bits & bytes

UPDATE: commenting is open again


I know I haven't posted in ages....too much catching up fro the new year. Speaking of which, Happy new year.

Anyway, I had to shut down commenting, as this morning my thunderbird had 620 "comments" coming in, and with every re-check of the email, another 20 or so. yes, so quick, shut it down.

I'll upgrade s9y soon and open the commenting...or something.

Seams the almighty Yahoo is down. Friends in Brazil and the US, and me here in Switzerland, can't connect to the YIM. Seams to be on several discussion boards too....I googled for it.

Anyone else out there having YIM difficulties tonight??

Microsoft Talks Daily With Your Computer
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday June 07, @09:20PM
from the what-could-go-wrong dept.

Microsoft
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft Corp. acknowledged Wednesday that it needs to better inform users that its tool for determining whether a computer is running a pirated copy of Windows also quietly checks in daily with the software maker. The company said the undisclosed daily check is a safety measure designed to allow the tool, called Windows Genuine Advantage, to quickly shut down in case of a malfunction." The EULA is suppose to disclosed this daily call in feature. Lauren Weinstein, who is co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility, was one of the first people to notice the daily communications to Microsoft. Report from Yahoo.com"

Some comment:

Microsoft owns that software, not you. You are merely licensed to use it. By agreeing to the EULA and continuing to use Windows, you agree to whatever conditions Microsoft sets forth. The best part of it is that you pay for the honor of doing so. If you disagree with Microsoft's actions, you are free to use another operating system or office suite or what have you. I just wonder when that final choice will disappear; imagine if the EULA had a clause that stated, in legalese, "...and I further agree to only run Microsoft Operating Systems on this PC from this point forward". You know, all in the name of allowing Microsoft to provide better support, etc. No reason not to add a clause like that, really...

....as seen on Slashdot.

One reason I don't use Windo$e

They must be paid A LOT to be that ignorant...

And guess what software Osama Bin Laden uses on his laptop?

If you guessed it was Linux you would be 100% right. Osama uses Linux because he knows designed to counterfit DVDs, curcumventing the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, and defraud companies like Disney.

Next time somebody asks you how Al Queda agents pay for their rifles and rocket launchers, you can tell them that foreign hackers make software called Linux which helps them steal from Americans.

Read it here: Linux:A European threat to our computers

Aaron, started a new blog: Spell Checkmate!; Because Spell Checkers aren't that Smart!

If you happen across a spelling error in some article, or something funny in your spell check, give Arron a shout, and he might post it there! I think there is future in his new blog.