The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Microsoft is due to release its new Vista operating system either toward the end of this year or at the beginning of next year. Will this new operating system be as successful as Microsoft’s other offerings?

Microsoft’s own greed could end Windows reign as the leading desktop operating system. To fight piracy, Microsoft first introduced activation with its with Windows XP. Activation was supposed to insure that one copy of XP can only be used on one PC. Hackers easily created versions of Windows that avoided activation. Then in the fall of 2004, Microsoft introduced “Windows Genuine Advantage”. This program was created to allow Microsoft to check individual PCs to see if they are running a genuine XP or a pirated XP version. At first it was voluntary. Then last summer, Microsoft made it mandatory in order to download any free Microsoft software. Now its even become necessary to get XP security patches. If your PC fails the test and you have a counterfeit installation disk that appears genuine (including the holographic emblem similar to the one on real copies of Windows), Microsoft will send you a genuine disk for free in exchange for the fake disk. Otherwise, to make your Windows genuine you need to either buy a genuine Windows XP or take advantage of whatever offer Microsoft cares to give you.

With the advent of the “Windows Genuine Advantage” campaign, Microsoft has become a personification of a typical, greedy “Corporate Alien.” As Linux distributions get better and better, Microsoft has to be careful how it deals with its users. They seem to think that their software is so good, that people would rather pay than switch.

Microsoft licensing always stipulated that, to be legal, you had to buy a license for the Windows or DOS operating system for every PC you own. But from the early DOS days up to Windows 2000, someone would buy one operating system and pass it around to family, friends, and neighbors. So that one Windows 98 Second Edition wound up on ten or more PCs.

Linux, on the other hand, allows you to legally install it on every computer you own. So putting Linux on ten or more PCs is not only legal but desirable as a form of advertising for the operating system. But Windows users have been doing the same thing all these years. They’ve been advertising Windows by passing it around. It wasn’t legal, nor condoned by Microsoft, but Windows piracy was a form of advertising that actually helped promote Windows and insure its growth. As you can see, all this rampant piracy didn’t prevent Microsoft’s Chairman Bill Gates from becoming one of the richest men in the world.

There’s another thing to consider, when you think of operating system piracy. If you’re a corporation with thousands of computers, you get a special deal on Windows licensing. If you’re a big PC maker like Hewlett-Packard, you get a discount on OEM versions of Windows. But if you’re a small computer store and you build five clone PCs per month, you’d have to pay the typical single user price for genuine Windows. (For XP that’s about one hundred dollars for the Home Edition and one hundred fifty dollars for the Professional Edition.) It’s hard for a small individual to get started and compete with the big boys, and pirating the operating system can be a means of leveling the playing field. Such piracy can be considered as really being a “discount for the Working Class.”

There are several Linux distributions that are just as good or even better than anything Microsoft has to offer. But people will still cling to Windows because they don’t really want to learn anything new and switching to Linux would require a small learning curve. Microsoft has probably already made deals with PC vendors to install its Vista on practically every major PC brand in the US as soon as it comes out. To be fair to everyone, all PC’s should come without an operating system. When someone orders the PC they would order the operating system as well and the store would then install it. Imagine if people were given the choice: “Fedora Core 4 Linux: free” or “Windows Vista Professional: $200.00.” I wonder if they would still choose Windows?

Microsoft could actually make Windows the operating system for the next hundred years. All they have to do is make Vista free when it comes out. Just like Linux, the free version would have no support or warranty. They don’t even have to make it open source (reveal its internal code); just make it free. They could still make money by creating a highly secure, highly tweaked, fully supported corporate version of Vista and sell it to big companies that can afford it. This is what Linux companies like Redhat and Novell do. If Vista was free, pirates would stop making money, Microsoft would save millions by eliminating the “Orwellian” tracking needed to determine if Windows is genuine, and Linux would no longer be much of a threat. Unfortunately corporate aliens tend not to see any further than the dollar sign.

Microsoft will probably stick to the “Windows Genuine Advantage” program and try to thwart all attempts at hacking. Even though hackers will be able to circumvent any code that Microsoft comes up with, they will eventually get annoyed playing games with the giant Corporate Alien. Then pirated copies of Vista will become hard to get. This will end the advertising benefits derived from unchecked piracy that Microsoft enjoyed in years past. Windows Vista will start to lose market share and in 10 years a major Linux distribution will be the leading desktop operating system. If Linux triumphs, Microsoft Office, will also be replaced by Open Office, and the Microsoft stranglehold on PC software will finally be broken.

If you like Microsoft and want to keep it in power, encourage it to freely give away its Vista operating system. At least, suggest that they drop the annoying “Windows Genuine Advantage” program.

If you want to hasten Microsoft’s downfall. Don’t hack, pirate or buy Windows, especially its new incarnation, Vista. Learn how to work with your favorite distribution of Linux. You can download Linux distributions for free. Even with broadband this can take a long time. You can buy any Linux distributions for almost the cost it takes to make the disks at http://osdisc.com. When you buy your next computer make sure genuine Linux is loaded as your operating system. The more Linux gets established, the more everyone will be creating bigger and better software for it. In no time at all you will be getting the “Linux Genuine Advantage.”

George Lunt is someone who feels the world is getting too corporate. His writings relate to the individual’s struggle with big government and big corporations. His website is http://www.corporate-aliens.com.

This article is © George Lunt. All usage of this article must include a citation to the author and a link to corporate-aliens.com.

Like a lot of kids, my folks gave me a 60mm telescope for Christmas one year. The scope was a typical department-store brand - not very good - but to a 12-year old kid it opened up the universe.

Through it I got to see the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus and the rings of Saturn. But above all these eye-openers, there was the moon. There in the eyepiece stood craggy mountains - spires casting long shadows across crater lowlands, dark maria and (painfully) bright highlands, a surface pockmarked with craters of all sizes, some with bright ejecta rays and some funny squiggle type features. I soon learned that the greatest amount of detail was seen along the terminator, that line splitting light from dark, where shadows played across features showing them in stark contrast. And to cap it all, each night different features could be seen in detail.

They say that as you get older, your memory plays tricks on you - you remember good things more than the bad. I remember lots of clear, frosty winter nights when I could point my ’scope at the moon and scan its disk for some feature I had not seen in relief before. These days, the skies seem to be cloudy much more frequently and the frosty winter nights are few and far between. I guess that’s global warming for you!

Time moved on and I moved in and out of committee positions in astronomy societies, editing some magazines along the way (I now put my own ezine, called Photon, together every couple of months). Astronomy became more about the bureaucracy of running clubs than about looking through a telescope. Then, in the late 90s, wanting to get back to my astronomical “roots”, I bought a ‘real’ telescope, an 8″ reflector which I readily turned towards the moon. Stunning views once again assailed my eyes (prompting memories of halcyon nights as a 12 year old looking through my old 60mm scope).

I’m a software writer (or should that be “engineer”?) by profession, so I wrote a bit of software which would help me in planning my moon observations. It told me when the moon would rise and set, what phase it was and other stuff. When people who’d seen it said they wanted a copy, I polished it up and released it as Shareware under the title LunarPhase. It’s now evolved into a more comprehensive application called LunarPhase Pro. I’m pleased that’s it’s been receiving very good reviews - I feel like I’ve done something to make other people more aware of my old friend in the sky.

With the encroachment of light pollution across the globe, the pristine skies of my youth have been gradually fading behind the yellow-orange glow of ever more street lamps. Where stars once twinkled on a velvet background, only a few hardy garnets of light now poke through the misty haze and background neon glow. But the Moon is always there, outshining any murk and pollution we cough up into the sky.

It’s a shame we don’t treat the sky with the same respect we give our national parks. After all, the sky belongs to all of us. How many of us really appreciate people throwing garbage into our back yards. Why should we allow others to pollute our natural resource?

These days, I’m getting into lunar photography with digital cameras and more sophisticated CCD cameras. I’ve posted a few of my images on my website if you’d like to see them. I still find a night under the stars with a partially lit Moon high in the sky a relaxing and humbling pursuit. The Moon is the only object in the solar system where we can see real surface detail. I’m so passionate about it that I also wrote an ebook called Observing the Moon.

Growing up during the Apollo era, I have to say that those missions played a great part in spurring on my interest in the moon. My interest is alive and well and extending in other directions (more on that another time). I hope yours is too.

Onward and upward, as they say!

Gary Nugent has spent more years than he cares to rememeber pursuing astronomy as a hobby. He runs a number of astronomy based based sites:

Night Sky Observer: http://www.nightskyobserver.com

The Moon This Month: http://www.nightskyobserver.com/The-Moon-This-Month.htm

LunarPhase Pro: http://www.lunarphasepro.com

“Photon” Astronomy Ezine: http://www.photonezine.com

The innovation of most industries to use telecommunication technology is sending traditional marketing into new heights. Marketing methods that were only accessible to Fortune 500 companies ten years ago.

Internet certainly played a part in crushing the boundaries set by traditional marketing media methods such as TV, radio, billboards, and newspapers. It is however debatable how effective online marketing can reach its defined target market cheaper. Nevertheless with correct online marketing methods the number of internet millionaire has grown steadily over the years.

The internet however removed the personal touch that most experienced sales personnel use to make sales and develop rapport with their clients. Telecommunication advancement is taking big leaps to resolve the lost personal touch and further the success of the online marketing trend.

Hardware and software continuously improve and services become faster and cheaper even in under-developed nations. Telecommunication has created innovations that some industries entire sales process has changed.

Real Estate is a great example of reinventing the wheel. The need for realtors to broker a seller buyer agreement is increasingly losing popularity to cheaper alternatives. Online MLS listings, website listings, online forms, voicemail recordings, voice broadcasting, e-mail alerts have helped buyers and sellers interact with less need to a realtor sell the house.

Contact Center support for sales and customer service saved time for realtors and real estate agencies in answering basic questions and complaints and other related inquiries enabling the industry to focus it’s time into improving it’s services further to serve the general public.

American Real Estate and Mortgage is one of the companies in the USA that uses their website (www.4thishouse.com) to enable buyers and sellers to meet online either through a “for sale by owner” type listing or traditional MLS listing. This is done using a fully automated system with almost no realtor intervention allowing real estate agents to service client at immeasurable numbers at a time with very little effort.

Contact Center on Demand implementation allows clients to contact agency personnel regardless of their home state and help sell their house efficiently and economically while the agency ensures the quality and control of the personnel. Contact Center on demand technology creates a 24/7/365 operation to address client needs if any such arises.

Web Camera and 360 degree virtual tour technology allow buyers to see and contact sellers at the comfort of their own home. An enhanced toll free number service gives the buyer additional incentive to call sellers even at long distances and saving hundreds on man hours by viewing the houses and talking to the seller before proceeding to physically checking the house itself. Sellers then save time by meeting only qualified and serious buyers since they are only contacted when their listing have been checked and still continue to receive buyer interest.

Technology improves further on computers, PDA and other handheld devices bridging the personal touch gap further and only imagination will stop it from progressing. Selling dirt has never been easier using copper wires. In the future there wont even be copper wires. If wives can be sold online, homes surely can.

Carlo Caparras is currently the assistant vice president on marketing for several ISP’s, webhosting, web development, web-services, outsourcing, and telecommunication companies including Asterlink, Cylynx, and Artemis Telecom.

The Rio Mp3 Player is an excellent choice for those who are
interested in buying an mp3 player. One huge advantage that a
Rio MP3 Player has over lots of other mp3 players is that it can
play WMA files. WMA files are Windows Media Files. These files
were build into a software by Microsoft and are great
competitors of the MP3 format, however this does not pose a
problem for the Rio Player. The WMA files have many great
qualities. The files are about half the size of an MP3 file, so
you will get more of your favorite music on your Rio MP3 Player.
The Rio MP3 Player is available in two formats: Hard Drive and
Flash Memory.The choice of memory is up to you and your needs
and how much music you are going to put on the Rio MP3 Player.
The Hard Drive player can be between 1 Gigabytes and 20
Gigabtyes of storage. This is saying that you can put about from
750 to 10,000 music files on an RIO MP3 Player.A Flash Memory
player holds considerly less data. These mp3 players range
between 128 Megabtyes and 51 Megabtyes. However , with the flash
memory player you can expand on the memory. Which means upgrade
your memory to hold more music on your mp3 player.

You will want to look into what you music needs are before
determining which RIO MP3 player will be your best decision. You
are going to want a portable MP3 player that you can use while
you are exercising, running, or even walking. You should be
looking at the Rio Forge, Rio Cali, Rio Chiba.

Now if you are looking for a mp3 player that holds thousands of
music files for a hole day of music,look for the Rio Karma MP3
Player. This huge MP3 player has a 20GB hard drive and can store
up to 10,000 songs. This makes it a very easy and almost perfect
choice for those of you looking for a mp3 player with unlimited
listening pleasure. The Rio MP3 Player now even has bigger MP3
PLAYERS than the 20GB.

Study this before you go begin your cell phone comparisons so you can know what you want and what to ask for.

GENERAL TERMS

Dead zone: A geographical area where a cell phone service provider does not offer service.

Bluetooth: The technology that allows you to send information between your cell phone and your computer, blackberry, printer or digital camera.

Roaming: Use of your cell phone outside your primary coverage area. It usually costs more, but there are some plans that give you free roaming.

Band: This refers to the frequency at which the cell phone is transmitting. Different areas of the world generally use different bands for their cell phone service. So up until recently, American cell phones wouldn’t work in Europe because they were incompatible with the European cell phone band. Now, most phones are triband, meaning that they work on the three common frequencies.

DIGITAL NETWORKS

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access. A network allowing many conversations to be carried over the same frequency by sending it in tagged groups. The cell phone codes are used to reconstruct the message at the receiving end. Many CDMA phones have analog backup, which should factor in to your cell phone comparisons if you will be using the phone in a rural area.

iDEN: Integrated Digital Enhanced Network. You will find this network used by a Nextel cell phone. It provides a walkie-talkie service, but without the proximity constraints. Workgroups who need easy access to each other should consider a Nextel cell phone plan.

GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications. This is the latest digital cell phone technology that allows global roaming. GSM phones are sometimes called “global phones”.

OTHER INTIMIDATING ACRONYMS

PCS: Personal Communications Services, is a catch-all term for digital mobile phone services with high frequencies.

WAP: Wireless Application Protocol: Allows you to receives web pages on your cell phone screen. Your cell phone has to have a WAP browser that can display web pages that are coded in WML, a markup language like HTML.

SIM: Subscriber Identification Module is part of the GSM phone. They are smart cards that contain information about the cell phone owner. If you take out your SIM and put it into someone else’s GSM cell phone, that phone will then have all of the information that your original phone had.

SMS Text Messages: Short Message Service lets you send text messages from 150 to 160 characters long typed into your cell using the keypad to other cell phones. Check to see if text messaging is free or if there is a charge per message.

MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service. This is the best Short Message Service available. It lets you send maps, animations, video, business cards and more to other phones that are set up with MMS.

3G: This stands for “third generation” phones. They are the latest and greatest in cell phones using superfast Internet connections to video conferencing etc.

This list should get you through the basics. Pretty soon you’ll be telling your friends about your 3G cell phone with Bluetooth and a GSM network. Don’t forget to refer them to this article.

About the Author:

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