10.20.11
Links – Deranged noises and damage from a Dying Microsoft. Corruption all around.
Reader’s Picks
-
ESR critiques Ubuntu and Gnome.
-
Open Office doing just fine
-
Steve Ballmer tries to smear Android with the ancient “Linux is hard to use meme.”
Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Ballmer had this to say when comparing Windows Phone handsets to Android handsets: “You don’t need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows phone and you do to use and Android phone…”
Hopefully people will start to wonder how easy gnu/linux is after a few obvious whoppers like that. PJ points out that 190 million people have activated an Android device.
-
Hardware
-
AT&T profit hit by slowing spyPhone demand
-
HP to replace WebOS with Vista 8 on touchpads
Exiting the low margin PC market to create a low margin tablet market? HP is doomed.
-
-
Environment/Energy/Wildlife
-
Republicans in Congress seek to block EPA regulation of toxic coal ash — a change which could kill many Americans.
RMS: Every harmful thing that business asks for, it claims is to protect jobs. When you look closely, it is really a threat to close some plant. “If you won’t let us pollute and endanger your life, we will shut the plant.” Ok, shut it, should be our response.
-
It’s National Seafood Month and the FDA Must Protect Consumers from Contaminants in Seafood
I have been raising concerns for years about this issue, since it’s an important and delicate balancing act for doctors and consumers. … As a physician, I like to recommend seafood to pregnant women, children, and others. But on the other hand, some types of seafood can contain unhealthy doses of mercury, PCBs, and other contaminants. … In the aftermath of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico … we found that the cancer risk associated with Gulf seafood consumption was up to 10,000 times higher than the risk calculated by the FDA.
-
Getting BPA out of baby bottles isn’t enough.
-
-
Finance
-
An Investment Manager’s View on the Top 1%
A highly complex set of laws and exemptions from laws and taxes has been put in place by those in the uppermost reaches of the U.S. financial system. It allows them to protect and increase their wealth and significantly affect the U.S. political and legislative processes. They have real power and real wealth. Ordinary citizens in the bottom 99.9% are largely not aware of these systems, do not understand how they work, are unlikely to participate in them, and have little likelihood of entering the top 0.5%, much less the top 0.1%
-
As Occupy protest swell around the world, Wikileaks targets the banksters.
[In London] Assange made a dramatic appearance, bursting through the police lines just after 2.30pm, accompanied by scores of supporters. To clapping and some booing, he climbed the cathedral steps to condemn “greed” and “corruption”. In particular he attacked the City of London, accusing its financiers of money laundering and tax avoidance. “The banking system in London is the recipient of corrupt money,” he said, adding that WikiLeaks would launch a campaign against financial institutions.
-
-
Anti-Trust
-
Bill Gates will be forced to testify in the Word Perfect anti-trust trial
Because Novell is now basically owned by Microsoft, the trial must be of some benefit to Microsoft but I can’t see what.
-
Can We Just Admit That It’s Insane Microsoft Has ‘Licensing Program’ For Someone Else’s Products
I’d be interested to see if anyone can explain how a system that allows a company like Microsoft to set up a licensing business on someone else’s products without any proven legal basis other than the implied threat that they might sue, is a functioning system? It’s a huge joke.
Yes, thank you, reasonable people might call it judicial extortion but it’s anything but a joke.
-
Nokia workers ask, is chief executive a Microsoft mole?
Obviously, he’s a mole. Interviewed workers think Elop is destroying Nokia.
-
Microsoft again talks about buying Yahoo.
PJ reminds us about Silver Lake which, “is working with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Microsoft Corp. to put together a proposal to buy Yahoo.” So, Microsoft does not pretend they have enough money to by an obviously beleagered Yahoo on their own this time.
-
Google, Microsoft Suggest Apple’s Siri Will Make People Look Crazy
More useful than Windows Phone Chief Andy Lees’ deranged boasts is what he reveals about Microsoft hooks in Apple’s spyPhone. PJ laughs in her news notes, “Bing? Siri uses Bing? And Apple’s cloud runs in part on Microsoft Azure? So you have to trust your privacy not only to Apple but to *Microsoft*? Raise your hand if you feel good about that. “
-
-
PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying
-
Microsoft launches huge advertising campaign in 35 countries to shore up flagging sales of Windows, Office, Xbox and Windows Phone.
Nothing seems to have changed over the last three years
except Microsoft is working with less money now.
-
Cramming GM food down people’s throats.
Europe’s largest and most influential biotech industry group, whose members include Monsanto, Bayer and other GM companies, is recruiting high-profile “ambassadors” to lobby European leaders on GM policy. … The 10 or more ambassadors will not be paid directly, but the lobbyists have offered to write, research and place articles in their names, arrange interviews and speaking engagements with the Financial Times and other international media, and secure for them what could be lucrative speaking slots at major conferences.
-
Into the depths of ATandT’s let-us-buy-T-Mobile astroturf campaign
AT&T is legendary for laundering its public policy preferences through minority and social service groups that it supports financially in order to produce an apparent groundswell of support. We’ve written about it enough times not to be surprised by the practice anymore, but the Center for Public Integrity has just concluded an in-depth investigation of the practice that’s well worth a look. In order to support its proposed T-Mobile buyout, AT&T has dug deep into its roster of supporters …
-
-
Censorship
-
France court orders block on ‘copwatch’ website
>
-
Paypal seizes Diaspora donations without explaination.
We had raised $45,000 in just a few days, and then PayPal froze our account. Even though we’ve complied with every PayPal request … PayPal just sent us an email saying “appeal denied,” where they announced that they would lock up the Diaspora community’s donations for 180 days. … it seems that this is common practice for PayPal, as the case of Shelley Michaels, Steve Hudgell, independent developers, and so many others show. Obviously, PayPal’s behavior is unacceptable, which is why we have asked our lawyer to get involved.
They are going to use Stripe. Ebay’s seizure may have something to do with insane US money laundering laws but 180 day wait is just stupid.
-
-
Privacy
-
Education Watch
-
Why Finland’s schools are great (by doing what we don’t)
Researchers from Europe, Asia, and Latin America were very alarmed by the current “reform” movement in the United States, fearful that the same trends — the same overemphasis of standardized testing, the same push for privatization and markets, and the same pressure to lower standards for entry into teaching — might come to their own countries.
-
Details emerge of Microsoft Corruption in TAMIL NADU’s 9 million laptop for students program.
WHAT changed between June 4 and August 20 that led to Microsoft’s OS being bundled into the laptop even though it meant higher costs and removing hardware from the system, which is helpful to students? Diplomatic observers point out to the stopover of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Chennai on July 20-21 when she met Jayalalithaa before flying out to Indonesia on a state visit. …
India will be able to survive without Microsoft. But Microsoft will not be able to survive without India. There is gross misconception among government officials that if we shift to open source platform, then Microsoft would get angry and the software industry would come to a halt
As of September, ELCOT is still planning on dual boot systems despite Windows being viewed as inferior, expensive, not as good for education and a liability for students. Both Thelka and Wikileaks point to diplomatic cables of strong arming and corruption in other countries that lead to similar deals.
-
-
Intellectual Monopolies
-
Paid Content thinks China will buy US Patents.
The prospect is a useful thought experiment but is unlikely. If the Chinese want a bigger portion of US market profits, it would be cheaper for them to buy influence and eliminate patents. That would destroy their current, exploitative partners and leave the market wide open. Purchasing patents will only drag them into the judicial extortion game that is exhausting US tech giants.
-
Copyrights
-
Wyden fights the “Protect IP” bill
“It is a question whether one part of our economy, content, can use government as a club to go after another part of our economy, which is the innovation sector and everything the internet represents,” he said. “It’s about whether you will have arbitrary seizure of domains, whether you will have vague standards that let you go in and seize domains, and ceding a significant portion of the authority over the internet to private companies. I have put a hold on this resolution.”
-
ACTA
-
Secret Trans Pacific Partnership treaty documents to be kept secret four years after ratification.
TPP is anti-democratic lawmaking even nastier than ACTA.
-
-
-
Content is available under CC-BY-SA
Michael said,
October 20, 2011 at 11:23 pm
A dying MS?
LOL! Pick a date when you think they will fold.
Amazing… just amazing.
twitter Reply:
October 21st, 2011 at 3:29 pm
In 2008 or so, I thought they would go under in about five years. An Enron type fiasco this year would not surprise me. Their survival beyond two years without massive government assistance would. Thanks for asking.
Michael Reply:
October 21st, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Thanks for responding. Seriously. OK, so let’s see if MS is around in two years.
Hint: they will be.
But I have full confidence you will have your excuses all lined up.
So tell me, what form of government assistance are you thinking? A direct bailout?
twitter Reply:
October 21st, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Microsoft already receives lots of direct and indirect government money and protection they don’t deserve but I don’t current supports are sufficient. As I pointed out above, Microsoft has already requested and received indirect bail out money. Microsoft has also benefited from massive government purchases and official US trade policy which unjustly put the company above other US companies and citizen’s liberty. Microsoft has also been expert at leveraging other unjust monopolies, such as phone and cable lines. Finally, Microsoft’s business model has long been protected by unjust copyright laws which absurdly punish people for copying malicious, binary files that will never enter the public domain. Microsoft would not exist without all of these protections at the rest of our expense, but even that is not enough to keep them around. I expect them to ask for more secret bail out money and finally be forced to ask for a direct bail out based on national security, balance of trade or some other nonsense. If enough public money is sent to them, the failure can be put off. If the US makes Windows mandatory for network connection they will last even longer. The Windows 8 Logo Program, which turns computers into jails that only run Microsoft approved software, will destroy the last remaining Microsoft partners without strong government mandates.
Michael Reply:
October 21st, 2011 at 5:51 pm
FUD:
—–
Microsoft already receives lots of direct and indirect government money and protection they don’t deserve but I don’t current supports are sufficient. As I pointed out above, Microsoft has already requested and received indirect bail out money.
—–
Your link does not show MS getting a penny in bailout money from the government. Not one penny.
They do get tax breaks which are insane… but you did not even point to that!
FUD:
—–
Microsoft has also benefited from massive government purchases and official US trade policy which unjustly put the company above other US companies and citizen’s liberty.
—–
Any company which sells a product gets money from the purchases! The US government has no obligation to follow the desires of Stallman’s cult.
FUD:
—–
Microsoft has also been expert at leveraging other unjust monopolies, such as phone and cable lines. Finally, Microsoft’s business model has long been protected by unjust copyright laws which absurdly punish people for copying malicious, binary files that will never enter the public domain.
—–
IP laws are not the issue here. You talked about MS getting a bailout… not IP laws not being to your liking (or mine).
FUD:
—–
Microsoft would not exist without all of these protections at the rest of our expense, but even that is not enough to keep them around.
—–
You flat out made this up. Just out of nowhere.
FUD:
—–
I expect them to ask for more secret bail out money and finally be forced to ask for a direct bail out based on national security, balance of trade or some other nonsense. If enough public money is sent to them, the failure can be put off. If the US makes Windows mandatory for network connection they will last even longer.
—–
This borders on paranoid.
FUD:
—–
The Windows 8 Logo Program, which turns computers into jails that only run Microsoft approved software, will destroy the last remaining Microsoft partners without strong government mandates.
—–
And this crosses the line into full blown paranoia.