CCASIONALLY I feel like as though we are witness to an ethical corruption. There is a thriving industry out there that takes advantage of people being drunk or stranded. In other circumstances, social weaknesses are to be blamed, in what can only be described as ‘cattle effect. I’ll present a couple of examples.

Airports charge a lot for food from hungry people whose access to outside shops is fictional at best. These foods can have their price elevated beyond the standard rates. This includes large chains of junk food, whose price should be moderated and remain relatively consistent. Yet, their price can sometimes match that of a fine restaurant in an airport and the same rules apply to other ‘exotic’ locations like pricy resorts. Such obscene prices are tolerated owing to the lack of alternatives; the lack of choice.

Cash machines are another example. Some of them charge extra fees for withdrawals (commission) and that often exploits nights out and ‘alcohol sprees’. This extra fee is reminiscent of the existence of gambling machines that benefit from the state of one’s mind, which is possibly under the influence of alcohol.

Lastly, and on to a point which is equally important, there are example which could become generic examples in their own rights. Fashion continously changes to encourage people to buy new clothes and replace the old ones. Showing and boasting the ‘hip effect’ culture (okay, I’ll use the word “cool”) in reference to cars, lifestyle et cetera is another factor. It urges people to expend money on a variety of unneeded luxuries. Christmas is finally said to be more of a necessity to motion in industry than it is a religious holiday. But on we live, and on we spend. Industry is led to a state of contentment.

Trademarks bastardised

HERE is something about wealthy companies that simply begs for lawsuits. This story, which involves a complaint against Google, is nothing out of the ordinary. Dissatisfaction with the search engine giant has now emerged due to inclusion of competitive ads, which are said to violate trademarks.

The company behind US cash-advance firm Check ‘n Go has sued Google for selling its trademarks as keywords in search advertising, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Such sales do not breach Google’s own policy for the US and Canada.

Put in simple terms, when you search for a particular company or product name, you might have its competition among the sponsored links, which can be rather obtrusive. Some months ago, sponsored links started to appear ‘in-line’, i.e. enclosed in dividers among the search results. This serves the interest of the rivals that can simply pay to appear in page 1 of the results.

One wonders if a need for ad relevance is at all required. Trademark protection is a whole new matter. If there are no stern rules and policies, one could search for ‘linux’ and get Windows links in return; or search for ‘democrat party’ and get links to the Republican party, I suppose.

I used to have Microsoft’s anti-Linux propaganda show up in my Linux pages. It was courtesy of Google AdSense, to whom I rent some space. It was then that I blocked all advertisements that came from or pointed at msn.com or microsoft.com, so the trademark factor ought to come into play.

Picture from xitimonitor.com (click to confer the source)

A diagram is worth a thousand words.

Related news: Dell bundle Firefox with Windows in the United Kingdom.

Bill Gates arrested in his younger days (photo in public domain)

This one particular story comes from CNET and it speaks of a patent which has just been upheld. This patent has apparently suffered from some court battles and rejections in the past as it is very controversial. Judge for yourself:

[...]

The FAT file system, a common means of storing files, was originally developed for Windows but is also employed on removable flash memory cards used in digital cameras and other devices. Some Linux- and Unix-related products also use the system to exchange data with Windows.

[...]

To many this means that files will be ‘locked’ not only by proprietary formats, but also by the underlying filesystem. The filesystem in itself becomes proprietary and very restrictive. I wonder not only how this affects Linux, but merely any device that attempts to communicate with the closed-source ogre. The European Commision is less than pleased about aggressive attempts to lock out the competition.

The European Commission has threatened to fine Microsoft up to 2m euros (£1.36m; $2.4m) a day until it gives rivals more access to its systems.

INDOWS Vista’s time is drawing nearer and nearer. Its release is expected to take place some time in later 2006, just after KDE 4. By the time Windows Vista comes out, many users will have ditched the platform. Morever, when the product finally ships, evident disappointment though experience will give a compelling reason to migrate away. The scale will be comparable with that of a rampant stampede. From Chris Pirillo, a famous and loyal Windows ‘power user’:

Even as I’m watching the 2005 WinHEC keynote right now (which I downloaded from a fan site, FWIW), I’m screaming at my screen! The Longhorn demonstration was faaaaaar from impressive, and left me NOT wanting more – but wanting to walk away altogether. Instead of watching with awe and wonder, I’m watching with a very confused look on my face. My brow is furrowed, and my fingers are slamming against the keys of my keyboard at this very moment… I’m growing increasingly impatient.

We are yet to see if Apple can pick up the pieces or if Open Source finally sees the limelight.

• XP + New Colours = Longhorn (Vista)
• Vista Perils
• Novell: Vista to Drive User to Linux

One of the giants is due to control of home
entertainment, or at least share a piece of the pie

OME time in the past, Google’s media player was mentioned as an interoperable tool of value — somewhat of a milestone even. We now hear about a partnership involving DivX, Pioneer and Google Video.

LAS VEGAS–Video technology company DivX is partnering with Google to make Google Video accessible on a variety of consumer electronics devices, the companies announced Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show here.

Meanwhile, the world is also being informed about Yahoo Go TV (in German). Apple continue with their entertainment industry push for domination. Their video and photo iPods come to mind. Lastly, Microsoft reveal that the XBox 360, which may play HD-DVD owing to a Toshiba alliance, is striving to take control of our living rooms.

Google software gets heavily bundled to Windows

ANY of us were wondering if a Linux distribution would ever come from Google. Google are of course using Linux in house and are dependent on Open Source projects. Unsurprisingly, having accumulated many programs that run on Windows only, they have just assembled a distribution that includes Acrobat Reader, Mozilla Firefox, security software and a large variety of Google software.

So we created the Google Pack — a one-stop software package that helps you discover, install, and maintain a wide range of essential PC programs. It’s yours today – and it’s something we hope you find to be painless, easy, and even fun (if computer setup can ever be called that). And it’s free.

This will by all means have an impact on many workstations. It can give a boost to a variety of Google application and their close ally Firefox is included. The bundling of Firefox is indirectly related to Dell’s distribution in the United Kingdom.

Notice the hypocrisy in this item however:

 
This was the experience (Windows installation) both Sergey and Larry had a year ago…
 

Both Larry and Sergei are Open Source advocates and most likely Linux users too. I guess this did not fit contextually and it conflicts completely with previous rumours about a Google PC that runs the Linux kernel.

Editorial: Editor’s Note: Google May Hold Big Key to Desktop Linux or “Why Google should port their applications to Linux”.