__/ [ flyer ] on Saturday 03 March 2007 09:51 \__
> On Sat, 03 Mar 2007 08:29:32 +0000, Roy Schestowitz
> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>__/ [ flyer ] on Saturday 03 March 2007 08:03 \__
>>
>>> On Thu, 01 Mar 2007 06:04:48 +0000, Roy Schestowitz
>>> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>>>__/ [ flyer ] on Thursday 01 March 2007 05:47 \__
>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 01:13:03 -0800, John Bailo <jabailo@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>flyer wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://www.theregister.com/2007/02/27/google_apps_challenge/
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Costs $50 per user per year.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>A bit pricey since Open Office is free!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Oh, and if you need "web access".
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Then put your documents on a CVS/Subversion site where they can be
>>>>>>checked in/out and "multiused".
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> At least it's in MS's face. But I don't think I would ever trust it
>>>>> for my work.
>>>>
>>>>Why not? This seems to be a perception that suffers fro myths. Would you
>>>>not trust LaTeX, which is said to be bug-free?
>>>
>>> For sensitive docs, would you trust it? How would you verify security?
>>
>>
>>Simple. No macros. No binary components and it's all human reedable.
>>
>>
>>> To date, anything I send via web I assume someone will be, or could
>>> be, reading, excluding PGP'd email.
>>
>>
>>Even PGP has come under scrutiny. Apparently, the No Such Agency (or maybe
>>it was the FBI) felt unhappy with Zimmerman's too-powerful-to-snoop
>>utility, so while it's intruders-proof (e.g. Wi-fi-jacking), there might be
>>back doors which were added later. One needs to look at the code carefully.
>>When it comes to SELinux, it appears as though the NSA makes use of some
>>obscure assembly code, which isn't source code per se. FWIW, there are
>>almost certainly back door in Windows, which allow full control (not just
>>to the NSA, but to criminals as well, unfortunately).
>
> Well supposedly PGP 6.58 was the last open source version. After that
> forget it. Closed crap.
Really? Got a reference. I would love to see one. I would also like to know
if my SSH tunnels are secure at all.
>>> But then there is ALOT I don't know about secure transmission.
>>
>>No such thing. Not just logically speaking (each key has its limits, which
>>can be met by supercomputer). The matter of fact is that software is being
>>designed to be penetrable. The authorities want it. I'm throwing in some
>>references because it's easy (and people deserve to know).
>>
>>
>>___
>>Microsoft could be teaching police to hack Vista
>>
>>,----[ Quote ]
>>| Microsoft may begin training the police in ways to break the
>>| encryption built into its forthcoming Vista operating system.
>>`----
>>
>>http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150555/microsoft-teaching-police-hack
>>
>>
>>UK holds Microsoft security talks
>>
>>,----[ Quote ]
>>| "UK officials are talking to Microsoft over fears the new version of
>>| Windows could make it harder for police to read suspects' computer
>>| files."
>>`----
>>
>>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4713018.stm
>>
>>
>>How NSA access was built into Windows
>>
>>,----[ Quote ]
>>| A careless mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that
>>| special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency
>>| have been secretly built into Windows.
>>|
>>| [...]
>>|
>>| The first discovery of the new NSA access system was made two years
>>| ago by British researcher Dr Nicko van Someren. But it was only a
>>| few weeks ago when a second researcher rediscovered the access
>>| system. With it, he found the evidence linking it to NSA.
>>`----
>>
>>http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/5/5263/1.html
>>
>>
>>Data Protection Commissioner criticizes search of private PCs online
>>
>>,----[ Quote ]
>>| "In the case of a search via the Internet a police officer covertly,
>>| without the person knowing about it, accesses a person's computer."
>>| During such an operation he or she might copy data and obtain all
>>| kinds of personal documents; the police officer was acting as a "state
>>| hacker," so to speak. Mr. Schaar observed. "Such an approach is in
>>| conflict with the legal obligation to protect the core of
>>| individuals' privacy," Mr. Schaar stated emphatically.
>>`----
>>
>>http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/82529/from/rss09
>>
>>
>>Could Hollywood hack your PC?
>>
>>,----[ Quote ]
>>| Congress is about to consider an entertainment industry proposal
>>| that would authorize copyright holders to disable PCs used for
>>| illicit file trading.
>>`----
>>
>>http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945923.html
>>
>>
>>NSA Builds Security Access Into Windows
>>
>>,----[ Quote ]
>>| A careless mistake by Microsoft programmers has shown that special access
>>| codes for use by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) have been
>>| secretly built into all versions of the Windows operating system.
>>`----
>>
>>http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990903S0014
>
>
> Thanks. Verrrrry interesting.
>
> I've always considered win to be the ideal mechanism for communication
> disabling of any group or type of user by whoever has the need to do
> so.
Well, having just replied to another messages of your I regret not provising
some links. Let me try and find them... here is one bunch among many that I
have:
Texas filmmakers hire lobbying firm
,----[ Quote ]
| "We are extremely fortunate and excited by the opportunity to
| work closely with a top-notch team that has a proven track
| record in the Texas legislature," says Hector Garcia,
| TXMPA president. "This firm has represented clients
| ranging from the Dallas Cowboys to Microsoft Corp. It's full steam ahead."
| ^^^^^^^^^
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/061219/1392245.html?.v=1
Context (a few recent examples only):
MA Governor-Elect Names MS Anti-ODF Lobbyist to Technology Advisory Group
,----[ Quote ]
| That person is Brian Burke, the Microsoft Regional Director for Public
| Affairs, and if that surprises you, it surprises me as well, given the
| degree of acrimonious debate and disinformation witnessed in Massachusetts
| over the last 15 months involving the Information Technology Division's
| transition to ODF.... it is my understanding that it was Burke who led
| the lobbying effort on Beacon Hill against ODF, and also urged legislators
| to introduce the amendment intended to take away much of the ITD's
| planning power generally, and as regards standards specifically, and hand
| it to a task force made up of political appointees.... Although I'm told
| that Burke announced yesterday at the first meeting of the new working
| group that he will be participating as a private citizen rather than a
| Microsoft employee, I believe that Burke should recuse himself from
| participating in any discussions or recommendations relating to
| document format standards.
`----
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20061128161343183
Politics and tech companies: follow the money
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft took first place with $651,100 given out, while
| Hewlett-Packard gave only $185,550, and Gateway gave a paltry
| $2,000. Microsoft's donations certainly illustrate well the true
| size of the company and the extent of its political concerns.
|
| [...]
|
| For instance, Microsoft's PAC spent $1.7 million in the 2006 election
| cycle, but only a third of this went to federal candidates. What
| happened to the rest? It went to local campaigns, paid out a few
| thousand dollars at a time to groups like "Boal for Iowa House" in
| Ankeny, IA. It also funded other PACs like the "Associated Republicans
| of Texas" and the "Blue Dog Political Action Committee." No race is
| apparently too small to be funded; even Indiana State Representative
| Terri Austin of Anderson, IN got $500.
| Lobbyists
|
| But the real money isn't even given to the candidates directly. It
| goes to lobbyists, which can be safer investments since they stand no
| chance of losing at the polls. The complete-year figures from 2005
| show that Microsoft spent $8.7 million on lobbyist expenses. Almost
| a million dollars of that money went to Covington & Burling, a
| lobbying firm that also represents the National Football League and
| the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America. Microsoft's
| total spending on lobbying has risen substantially from the $4
| million it spent in 1998.
|
| [...]
|
| Where does it come from?
|
| Although some of this money comes from large employee donations,
| most of it does not. Take Microsoft, for instance; the Center for
| Responsive Politics says that the company received only $302,599
| from individual donors who gave more than $200 in this election
| cycle, only a small fraction of the $1.7 million actually spent.
| As is typical, much of this money came from the company's top
| brass, while the rest was made up of small contributions.
|
| The maximum individual contribution to a PAC is $5,000 a year.
| Melinda, whose occupation is listed in Federal Election Commission
| records as "homemaker," regularly contributes this amount, as does
| Bill. Steve Ballmer coughed up, too. Microsoft can use general
| company funds to support the PAC and its operations, but cannot
| give directly to candidates.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061110-8194.html
Years of deadlock on EU patent bring some new thinking
,----[ Quote ]
| When Bill Gates visits Brussels on Thursday to speak with
| government officials, software developers and customers, he
| plans to wade into one of Europe's longest-running, most
| fruitless debates: the pursuit of a unified patent system.
| Gates, chairman of Microsoft, wants a simple system that will
| allow the world's largest software maker and other companies
| to protect their intellectual property in the European Union -
| and profit from licensing their patents.
`----
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/08/business/patents.php
,----[ Quote ]
| "A source that deals with the company said unofficially that Gates
| proposed Microsoft's Digital Rights Management technology as a national
| standard to fight piracy at the governmental level."
`----
http://www.kommersant.com/p719683/r_528/
Leaked letter warns of open source 'threat to eco-system'
,----[ Quote ]
| leaked letter to the European Commission has revealed the extent of
| lobbying by proprietary software groups to prevent the widespread
| adoption of open-source software.
|
| Sent in response to a recent report on the role of open-source
| software in the European economy, Microsoft-funded pressure
| group, the Initiative for Software Choice (ISC) warned of
| potentially dire effects if too much encouragement was given
| to open source software development.
`----
http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=7109
Study: open source needs official support; Lobbyist
disagrees with "flawed" conclusions
,----[ Quote ]
| The study, commissioned by the European Commission, Directorate
| General Enterprise and Industry, is but a small part of the larger
| FLOSSPOLS project that aims to keep the EU a leader in global
| development of open source software.
|
| [...]
|
| Now, the ISC is widely regarded as a shill for Microsoft, although
| the member list also includes companies like Intel, Autodesk, and
| RSA Security (now an EMC subsidiary). The 300-strong member list is
| mostly padded with lesser lights such as Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi(
| Turkey), ThreeSixtyDegreez (Pakistan), and Datoprogrammu Apgads
| (Latvia). The institute pushes hard for the right to patent
| software, alongside regular bashings of open source businesses.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061017-8011.html
Report Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff
,----[ Quote ]
| E-mails released by the committee show that Abramoff, often
| with the knowledge of the groups' leaders, exploited the tax-exempt
| status and leveraged the stature of the organizations to build
| support among conservatives for legislation or government action
| sought by clients including Microsoft Corp., mutual fund company
| DH2 Inc., Primedia Inc.'s Channel One Network, and Brown-Forman,
| maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey.
`----
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101200889.html
http://tinyurl.com/y2rbpu
Open Source Foes In Bed With Abramoff
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/12/2036223&from=rss
Microsoft plays Massachusetts Senate card
OpenDocument not a done deal yet
,----[ Quote ]
| http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32515
`----
EU official joins consultancy serving Microsoft
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-10-03T134311Z_01_L03693228_RTRIDST_0_TECH-MICROSOFT-OFFICIAL.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
http://tinyurl.com/h47g3
US ambassador to the EU was former Microsoft lobbyist
,----[ Quote ]
| Before C. Boyden Gray was named as George Bush's number one person in
| Europe, he was a lawyer lobbying on behalf of Microsoft.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34706
US politicians go to bat for Microsoft
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/26/microsoft_eu_political_lobbying/
Changing the Report, After the Vote
,----[ Quote ]
| That agreement was nearly imperiled last weekend, though. Gerri
| Elliott, corporate vice president at Microsoft's Worldwide Public
| Sector division, sent an e-mail message to fellow commissioners
| Friday evening saying that she "vigorously" objected to a paragraph
| in which the panel embraced and encouraged the development of open
| source software and open content projects in higher education.
`----
http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/01/commission
BSA all for tech neutrality
,----[ Quote ]
| "On the other hand, even with Microsoft Corp's money and marketing
| muscle behind it, Microsoft Money did not take off as a product and
| was unable to unseat Intuit's Quicken."
`----
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2006/12/14/technology/20061214005009&sec=technology
Here it is from a better source
,----[ Quote ]
| About the meeting with Microsoft, he mentioned that he got a request from
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula, deputy prime minister. [Note: It seems
| likely that the early meeting with Microsoft was about going to see
| the operation of British e-government.) Dr.Sitthichai said he will
| use his own money and contact British government directly instead.
|
| For the OLPC project, he asserted that he does not oppose or intend
| cancel the project. This project was initiated during Thaksin's
| government with no financial support plan. Therefore, the government
| does not have budget to support the project. Kamthorn had a chance
| to clarify and talk about the project for a little while. The
| minister said he will bring that up for the next meeting with
| OLPC working group which Dr.Djitt Laowattana serves as a board
| director.
`----
http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/thailand/news/thai-open-sourcers-meet-ict-minister
Indian state takes on Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| He said Microsoft executives were seeking to meet the state's chief
| minister this week. Kerala state is a potentially strong market for
| the company, with a population of 32 million and a 90.9% literacy
| rate - far above the national average of 68.4%.
`----
http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/companies/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&lvl2=comp&ArticleID=1518-1783_2045929
Big businesses boast of patent benefits, for small businesses
,----[ Quote ]
| A report published by an EU task force on intellectual property claims
| that small businesses benefit from a patent system, despite lacking
| almost any participation by the small business community.
|
| Instead, the report, titled IPR (intellectual property rights) for
| competitiveness and innovation, was written up almost entirely by
| large corporations and the patent industry.
|
| [...]
|
| The report does note objections from the likes of patentfrei.de and
| Sun Microsystems, which were recorded at some length in the report.
| But this does not appear to have impacted the conclusion of the
| report in any way
|
| [...]
|
| Jean-Pierre Laisne, of ObjectWeb, an open source software community,
| said that he found the report useless: participants were told that
| all their contributions would be recorded but at the end only
| those of Business Software Alliance and Microsoft were used.
`----
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/99155/big-businesses-boast-of-patent-benefits-for-small-businesses.html
Given more time, I'd be able to include thousands of lines which demonstarte
Microsoft pressure groups in action.
--
~~ Best wishes
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bYsxaMyFV2Y http://youtube.com/watch?v=QNb7gPA1JFk
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