OT (was: Re: Ahoy Pie R8s! New Win11)

(Should we take this to e-s.talk?)

On 2026/8/17 20:16:48, Joel W. Crump wrote:
> On 8/17/2026 2:59 PM, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
> 
>>> When software is distributed online, it makes sense to see it as a
>>> service.
>>
>> Why?  Linux is distributed online.
> 
> 
> Sure, it's the same as Windows, the only difference is there's no 
> product key.
> 
> 
>>> The price I paid for Win11 Pro is for a license to use it, the
>>> price I paid for 365 is for a year of MS letting me use what
>>> I want from their apps and OneDrive, it's a equitable way of
>>> always having the latest software.  Buying a boxed copy of
>>> MS Office, OTOH, would lock me in to one arbitrary release.

Depends whether you _want_ what the later releases give you. Granted, I
haven't really _looked_ into what the later ones give me, but I've yet
to find anything I want to do that my Office 2003 (with the patches for
the x versions so I can exchange with those who use them) can't do. (And
I certainly have no desire for OneDrive.) Each to his or her own, though!

>>
>> Given that software has started deteriorating with each successive
>> release, constant upgrades are looking less and less attractive.

That certainly is the impression I get. Plus needing constant
replacement of OS in order to use them - OK, "constant" is overstating,
but they only support so far back in OSs.

>> But M$ would have you pay them whether you "upgrade" or not -
>> it's just a way to rake in more money for doing nothing.
> 
I wouldn't claim they're doing _nothing_, just nothing _I_ want
(combined with bloat and the above support assumptions).

> 
> I really don't use MS Office except for Outlook, I paid for 365 to have 
> that and OneDrive, little else.  But always having the fresh software 
> seems the best, to me, so an annual fee is the best way to pay.
> 
> 
>>> Bill Gates isn't a hero for his business work, he's a hero for his
>>> charity work.
>>
>> <gag, choke>  I gotta stop eating while reading.  I figure Bill
>> set up his foundation for one of two reasons:
>>
>> 1. To atone for the damage he's done to the computer industry.
> 
> 
> What do you figure that really is, though?  Microsoft is part of the 
> industry.  Nothing is gonna be perfect.  The market accepted them as the 
> leader.
> 
I think he did a lot of good (and some bad) in the early days; latterly,
I don't think he had much to do with Microsoft. On balance, I find him
inoffensive - and certainly there are a lot of far worse people.>
>> 2. As a PR move.
>>
>> Now that Melinda has separated from him and is starting to
>> spend some of that money on actual charities, Bill is pissed.
> 
(3. Tax reasons? Though I think he genuinely wanted to do some good.)>
> Bill Gates did one initiative to install flushing toilets in people's 
> houses, that's a big deal, something people in the first world just take 
> for granted.
> 
> 
>>> What do you do if you need a computer when you're driving?
>>> Do you even realize that you can get a map app on the smartphone?
>>
>> Most of my driving is in areas I've driven for 60 years.
>> If I need to find details of one of the few areas I'm not
>> familiar with, I have a map book in the car (and road maps
>> for longer trips).  Or I can look it up on my computer
>> before I leave home.  (That's called planning, doncha know.)
> 
Plus, a lot of map "apps" - like a lot of other apps - are actually only
a gateway to an online database, i. e. won't work where there's no
signal. (OK, if you know you're going to use them in advance, you can in
many "apps" pre-download the maps for the areas you're going to be in.)>
> I mean, yeah, planning is great, but when you are in a random unknown 
> place and need to get oriented quickly, a smartphone is the solution, I 
> have seen it in practice and benefited from it.
> 
A dedicated SatNav (US name GPS) will work too. Where the _online_ ones
come into their own - and fine if you have a permanently-on data
contract you're using for other things anyway (and have signal) - is
where there are roadworks, traffic conditions, and so on.
-- 
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()ALIS-Ch++(p)Ar++T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

If this power [television] is ever brought to mechanical perfection,
there is little reason, except the desire to be gregarious, that anyone
but a few should go in person to any place of entertainment again.
- BBC yearbook 1930