What Davos Can Teach Us
,----[ Quote ]
| The World Economic Forum is a fairly disgusting dance of power and money, but
| even in this context intelligent observers can learn something useful. For
| example, here are Brian Behlendorf's thoughts on the problems of getting
| people to understand and engage with true openness:
|
| On the downside: twice, I mentioned ODF vs. OOXML in conversations with
| people, and each time, there was a lack of awareness of the issue. I
| really don't want to embarrass them so I won't name names, but they were
| people who really should have known; one was a leader of a business that
| has been around for years and has serious document management and
| longevity issues, the other a government official who was charged with
| preserving his country's culture but sadly non-technical.
`----
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-davos-can-touch-us.html
HP and journalists settle spy claims
,----[ Quote ]
| Hewlett-Packard and Terry Gross, the attorney representing the journalists,
| said the company would donate money to several charities chosen by the
| journalists as part of the terms of the settlement. They did not say how
| much.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6230583.html
Guess what other company is spying on journalists (and its forcefed 'customers'
too)? Answer below.
Related:
,----[ Quote ]
| "It also was strange to see just how many resources are aligned
| against me when I write a story about Microsoft."
|
| "there were close to a dozen other people involved...Some transcribed
| the interviews I conducted; others kept notes on my every utterance
| for clues about what questions I might ask next and ultimately what my
| story would say; others briefed executives with questions I had asked
| and suggested good answers."
`----
http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/03/enough_about_me.html
FBI ducks questions about its remotely installed spyware
,----[ Quote ]
| There are plenty of unanswered questions about the FBI spyware that, as we
| reported earlier this week, can be delivered over the Internet and implanted
| in a suspect's computer remotely.
`----
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9747666-7.html
Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems
,----[ Quote ]
| The adware framework would leave almost no data untouched in its quest to
| sell you stuff. It would inspect "user document files, user e-mail files,
| user music files, downloaded podcasts, computer settings, computer status
| messages (e.g., a low memory status or low printer ink)," and more. How could
| we have been so blind as to not see the marketing value in computer status
| messages?
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070717-microsoft-patents-the-mother-of-all-adware-systems.html
Vista prevents users from playing high-def content, researcher says
,----[ Quote ]
| While Microsoft’s intent is to protect commercial content, home movies are
| increasingly being shot in high definition, Gutmann said. Many users are
| finding they can’t play any content if it’s considered “premium.”
|
| “This is not commercial HD content being blocked, this is the users’ own
| content,” Gutmann said. “The more premium content you have, the more output
| is disabled.”
`----
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/080907-vista-high-def.html
High-quality HD content can't be played by Windows Vista
http://www.hdtvinfo.eu/news/hd-video-formats/high-quality-hd-content-cant-be-played-by-windows-vista.html
The Longest Suicide Note in History
,----[ Quote ]
| Gutmann: The genie's out of the bottle before the operating system has even
| been released! But that doesn't mean Vista users in particular - and
| the computer community at large - won't end up paying for Microsoft's
| DRM folly. At the risk of repeating myself repeating myself, yet
| another reason to move to Linux.
`---- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
http://blogs.pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/tux-love/2007/01/the_longest_suicide_note_in_hi.html
DRM in Windows Vista
,----[ Quote ]
| Windows Vista includes an array of "features" that you don't want.
| These features will make your computer less reliable and less secure.
| They'll make your computer less stable and run slower. They will
| cause technical support problems. They may even require you to
| upgrade some of your peripheral hardware and existing software.
| And these features won't do anything useful. In fact, they're
| working against you. They're digital rights management (DRM)
| features built into Vista at the behest of the entertainment
| industry.
|
| And you don't get to refuse them.
`----
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/02/drm_in_windows.html
Avoid the Vista badge, it means DRM inside
,----[ Quote ]
| The root of this crappy DRM infection is Microsoft. It is the driving
| force here. This has nothing to do with protecting content, as we
| keep pointing out, there has never been a single thing that has had
| a DRM infection applied that didn't end up cracked on the net in
| hours. DRM is about walled gardens and control.
|
| He who controls the DRM infection controls the market. DRM is
| about preventing you from doing anything with the devices
| without paying the gatekeeper a fee. This is what MS wants,
| nothing less than a slice of everything watched, listened to
| or discussed from now on. DRM prevents others from playing
| there, thanks to the DMCA and other anti-consumer laws.
|
| Make no mistake, MS is pushing the DRM malware as hard as
| it can so it can rake in money hand over fist with no
| competition. It is really good at lock-in, in fact, the firm
| based its entire business model on harming the user so they
| have to comply and spend more.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38926
Journalists sue HP for invasion of privacy
,----[ Quote ]
| Four journalists and one of their family members are suing Hewlett-Packard
| for obtaining their personal phone records.
`----
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/59241,journalists-sue-hp-for-invasion-of-privacy.aspx
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