On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 16:33:00 +0800, Zak B. Elep <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Orlando Andico <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: .. > Exactly my point. Since I cannot afford to get anything from Microsoft > (well, except for the SP2 CD they sent me--at *no* charge at all,) and I > don't have the heart to obtain pirated copies just to satisfy my > curiosity, I guess that's where I'm stuck.
You can actually get Visual Studio .NET 2005 Personal Edition, and SQL Server Desktop Edition, for free (as in beer of course). It can't do web services though, but you can create Windows.Forms based programs (i.e. desktop GUI apps) with it. I wish Microsoft would come up with an academic program where qualified students could get themselves legal copies of the *full* development suite for free (as in beer). That, and a highly subsidized or free MSDN access. It would promote a lot of good will, I think. Make no mistake, the Microsoft products of 10 years ago left much, much to be desired. It's part of what drove me to UNIX/Linux. but today's Microsoft products (both OS and development) are much, much better. > What I am really curious is why they won't let Windows be open? Gee, > Uncle Bill has more than 40 billion in his vaults (accounted for,) so > what's the logic behind selling even more Windows? I don't think Uncle Bill has that much to say about the matter. Part of the reason (daw) is profanity in the comments! Also remember that Windows code is loaded with patents and copyrights that are NOT OWNED by Microsoft. so even if Uncle Bill or Ballmer were *convinced* of the value proposition of freeing Windows (which they are not..) it would be very, very hard to pull off. i would also like to point out that, even though we all love to bash Uncle Bill for his money-grubbing ways, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has already given ~ $20 Billion for AIDS research and vaccination in Africa. Compared to his total fortune, it's not as "impressive" as Ted Turner's $1 Billion donation to the UN (since Ted's fortune is < $2 Billion). But in absolute terms, Uncle Bill is the largest philanthropist in the world today. -- Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List plug@lists.q-linux.com (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph . To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug . Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie
