this OS like it did on its predecessors.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
The writer... (Score:1)
by suman28 on Tuesday June 25, @09:04AM (#3761823)
(User #558822 Info)
must have been paid well to write such bullshit, or maybe just one of those people "Duh! What is a computer?" kinda person. This article presents Bill as the savior of the world.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
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let him speak for himself (Score:2, Funny)
by mansoft (mansoft@iplatafor ... .org minus author) on Tuesday June 25, @09:05AM (#3761829)
(User #371174 Info | http://www.doblequeso.novacampus.net/ | Last Journal: Sunday June 09, @10:12AM)

his new Bill is ... well, let him speak for himself, as he did in his office one day in June: "I've always liked multitasking (...)

Billy, Billy... you deserve a +1 funny there, but we all know that is not true :)

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
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A fearsome future, but beauracracy will save us (Score:5, Insightful)
by tshoppa on Tuesday June 25, @09:05AM (#3761833)
(User #513863 Info)
The "Longhorn/Palladium" future - where the hardware contains Digital Rights Management [msnbc.com] hardware to stop us from seeing what Microsoft hasn't allowed us to see - is indeed a totalitarian one.

But with at least 5 years until Longhorn's release, I think we can count on the world changing so radically in the meantime that Longhorn and Palladium become completely irrelevant. Look at Microsoft Bob, their last "big-bang" approach to engineering a network computer architecture, and how the WWW made it completely irrelevant.

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Redesigning everything can be good.... (Score:2)
by HowlinMad (erik.mathisen@us) on Tuesday June 25, @09:07AM (#3761842)
(User #220943 Info | http://erik.mathisen.us/ | Last Journal: Saturday June 15, @12:11PM)
that is if it is done right. This could get rid of a lot of the bloat that comes from making a product and slapping an addon here, and then there.....
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Microsoft + Security = FALSE (Score:2)
by Jugalator (jonas...nordlund@@@hotpop...com) on Tuesday June 25, @09:07AM (#3761846)
(User #259273 Info | http://jugalator.cjb.net/)
your PC will keep track of how you work

"An issue has been found where a malicious hacker can execute VBScript code through our new IE7 parser with the special command:

Dim MyArray As String(100000)

This will cause the array to grow into our Longhorn WorkTrack System, where the hacker might access its address space and see what the user does."

Feel free to make up consequences of security holes in these systems:

- ...whom you talk to
- ...what sites you look at
- ...how you make documents and whom you share them with
- ...which data on the network are yours

It doesn't take much imagination, so anyone should be able to do it.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Right ... (Score:2)
by mfos.org on Tuesday June 25, @09:08AM (#3761856)
(User #471768 Info)
Forgive me for being cynical, but considering Microsoft's previous histroy when reusing their past code, I'll believe it when I see it.

To quote Cormac McCarthy's Cities of the Plain "Hay parches sobre los parches" (There are patches on top of patches)
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
aaaiiiieeeee! (Score:1)
by JUSTONEMORELATTE on Tuesday June 25, @09:09AM (#3761861)
(User #584508 Info)
Run screaming from the computer!


Or just don't take the fskcing "upgrade" path anymore
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
does this matter ? (Score:1)
by tstock (slashdot@tiago.com) on Tuesday June 25, @09:10AM (#3761862)
(User #213857 Info | http://www.x-rates.com/)

How is marketing-speak about a OS that is to be launched 4 year from now by a company that is famous for its vaporware, empty promises and slipping launch dates for buggy software "News that matters"?

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Microsoft re-branding "Windows" (Score:5, Funny)
by D0wnsp0ut on Tuesday June 25, @09:12AM (#3761877)
(User #321316 Info)

Starting with the "Longhorn" release, Microsoft will unveil a new naming scheme to enhance the "Windows" brand name. No longer will versions numbers or years be tacked onto the Windows name, instead, Microsoft is shifting towards a more descriptive naming convention.

When Longhorn finally hits the shelves, it will come in 3 flavors, a 'personal' edition for home users, a 'corporate' edition for businesses and a government release.

  • "Orwell Personal" for home use

  • "Big Brother" for corporate use

  • "The Ministry of Truth" for government use

Pricing has not been set but early speculation would indicate that licensing fees will be rolled into federal taxes to ensure everyone is paying for their license and not using a pirated copy.

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
More of the same.. (Score:1)
by JPriest on Tuesday June 25, @09:13AM (#3761879)
(User #547211 Info | http://pocomail.com/)

Equipped with Longhorn, your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours--making all those things easier

I don't "making them easier" was the point you were aiming at here.
P.S. Did everyone get to download the OpenSSH patch?

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
What's all this talk about OS's? (Score:1)
by Ass-Gas-Istan on Tuesday June 25, @09:14AM (#3761885)
(User #523702 Info)
I thought the whole idea of Longhorn [longhornsteakhouse.com] was a really good steak.

Fillets With Flair!
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
  • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
This fits with their new sales model (Score:2)
by hickmott on Tuesday June 25, @09:15AM (#3761887)
(User #122356 Info | http://slashdot.org/)
It's going to be five (or more) years until the next major Windows upgrade? Well, that explains why they were pushing so hard to get corporate clients to sign up for subscription pricing for Windows. MS will be getting steady income for the next five years for minor point releases.

--Andy Hickmott
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Can't wait... (Score:2, Interesting)
by daveman_1 on Tuesday June 25, @09:15AM (#3761889)
(User #62809 Info)
As if WinXP hasn't already driven me to the brink of insanity with its endless wizards. As if clippy wasn't already annoying enough, now he is gonna be taking steroids. As if my privacy wasn't already being invaded enough. As if Microsoft really needed more marketing data. As if Microsoft was trying really hard to make Windows resemble AOL's interface. As if developers really wanted to learn all new Microsoft APIs.(that never stabilize...) As if computers and their endless changing interfaces didn't annoy people to the point that they just don't try anymore. As if their software wasn't already proprietary enough. As if the rest of the world hadn't already wasted enough time trying to keep up with their ever-changing closed source APIs and protocols.

As if people were really going to buy into this hook, line, and sinker. As if Longhorn really had a chance to be any more successful at making computers easier to use than any other attempt in history. As if this half-cocked idea will be any more successful than .NET. As if the world around MS, the endless dreamer on heroine, stopped and waited to see what MS would do next. As if I weren't waiting for them to file for chapter eleven protections in the near future...
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
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Kudos to the journalist... (Score:1)
by rocjoe71 on Tuesday June 25, @09:16AM (#3761892)
(User #545053 Info)
...How he managed to hear and see everything he reported on while firmly having his nose wedged up Bill's ass, I'll never know.

Notice on the first page how they put double-quotes around "industry standard" (read: "anti-competitive").

[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Wake up fools! (Score:1)
by fracskul on Tuesday June 25, @09:17AM (#3761898)
(User #588077 Info)
Gates will succeed, and Open Source fools will help him. All that hard work you put in on your projects will be stolen and the best stuff put into Longhorn. "Illegal" you say? In this country, legal is what you can pay for, especially in civil court. Our only hope is to put a Democrat back in the White House and keep him there for 8 years!
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
And So It Comes To Pass (Score:2, Interesting)
by stoothman ([stoothman] [at] [yahoo.com]) on Tuesday June 25, @09:17AM (#3761900)
(User #321719 Info)
I remember the hoopla that surround the book "1984", when the actual year came around. Its nice to know that BillG has not forgotten the book after all these years. And now with this new initiative from Micro$oft and the chipmakers Intel and AMD, we can finally live out the promise of that story.

I know my first wish is to have Big Brother Gates and his M$ and BSA jack booted thugs knowing everything I do on my computer, not to mention any government agency that wishes it. I know I will be one of the first in line to put my rights in the shredder for a safer, cleaner, more wholesome society. It is nice to see the end of privacy finally arrive and we can finally get on to the business of business. Better late than never, as they say.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Everything's a document... (Score:1)
by MasonMcD on Tuesday June 25, @09:19AM (#3761906)
(User #104041 Info | http://slashdot.org/)
A direct quote from Bill:
I'll give you the philosophy: Everything is just a document, whether it be music or video or e-mail or whatever. Each will have a name and a history, and every user will have his or her favorites.
Hmmm. Where have I heard this before? Well, at least we can all hope by the time Longhorn is released, we'll have embedded Linux somewhere around our amygdala.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
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Perspective Check (Score:1)
by blackcoot on Tuesday June 25, @09:20AM (#3761909)
(User #124938 Info)
At first glance, looks like someone at M$ bought themselves a mouthpiece at Forbes. At second glance, there's a far more interesting lesson to be gleaned. Look at his management strategies -- he's obviously doing something right because he is *still* one of (if not the) richest men in the world. MS is still selling lots of software, in spite of antitrust cases and their so called lost profits from bootlegs. And while the quality is on average marginal, MS still has a lot of software the Open Source is *years* away from being able to compete with -- especially in terms of the cash cow applications like Office and SQLServer. I seriously doubt that the next Windows will break everything -- unless MS is planning on slitting their throats, they've got a substantial (although not nearly as substantial as they might have hoped) installed base of legacy users that are going to demand backward compatibility. Even if M$ is able to deliver on this vaporware, Open Source still has three years to beat M$ to the punchline -- especially if we're able to find the sort of leadership that M$ has.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
The following: (Score:1)
by Pyrosz (amurray@@@linkeddevelopment...com) on Tuesday June 25, @09:20AM (#3761910)
(User #469177 Info | http://www.linkeddevelopment.com/)
"Equipped with Longhorn, your PC will keep track of how you work, whom you talk to, what sites you look at, how you make documents and whom you share them with, which data on the network are yours--making all those things easier.'"

Guarantees that I will never purchase or use this operating system on my computer and I will use every bit of my strength to ensure that none of my friends and relatives use it. This is a major invasion of privacy at the home level, first rooting of system and bam!
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
Just one more way (Score:1)
by suman28 on Tuesday June 25, @09:20AM (#3761912)
(User #558822 Info)
I am really surprised that even after the company has been declared a monopoly and in violation of anti-trust laws, they have the nerve to come up with a design that would might probably make previous Windows versions incompatible and still integrate third-party features into the OS. It is almost as if they are Bill feels like he cannot be harmed, or he might may be he just threw more money to shutup the breucratic bastards in D.C. --- Down with the current ruling party. They suck
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
The salary of the beast (Score:1)
by Pathetic Coward on Tuesday June 25, @09:22AM (#3761919)
(User #33033 Info | Last Journal: Monday September 10, @12:41PM)
From the Fortune article:

"Last year Gates made $666,520 in salary and bonus"
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The bright side... (Score:1)
by pkplex on Tuesday June 25, @09:23AM (#3761924)
(User #535744 Info)
Im wondering if there could be a bright side to spyware done by MS.

If their spyware gets to the stage where the data being send back is hogging up bandwidth, then perhaps it will help push bandwidth standards upward.. sort of like how their bloated OS do for puter speed.

An example of spyware bloat is a MS Word document.. if it gets edited back and forth between people, it starts growing really fat because it contains where it has been and who has been viewing and editing it.

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Secutiry (tm) and Privacy (r) .... (Score:1)
by blackcoot on Tuesday June 25, @09:24AM (#3761930)
(User #124938 Info)
... brought to you by the company that gave you Hotmail and Passport. Sign me up! Oh, and I'd like to make a down payment on that nice statue on Ellis Island.
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Wow - where do I sign up. (Score:5, Insightful)
by fizzychicken on Tuesday June 25, @09:25AM (#3761934)
(User #567804 Info | http://www.fizzychicken.co.uk/)
This Longhorn sounds like the answer to all our problems - an OS that works for us and stops all those nasty viruses and hackers from stealing my VISA card numbers - it will also help me play those nice hollywood films and pop music on my PC without risking that evil mp3 stuff.

rewind two years

This XP sounds like the answer to all our problems - a simple OS that helps me watch all that rich web content without all those old bugs in WindowsME. It's got a redesigned interface and makes working with a PC a safe and enjoyable XPerience - indeed I will be able to fly. Where do I sign up ?

rewind two years

This WindowsME sounds like tha answer to all our PC problems. It's got multimedia extensions built in and more user friendly software. Now I can handle all my media on the PC without fear of downloading any nasty software from the interweb. Where to I pay ?

rewind two years

This Windows98 really is the biz - it helps me handle all my PC jobs and lets me enjoy the interweb without any of that nasty netscape software. It can play media files and even games. Wow - where do I sign up ?

rewind two years

Oh yes - now this is cool Windows95 finally lets me enjoy the power of my 486. It's got a revolutionary new interface and even lets me enjoy the interweb. Where do I sign up ?

rewind two years

Holy smoke, this Windows3.1 really is the biz - I can use a mouse and just click the little pictures instead of having to touch the keyboard. Finally, I can use the PC with one hand.

fast forward to 2010

Wow - this new WindowsXXX really is the biz. I don't even have to type in my credit card details anymore - I can hire music instead of own it, and rent films instead of owning them - I don't have to lift a finger because all my data is held in the safe hands of MS. It even shows me the news when I turn it on - MSNBC really is a high class newsfeed. It tells me how nice those MS people are and how there are no bugs or security problems with Windows. One of my nasty friends tried using that Linux stuff last month, but we all just laughed at him - he's been taken away now for not supplying his social security details at the checkpoint. He was a communist and a theif. I love my happy world of the interweb - someone else has taken care of it all for me. All I have to do now is click a button to consume the lovely produce of our great society. Only terrorists would use anything else - why else would they want to keep their information secret ? I am finally free from all those confusing decisions.

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Crikey! (Score:1)
by KillThemALL on Tuesday June 25, @09:25AM (#3761936)
(User #550225 Info)
There they are in court claiming it's beyond their means simply to come up with a modular version of Windows, and now here we see them about to rewrite the whole bloody thing.
In fact they'll probably get the court case(s) to drag on long enough for them to complete the project before any remedies are put in place, so that once it's released and everybody discovers that the built-in mind-sequestering technology is inseparable from the basic OS features it'll be too late and they'll be able to use the same argument.
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Gates' Yearly Earnings (Score:1)
by zbuffered (obfuscation&runion,cc) on Tuesday June 25, @09:25AM (#3761940)
(User #125292 Info | http://slashdot.org/)
From Page 2:
Last year Gates made $666,520 in salary

[insert joke about BG being evil here]
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