Wilbur,
bumtracks said in an earlier post that when he uninstalled
the Q824145 / KB824145 patch, the highlighting / selected
text issue also went away.
Seems to be just another scrollbar related snafu.
Nice job, my offshore Microsoft programmer friends. We
all really appreciate the quality control. NOT!
BTW, watch Lou Dobbs on CNN. He's been doing a great job
this week on addressing the "Outsourcing of America" and
what effect this may have on the economy in the near-term
future. Continuing next week.
I tend to agree with most of what he says. If you
think, "So what if Microsoft adds another Billion to its
war chest by using offshore labor?", then consider the
impact to the economy when the spending from legions of
highly-paid IT workers dries up, because we're all working
at McJobs and can't afford the same standard of living!
Folks, the only thing that has kept the economy from
nosediving into a depression has been that "consumer
spending" has remained high. A generally accepted measure
of the relative impact of consumption (consumer spending)
vs. production (manufacturing) on the overall economy is 2
to 1. In other words, 2/3 of the economy in the U.S. is
propped up by the simple fact that we NEED stuff, and go
shopping for it.
Now, with personal bankruptcies hitting an all-time high,
it's becoming apparent that the consumer spending that has
been keeping us from the bread lines has mostly been done
on credit. Gotta pay the piper sooner or later. Must be
those people who only got laid off (or replaced by an H-1B
or offshore counterpart) for the very first time in 2002
or so. We all know them; they thought for sure they would
have another job within 3 months or so, so why not just
run up a credit card balance until then? Well, 3 months
turned into 6 months, then a year, for some.
The lucky (maybe less prideful) ones are underemployed,
making 1/2 to 2/3 what they used to make. The slow to
realize what's going on in IT ones? Seeing their 5
bedroom, 4 bath house being foreclosed on. No longer
driving the $55k SUV. Moved farther outside the city to
where, just a few years ago, there was nothing but horse
farms. And the ones in denial? They are the bankruptcies
you're hearing about.
By and large, IT folks are a relatively sharp bunch. Most
of us will share a car with the wife, get some job, any
job, so we can take care of our families. If we're no
longer making the $150/hr and are now making $44k/year,
we're going to cut back our spending like you wouldn't
believe!
And what effect will this have on the economy? You tell
me, brother. Microsoft may have made another billion in
2004 because of all the productivity gains afforded them
by using offshore labor. But if my family can't afford
for each of the 3 kids to have their own computers (and
one for my wife, and one for me at home, and one for my
consulting business) I sure as heck won't need to purchase
6 licensed versions of the latest and greatest MS Office
upgrade, will I? Microsoft will be lucky if I buy just
one.
So, who's Microsoft to sell Office to? Businesses, of
course! Oh yeah, business outsourced just about anybody
who actually knew how to use Excel or Access. Yeah,
they're going to be just fine with WordPerfect 8,
conveniently pre-installed on their Dells.
Maybe the educational environment holds some promise, eh?
Doesn't look pretty my friends. Short-sighted, corporate
greed-driven, make the whisper number suicide.
