--- Russell Chapman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > John Garcia wrote: > > > john > > (who is starting to believe that XP is one of the > signs of Armageddon) > > Entirely possible, but it IS one of the signs of the > Empire John is > talking about in another thread. All roads led to > Rome, Brittania ruled > the seas, and the next evolution of commerce will > all lead back to > Redmond. If XP ever does what MS says it will, then > the US will by default > have a true empire, with not only worldwide military > presence but a > controlling stake in a lot of the world's trade and > a revenue stream from > that trade. > > I don't say this as MS scaremongering (though it > does scare me), but > simply that some of the features of an empire that > the US currently lacks > are going to be filled in - XP centralises trade and > commerce onto servers > on the net instead of servers in the office with > authentication largely > centralised at MS itself. With software by > subscription instead of > purchase thrown into the mix, the empire now > controls (and takes a profit > from) much of the commerce which occurs within its > empire and across its > borders. > > The Romans and British also controlled the local and > regional governments > within their empires of course, so the US is still > one component short for > much of its empire [ despite the best efforts of > the CIA over the years > ;) ] > I don't think Bill gives a rat's a55 what country he's in or who he's paying taxes to, as long as they put up with his garbage. MS does not equal America. Every time MS releases another hackneyed, manipulative bundle of bugware i think to myself "that's it, everyone is going to throw it back in their face this time. no way the ignorant masses will accept *this* one." and i'm wrong. Looks like i might be able to play a cyberpunk campaign in the real world soon, just like i thought i eventually would when I was a teenager. now we just need neurosofts, cybernetic limb replacements and taped personalities and we can start playing! dean who has been reading his treasured "book that was siezed by the US secret service!" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/
