ph34r t3h d4rk s1d3

[Solar]

PS: Microsoft's greed has made a lot of people very wealthy, and provides employment for tens of thousands of people across the world.

They have also driven countless minor companies into bancruptcy, or outright purchasing them, enjoying "synergy effects". Both results in many layoffs.

I'd daresay that a multi-OS "culture" as in the mid-80ies would feed much more people - and would likely have resulted in better software.

I would not consider Bill Gates himself to be greedy; he makes some of the largest donations to charity in the world.

Only in total sum - which isn't hard if you're the richest man in the world. In relation to his total wealth, however...

[Pype.Clicker]

hum... i think we should leave that 'greed' argument away ... whether the world (as a whole) is better/worse with/without microsoft is some kind of /dev/null thing: whatever energy/time you bring to that discussion, you'll never end up with more than what you had before.

[BI lazy]

hm ...

I say, Microsofts behaviour in some cases falls in direct line with behaviour of Music industry. this has nothing to do with being greedy, this has something to do with bureaucracy instead of thinking ... they destroy several existences just to prove: we are the strong ones.

Well, but one doesn't need to like a company to use it's products.l I have to work with windows, and althou' I rather use linux at home, sometimes I turn on the windows partition just to stay in touch with it. Setting priorities the right way has to stand above likes/dislikes.

@pype: You're right. certain things canna be discussed for they lead to nowhereland. Just like /dev/null (what a coool device ];->)

[Tim]

All I say is this: Given a choice between consiracy and stupidity, blame stupidity.

[darklife]

I would not consider Bill Gates himself to be greedy; he makes some of the largest donations to charity in the world.

He makes those "donations" because he has to sortof. If he didn't he couldn't use them as tax writeoffs and the state would end up taking the money anyways. I'd like to think he makes donations to look good, or at least feel good for all the people he screws over every day ;D
I like money too. It gets me what I need to survive. There is a difference from good money and dirty money if you know what I mean.

[darklife]

hum... i think we should leave that 'greed' argument away ... whether the world (as a whole) is better/worse with/without microsoft is some kind of /dev/null thing: whatever energy/time you bring to that discussion, you'll never end up with more than what you had before.

I meant my statement about greed as in whole , not just for Billyboy. I may sound like a hippie but love and peace dude! Greed=evil. Okay, I'll stop now ;D

[unknown user]

In any case, who else would give you a job as an OS developer?

well, my company (a startup, i was one of the first members) is paying me for designing and developing a long-mode os for the amd opteron, which is what i'm doing now.
they even agreed to the gpl!

also, i agree with darklife, greed is evil. with this postulate in place, we have all the pieces needed:
[font=fixed]
_________________________
|Gates of Hell Theorem|
For a given company, M, and a CEO, G, if G is greedy and value(M)>28 billion, M is congruent to Satan.
[/font]

[Pype.Clicker]

well, my company (a startup, i was one of the first members) is paying me for designing and developing a long-mode os for the amd opteron, which is what i'm doing now.

Woow. and can you name that company ?

[mr. xsism]

i'm really not the kind to go to the USA ... wherever else but *not there*. That country really scares me ... but that's another point ...

Why does it scare you pype? I hate being bagged on for where i live. I take no pride in my country compared to any other. And i sure as HELL don't go blastin' Germans for being Nazi's as that is a hasty generalization and therefore a falacy.

I understand the the leadership of the US is scary and that it is much too domineering. Ecclesiastes 8:9 "..Man has dominated man to his injury."

I won't go too deep into my beliefs(because i know i would be flamed by the 90% of the atheist posters on this board and the net in general) mostly because it is irrelevant to osdev. But wouldn't you be sick, frustrated, hurt, mad, angry at people who make generalizations about you?

Let me guess, since you're European you must be short? See what I mean? How stupid is that? What does WHERE you live have ANYTHING to do with you?

mr. xsism

[Solar]

Hehe... mr.xsism, I can only guess at Pype's reason for not liking the US, but I have mine, and they have nothing to do with generalizations.

I don't like the (lack of) social security and health care, I don't like the death penalty (for whatsoever crime), I don't like the school system, I don't like the free availab?lity of firearms, I don't like the crime rate, I don't like the working conditions (I like my six weeks of holidays). That, I can judge from a distance, without generalizations. And this has been my opinion well before any of the more recent events (Bush, 9/11, war against terrorism etc.).

That is all without getting personal with the Americans as a people.

[BI lazy]

Not to mention the following: I've been some time in La Pine/Oregon. I grew sick of the following: Don't cross anothers ground for they can shot some bullets into your @$$ with every right.

Other thing: Clintons decree to cure estate budget: Only american citizens with US Citizenship are eligible to us social security benefits. Anyone who works a life long in the usa but is not yet us-citizen can claim for us social security benefits from age but will be declined. This is sorta crap. Well, this decree 's been valid during my stay in La Pine.

@solar: death penalty hither & tither, but when it came to putting a mass murderer who has commited more than one brutal murder and before has cruciated his victims (to speak not only literally) and one of those victims were very relative to me (my partner f. ex.) I would have a very high hankering for revenge. I'd have a hankering for seeing that damned scum roasting in hell instead of putting him in detention somewhere on toll payers cost. Thank you very much, but somewhere IS a borderline. And no, this ain't an invition to discussion here. Private Message to beyond infinity, if discussion is wished.

[Solar]

I don't want a discussion either, but I'd like to point out one thing before I rest my case.

You assumed you got the right person. That might be correct and beyond all doubt in your case.

All too often, however, it turns out to be wrong - and not seldom too late.

"Many who live deserve death. But many who died deserved to live. Can you give it to them?"
-- Gandalf

"You shall not kill."
-- Ten Commandments

[BI lazy]

No assumptions. never. assumptions are like hot air.

But you're right. Too many are doomed to death penalty without any proof - and the indices against them turned out to be wrong. In this point you are 100 per cent right. But you get my point?

beyond all doubt? How to define this one? Is an eyewitness beyond all doubt? A video tape? A photograph?

Gandalf's spells are good. Somewhat he says to Frodo whilst a discussion about Smeagol deserving death?

btw it is "Thou shalt not kill".

[Solar]

No assumptions. never. assumptions are like hot air.
But you get my point?

Absolutely. It is natural to wish for vengeance; it's in our genes. But so are many other things which we had to overcome to become "civilized".

(I'm not sure if that's a good thing, becoming "civilized", but that's where we are now.)

beyond all doubt? How to define this one? Is an eyewitness beyond all doubt? A video tape? A photograph?

That's what I meant.

Gandalf's spells are good. Somewhat he says to Frodo whilst a discussion about Smeagol deserving death?

Correct.

btw it is "Thou shalt not kill".

Sorry, I never read the bible in English.

[BI lazy]

re: reading the bible in english:

Try Tolkiens "Silmarillion".

You'd be astonished about the amount of otherwhere seldom found words. Or read "the Lord of the Rings" in english. It's elucidating to fetch all those words. Having read it for the first time, I afterwards took my dictionary to look up all those words ... oh gosh a'mighty, what for an experience. Not only once I called "What for a cool word". At school they don't teach you the cool words. Only the standard ones.

One thing I have to add here: Tolkien loved languages. that's why he used to use language in his creative but at all times brilliant and exact style.

oh ... blimey ... that's a lot of 2 cents.