Microsoft has paid the Library of Congress a huge bribe so that they will adopt some of their software, and use hardware running Vista in public areas. This is, of course, a travesty. As Boing Boing says, "Library of Congress sells itself out to Microsoft for a mere $3 mil" ... You know this is George Bush's fault.
For Microsoft's part, this is a move on Google (because it will involve a major search facility) and on The Gutenberg Project and all other open access publication projects (because this is a bald faced effort to control access to key, old, not copyrighted documents such as the United States Constitution).
Library officials said they plan to launch a series of new library search and viewing tools this year. As part of the program, new kiosks that highlight featured documents at the library will run on Microsoft Vista software.
Microsoft Silverlight, a graphical browser plug-in, will help power the library's new Web site, www.myloc.gov, where users will be able to access and personalize interactive materials.
The technology debuted with the "Exploring the Early Americas" exhibition Dec. 13. The library plans to make new holdings interactive with the new program, including the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg Bible, the 1507 Waldseem ller World Map that first used the word "America" and original volumes from Thomas Jefferson's personal library, said library spokesman Matt Raymond.
"This is really a quantum leap for the library," Raymond said.
[source]
Who's in charge of this place, anyway?
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It really bugs me when people misuse the word quantum. But maybe it actually works in this case.
This is, of course, a travesty.
A travesty of what? Microsoft would like to show off their software and have made a large donation to the library to demonstrate the capabilities. The library would not normally spend the money on this, but cheerfully accepts the donation because it is free. This seems to be a win for everyone involved.
The information will all remain completely free and accessible to anyone over the internet. Silverlight also runs on Macs and Linux, so there is no accessibility issue.
If Microsoft pays, why do you care whether the computers in the library run Vista?
Greg, looks like you hooked a Microsoft concern troll spammer (see comment above). Looks like this advert (above) forgot to mention the horribly slow, horribly bloated ad-ware packed Vista needs A LOT of upkeep and updates--daily!
Anonymous: Because I care about the ethics of the situation. I also don't want coke or pepsi paying for the blackbaords in my daughter's school. And so on.
CMF: Right, it matters that Vista is a crappy system!
Yup...and did I mention that MS Vista is crappy bloated packed with adware and spyware , AND it is slow moving crap?
Just out of curiosity, would this also have been a travesty if Google were doing this instead of Microsoft?
LRM: Excellent question. Are you referring to Google's boo, project? I did not have a blog back then or you would have hear my opinion and it would have been pretty similar.
I like google and I don't like microsoft, because every day Google makes my life better and they do it in a non-invasive fair way, and every day Microsoft makes my life worse and they do it in an unfair intrusive way.
But I trust Google as much as I could throw their corporate headquarters, and a number times they have approached the line and almost crossed it, and they have crossed it a few times.
The fundamentals are problematic, and the corporations that participate in the system eventually seem to all go bad. Off hand I can't think of any exceptions.
Greg,
Fair enough - thanks for clarifying your position. I agree with you in many respects: corporate partnerships with government and academia indeed raise a number of thorny issues, though there are clear benefits as well. (Having grown up in the former USSR, I can easily think of at least one worse alternative.) However, unless government funding for science (both research and education) in the US increases by at least an order of magnitude, I don't see the situation changing. And even then, large corps have the technical know-how and infrastructure that could greatly aid in research and educational settings, and it would be a waste to let such resources go untapped.
But, is Microsoft really making your life worse *every day*? If so, perhaps you need to chill out a bit. Might I offer you some Cool-Aid? :)
But, is Microsoft really making your life worse *every day*?
Absolutely. I normally avoid microsoft computers, but these daya at work, for various reasons, I have to use a microsoft computer on my desktop. It takes about 25 minutes from the time I log on until I can actually use the computer because of the synchronization of Outlook with the network, the virus checking, etc. etc. Then, throughout the day I'm running into all the usual annoyances. It is made especailly worse by the fact that I otherwise use nice well behaved Linux computers, so the contrast is brought home to me on a daily basis.
Maybe if I pour some Kool-Ade into the back of the computer they'll give me a new one.
Twenty-five minutes from log on until you can use the PC? Gah! That's horrible! My condolences - please continue ranting.
However, given what you describe, it appears that your Windows network admins at least in part to blame. Twenty-five minutes to log on really should *not* be the case on a modern Windows network. *Shudder*!
Hmmm ... A well-placed magnet could be just effective, and considerably more elegant...