@ Waccon:
I believe that applies to accessory updates, like new versions of IE, Windows Media Player, and so on. You know, new versions that have more bugs and security problems than older versions. I *seriously* doubt this applies to any kind of critical update.
We need to clear up the language here. I would consider an "update" to be the kind of typical bug/security fix that you get with any app, e.g. going from Netscape 7.01 to 7.02. An "upgrade" would be something where actual functions and features are added, e.g. Netscape 7.02 to 7.1. Now if you're gonna charge for an upgrade, okay, but for an update? HELL no. The actual story said "update," so Billy Boy needs to clarify what he means by "update." In some cases, it would be ludicrous to charge for updates since the original program, like IE or Windows Media, are free-for-nothin' to begin with.
I haven't seen a BSOD or a lock-up in almost a year on my machine, except when I swapped my motherboard.
Interesting, 'cause just installing the last set of Win XP updates on my machine provided regular and successive BSOD visits till I uninstalled the update.
No company deserves $6.9 billion for revenue, never mind R&D.
"Deserves?" They were just given this cash? Or was it ruthlessly taken from other companies against their will?
:-D They HAVE that much money for R&D because they EARNED that much money and allocated it for that task. So long as they're not breaking any laws to do it (which arguably they did in the past), it's not a matter of what they
deserve!
BeOS is gone, MacOS needs custom hardware, so does OS4, OS5 is anyone's guess, and Linux (or rather, GNU and XFree86), blows chunks if you want a halfway decent GUI and a good, standardized design. Anything else is just a clone of UNIX, and embedded OS, or a hobby project.
Which is the damnable thing of it all, not to mention that all of the above have comparitively limited software and perepheral hardware options. Hard to boycott Microsoft as you suggest and not pay a heavy penalty.
Where's the competition?
That's the only reason I still follow what's going on the the Amiga world, BTW. I don't see any hope at all elsewhere.
I don't know that there's much hope there either! Yes, obviously, I still look in and see what's happening myself, but it looks like we'll only
just see OS 4 come out, but only 'cause it's in the hands of other folks than AInc. If we see OS 5 from AInc, I'll chow down on my big ol' Aussie cowboy hat! We really needed to see that kind of multi-platform, CPU independent, seamless networking OS two years ago. It could still work, but AInc ain't gonna be the ones to do it. One point though: I would not count Sony out of this for a second. The next update of the PS2 hardware will practically turn it into a multi-media center by itself, and this is before the Cell technology they're developing for the PS3 with IBM and Toshiba. They also introduced a Linux kit for the PS2, showing at least a cant towards support of non-Windows OSes. When one least expects it, especially in an ostensibly competition-free market, someone will trot out a brand new idea and BOOM! The market changes overnight.
