another reason to boycott Microsoft

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10 years 6 months ago #39851 by foxhunter
another reason to boycott Microsoft was created by foxhunter
copied this from the FIREARM BLOG
"Since 2009 Microsoft’s Code of Conduct has been applied to more and more of their online service. If a service is covered by this Code of Conduct, users of it are prohibited from using it in “any way that promotes or facilitates the sale of ammunition and firearms” (See bullet point #13).

Almost all of Microsoft’s online services are by now covered under this “Code of Conduct”. These services include Windows Live, Office 365, Microsoft Sharepoint, Bing.com, Outlook.com, Windows OneDrive, Exchange Online, MSN and a number of other services.

The only major Microsoft services this does not apply to is, at the time of this blog post, Skype, Microsoft Azure and XBox Live. I expect Skype will eventually fall under the Code of Conduct.

Windows OneDrive, formally known as Microsoft SkyDrive, is built into Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8 for Phones and Windows 8 for Tablets. If you work in the gun industry you should avoid these products. You could wake up one morning to find your account terminated and all your emails, contacts, calendar etc. deleted.

Windows Live powers a number of Microsoft services including Microsoft’s cloud email and cloud Office suite. Windows Live, Outlook.com and Exchange Online power many large institutions including colleges and high schools. Don’t use any Microsoft-hosted email systems to buy or sell guns, unless you are willing to risk getting kicked out of college (especially if you have signed documents agreeing to abide by Microsofts Terms of Use)

If you use Microsoft Office in your gun business, make sure you do not use the Office 365 service to share business-related files.
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10 years 6 months ago - 10 years 6 months ago #39852 by OleCowboy
Replied by OleCowboy on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft
As an IT engineer, software developer, hardware developer and network engineer professional for over 25 years going back to the late 70's. Here is my take.

Every time I see or use a MS product I shudder. I have used their products, most of them < V 1.x, I was a Beta tester on many of them, I have sat down and talked with Bill Gates (back in the day when MS was a small company and seeing Gates walking around at computer shows was common, it was a small world back in those halcyon days and being in the Army and a IT Program Manager with a $100 million + budget I was being chased by every company in the US.

MS products are built on the committee system hence there is little communications between them. Their programming standards are quite low, they release SW with so many flaws I would have fired my engineers had they done something that bad. I still use MS Office only because I have over 10,000 files created in it going back to the early 80's. Its poor, crashes, still does after all these years and contains major flaws.

Mr Bill. If you think he is the smartest guy on the computer block you weren't in the business back when we all knew each other. Mr Bill went to Harvard...mama and daddy could AFFORD IT! Mama and Daddy are BOTH BIG TIME CORP LAWYERS. Mr Bill BOUGHT the original MS DOS system, he did NOT write it, IIRC I think he paid about $500 bucks.

Smartest guy in the computer room, probably Scott McNealy, founder SUN Micro ( who I have talked with many time on tech issues), then Larry Ellison founder Oracle. This now brings me to Steve Jobs, who may be the smartest of all in that he was the most visionary the computer business has ever had, and maybe ever will. Mr Bill, LOL not on my or most folks I knew in the business, list. Rich boy, made richer by smart parents, right place, right time.
Last edit: 10 years 6 months ago by OleCowboy.
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10 years 6 months ago #39856 by foxhunter
Replied by foxhunter on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft
You are our own Paul Harvey. You always can give us "the rest of the story"

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10 years 6 months ago #39874 by JustMe
Replied by JustMe on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft
Great info OleCowboy. So, what private computer would you recommend purchasing? I'm in the market and my kids keep telling me to convert from Microsoft to Apple, but then I'd have to rebuy all my programs again at increased Apple prices which could easily go into the thousands of dollars.

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10 years 6 months ago #39897 by OleCowboy
Replied by OleCowboy on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft

JustMe wrote: Great info OleCowboy. So, what private computer would you recommend purchasing? I'm in the market and my kids keep telling me to convert from Microsoft to Apple, but then I'd have to rebuy all my programs again at increased Apple prices which could easily go into the thousands of dollars.

Way, Way back my first computer was a Sun Workstation. Before that it was green screen terminals. I had got promoted to asst Project Mgr. The Project Mgr, my bass did not know a computer from a mushroom, nor did he want to know. But he was WELL connected to the big boys and money. So I was the head tech guy on a major project and I made the decision to use UNIX as my OS (of note is the version I chose was the one that is now in common use today across the world and by our military). That is how a Sun Workstation landed on my desk.

Now its '85 and I am developing software for the Project and in a meeting one of my engineers tells asks me if I had seen the new Apple Macintosh? I said no and he tells me he bought one for his kids and it uses a GUI which we are developing. We all get excited and head out the next day at lunch to see them....I bought 25 of them for my engineering staff and myself.

Since '85 a Mac has set on my desk professionally and personally. I have worked in: Mainframe, Mini, Client-Server and desktop. A good chunk of my career was in R&D and we all had Macs. They are stable, highly secure and years ahead of other platforms. In the mid 80's I was doing touch screen, voice to computer and integrating across disparate hardware and software architectures, I led the way using a Mac

In addition: I started out at the bottom, paid my dues on a help desk and worked my way thru education and being the best engineer in the organization. In my days on the help desk and having help desks in my orgs, I always had mixed platforms sometimes as many as 450 computers to be supported. Hands down the Macs were the very lest problems. Usually 1 mac tech and as many as 25 PC techs, that says a lot.

It does not cost as much as you may think. Apple sells refurb units and also gives discounts for students. I buy a new on every few years and sell mine often for as much as 75% of what I paid. Buying a year old Mac with a older chipset saves big money and works fine. Not sure what you do on your computer but most of what is out there is also available for the mac and it works and looks a lot better.

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10 years 6 months ago #39902 by foxhunter
Replied by foxhunter on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft
I for one, decided after I bought a laptop with Windows 8, I was done with Microsoft. Mac will be my next computer.

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10 years 6 months ago - 10 years 6 months ago #39903 by JustMe
Replied by JustMe on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft
Great info. Thanks a lot. I guess a Mac is in my future.

I use my PC 99 percent of the time for personal emails and visiting web sites like this one. I occasionally buy things via the web. My go-to programs are Outlook, Word, Excel, Google, and CorelDraw. That's about all I use now that I've retired.

I use CorelDraw to draw up simple engineering drawings for estimates for repairs around the house and cars, and to do Line/Flow Graphs for genealogy, adding text to photos, etc. I like that I can easily draw curves, straight lines, squares, circles, and text at many different sizes. So many programs limit text sizes, but with CorelDraw I can make text so small they can be hard to read which helps many times in tight spaces. I have used AutoCAD 2000, but it's too time consuming for my simple purposes. If I need CAD type of engineering drawings you have to hire a certified professional engineer any way to get the building permit, so even though I might draw it up for them, they are going to charge me for it anyway, so I might as well let them do the detail work.
Last edit: 10 years 6 months ago by JustMe.

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10 years 6 months ago #39906 by OleCowboy
Replied by OleCowboy on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft
E mail there are several to include Outlook, which I have used and finally gave it up, but still will use it from time to time. One of the best is Thunderbird.

MS Office is available for the Mac, I use it and have since day 1

Google, of course as is Google Chrome. Other browsers are Opera (one of the very best if you are a geek) of course Safari.

and www.corel.com/corel/category.jsp?cat=cat...y=us&languageCode=en

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10 years 6 months ago #39928 by faawrenchbndr
Replied by faawrenchbndr on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft
I made the switch to Apple three years ago........so much happier!

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10 years 6 months ago #39958 by MrMarty51
Replied by MrMarty51 on topic another reason to boycott Microsoft
My sons tells Me to go with an I-Phone, so, I does.
Not happy, I just do`nt get it, but, I`m learning.
Forget about getting on the innernet with it, I gets totally lost, when it seems I`m almost done typing something, as in a search, the window changes and I done lost everything I spent ten minits a trying for.
Maybe, if I`d a been onto the macs in a PC platform before, I might unnerstand them better on a phone.
Lost in Montana :busted: :wave: :rotfl:

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