Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 28th Nov 2012 15:17 UTC
"As we pass the one month anniversary of the general availability of Windows 8, we are pleased to announce that to-date Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses. Tami Reller shared this news with industry and financial analysts, investors and media today at the Credit Suisse 2012 Annual Technology Conference. Windows 8 is outpacing Windows 7 in terms of upgrades." Not bad, but there are the usual asterisks, as Ars notes.
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RE: The source of Microsoft's monopoly.
by lucas_maximus on Thu 29th Nov 2012 08:27
in reply to "The source of Microsoft's monopoly."
Member since:2009-08-18
RE[2]: The source of Microsoft's monopoly.
by WereCatf on Thu 29th Nov 2012 09:40
in reply to "RE: The source of Microsoft's monopoly."
Member since:2006-02-15
Copyright is bloody important ... stop talking rubbish.
Software Patents which are bullshit are the problem.
Software Patents which are bullshit are the problem.
Hmm. Personally, I believe copyrights are also a problem. You know how nowadays things can have copyright on them for hundreds of years, long after the original creator has deceased, and how fair use - rights are being stomped on ever harder and so on? Copyright should really be reworked to much, much shorter copyright terms and to distinguish between completed works and ongoing works like e.g. Linux is an ongoing work, whereas Elvis Presley's albums are completed works.
That said, copyright is not the issue on this particular topic and on that I agree with you.
RE[2]: The source of Microsoft's monopoly.
by Lennie on Thu 29th Nov 2012 15:31
in reply to "RE: The source of Microsoft's monopoly."
Member since:2007-09-22
For a completely different view on copyright, you should also have a look at other industries:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL2FOrx41N0
Anyway it depends on how copyrights are used.
How copyright is used for the Linux kernel or for books is usually fine.
How proprietary software vendors only sell you a license to use their software with lots and lots of exception and a right to retract that permission, I don't like so much.
RE: The source of Microsoft's monopoly.
by zima on Tue 4th Dec 2012 11:48
in reply to "The source of Microsoft's monopoly."
Member since:2005-07-06
And GPL is a copyright license...
MS largely brought us inexpensive & powerful machines (suitable for nice *nix workstation), thankfully killed the mess with 80s micros. If anything, the scales of Wintel PCs brought tremendous rates of technological growth.
Microsoft is a monopoly because the market naturally gravitated to such state via economies of scale, and because other options were worse ( http://www.osnews.com/thread?522221 ).
Oh, and also because people like and pirate Windows on a big scale ( http://www.osnews.com/permalink?543832 )
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
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Member since:
2012-09-21
Of course MS sold millions of licenses of Windows 8, due to the unjust copyright laws in software. If anyone thinks copyright is necessary they really need to read a history book and see how copyright (and patents) slows down technological growth. Nothing can be more evident in the PC desktop.
Microsoft is a monopoly because of copyright law.