Had a wonderful day in Basel yesterday. Went and visited my mom’s birthplace (she was born and lived in a house near the Swiss border in Weil am Rhein — her parents ran a restaurant on the first floor, they lived on second). Found it ironic that it’s now a strip club in half of it, and a Chinese Restaurant in the other.
Martin Spedding (he works at Microsoft helping out the local pharma companies, which are very large) gave us a wonderful tour. Starting at the Museum Tinguely. Full of fascinating art pieces built from junk. Highly recommended. After that we walked down the Rhein.
Aside: Google just switched to German on me. Why does it assume I speak German just because my packets are coming from Germany? Grrrrrr. Ich spreche kein Deutsch! It should know that I’ve been hitting it from this computer for months from the United States and that that is my home base. I can’t even read Google now, so I have no idea how to change the default back to English. I just did a search on “Rhein” and it took me to the German Wikipedia, too. Double Grrrrrr.
Along the way he was raving about his new Microsoft Home Server.
The problem with the Home Server is going to be marketing. Already mentions of it have totally died off. Geeks already know how to setup their own servers, so don’t think another server is needed. People like my aunt are barely computer literate, so have no idea that a server exists or what it’d be useful for (and, since the geeks don’t exactly get thrilled about the idea, they sure aren’t going to take the time to explain it to her).
It’s too bad, too, because if they could just spend a bit of time listening to Martin they’d see there’s a really great reason to get a Home Server. First, it’s a headless server. Just bring the box home, plug it into your router, and control it from other PCs or Macs in your house. Second, it’s a great way to store music, photos, videos, and works with Xbox 360’s Media Extender technology. That’s another thing that’s hard to explain to people. It’s one of the coolest things about Xbox 360: that it can play music, photos, videos stored on a PC or Home Server kept somewhere else in your house.
Martin explained the Home Server is very good at backing up your stuff and gets faster and faster at that over time due to incremental backup technology built for Windows Server 2003. He also raved about its remote-access features so he could get to his home stash of photos and such, even when he travels to Microsoft in the states.
Anyway, getting a pitch while walking along the Rhein was a lot of fun. I hope to interview Charlie Kindel (he runs the Home Server group) when I visit Seattle later this month right before the Northern Voice conference.
Oh, another aside? If you search Google for “Microsoft Home Server” you don’t find any Microsoft Web site in the result set. Same if you search on Live.com. Even the official Microsoft Home Server blog doesn’t show up. It’s even harder to get marketing success when your own blog and home page don’t show up on your own search engine!
Anyway, tonight we’ll be be at Martinsbräu in Freiburg at 6 p.m. See you there! Everyone is invited. Oh, and my cell phone works just fine, albeit is very expensive to answer. +1 (425) 205-1921.
Scobleizer 
For having Google.com in English, just go to the home page and you should see a “Google.com in English” link at the bottom of the screen… I share your disappointment with these “automatic translations” of Google; here in Switzerland we get the German version by default, but in Lausanne… we speak French! 🙂 I suppose that the same trouble happens for the people in the Italian- (and Rumantsch-) speaking parts of this country!
See you @ LIFT on Wednesday!
Adrian
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For having Google.com in English, just go to the home page and you should see a “Google.com in English” link at the bottom of the screen… I share your disappointment with these “automatic translations” of Google; here in Switzerland we get the German version by default, but in Lausanne… we speak French! 🙂 I suppose that the same trouble happens for the people in the Italian- (and Rumantsch-) speaking parts of this country!
See you @ LIFT on Wednesday!
Adrian
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Ya, I told mom to plug the home server into her “router”…huh?…see, we have a problem right there. It’s got to work like a toaster.
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Ya, I told mom to plug the home server into her “router”…huh?…see, we have a problem right there. It’s got to work like a toaster.
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click “Google.com in English”
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click “Google.com in English”
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Aside: Google just switched to German on me. Why does it assume I speak German just because my packets are coming from Germany? Grrrrrr. Ich spreche kein Deutsch! It should know that I’ve been hitting it from this computer for months from the United States and that that is my home base. I can’t even read Google now, so I have no idea how to change the default back to English. I just did a search on “Rhein” and it took me to the German Wikipedia, too. Double Grrrrrr.
So basically, you want Google cookies.
Dude, if you were to, you know, think about it, it is a perfectly logical assumption that a computer IN GERMANY is probably being used by someone who is literate IN GERMAN. Oy Vey.
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Aside: Google just switched to German on me. Why does it assume I speak German just because my packets are coming from Germany? Grrrrrr. Ich spreche kein Deutsch! It should know that I’ve been hitting it from this computer for months from the United States and that that is my home base. I can’t even read Google now, so I have no idea how to change the default back to English. I just did a search on “Rhein” and it took me to the German Wikipedia, too. Double Grrrrrr.
So basically, you want Google cookies.
Dude, if you were to, you know, think about it, it is a perfectly logical assumption that a computer IN GERMANY is probably being used by someone who is literate IN GERMAN. Oy Vey.
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“Dude, if you were to, you know, think about it, it is a perfectly logical assumption that a computer IN GERMANY is probably being used by someone who is literate IN GERMAN. Oy Vey.”
Then those native Germans should probably use http://www.google.de, no?
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“Dude, if you were to, you know, think about it, it is a perfectly logical assumption that a computer IN GERMANY is probably being used by someone who is literate IN GERMAN. Oy Vey.”
Then those native Germans should probably use http://www.google.de, no?
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The concept of the Home server is great indeed. But then it’s got to be plug and play. (Indeed I will only get a blank stare from my folks when i say put it in the router). Remote access sounds great, but most broadband routers I’ve seen have an incorporated firewall and block all access to the inner network. (yes, just open a port on the firewall mom).
It’s functionality is windows centric, which isn’t a large issue unless you’ve got three different sorts of OS’es in the house.
I even read that these boxes don’t have mouse and keyboard access. which I still prefer just in case something happens. (but then again I’m a geek)
Just like PXLated said, it’s gotta work like a toaster, else it will be a tool most geeks will implement (at least those that don’t have another backup solution already in place..)
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The concept of the Home server is great indeed. But then it’s got to be plug and play. (Indeed I will only get a blank stare from my folks when i say put it in the router). Remote access sounds great, but most broadband routers I’ve seen have an incorporated firewall and block all access to the inner network. (yes, just open a port on the firewall mom).
It’s functionality is windows centric, which isn’t a large issue unless you’ve got three different sorts of OS’es in the house.
I even read that these boxes don’t have mouse and keyboard access. which I still prefer just in case something happens. (but then again I’m a geek)
Just like PXLated said, it’s gotta work like a toaster, else it will be a tool most geeks will implement (at least those that don’t have another backup solution already in place..)
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Too bad Freiburg is a bit too far and I don’t really have time tonight, else I would love to come – no Idea how long you gonna stay in germany, but if you happen to come close to the Ruhr Area (maybe Cologne or Dusseldorf), another BlogDinner would be nice.
And about german google… I can feel your pain, whenever I look for something at home I wish it would search english websites, whenever I search something at work (non german IP), I wish it would look up german content 😉
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Too bad Freiburg is a bit too far and I don’t really have time tonight, else I would love to come – no Idea how long you gonna stay in germany, but if you happen to come close to the Ruhr Area (maybe Cologne or Dusseldorf), another BlogDinner would be nice.
And about german google… I can feel your pain, whenever I look for something at home I wish it would search english websites, whenever I search something at work (non german IP), I wish it would look up german content 😉
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Handy-dandy tip whilst traveling and using Google services:
“hl=en” as part of the query string will force english text.
So, http://www.google.com/?hl=en == “Show me Google in English, regardless of your detection routines”
http://www.gmail.com — same thing.
Alternatively, if you’re using the one PC (as Scoble is):
Go to http://www.google.com/preferences?hl=en
And save your language (and other) preferences)
From memory, it will override the default language selection (though, I havn’t had a chance to test it).
All their URL texts are in english though – so if you spend a moment looking at your status bar – it’ll show you the link you’re requesting, saving you the need to figure out what Einstellungen means.
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Handy-dandy tip whilst traveling and using Google services:
“hl=en” as part of the query string will force english text.
So, http://www.google.com/?hl=en == “Show me Google in English, regardless of your detection routines”
http://www.gmail.com — same thing.
Alternatively, if you’re using the one PC (as Scoble is):
Go to http://www.google.com/preferences?hl=en
And save your language (and other) preferences)
From memory, it will override the default language selection (though, I havn’t had a chance to test it).
All their URL texts are in english though – so if you spend a moment looking at your status bar – it’ll show you the link you’re requesting, saving you the need to figure out what Einstellungen means.
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“….so I have no idea how to change the default back to English. I just did a search on “Rhein” and it took me to the German Wikipedia, too. Double Grrrrrr.”
For somethat spends as much time as you do on the internet, using Google, this speaks volumes about your level of expertise on ANY subject.
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“….so I have no idea how to change the default back to English. I just did a search on “Rhein” and it took me to the German Wikipedia, too. Double Grrrrrr.”
For somethat spends as much time as you do on the internet, using Google, this speaks volumes about your level of expertise on ANY subject.
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An easy way it’s just type http://www.google.co.uk
Cheers!
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An easy way it’s just type http://www.google.co.uk
Cheers!
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If Home Server is based on Server 2003, then I hope they do something to make it useful. Server 2003, out of the box will run NOTHING. Trying to make a website run on IIS with Server 2003 is a nightmare. I can’t tell you the days and weeks of time we wasted on a project just trying to get it to deliver out files. The reason? Security. It’s always a security problem. It’s like they said, “I know how to make Server more secure, we’ll just configure it so nothing will run and then let the users figure out (on their own) how to turn things on. Problem solved!” Thanks again, Bill.
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If Home Server is based on Server 2003, then I hope they do something to make it useful. Server 2003, out of the box will run NOTHING. Trying to make a website run on IIS with Server 2003 is a nightmare. I can’t tell you the days and weeks of time we wasted on a project just trying to get it to deliver out files. The reason? Security. It’s always a security problem. It’s like they said, “I know how to make Server more secure, we’ll just configure it so nothing will run and then let the users figure out (on their own) how to turn things on. Problem solved!” Thanks again, Bill.
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isn’t it called Windows Home Server?
and if you do searches for WHS at least in windows live search you do get a microsoft page as the number 1 result.
Scoble you need to slow down. Your getting sloppy.
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isn’t it called Windows Home Server?
and if you do searches for WHS at least in windows live search you do get a microsoft page as the number 1 result.
Scoble you need to slow down. Your getting sloppy.
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congratulations, you completely missing the “Google.com in English” that is ON EVERY TRANSLATED PAGE OF GOOGLE has finally convinced me to cut my losses on the law of diminishing returns and unsubsribe.
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congratulations, you completely missing the “Google.com in English” that is ON EVERY TRANSLATED PAGE OF GOOGLE has finally convinced me to cut my losses on the law of diminishing returns and unsubsribe.
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10.- LayZ – Why don’t you ever say anything constructive? It is anonymous guys like you that I am starting to consider as “Spam”. I wish all of these “A” listers would block posts from anonymous a-holes like you!!!
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10.- LayZ – Why don’t you ever say anything constructive? It is anonymous guys like you that I am starting to consider as “Spam”. I wish all of these “A” listers would block posts from anonymous a-holes like you!!!
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“….but if you happen to come close to the Ruhr Area (maybe Cologne or Dusseldorf), another BlogDinner would be nice”
I second that. I’m in Bonn. Come up and lets meet for Koelsch in Koeln.
Ref German language websites. Yup, there’s plenty of websites like that. You get used to it (or learn German!)
Steve.
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“….but if you happen to come close to the Ruhr Area (maybe Cologne or Dusseldorf), another BlogDinner would be nice”
I second that. I’m in Bonn. Come up and lets meet for Koelsch in Koeln.
Ref German language websites. Yup, there’s plenty of websites like that. You get used to it (or learn German!)
Steve.
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Robert,
Despite speaking relatively competent German,
I share your irritation with Google’s language assumptions. My machine has an english operating system, english browser settings.. Google toolbar installed in German without me asking it to.
Amazon makes a similar error.
More here.
http://theotherthomasotter.wordpress.com/2007/01/01/google-toolbar-and-amazon-shopping/
Next time you are in Germany, we need to get you and your video camera into SAP…
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Robert,
Despite speaking relatively competent German,
I share your irritation with Google’s language assumptions. My machine has an english operating system, english browser settings.. Google toolbar installed in German without me asking it to.
Amazon makes a similar error.
More here.
http://theotherthomasotter.wordpress.com/2007/01/01/google-toolbar-and-amazon-shopping/
Next time you are in Germany, we need to get you and your video camera into SAP…
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Robert: Google’s inability to show relavent MS pages when searching for MS tech (in my case, .Net stuff) is the primary reason I have abandoned it for Live.com over the last 2 weeks. Live may not be perfect in that regard, but Google is so polluted with usenet-to-html that the noise is just overwhelming (and when you factor in things like CTP documentation where versioning comes into play, it gets even worse)
That being said, I’m real interested in the Home Server. I’d like to see an SKU hierarchy to know what it has & doesn’t have vs. the other server flavors before I commit to it, but it’d be a nice cost alternative to what I had initially planned (financing my own MSDN subscription, since I’m using my house – and all the devices within – as a software development environment in addition to server functions)
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Robert: Google’s inability to show relavent MS pages when searching for MS tech (in my case, .Net stuff) is the primary reason I have abandoned it for Live.com over the last 2 weeks. Live may not be perfect in that regard, but Google is so polluted with usenet-to-html that the noise is just overwhelming (and when you factor in things like CTP documentation where versioning comes into play, it gets even worse)
That being said, I’m real interested in the Home Server. I’d like to see an SKU hierarchy to know what it has & doesn’t have vs. the other server flavors before I commit to it, but it’d be a nice cost alternative to what I had initially planned (financing my own MSDN subscription, since I’m using my house – and all the devices within – as a software development environment in addition to server functions)
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Same thing happened to me when I visited Switzerland in the summer, it took me a while to find the link to switch it back to English.
As someone else noted, when Google switched me to German I was in Geneva where they speak French. I bet that annoyed a bunch of people off who live in Switzerland permanently.
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Same thing happened to me when I visited Switzerland in the summer, it took me a while to find the link to switch it back to English.
As someone else noted, when Google switched me to German I was in Geneva where they speak French. I bet that annoyed a bunch of people off who live in Switzerland permanently.
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Typing http://www.google.com/ncr into your browser will take you to the english US vesion of their site, when you’re in other countries. I’m in Canada and plain old google.com swaps to google.ca here. The above addition to the url takes me to the .com version. Just bookmark it or set it as your home page for convenience.
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Typing http://www.google.com/ncr into your browser will take you to the english US vesion of their site, when you’re in other countries. I’m in Canada and plain old google.com swaps to google.ca here. The above addition to the url takes me to the .com version. Just bookmark it or set it as your home page for convenience.
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I think the initial market *is* to geeks, who I think will buy it primarily because it’s a lower cost option for the full Windows Server 2003 Standard SKU, albeit limited to 10 users. That, combined with a small, sleek box with built-in RAID, and a sweet UI…I think it’s a slam dunk!
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I think the initial market *is* to geeks, who I think will buy it primarily because it’s a lower cost option for the full Windows Server 2003 Standard SKU, albeit limited to 10 users. That, combined with a small, sleek box with built-in RAID, and a sweet UI…I think it’s a slam dunk!
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As pointed out, it is Windows Home Server, but even “Microsoft Home Server” got me an interesting link to an MS ad for the product (albeit a paid link, not naturally occurring).
But what can you expect? Google is going to look for pages that contain those three words, and it will put up front on the results pages that have those three words in that order. If MS had called it the “Windows Xonx Home Server” they could have pretty much guaranteed to have the results set to themselves. Give your product a unique name (“Google” is one example) and you can distinguish your product from all, or most, spurious references.
If Microsoft was not as powerful as it is I am quite sure any product named “Home Server” would get lost in the noise. They have nothing to complain about.
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As pointed out, it is Windows Home Server, but even “Microsoft Home Server” got me an interesting link to an MS ad for the product (albeit a paid link, not naturally occurring).
But what can you expect? Google is going to look for pages that contain those three words, and it will put up front on the results pages that have those three words in that order. If MS had called it the “Windows Xonx Home Server” they could have pretty much guaranteed to have the results set to themselves. Give your product a unique name (“Google” is one example) and you can distinguish your product from all, or most, spurious references.
If Microsoft was not as powerful as it is I am quite sure any product named “Home Server” would get lost in the noise. They have nothing to complain about.
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PS: I meant to add that the retail price on this baby will have a lot to do with uptake, has there been a ballpark leaked on that yet? The other factor that comes to mind is heat and power consumption. I use a Linksys device about the size of two cell phones stuck side by side. No fan, and even in heavy use the thing hardly gets warm. The external disk drives connected to it DO get warm though and I’ve read that one cause of failure in these USB drives is insufficient (ie nonexistent) cooling. So for something I’m going to tuck away in a closet somewhere (next to lots of flammable materials) I would like to know that some form of ambient cooling will keep the various parts from reaching any dangerous levels.
This device/software combo has a lot of nice unique features for an all-Windows household, but I’d bet it won’t take long for most of this to be duplicated by a generic low-power low-heat no-fan gadget if it becomes a success.
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PS: I meant to add that the retail price on this baby will have a lot to do with uptake, has there been a ballpark leaked on that yet? The other factor that comes to mind is heat and power consumption. I use a Linksys device about the size of two cell phones stuck side by side. No fan, and even in heavy use the thing hardly gets warm. The external disk drives connected to it DO get warm though and I’ve read that one cause of failure in these USB drives is insufficient (ie nonexistent) cooling. So for something I’m going to tuck away in a closet somewhere (next to lots of flammable materials) I would like to know that some form of ambient cooling will keep the various parts from reaching any dangerous levels.
This device/software combo has a lot of nice unique features for an all-Windows household, but I’d bet it won’t take long for most of this to be duplicated by a generic low-power low-heat no-fan gadget if it becomes a success.
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Ben Scoble @ 15: I could have sworn I read the exact same comment by you on another post. The pay per post one perhaps?
I’m sure I’m not seeing things.
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Ben Scoble @ 15: I could have sworn I read the exact same comment by you on another post. The pay per post one perhaps?
I’m sure I’m not seeing things.
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LayZ: screw off. You used to add value here. Now you’re just being an asshole.
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Michiel: I want you to find “Google in English” on this screen shot. I’m probably just blind.
I have no idea why you just don’t unsubscribe instead of sending abuse my way. Does that really make you feel better?
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Michiel: I want you to find “Google in English” on this screen shot. I’m probably just blind.
I have no idea why you just don’t unsubscribe instead of sending abuse my way. Does that really make you feel better?
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LayZ: screw off. You used to add value here. Now you’re just being an asshole.
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13: OK, now I see it’s called “Windows Home Server,” but, let me ask you, how many people will call this “Microsoft Home Server?” I bet a large percentage will. I sure did, until you corrected me.
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13: OK, now I see it’s called “Windows Home Server,” but, let me ask you, how many people will call this “Microsoft Home Server?” I bet a large percentage will. I sure did, until you corrected me.
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@26. Hey! Don’t get mad at me for not being able to figure out such a simple problem. I was simply surprised, given the amount of international travel you do, that this was the first time you ran across this issue.
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@26. Hey! Don’t get mad at me for not being able to figure out such a simple problem. I was simply surprised, given the amount of international travel you do, that this was the first time you ran across this issue.
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macbeach, that sucks if companies have to cater go Google’s algorithms when naming products. Seems that Google’s algorithms should adapt to the product names than the other way around. This is the tail wagging the dog. Google is used to search for products, and if Google isn’t up to the challenge without companies coming up with idiotic names like you suggested, then other search engines will do.
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macbeach, that sucks if companies have to cater go Google’s algorithms when naming products. Seems that Google’s algorithms should adapt to the product names than the other way around. This is the tail wagging the dog. Google is used to search for products, and if Google isn’t up to the challenge without companies coming up with idiotic names like you suggested, then other search engines will do.
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Robert, this blog entry is the *first* time I’ve heard anyone refer to Windows Home Server as Microsoft Home Server. You screwed up the name, not anyone else. So what do you suggest, that Microsoft rename it as “Microsoft Home Server” now? “Windows Home Server” is already generating the correct hits. Changing it to “Microsoft Home Server” would just changes the hits to that phrase rather than “Windows Home Server”. It makes no difference.
Again, I find it wrong that companies have to cater to Google’s algorithms. I know you once said, “If it doesn’t show up on Google, then it doesn’t exist.” That’s BS.
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Apparently, MS thinks that this viral ad site will boost Windows Home Server before it is available:
http://www.stopdigitalamnesia.com/
wonder who the “doctor” is?
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Robert, this blog entry is the *first* time I’ve heard anyone refer to Windows Home Server as Microsoft Home Server. You screwed up the name, not anyone else. So what do you suggest, that Microsoft rename it as “Microsoft Home Server” now? “Windows Home Server” is already generating the correct hits. Changing it to “Microsoft Home Server” would just changes the hits to that phrase rather than “Windows Home Server”. It makes no difference.
Again, I find it wrong that companies have to cater to Google’s algorithms. I know you once said, “If it doesn’t show up on Google, then it doesn’t exist.” That’s BS.
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Apparently, MS thinks that this viral ad site will boost Windows Home Server before it is available:
http://www.stopdigitalamnesia.com/
wonder who the “doctor” is?
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Robert, it’s nice that you finally told LayZ wehere to get off. Now, do the same for John C Welch. :p
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Robert, it’s nice that you finally told LayZ wehere to get off. Now, do the same for John C Welch. :p
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Robert,
Let me ask you something. You’re a tech blog and a good one. I’m a long time reader, a couple of years now.
Why don’t you ever cover free/libre software like GNU/Linux? Are you opposed to free (as in freedom) software like 99% of current and former MS employees? I never see anything about free software, ever.
It’s your blog, but tech is tech. I know you like to cover things that are quote “innovative”, but have you ever sat down with yourself and considered the freedom aspect of software?
Looking forward to your response.
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Robert,
Let me ask you something. You’re a tech blog and a good one. I’m a long time reader, a couple of years now.
Why don’t you ever cover free/libre software like GNU/Linux? Are you opposed to free (as in freedom) software like 99% of current and former MS employees? I never see anything about free software, ever.
It’s your blog, but tech is tech. I know you like to cover things that are quote “innovative”, but have you ever sat down with yourself and considered the freedom aspect of software?
Looking forward to your response.
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Re: the gods at 33…Truckers, that was the best fucking spam EVER. It made me want to go find even MORE porn than before! SWEET
Colby, why are you trying to get Robert to do your dirty work for you. You have something to say to me, by all means, say it. I ain’t hidin’.
Peter, Robert’s about as techie as a myna bird, only less discriminating. He’s a tech enthusiast and as a result, is not really going to be the person to get into Linux. He’s handy around the house when you need your HD TV hooked up, (just make sure to give him a towel and a cigarette afterwards, and have some Windex on hand. He gets a tad too excited about such things), but Robert and Linux?
Only if you play “Yakety Sax” in the background.
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Re: the gods at 33…Truckers, that was the best fucking spam EVER. It made me want to go find even MORE porn than before! SWEET
Colby, why are you trying to get Robert to do your dirty work for you. You have something to say to me, by all means, say it. I ain’t hidin’.
Peter, Robert’s about as techie as a myna bird, only less discriminating. He’s a tech enthusiast and as a result, is not really going to be the person to get into Linux. He’s handy around the house when you need your HD TV hooked up, (just make sure to give him a towel and a cigarette afterwards, and have some Windex on hand. He gets a tad too excited about such things), but Robert and Linux?
Only if you play “Yakety Sax” in the background.
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@35 John,
I hear you. One of the things about Robert is that he evaluates TOO MUCH stuff and never really takes the time to stick with any one or three cool software programs. Like most people, he’s enamored with online tools and services, but a failure to check out GNU/Linux as a “techie” is a major failing in my book.
Yes, yes, I know… I’m a free software bigot, but I used to not be. I used to believe like most people that it didn’t matter what license my software I use was released under, but now that I’ve actually been using GNU/Linux for 9 years, I understand that free as in freedom is something I never again want to give up.
Most people never consider the freedom aspect of their software, the evil DRM onboard, etc. If people really understood what they were losing, they’d be appalled. It’s illegal for you (metaphorically) to share a copy of Windows with your friends. It’s illegal for you to reverse engineer the source code to see if there is anything untowards in the code (I’m convinced there is). The fact that the NSA assisted with the security in Windows is scary. Yes, the NSA helped with SELinux, but the source is open for me to check it. The beauty of free software is that there is nothing hidden.
Think about it. A society that cannot share is a society doomed to fail. Proprietary software licenses are evil. They force people to NOT share because of the threat of legal proceedings. I could never subject myself to this. I feel that software should be free as in freedom.
Just my dos pesos.
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@35 John,
I hear you. One of the things about Robert is that he evaluates TOO MUCH stuff and never really takes the time to stick with any one or three cool software programs. Like most people, he’s enamored with online tools and services, but a failure to check out GNU/Linux as a “techie” is a major failing in my book.
Yes, yes, I know… I’m a free software bigot, but I used to not be. I used to believe like most people that it didn’t matter what license my software I use was released under, but now that I’ve actually been using GNU/Linux for 9 years, I understand that free as in freedom is something I never again want to give up.
Most people never consider the freedom aspect of their software, the evil DRM onboard, etc. If people really understood what they were losing, they’d be appalled. It’s illegal for you (metaphorically) to share a copy of Windows with your friends. It’s illegal for you to reverse engineer the source code to see if there is anything untowards in the code (I’m convinced there is). The fact that the NSA assisted with the security in Windows is scary. Yes, the NSA helped with SELinux, but the source is open for me to check it. The beauty of free software is that there is nothing hidden.
Think about it. A society that cannot share is a society doomed to fail. Proprietary software licenses are evil. They force people to NOT share because of the threat of legal proceedings. I could never subject myself to this. I feel that software should be free as in freedom.
Just my dos pesos.
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I almost forgot…
People complain that there is no innovation in free software and in GNU/Linux. This is somwhat true. I freely admit this. However, what people are not really up on is simply the freedom aspect. Free software is about freedom first, innovation second.
Ask yourself this: would you rather drive a 10-year-old car and be able to go anywhere, or would you rather drive a brand new, shiny car with all the bells and whistles, but only be able to stay in your own neighborhood. The latter is proprietary software.
People say it doesn’t matter. OK. Copy your Mac OS X disk and put it up on the Internet as an .iso, and see how fast it takes Apple to launch a lawyer attack on you and your Web hosting provider.
Reverse engineer the code to Aqua and put it on the net. Same result.
Freedom should ALWAYS be first, at the expense of innovation and anything else.
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I almost forgot…
People complain that there is no innovation in free software and in GNU/Linux. This is somwhat true. I freely admit this. However, what people are not really up on is simply the freedom aspect. Free software is about freedom first, innovation second.
Ask yourself this: would you rather drive a 10-year-old car and be able to go anywhere, or would you rather drive a brand new, shiny car with all the bells and whistles, but only be able to stay in your own neighborhood. The latter is proprietary software.
People say it doesn’t matter. OK. Copy your Mac OS X disk and put it up on the Internet as an .iso, and see how fast it takes Apple to launch a lawyer attack on you and your Web hosting provider.
Reverse engineer the code to Aqua and put it on the net. Same result.
Freedom should ALWAYS be first, at the expense of innovation and anything else.
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http://www.google.us will stick with English. I had the same problem when I started using Tor and was proxying through foreign IP’s, google was inferring based on where the ip was coming from.
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http://www.google.us will stick with English. I had the same problem when I started using Tor and was proxying through foreign IP’s, google was inferring based on where the ip was coming from.
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Oh dear god, a Stallmanite…
Ask yourself this: would you rather drive a 10-year-old car and be able to go anywhere, or would you rather drive a brand new, shiny car with all the bells and whistles, but only be able to stay in your own neighborhood. The latter is proprietary software.
Bullshit. That’s the worst analogy ever. For one, you’re comparing hardware to software. Two, cars are as proprietary as hell in some ways, completely non-proprietary in others. Tires are standard, engine mounts are not. What is it with Stallmanites and comparisons? Why do they suck so bad? Why do they make the baby jesus cry?
People say it doesn’t matter. OK. Copy your Mac OS X disk and put it up on the Internet as an .iso, and see how fast it takes Apple to launch a lawyer attack on you and your Web hosting provider.
BWAAHAAH…Go violate the GPL and see how long you get away with it. I wonder what the FSF will use to defend the GPL..why, they’ll use LAWYERS. To defend their INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Because it’s OKAY for THEM to do it, just no one else. Is there a way to create a recursive acronym for “The FSF: Defending Hypocrisy and Not Bathing for thirty years”? ‘Cause it would rule if there was.
Reverse engineer the code to Aqua and put it on the net. Same result.Freedom should ALWAYS be first, at the expense of innovation and anything else
Wow…I’m 40 years old. I did aircraft maintenance in the USAF. I’ve been in IT for around twenty years. I’ve done user support.
So when I say that may very well be the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever read in my life, I have some serious qualifications to make that judgement.
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Oh dear god, a Stallmanite…
Ask yourself this: would you rather drive a 10-year-old car and be able to go anywhere, or would you rather drive a brand new, shiny car with all the bells and whistles, but only be able to stay in your own neighborhood. The latter is proprietary software.
Bullshit. That’s the worst analogy ever. For one, you’re comparing hardware to software. Two, cars are as proprietary as hell in some ways, completely non-proprietary in others. Tires are standard, engine mounts are not. What is it with Stallmanites and comparisons? Why do they suck so bad? Why do they make the baby jesus cry?
People say it doesn’t matter. OK. Copy your Mac OS X disk and put it up on the Internet as an .iso, and see how fast it takes Apple to launch a lawyer attack on you and your Web hosting provider.
BWAAHAAH…Go violate the GPL and see how long you get away with it. I wonder what the FSF will use to defend the GPL..why, they’ll use LAWYERS. To defend their INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Because it’s OKAY for THEM to do it, just no one else. Is there a way to create a recursive acronym for “The FSF: Defending Hypocrisy and Not Bathing for thirty years”? ‘Cause it would rule if there was.
Reverse engineer the code to Aqua and put it on the net. Same result.Freedom should ALWAYS be first, at the expense of innovation and anything else
Wow…I’m 40 years old. I did aircraft maintenance in the USAF. I’ve been in IT for around twenty years. I’ve done user support.
So when I say that may very well be the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever read in my life, I have some serious qualifications to make that judgement.
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Most people never consider the freedom aspect of their software, the evil DRM onboard, etc. If people really understood what they were losing, they’d be appalled. It’s illegal for you (metaphorically) to share a copy of Windows with your friends.
If by share you mean “let someone borrow your computer” then no, not at all. If by share you mean “make infinite copies for the entire internet”, then yes. Funny how you use the word “share” when you mean “make infinite copies”. But then, the Stallmanite crowd are just as adept as Microsoft at spinmeistering. Other side of the coin petey.
Free software is about freedom first, innovation second.
Ah, that would explain the craptacular UIs, and ignorant justification for every single problem. Saves actually fixing them. “There’s a bug”
“OMGFREEEEDOM!!!”
“right, buying a mac/wintel”
Most people never consider the freedom aspect of their software, the evil DRM onboard, etc.
DRM is a tool, it is neither good nor bad. Take my shoe, it’s a size 12. When I’m walking, it’s a good tool. When I’m putting it up your ass, metaphorically, it’s a GREAT tool. But to you, it’s a bad one.
DRM has its place. Esp. for things like medical records. No, I don’t want people just frolicking through my medical records. By the way, encryption? that’s a kind of DRM. Yeah. I know you never thought about it that way. But then, religious fanbois don’t think much.
Proprietary software licenses are evil. They force people to NOT share because of the threat of legal proceedings. I could never subject myself to this. I feel that software should be free as in freedom
I believe that logic should be circular, as in circles!
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Most people never consider the freedom aspect of their software, the evil DRM onboard, etc. If people really understood what they were losing, they’d be appalled. It’s illegal for you (metaphorically) to share a copy of Windows with your friends.
If by share you mean “let someone borrow your computer” then no, not at all. If by share you mean “make infinite copies for the entire internet”, then yes. Funny how you use the word “share” when you mean “make infinite copies”. But then, the Stallmanite crowd are just as adept as Microsoft at spinmeistering. Other side of the coin petey.
Free software is about freedom first, innovation second.
Ah, that would explain the craptacular UIs, and ignorant justification for every single problem. Saves actually fixing them. “There’s a bug”
“OMGFREEEEDOM!!!”
“right, buying a mac/wintel”
Most people never consider the freedom aspect of their software, the evil DRM onboard, etc.
DRM is a tool, it is neither good nor bad. Take my shoe, it’s a size 12. When I’m walking, it’s a good tool. When I’m putting it up your ass, metaphorically, it’s a GREAT tool. But to you, it’s a bad one.
DRM has its place. Esp. for things like medical records. No, I don’t want people just frolicking through my medical records. By the way, encryption? that’s a kind of DRM. Yeah. I know you never thought about it that way. But then, religious fanbois don’t think much.
Proprietary software licenses are evil. They force people to NOT share because of the threat of legal proceedings. I could never subject myself to this. I feel that software should be free as in freedom
I believe that logic should be circular, as in circles!
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Robert: Got your message about you being in town for tech fest. I should be around. Drop me a line and I’ll be happy to give you a dog & pony show of my group and Windows Home Server.
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Robert: Got your message about you being in town for tech fest. I should be around. Drop me a line and I’ll be happy to give you a dog & pony show of my group and Windows Home Server.
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OMG Martinsbrau is the greatest place ever – down the end of that little alley. I’ve been there on business and found that place while strolling around. Beer brewed in house, smokey room of communal tables, and a plate with 3 types of wurst. Goodnight.
I also hear the old bartender over at The Hotel Columbi is a must visit character of Freiburg. Have a good time!
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OMG Martinsbrau is the greatest place ever – down the end of that little alley. I’ve been there on business and found that place while strolling around. Beer brewed in house, smokey room of communal tables, and a plate with 3 types of wurst. Goodnight.
I also hear the old bartender over at The Hotel Columbi is a must visit character of Freiburg. Have a good time!
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29: “macbeach, that sucks if companies have to cater go Google’s algorithms when naming products. Seems that Google’s algorithms should adapt to the product names than the other way around. ”
I obviously didn’t express myself well, and my example was bad. My point was that no algorithm can get beyond the use of common, in fact VERY common words in a search string. In fact, if the product were named “Microsoft Home Server” as Robert wrongly stated, it would have a better chance of showing up at the top of the search results than would “Windows Home Server”. Don’t you remember, the word “windows” used to refer to an architectural element in buildings, even in, for example, your “home”? You wouldn’t want to purge Google’s database of all such references to sell a software product would you? That would in fact be MANUAL intervention into the search. (I wouldn’t be surprised if there were actually a lot of that going on too).
Get my point? In the name “Windows Home Server” you are talking about three very common words that have technical uses, but also have very common, in fact MORE common non-technical counterparts. The term “Microsoft” on the other hand, or even a word like “software”, or “LAN”, etc. could be used to automatically distinguish between this products name and other random paragraphs that might contain those three words in some totally different context. The only (other than Google intervention) way that this product would (and does) show up at the top of the Google search at all, is the fact that search engines give preference to the words appearing adjacent to one another and in the same order specified (you can put your search string in quotes to nail this down even further, particularly when there are two or more groups of words you are searching for). neither the word “palm” or “pilot” alone might get me a good selection of references to 90’s vintage personal organizers, but “Palm Pilot” certainly would. On the other hand, “N800” already does a pretty good job of getting me to a more modern device without a lot of false hits.
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29: “macbeach, that sucks if companies have to cater go Google’s algorithms when naming products. Seems that Google’s algorithms should adapt to the product names than the other way around. ”
I obviously didn’t express myself well, and my example was bad. My point was that no algorithm can get beyond the use of common, in fact VERY common words in a search string. In fact, if the product were named “Microsoft Home Server” as Robert wrongly stated, it would have a better chance of showing up at the top of the search results than would “Windows Home Server”. Don’t you remember, the word “windows” used to refer to an architectural element in buildings, even in, for example, your “home”? You wouldn’t want to purge Google’s database of all such references to sell a software product would you? That would in fact be MANUAL intervention into the search. (I wouldn’t be surprised if there were actually a lot of that going on too).
Get my point? In the name “Windows Home Server” you are talking about three very common words that have technical uses, but also have very common, in fact MORE common non-technical counterparts. The term “Microsoft” on the other hand, or even a word like “software”, or “LAN”, etc. could be used to automatically distinguish between this products name and other random paragraphs that might contain those three words in some totally different context. The only (other than Google intervention) way that this product would (and does) show up at the top of the Google search at all, is the fact that search engines give preference to the words appearing adjacent to one another and in the same order specified (you can put your search string in quotes to nail this down even further, particularly when there are two or more groups of words you are searching for). neither the word “palm” or “pilot” alone might get me a good selection of references to 90’s vintage personal organizers, but “Palm Pilot” certainly would. On the other hand, “N800” already does a pretty good job of getting me to a more modern device without a lot of false hits.
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Peter: I’ve had my hands on Linux many times. I just don’t like it. It isn’t as good as OSX or Windows Vista and, I study a LOT what people are using and they aren’t using Linux in any serious numbers as a desktop operating system. They ARE using it on servers (Google runs on it, for instance) but that isn’t nearly as interesting to talk about for me as, say, Apple’s new iPhone.
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Peter: I’ve had my hands on Linux many times. I just don’t like it. It isn’t as good as OSX or Windows Vista and, I study a LOT what people are using and they aren’t using Linux in any serious numbers as a desktop operating system. They ARE using it on servers (Google runs on it, for instance) but that isn’t nearly as interesting to talk about for me as, say, Apple’s new iPhone.
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> The problem with the Home Server is going to be
> marketing. Already mentions of it have totally
> died off.
I think the only “problem” with the Home Server is that it’s not available in the shops NOW. This is not a product that needs huge hype *before* release. If somebody tells me about a toaster that will be really cool – in a few months, this will not get me excited (unlike let’s say a mention of managed code for WPF/E).
When I told my wife about Home Server, she said “oh, that sounds like something that solves a couple of my problems. Will you buy it next week?”. When I answered that it’s not avaiable yet, that was the end of the conversation, period.
It’s easy: Does X solve problem Y? Yes? Fine. Can I get it? No? Don’t steal my time.
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> The problem with the Home Server is going to be
> marketing. Already mentions of it have totally
> died off.
I think the only “problem” with the Home Server is that it’s not available in the shops NOW. This is not a product that needs huge hype *before* release. If somebody tells me about a toaster that will be really cool – in a few months, this will not get me excited (unlike let’s say a mention of managed code for WPF/E).
When I told my wife about Home Server, she said “oh, that sounds like something that solves a couple of my problems. Will you buy it next week?”. When I answered that it’s not avaiable yet, that was the end of the conversation, period.
It’s easy: Does X solve problem Y? Yes? Fine. Can I get it? No? Don’t steal my time.
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RWeigelt: good point. But that didn’t stop Steve Jobs this year, no?
Macbeach: agreed. Any marketer that doesn’t consider how people use search engines when naming its products is going to be at a disadvantage.
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RWeigelt: good point. But that didn’t stop Steve Jobs this year, no?
Macbeach: agreed. Any marketer that doesn’t consider how people use search engines when naming its products is going to be at a disadvantage.
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Dude, that screenshot is whacked. Of course you can’t find it there because it’s on the bottom of the page. You do know how to use scroll bars don’t you?
Still, I agree that the language change is annoying. I’d think Google of all companies would monitor how many people from certain ips switch languages and change the default pages they set up based on that (for those French speakers getting German). Ditto using cookies to keep the traveler like yourself on the right page.
Anyway, now you know. I am somewhat surprised you didn’t earlier though considering you travel so much and write a tech column.
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Dude, that screenshot is whacked. Of course you can’t find it there because it’s on the bottom of the page. You do know how to use scroll bars don’t you?
Still, I agree that the language change is annoying. I’d think Google of all companies would monitor how many people from certain ips switch languages and change the default pages they set up based on that (for those French speakers getting German). Ditto using cookies to keep the traveler like yourself on the right page.
Anyway, now you know. I am somewhat surprised you didn’t earlier though considering you travel so much and write a tech column.
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John C. Welch @ 38 and 40,
I will have to agree with you on these points.
Damnit 😉
Guy
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John C. Welch @ 38 and 40,
I will have to agree with you on these points.
Damnit 😉
Guy
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Guy, I’m really evil that way. It’s part of my master plot to make everyone but me question their sanity, so that I am eventually KING OF THE WORLD!!!!
crap…I shouldn’t have said that in my “out loud” voice.
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Guy, I’m really evil that way. It’s part of my master plot to make everyone but me question their sanity, so that I am eventually KING OF THE WORLD!!!!
crap…I shouldn’t have said that in my “out loud” voice.
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John, it’s a good thing that Robert and his commenters give you that platform to accomplish your goals.
As far as questioning your sanity, everybody knows your fruit-loops 🙂
Guy
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John, it’s a good thing that Robert and his commenters give you that platform to accomplish your goals.
As far as questioning your sanity, everybody knows your fruit-loops 🙂
Guy
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Peter @ 35 and 36
It appears that the world needs to give software away because it is a right that every human being deserves. The funny thing is that like the phone, TV, computers, and every other type of technology, it is not a right but a privliage to those that can afford it. yes, I know that sounds snobby, but it’s a fact that you have to buy the hardware and software in order to utilize this stuff. The fact that Mr. Bill Gates and Mr Steve Jobs built empires with a fan base does mean that they are evil and should give back all of that money, it just means that they came up with a good idea that a bunch of people decided they needed.
Open source, free software is great, I use some of it myself, however when I work (I am a control engineer) I have to use windows as it is what is supported by the work enviorment that I am in.
Your arguments about the Freedom of software and the oppression of DRM is evil is not well founded. I dislike DRM, but I do not blame anybody for protecting their products, I do disagree with my inability to control how I use that product once I have bought it, but this is an evil world that requires rules and regulations.
Hopefully, when John C. Welch takes over all of this will be moot and we will have the ability to do whatever we want to.
Guy
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Peter @ 35 and 36
It appears that the world needs to give software away because it is a right that every human being deserves. The funny thing is that like the phone, TV, computers, and every other type of technology, it is not a right but a privliage to those that can afford it. yes, I know that sounds snobby, but it’s a fact that you have to buy the hardware and software in order to utilize this stuff. The fact that Mr. Bill Gates and Mr Steve Jobs built empires with a fan base does mean that they are evil and should give back all of that money, it just means that they came up with a good idea that a bunch of people decided they needed.
Open source, free software is great, I use some of it myself, however when I work (I am a control engineer) I have to use windows as it is what is supported by the work enviorment that I am in.
Your arguments about the Freedom of software and the oppression of DRM is evil is not well founded. I dislike DRM, but I do not blame anybody for protecting their products, I do disagree with my inability to control how I use that product once I have bought it, but this is an evil world that requires rules and regulations.
Hopefully, when John C. Welch takes over all of this will be moot and we will have the ability to do whatever we want to.
Guy
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You can only control it from Windows xp or Vista PCs. No mac support
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You can only control it from Windows xp or Vista PCs. No mac support
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Spot Quiz: what’s the difference between (among?) these three products: Windows Home Server, HP MediaSmart Server, and HP MediaVault? Which should I buy?
How confident are you (as interested and well-informed observers) in your answer? Here’s my answer, offered with only 30% confidence that I know what I’m talking about (Please correct me if I’m wrong):
Windows Home Server is software, but you can’t buy it directly and you can’t order it by name.
HP MediaSmart Server is hardware that runs Windows Home Server (which is bundled with it). You’ll be able to buy it and order it by name.
HP MediaVault is a product that provides a subset of the functionality of MediaSmart Server. It runs software developed by HP on Linux.
So, the first HW vendor to sign up for Home Media Server sells it alongside a similarly named competing product.
What’s does MediaSmart do that MediaVault doesn’t? (The HW is different as well as the SW).
As this thread testifies, a good chunk of the people who understand what these products do and recognize their benefits would rather roll their own.
Is any of this MarketingSmart?
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ack! forgive the unbalanced tag.
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Spot Quiz: what’s the difference between (among?) these three products: Windows Home Server, HP MediaSmart Server, and HP MediaVault? Which should I buy?
How confident are you (as interested and well-informed observers) in your answer? Here’s my answer, offered with only 30% confidence that I know what I’m talking about (Please correct me if I’m wrong):
Windows Home Server is software, but you can’t buy it directly and you can’t order it by name.
HP MediaSmart Server is hardware that runs Windows Home Server (which is bundled with it). You’ll be able to buy it and order it by name.
HP MediaVault is a product that provides a subset of the functionality of MediaSmart Server. It runs software developed by HP on Linux.
So, the first HW vendor to sign up for Home Media Server sells it alongside a similarly named competing product.
What’s does MediaSmart do that MediaVault doesn’t? (The HW is different as well as the SW).
As this thread testifies, a good chunk of the people who understand what these products do and recognize their benefits would rather roll their own.
Is any of this MarketingSmart?
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ack! forgive the unbalanced tag.
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Well, well.
John, your qualifications aside, you support some evil software ideals. I agree that protecting medical records is paramount. I also think that healthcare should be free. My taxes go to nothing but supporting Iraq and maybe a fixing a few potholes in my local streets.
You said DRM is neither good or evil. I disagree with that line of thinking in the context of consumer software because if I cannot control every aspect of my software, to include being able to view the source, then it’s evil. For that reason alone, even in Linux, I will not download binary blobs. I get the source and compile it. I also learn something in the process.
I never stated that all the overly-rich empire builders should give their money back. I stated that software should be free, as in freedom. Share DOES mean infinite copies, as that is one of the preconditions for free software.
Stallmanite? No. I agree with him, but I don’t spend a lot of time reading his missives. I’ve agreed with his point of view before I even knew who he was.
It’s about freedom and control. I like both. The fact that Windows uses DRM to control updating is evil. Most Windows software outside of the US is not genuine Windows. I’m OK with that. These people are prime candidates for becoming Linux users. Fact of the matter is, there is not a whole lot that Windows and the Mac can do that Linux cannot. Sure, I may have a less than perfect GUI, but at least my money stays in my wallet where it belongs.
You say hardware is proprietary. Unfortunately, yes, but my BIOS is free software. You can download free software BIOSs now, freeing your computer almost entirely of badly-licensed software.
Same goes for the iPod and soon the Zune. Get a freeware firmware changeout and do what you will.
Cal me radical all you want, but I don’t answer to any company. I answer to the GPL, which suits me just fine, since I can share, copy ad nauseum, change, edit, you name it. The GPL is viral for several good reasons, which while you may not agree with them, they are sound ideals.
Again, I may have offered some bad analogies, but my computing environment is free. Yours is not. This may not bother you, but it sure as hell bothers me on several levels.
That’s why free software exists. For people who are tired of everything being proprietary and released under draconian licenses. The entire idea of intellectual property is bunk. No such thing. Copyrights, yes. Patents, yes. IP, no way.
Embrace and extend is terribly evil. Software should be free. Full stop.
Go and actually read the GPL. It’s more American than any other license out there. It embraces the founding father’s ideals more than you will know. Take another, closer look before you know it.
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Well, well.
John, your qualifications aside, you support some evil software ideals. I agree that protecting medical records is paramount. I also think that healthcare should be free. My taxes go to nothing but supporting Iraq and maybe a fixing a few potholes in my local streets.
You said DRM is neither good or evil. I disagree with that line of thinking in the context of consumer software because if I cannot control every aspect of my software, to include being able to view the source, then it’s evil. For that reason alone, even in Linux, I will not download binary blobs. I get the source and compile it. I also learn something in the process.
I never stated that all the overly-rich empire builders should give their money back. I stated that software should be free, as in freedom. Share DOES mean infinite copies, as that is one of the preconditions for free software.
Stallmanite? No. I agree with him, but I don’t spend a lot of time reading his missives. I’ve agreed with his point of view before I even knew who he was.
It’s about freedom and control. I like both. The fact that Windows uses DRM to control updating is evil. Most Windows software outside of the US is not genuine Windows. I’m OK with that. These people are prime candidates for becoming Linux users. Fact of the matter is, there is not a whole lot that Windows and the Mac can do that Linux cannot. Sure, I may have a less than perfect GUI, but at least my money stays in my wallet where it belongs.
You say hardware is proprietary. Unfortunately, yes, but my BIOS is free software. You can download free software BIOSs now, freeing your computer almost entirely of badly-licensed software.
Same goes for the iPod and soon the Zune. Get a freeware firmware changeout and do what you will.
Cal me radical all you want, but I don’t answer to any company. I answer to the GPL, which suits me just fine, since I can share, copy ad nauseum, change, edit, you name it. The GPL is viral for several good reasons, which while you may not agree with them, they are sound ideals.
Again, I may have offered some bad analogies, but my computing environment is free. Yours is not. This may not bother you, but it sure as hell bothers me on several levels.
That’s why free software exists. For people who are tired of everything being proprietary and released under draconian licenses. The entire idea of intellectual property is bunk. No such thing. Copyrights, yes. Patents, yes. IP, no way.
Embrace and extend is terribly evil. Software should be free. Full stop.
Go and actually read the GPL. It’s more American than any other license out there. It embraces the founding father’s ideals more than you will know. Take another, closer look before you know it.
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“Aside: Google just switched to German on me. Why does it assume I speak German just because my packets are coming from Germany? Grrrrrr. Ich spreche kein Deutsch! It should know that I’ve been hitting it from this computer for months from the United States and that that is my home base. I can’t even read Google now, so I have no idea how to change the default back to English. I just did a search on “Rhein” and it took me to the German Wikipedia, too. Double Grrrrrr”
The Belgian version of the Google web site is always displayed in Dutch: it seems to me that these guys do not know that in Belgium, you have three offical languages: Dutch, French and German.
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“Aside: Google just switched to German on me. Why does it assume I speak German just because my packets are coming from Germany? Grrrrrr. Ich spreche kein Deutsch! It should know that I’ve been hitting it from this computer for months from the United States and that that is my home base. I can’t even read Google now, so I have no idea how to change the default back to English. I just did a search on “Rhein” and it took me to the German Wikipedia, too. Double Grrrrrr”
The Belgian version of the Google web site is always displayed in Dutch: it seems to me that these guys do not know that in Belgium, you have three offical languages: Dutch, French and German.
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@55 Marxist Peter says “if I cannot control every aspect of my software, to include being able to view the source, then it’s evil.”
Did you compile your web browser too? How about the compiler itself, to cleanse the evilness out of that one too? There’s firmware in your computer and you don’t have the source code… I fear for your safety with so much evilness in your home. Face it Peter, you’re just plain weird.
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@55 Marxist Peter says “if I cannot control every aspect of my software, to include being able to view the source, then it’s evil.”
Did you compile your web browser too? How about the compiler itself, to cleanse the evilness out of that one too? There’s firmware in your computer and you don’t have the source code… I fear for your safety with so much evilness in your home. Face it Peter, you’re just plain weird.
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