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• 42217
  

  I'd just like to point out that "Open Source" is NOT a synonym for Linux-based code.

  There are many thousands of examples of Open Source code for Windows.

  I'm not going to delve into the ins and outs of Open Source licencing, but in a nutshell, it is any source code that is published and available for use by anyone (subject to certain conditions in some cases).

  Phil Rogers Posted January 25, 2008 8:10 AM
• 21745
  

  If I offended anyone, as always, I stand corrected.

  Having been in and out of the field since the day of paper punch tapes, I must admit I've long tired of relearning everything I knew. Most anyone who's worked in an office over the past twenty years or so may look at those software package names and recognize some of the reality. Word can still be made to look like WordPerfect, blue screen, white letters, and all; hot keys still work. In the beginning, Lotus script codes worked in both Lotus and Excel with only minor changes. Microsoft was sued by Steve Jobs (Apple) over the resemblance of its graphic user interface (GUI - but think Windows) to Gem Clip until it was pointed out that both came from Xerox.

  If technology isn't adopted by the public, it dies. How many Beta recorders, Super 8 cameras, or reel-to-reels do you see today? And the newly adopted proliferate. I admit I still don't have an iPod and my phone is about three generations old. I merely wish to point out that people's desires and market success have driven us to where we are today. Personally, if it works, why fix it?

  Still, Bill didn't invent the concept of planned obsolescence and if they ever stop needing new software, the world's richest man will be the richest no longer. To be honest, as I grow older learning the new tricks keeps my mind working.

  Good luck to all of you in this changing world.

  Tip off

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 14, 2007 2:29 PM
• 21723
  

  Tip off,
  My, but aren't you the smart one, all technohip and still able to state the obvious about progress, wow... Anyway, I was not advocating mobs with hammers be let loose on Best Buy or Circuit City. If you want to run downhill, by all means sprint!

  Cracked & Wired Posted March 14, 2007 7:34 AM
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  It amazes me when people describe Bill Gates as a geek. Not sure if this is a cultivated image, but it hides the truth. The man should be looked at as a shark and that is not said unkindly. They have survived from "ancient times", even prospered while their contemporaries died off; and ruled the oceans until mankind ventured forth.

  The man was born of money and developed a vision during the computer's coming of age. His forte was recognition of people's abilities, the future impact of automation, and marketing. He dabbled with the real geniuses, and put their knowledge and skill to work as no one else. As Pepsi and Coke signed exclusive deals with restaurants, so did Bill with computer makers when few others imagined their impact.

  "45s, LPs, the eight-track, cassettes" Yep I still have them all. I know the hiss and pop of polyvinyl records and the slow stretched tapes from too much sun. While not a technophile, I do now appreciate the clear crisp sounds of my wife and my own special songs during those intimate evenings.

  I dislike being held hostage to a man two months younger than me, but know that his system is the culmination of user approved success stories. He saw what others liked and went after it. From parts of the Unix OS architecture in the NT kernel, security by Norton, applications that mimicked WordPerfect, Lotus 123, and dBase, the GUI from Xerox, and the internet; he has found what sold and acquired it. It is that success with the American people that prompted the US Government to acquire what its workers knew best.

  As for the generations of machines in the government inventory, that is the product of technological advances and the cost of the largest business in the US. We, government workers, have been prohibited from installing the new OS, but we are testing it. There is a life-cycle plan to replace the old and bring in the new, should it be accepted, and should be in time for the new updates and releases.

  If you are a Luddite, I recommend patience, an open mind, and that you ask a youngster for help. You'll need it, for we can not stop the juggernaut of progress. We can only hope it is all for the best.

  Tip off

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 13, 2007 1:03 PM
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  Forever running downhill faster and faster! Just think 45s, LPs, the eight-track, cassettes and then CDs. All of this is a bad joke on the consumer, suck them into the new whiz-bang idea and then engineer it into obsolescence. Buy on suckers!

  Cracked & Wired Posted March 13, 2007 10:10 AM
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  The fact is that Vista doesn't work properly from all accounts I have heard from those that installed it. They may be up-to-date on technology but they cannot perform their jobs. New is not necessarily better or necessary. Government should use the technology it needs and not have up-to-date equipment. Find one good answer to the question of why do government offices have color printers that cost significantly more than black and white and print the same thing in different colors? Laser vs. dot matrix is probably a good move but why color?

  operator Posted March 13, 2007 8:03 AM
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  It never fails to amaze me of the convoluted ideology that has existed within the corporate/government/academic culture structure's surreptitious financial 'letter of understanding" following President Kennedy's promise to beat the Russians to the moon by the end of the decade!

  That LOU meant that scientific and engineering background experience was of no use without a "Sheepskin!"

  Nevertheless, all 'knew' the sole purpose was to propagate the coffers of academia, encourage corporate 'selective' human resources acquisition, and government management of technological advances; in short, reverse the adage "If it ain't broke don't fix it!"

  This is exactly what that Colonel had to say, but from a different direction; a 180 degree different direction, from my perspective!

  His concern was the archaic hardware and software he found certain federal agencies were forced to endure, while the rest of the government was three or four generations ahead, and yet, as he described still two generations behind - if you also count MS-OS-Vista.

  After MS-OS-XP-SP2, in fact after MS-DOS-3 Ver: 6.0, Microsoft had every opportunity to emulate Apple's OS, but for the sake of ego and future billions, we are here; where the Microsoft culture of the 21st Century remains fasten to this corporate encouraged, engineering theory... "If It ain't broke, fix it anyway; make them need it!"

  My question is... "Who needs $80,000.00 degrees, anyway?" Not the Bells, Marconis, Goldburgs, of the future,... and a De Marco who worked the space program with brains without the skins!

  The government and people do not need Vista!

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 12, 2007 5:13 AM