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Sekani
Jul 8, 2008, 02:33 PM
Stop using this acronym. It was only mildly amusing when Linux nerds coined it a decade or so ago, and now it's only purpose is as a very quick way to point out who the fanboys and general idiots are.

Are you an idiot?

Nitro Vordex
Jul 8, 2008, 04:10 PM
Wait, what? I've never seen that acronym in my life.

Leviathan
Jul 8, 2008, 04:17 PM
I thought this was going to be about M$ 13. =/

Toadthroat
Jul 8, 2008, 04:20 PM
M$ stands for Microsoft and pokes fun at the fact that they're a huge company and yaddayddayadda.

Broodstar1337
Jul 8, 2008, 04:32 PM
I haven't used M$ since the P$3 came out...

Chuck_Norris
Jul 8, 2008, 04:32 PM
I agree. It's almost as stupid as "Segac". >_>

Nitro Vordex
Jul 8, 2008, 06:05 PM
It's not even funny...

Why would...? Bah.

Seority
Jul 9, 2008, 02:36 AM
lolwut?

SabZero
Jul 9, 2008, 08:23 AM
That's your only gripe in life? Must be great to be you ;)

KodiaX987
Jul 9, 2008, 09:48 AM
That's your only gripe in life? Must be great to be you ;)

Welcome to Rants. The info brochure is that way.

Oh, and M$! :wacko:

Ranmaru
Jul 9, 2008, 01:23 PM
M$ doesn't seem interesting enough for me to use, meh.

Blitzkommando
Jul 9, 2008, 01:34 PM
M$ is used by angry teenagers with pirated copies of XP that are bitching because Microsoft killed their pirated copy of Windows. Now they use Ubuntu and claim they can run "1337 H4X" because they can go look up scripts to run to try and to DDOS attack Microsoft. When they learn they can't take out Microsoft they just go after Geocities sites because that's all they'll ever be able to take down due to their short attention spans as well as Geocities microscopic bandwidth allowment.

Toadthroat
Jul 9, 2008, 02:05 PM
Wow thats a pretty small demographic.

Broodstar1337
Jul 9, 2008, 05:07 PM
M$ is used by angry teenagers with pirated copies of XP that are bitching because Microsoft killed their pirated copy of Windows. Now they use Ubuntu and claim they can run "1337 H4X" because they can go look up scripts to run to try and to DDOS attack Microsoft. When they learn they can't take out Microsoft they just go after Geocities sites because that's all they'll ever be able to take down due to their short attention spans as well as Geocities microscopic bandwidth allowment.

Holy smokes. You need porn.

UnderscoreX
Jul 9, 2008, 10:30 PM
SEGAHAHAHAHAHA!

People don't seem to try anymore with their acronyms and what not.

Nitro Vordex
Jul 9, 2008, 11:21 PM
Script kiddies, huh?

Weeaboolits
Jul 9, 2008, 11:47 PM
The $ makes it cool!

$ony. $ega.

Shit, that didn't work, maybe if I used yen instead.

Also, Segac is kinda fun because kubara weapons are funny, but it's getting worn out severely. :/

Nitro Vordex
Jul 10, 2008, 12:01 AM
It wasn't funny to begin with Ronin.

Weeaboolits
Jul 10, 2008, 12:11 AM
Kubara is always amusing, Nitro_Vordec. Maybe.

Iduno
Jul 10, 2008, 07:14 AM
After having to jump through hoops to get my 360 fixed when it broke down, then being charged £70 and after that when they finally admitted they were wrong and sent the refund cheque spelling the name wrong. (also dont even talk to me about DRM) I think the M$ accronym is justified lol

Powder Keg
Jul 10, 2008, 11:59 AM
Or it could always be for....you know....the lulz

Brainwrecked
Jul 13, 2008, 02:02 AM
M$ -- an acronym that's as tired as Microsoft's monopolistic practices.

Can't come up with a decent document standard that stands on its own merits? Flood ISO.

Can't make a buck from selling DRM'd music because Apple does it so much better than you? Screw the users and shut down the DRM servers.

Trying to cope with software pirates? Inconvenience the innocents with WGA while the pirates find every way to dance around it. Oh, and bally-hoo about how it will save costs one year and then raise the price of your next OS.

Worried that your presence on the gaming scene is being compromised by the home game console market? (Because your OS can't stand on its own merits?) Create your own console. Riddle it with DRM. Rush it to market because getting it first is better than getting it right. Inconvenience users because your piss-poor hardware design fries internal components. Inconvenience them again because not all of your developers and producers follow the "restricted to GT and console ID, re-download to change consoles" model.

"M$" will be around as long as Microsoft keeps up the bullshit. Of note, it seems as though their business practices are finally catching up to them. People recognize Vista for the utter shit that it is, the press laughs at Microsoft's Get The Facts campaign, the ISO nonsense caught a lot of attention, and those few unlucky soles that purchased MSN music are going to have a sour taste in their maw for quite some time.

Can Microsoft turn itself around? Yes. Will it? Remains to be seen.

McLaughlin
Jul 13, 2008, 01:55 PM
While I agree with Brainwrecked to some extent, I think that M$ is, the majority of the time, used by people who just want to rag on Microsoft. They don't know why they are, but everyone else is using it so they want to be hip and fly and do it too.

People like Brainwrecked are probably justified in their use of it, but I doubt someone who understands Microsoft's faults would be dumb enough to express their qualms by using an idiotic acronym.

Kent
Jul 13, 2008, 08:25 PM
Oh noes! There's a company that is out to make money!

Therefore, I must try to use an acronym-like abbrevation for their name that implies their greedy, capitalistic ways, because it's not like any other company is trying to make money! D:

McLaughlin
Jul 14, 2008, 12:51 AM
Oh noes! There's a company that is out to make money!

Therefore, I must try to use an acronym-like abbrevation for their name that implies their greedy, capitalistic ways, because it's not like any other company is trying to make money! D:

Sshhhh. Logic hurts my head.

Brainwrecked
Jul 14, 2008, 01:17 AM
Oh noes! There's a company that is out to make money!

Therefore, I must try to use an acronym-like abbrevation for their name that implies their greedy, capitalistic ways, because it's not like any other company is trying to make money! D:

Notice how Microsoft gets the bashing for it, while Google does not. I've already gone off on why Microsoft gets that criticism, but there's other companies out there that get their lumps, like Comcast and Big Oil. When consumers feel that they can't vote with their dollars, they're going to find other outlets. If it's something as simple as turning an S into $, they'll do it. Hey, it got the ball rolling here, didn't it?

Nitro Vordex
Jul 14, 2008, 02:17 AM
Google is free.

For us anyways.

Powder Keg
Jul 14, 2008, 08:09 AM
I'm pretty sure everyone realizes any company that is not profit, needs profit to survive. You're all looking into it too deeply. It's for laffs, nothing more. I've used it before, and I own a 360, and a PC with Windows XP. Do I really have something against M$--I mean MS?

Sekani
Jul 14, 2008, 11:03 AM
Do I really have something against M$--I mean MS?

For me, nothing in particular, just the same thing I have against all played out internet memes. That and the term is almost always associated today with trolls and fanboy rage. I would think people with half a brain (like, uh, Brainwrecked) would want to distance themselves from that crowd.

Nitro Vordex
Jul 14, 2008, 02:35 PM
I'd never even heard or seen the acronym until you posted it, so I guess I was better off. >_>

Brainwrecked
Jul 14, 2008, 03:55 PM
I would think people with half a brain (like, uh, Brainwrecked) would want to distance themselves from that crowd.

LOL.

Keep in mind this M$ thing is most prevalent on Slashdot. And it's used there by everyone from raving anti-Microsoft fanboys to people who seem to have a college-level grasp on grammar and debate. The term usually brings up a thread complaining of its use, which quickly simmers down due to sheer volume of reasoning behind it.

In any anti-Microsoft diatribe I've spat off, I've only used "M$" sparingly if at all, usually in passing reference to its existence. In writing, you're supposed to avoid using the same word or phrase over and over again, so littering your message with and overused acronym prematurely detracts from the perceived intelligence of your ranting. Get your point across first, then go for the lulz.


Google is free.

For us anyways.

Still, they bring in a metric ass-load of money.

Sekani
Jul 14, 2008, 04:05 PM
Isn't Slashdot a site that's largely for the Linux, by the Linux anyway? Admittedly I don't browse it on a regular basis, but the few times I've checked articles there I got that impression. Not that they're necessarily fanboys, but they seem to be a very pro-Linux, anti-Microsoft group in general.

Brainwrecked
Jul 14, 2008, 04:13 PM
It's a news/discussion site for technology in general. Agreed that it's pro-Linux and anti-Microsoft, but I don't think that can be helped if you actually keep track of what Microsoft does. There are fanboys on all sides (Linux, Microsoft, and Mac) on Slashdot, but they usually get shot down thanks to the moderation system. The mod system isn't perfect, but it generally works.

Sekani
Jul 14, 2008, 04:36 PM
Agreed that it's pro-Linux and anti-Microsoft, but I don't think that can be helped if you actually keep track of what Microsoft does.

Actually I do. They caught some well-deserved flak for their heavy-handed tactics in the browser wars, pushing an inferior product to the forefront; However, it bugs me that with Apple doing basically the exact same thing with their iPod + iTunes combo, no one bats an eye. I think things are a little even there.

And yes, Windows 98 and ME were basically garbage.

On the other hand, Microsoft catches a lot of uncalled for heat as well. Vista may not have been a hit with the tech-nerd crowd, but it does make life notably easier for your average PC user. And with the internet making piracy so easy now, who can blame a company for wanting to be pro-DRM?

Brainwrecked
Jul 14, 2008, 05:08 PM
However, it bugs me that with Apple doing basically the exact same thing with their iPod + iTunes combo, no one bats an eye. I think things are a little even there.

Apple gives you the right to copy those songs on up to 5 devices. Microsoft was never that generous with any of its offerings (I believe). Whether or not you believe Steve Jobs is wrestling with the RIAA over DRM is up for grabs.


Vista may not have been a hit with the tech-nerd crowd, but it does make life notably easier for your average PC user.

If you haven't had problems with Vista, you're one of the few. I've used Windows since 3.1, and I have major gripes with Vista. I've had problems diagnosing a friend's Vista installation. Obviously, this friend was having trouble with Vista. A friend on XBox Live has constant troubles with his Vista laptop. My boss used to work for Microsoft (actually a company that got bought out by Microsoft, who then proceeded to ruin the product), and he's switching to Ubuntu after Vista.


And with the internet making piracy so easy now, who can blame a company for wanting to be pro-DRM?

Problem with DRM is that is hassles legit users while pirates get off easy. It's not unheard of, people buying PC software and then downloading the pirated version so they won't be encumbered with copy protection mechanisms. iTunes started rolling out DRM-free music. Amazon started rolling out DRM-free music. Heck, even Microsoft is starting to back off of DRM. (The argument for Microsoft being "it's what the consumer wants," but when did consumers ever ask for DRM to begin with?)

Anyways, to tie this in with the OP's subject, if you want to know why "M$" keeps popping up and never goes away, here you go.

Sekani
Jul 14, 2008, 05:34 PM
Apple gives you the right to copy those songs on up to 5 devices. Microsoft was never that generous with any of its offerings (I believe). Whether or not you believe Steve Jobs is wrestling with the RIAA over DRM is up for grabs.
The DRM isn't the issue. Basically the iPod hardware and iTunes software (on Windows anyway) are linked so that you almost can't use one without the other. The iPod doesn't work properly with any music manager except for iTunes, and Apple has been pretty quick to shut down many of the open-source alternatives. Similarly iTunes won't work with any MP3 player except for an iPod. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the same type of package deal that Microsoft pulled with Internet Explorer and Windows and got sued for. If there are any important differences I'm overlooking, please point them out to me.


If you haven't had problems with Vista, you're one of the few. I've used Windows since 3.1, and I have major gripes with Vista. I've had problems diagnosing a friend's Vista installation. Obviously, this friend was having trouble with Vista. A friend on XBox Live has constant troubles with his Vista laptop. My boss used to work for Microsoft (actually a company that got bought out by Microsoft, who then proceeded to ruin the product), and he's switching to Ubuntu after Vista.
I've had a couple of issues with Vista myself, and so have a few of the clients I've worked with. The thing is, most of those problems were technically not the fault of Microsoft. Mine was that a driver claiming to be Vista-certified actually wasn't. In almost all the other cases (all laptops), they just had shitty hardware. The last one was some kind of really weird registry error that prevented a CD-ROM drive from working.

Don't get me wrong, Vista isn't perfect, but I do believe that most of the hate is unjustified. I personally think that a lot of the advanced users are just lashing out against all the new resource-heavy, "anti-idiot" stuff they added like User Account Control.



Well, as much as I'm enjoying this discussion (no really), the mods are gonna have a field day if I stray any further off topic.

Brainwrecked
Jul 14, 2008, 07:48 PM
Thanks for the congrats on the 100. I'm now ruining that. :-P

Agree with the iTune/iPod lockdown viewpoint.
Agree 3rd parties are just as much to blame.
No counterpoints because...
Agree to end derailment

McLaughlin
Jul 14, 2008, 08:32 PM
Something that really bugs me about the iPod/Apple combo is that I can't copy songs from my iPod back to my computer. A while ago I had to do a reformat without being able to back anything up, and it was a real pain to copy my library back over (yay third party software!).

As for the rest of this, *Whoosh*

PIT
Jul 17, 2008, 05:36 AM
On this topic i can say only this - Polish M$ should be fired and they should hire people who know what this xbox thing is about.

I'm pretty much into organising tournaments, events and stuff. Every time we contact M$ about it they either say they're interested and do nothing even when we ask them a million more times, or they don't answer at all. So we've got to find consoles, same TV sets and lots of games by ourselves.

One time they even told us that they can't 'cause they lent all the stuff for some techno party -_-'

They suck, we do all advertising for them and they bitch to us that we can't use OUR OWN stuff in the public.