Posted in Mail, Microsoft at 2:50 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Hotmail has another “empty inbox” syndrome, it suffers more downtimes, and it is losing users as a result, leaving Microsoft’s hopes hinged in part on Facebook
The latest example of Microsoft giving people reasons to abandon Hotmail is this report of Hotmail boxes showing up empty in the new year. To quote IDG: “The ring of the new year has come with an unpleasant surprise for some users of Microsoft’s Hotmail service. According to multiple postings on Microsoft’s official support forum for Windows Live, a number of users are reporting that their entire Hotmail accounts have been completely deleted without warning.”
Even Neowinwrote about it based on a link that was sent to us this morning (some separate readers told us about it and we always appreciate such pointers). Here is what Tim wrote in OpenBytes: “It’s being reported that some Hotmail users are complaining that their Hotmail has disappeared from their inbox. As if people hadn’t already lost a little faith in cloud storage and Microsoft products (after Kin Studio is announced by Verizon to be shuting down) then disappearing mail may very be the final straw to have them looking to other providers.”
“The Hotmail brand has been varnishing since Microsoft took over, filled the service with ads, failed to deal with spam, and forcibly moved it to Windows for no reason other than that it’s Microsoft’s (which also means more regular downtimes).”But wait. That’s not all. A month and a half earlier there were downtimes too, as we regularly cover (people notice Gmail downtimes a lot better because it’s a service that journalists actually use).
Microsoft seems to be running out of ideas. It tried a site overhaul, but nothing has been said by Microsoft about the outcome (no raves), which probably means that apart from all the resultant errors and complaints, signup rates are still rather poor. The Hotmail brand has been varnishing since Microsoft took over, filled the service with ads, failed to deal with spam, and forcibly moved it to Windows for no reason other than that it’s Microsoft’s (which also means more regular downtimes).
Hotmail team members appealed to the community of news aggregation site Reddit.com by posting an “ask-me-anything” thread today, where users can come in and basically ask questions about the service and get feedback from the Hotmail team.
The Washington Post, which very recently got rid of Melinda Gates (more on that in a separate post), has posted this long story of a person who dumps Hotmail and explains his reasons e.g.:
Somewhere along the way, Hotmail changed. I’ll be the first to admit that I changed, too. When I asked Hotmail whether it was okay if I started seeing other free e-mail services, she said she didn’t mind. So I grabbed one from Go.com, another from Yahoo, and a second Hotmail address for Slate-related business. I flirted with the Outlook Express client, and much later Thunderbird. I even picked up an MSN address, technically a paid service but comped because Slate was then owned by Microsoft. Like all relationships, Hotmail and I had devolved into a love-hate-coexistence groove. I hated the fact that Hotmail put limits on how many e-mails I could store without paying. I hated the limitation on the size of files I could send. I suspect that Hotmail hated me because I wanted all she provided and more but wasn’t willing to pay.
The beginning of the end came in mid-2004, when I wheedled an invitation to Gmail. Google’s Web mail service wasn’t about limits. I’ve saved practically every e-mail I’ve gotten on my Gmail account and have never come close to hitting my maximum. It’s not like I ever fell in love with Gmail – even though I got two accounts there, too. I just compartmentalized. I reserved my Hotmail account for online shopping and software registration. I’ve got a million electronic receipts there, and I didn’t want to bother changing my Amazon, Netflix, Go Daddy, Borders, Napster and iTunes accounts to a new address. So I stayed, rationalizing my unhappiness. I’ll bet the same has happened to you, too. They get their hooks into you and you can’t break free.
Why was I unhappy? Hotmail, after all, had done a lot for me and never asked for much in return. Well, I just came to like Gmail better. It was svelte and fast and easily searchable, while Hotmail was not. Also, Hotmail kept putting on weight with all of its new features – features that I didn’t want. It also went through a bewildering set of name changes that spoke directly to its self-esteem problems: Hotmail became MSN Hotmail and then Windows Live Mail and then Windows Live Hotmail. Who do you think you’re fooling, Hotmail? We all know you’re the same broad we met back in 1996.
There is a lot more to be said about that and we’ll be writing more about Facebook’s relationship with Microsoft in the coming days (there’s a post draft already, one among 30 or so). █
Summary: Techrights interview from the December 2010 issue of Linux Format Magazine
FOR THOSE who did not managed to buy December’s issue of Linux Format, there’s an interview with me there, as noted some months ago. Here is the raw text which hopefully explains a little more about Techrights and yours truly.
* How did you get involved in Open Source?
I was first made aware of UNIX and Linux some time in the 90s when few friends from school used them experimentally. In computer science classes (my majors) there were many of us geeks. It wasn’t until ten years ago that I got introduced to Red Hat and became a user immediately. I loved so many things about it. In 2001 I was writing and sharing all my programs as Free software and in 2002 I got a job where I wrote GPL-licensed code (mostly GTK based). This then introduced me to GNU and I soon learned more about the associated philosophy. At the time I was not using the term “Open Source” although I was aware of the term. It wasn’t until much later (around 2005) that I realised the term ought to be used in order to better align with the mainstream press, which tended to characterise as “Open Source” code that everyone shared in this way. To me, sharing of code was always natural and I never wrote any proprietary software in my entire life. I don’t intend to, either. It is possible to get paid to write code to which you retain all sensible rights. It’s more rewarding and motivational, not just beneficial to one’s peers. There is no better feeling than to help those who help you. This period of my life also got me involved as a contributor in several Free/Open Source projects, notably WordPress which I used a lot.
In cases where colleagues’ code was not truly licensed (just copyrighted, naturally), I did try to encourage the sharing of code because as a scientist I knew that our joint work would have greater impact if it was adopted and used by others. Thus, my involvement in “Open Source” was more than about code; it was a way of life and I still try to advance the principles of Free software/Open Source in the context of data, literature, hardware, and the sciences in general. Transparency is not the key advantage in my eyes; it is more to do with promoting abundance rather than scarcity where limitations on access are only artificial. Restrictions empower those already in power and it doesn’t have to be that way, especially not in the digital world.
* What is TechRights?
TechRights is a platform where a strand of ideas are expressed, borrowing from influential and important establishments like the Free Software Foundation yet acting completely independently (there are no sources of funding and thus no self censorship or bias). TechRights can be seen as complementary to some groups, but any such similarity is only perceptual as there was never any affiliation. TechRights has 3 domain names and several activities/components, such as a blog, a wiki, and three real-time communication channels (IRC) divided by topics. Several months ago we also added angle-based distinctions, categorised under the banners named “TechRights”, “TechWrongs”, and “TechChoices”. The site’s focus is Novell, Microsoft, and sometimes even Apple not because they are the sole threat to people’s freedoms and digital rights; in the field of software these are the areas where we have greater interest, prior supportive material, and expertise.
* What is the history of TechRights?
TechRights is the site name proposed by Tracy, the guy who is hosting the Web site. We needed a new name when the site’s scope had expanded. It was long overdue. We hope to invert the connotation of the word “rights”, which is increasingly being hijacked by those who take people’s rights away.
* TechRights used to be called Boycott Novell, why the name change?
Yes, “Boycott Novell” was created by Shane just days after Novell and Microsoft had signed their problematic patent deal. The site was expected to have narrow focus and deal with just this one aspect of the problem Free software was having. As I recall it, “Boycott Novell” was actually a category name in Shane’s personal/technical blog, but it became its own domain name and soon enough many people subscribed to the site. As readership grew, the range of topics expanded. At the time of joining the site — very shortly after its inception — I was working on my Ph.D. thesis and I had a lot of spare time which I used to write a large number of posts for the site. At the moment we have about 11,000 blog posts, just over a hundred megabytes of IRC logs, and various other pages that are actively edited by the community. We hope that quantity has not compromised quality.
* Do you still feel we should all Boycott Novell?
I am not in a position to tell people what to do, but I advise people to think carefully about Novell’s tactics of selling SLE* (SUSE Linux Enterprise) using software patents. Novell has attempted to change the rules by imposing on GNU/Linux a restriction that never existed beforehand. Novell came to Microsoft and negotiated for about half a year what later became a patent deal. This put Novell in a position of perceived advantage over Red Hat et al. Since then, Novell has been urging businesses to buy SUSE based on Novell’s software patents (Novell euphemistically calls it “IP peace of mind”), which Novell turned into a selling point in this battlefield where software patents are antithetical.
The name “Boycott Novell” was never my idea and I have always felt some unease about the name (it sounded too negative and about 80% of my output was positive), but I do encourage people to vote with their wallets and reward companies that are not using software patents to sell their products. For the GNU/Linux market to thrive and for new businesses to be derived or emerge from it, software patents will need to be stopped. Novell is not unique in that regard and TechRights attempts to deal with the issues, not just individual players.
* TechRights has been a controversial site, what is your take on the controversy?
Every person or platform that dares to touch sensitive subjects is bound to be labelled “controversial” or be characterised as “irrational” by its adversaries. This is especially true when one departs from purely technical debates. Over the years we have had people distort or misrepresent our views, which are harder to control or manage when one works within a framework involving many people or when people spread false rumours (disinformation) from the outside. For instance, some people began to associate the site’s formal views with people who just leave comments in it or enter the IRC channel. Some people wrongly assumed that a protest in India — going under the banner “Boycott Novell” — was in some way organised by the Web site.
What we find encouraging though is that when people come and speak to us directly they soon realise that we are decent people and the stereotypes/caricatures that sometimes float out there are just daemonisations designed to marginalise our views. There are clearly some companies out there which are unhappy with our work. Truth hurts sometimes. Since we are open to feedback, companies have an opportunity to challenge every claim, not by ad hominem attacks but by rational debate. We have already had anonymous Novell employees smearing messengers from within the site and from outside the site. They usually get exposed at the end and then they vanish.
* What changes would you like to see happen in Open Source to alleviate some of your concerns?
There are many issues that need correcting and by staying passive nothing will ever improve, it will only get worse. One of the areas we are active in the ending of software patents, which need to be eliminated even in the Open Source world (IBM, for example, ought to rethink its patent policy because it’s pro-software patents). The Open Source/Free software community ought to be open to criticism from within, even if this criticism is somewhat discomforting at times. The ultimate goal is to further enable users and developers, who over time seem to be increasingly captured by draconian/centralised entities like application stores that censor, so-called ‘clouds’ which are managed from afar, and restrictive licences that ratify and solidify DRM, kill switches and violations of privacy.
* What do you see as the future for TechRights?
TechRights is a platform which is in many people’s hands and if it helps outsiders view matters differently, then we know we did our part. Most of the activity takes place in IRC, so as long as our community drives the agenda in particular directions, that will be the future of the platform.
In the future we hope to maintain information resources written in a language which is more defensive than offensive. When dealing with difficult subjects where detractors of freedom become maliciously active, it is tempting to lose one’s composure. The ultimate goal is to educate less than to campaign. We don’t organise campaigns but we sometimes spread comical memes that help warn about dangers which we label in order to raise awareness. For example, we consistently write “Vista 7″, “Fog Computing”, and “hypePad”, all of which are terms designed to convey the real downsides of those latest threats to software freedom.
If people have ideas which they want to promote or problems that they want to see addressed, they are most welcome and even encouraged, so they can come and meet our community, preferably in IRC. A lot of our popular articles were made possible by leakers of information (anonymised whistleblowers), who shed light on wrongdoings they had witnessed. Had it not been for all these contributions, TechRights would not be around. The platform is increasingly crowdsourced for the most part, which makes it more effective and accurate. █
Resumen: Las nuevas cifras y nuevos informes acerca de grupos de presión de Microsoft en los Estados Unidos.
La influencia de MICROSOFT en el gobierno de EE.UU. no es nada despreciable [http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Microsoft_influence_in_the_United_States_government] y en los próximos días vamos a mostrar algunos ejemplos impactantes en los que Microsoft utiliza conexiones con el gobierno para competir, en lugar de utilizar los mejores productos para competir. Anoche escribimos acerca de directivos de Microsoft que habían renunciado y el jefe federal de Microsoft se va también, como se explica en varios sitios web [1[http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=365&sid=2184214], 2[http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/personnel-notes/131389-report-microsoft-federal-chief-heading-to-amazon]] incluyendo uno inclinado [http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2010/12/01/microsoft-federal-leader-to-amazon.aspx] por Microsoft [http://techrights.org/2010/02/22/1105-media-is-not-government/](sí, Microsoft tiene relaciones con los sitios de noticias que cubren los asuntos del gobierno):
“Teresa Carlson, quien ha dirigido la división federalde Microsoft Corp., ha renunciado para irse a dirigir los esfuerzos de cloud computing en Amazon.com.”
A pesar de la fuerte influencia de Microsoft en el gobierno de los Estados Unidos, la retención de sus trabajadores ha estado resultando difícil en los últimos tiempos. Por otro lado, Microsoft se las arregló para atraer el ex jefe de Voodoo [1[http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/display/20101222091239_Microsoft_Hires_Founder_of_Voodoo_Boutique_PC_Maker.html], 2[http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1934095/microsoft-hires-voodoo-chief]] y al final del mes de octubre todos nos enteramos que Steve Jobs, tuvo un episodio de furia a través de Microsoft, Bungie [1 [http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/report_microsoft-bungie_buyout_angered_steve_jobs/], 2 [http://www.tuaw.com/2010/10/26/report-steve-jobs-was-furious-over-microsofts-acquisition-of/], 3 [http://www.geek.com/articles/games/steve-jobs-was-furious-when-microsoft-bought-halo-making-bungie-20101027/], 4 [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/41496/Steve-Jobs-rage-over-Bungie-sale-to-MS]]. Microsoft se apoya en juegos, por lo que también acaba de contratar a Rahul Sood para este próposito [http://www.techeye.net/business/microsoft-nicks-hps-rahul-sood-for-gaming], como se explica en un montón de sitios, por ejemplo, [1[http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/35435/Rahool-Sood-joins-Microsoft], 2[http://hothardware.com/News/Rahul%2DSood%2DMoves%2DTo%2DMicrosoft/].
“Se da la ilusión de que las empresas desempeñan un papel modesto en la gestión de un país.”Microsoft mientras tanto la contratación de más grupos de presión [http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2010/11/microsoft_hires_salem_former_c.html], también: “Microsoft dijo el lunes que ha contratado el veterano del Capitolio Charles Salem como director general de la política pública.”
Un nuevo informe [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-20/microsoft-spends-1-63-million-lobbying-in-3q.html] revela sólo la parte más conocida y divulgada de grupos de presión, mientras que Microsoft excluyendo al resto, como de costumbre. Se dice que “Microsoft Corp. gastó 1,63 MILLONES de DOLARES en sólo el tercer trimestre para presionar al gobierno federal sobre una amplia gama de temas, desde la piratería de software a la competencia en la publicidad en línea, según un informe de este reporte.”
Añada a Microsoft lanzando un millones dólares [http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/365616/updated_microsoft_forks_1_mil_gov_2_0/] sólo influir en la política del gobierno. Esto no es como el gobierno se supone que es de ejecución. Es evidente que la figura de arriba es unicamente ficticia, porque es muy incompleta. Se da la ilusión de que las empresas desempeñan un papel modesto en la gestión de un país. █
Resumen: ¿Cómo el poder político está siendo aprovechada por Microsoft para colonizar y controlar de forma remota de Vietnam con su software propietario?
La fundación de Bill Gates estuvo cabildeando Vietnam [http://techrights.org/2010/08/09/gates-versus-gnu-linux-in-vietnam/] para descarrilar su migración [http://techrights.org/2009/09/29/vietnam-odf-national-standard/] al Open Document Format y al Software Libre. Era más bien desagradable. El año pasado también se demostró la relación especial entre Clinton y Gates[http://techrights.org/2010/03/17/rich-uncle-bill-explored/]. “Funcionarios del ministerio de Vietnam de la Información y Comunicaciones asistierón a la ceremonia de firma con EE.UU. La secretaria de Estado Hillary Clinton y Malcolm de Silva, gerente general de Microsoft de Vietnam”, dice este nuevo informe [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-30/vietnam-microsoft-sign-agreement-to-build-up-it-industry.html]. Así que Clinton está jugando a la política para servir a su cliente de Microsoft. A expensas de quién? Del pueblo vietnamita y su libertad, que es un tema sensible después de la guerra en Vietnam. “En el marco del acuerdo”, dice el artículo, “Microsoft ayudará a Vietnam a desarrollar su fuerza de trabajo en tecnología de la información, un paso hacia el objetivo de Vietnam de ampliar el sector de las TIC de forma que representa el 20 por ciento del PIB de Vietnam.”
¿Cómo terrible. Es por eso que necesitamos Cablegate / Wikileaks. Nos ayuda a ver cómo Clinton, por ejemplo, trabaja para el comercio en lugar de actuar como un político elegido para servir a su pueblo (sí, a diferencia de las empresas).
Desde hace un tiempo en Vietnam lo hizo oficial que su gobierno se deshacería de Microsoft, pero el gobierno de Estados Unidos, la Fundación Gates [http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Gates_Foundation_Critique] y Microsoft simplemente no puede dejar solo a Vietnam. La misma táctica se utiliza en América del Sur y Rusia. Microsoft trata de imponer el uso de Office (fuente de ingresos principal, pero depende en el monocultivo de Windows) [http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Money/5631890-147/what_is_microsoft_afraid_of_.csp]y la política es su táctica. En un artículo reciente que pone:
La mayoría de personas viven bajo la idea errónea de que Windows es el producto insignia de Microsoft. No lo es. producto insignia de Microsoft, en realidad, es Microsoft Office, su suite de productividad en todas partes que se pueden encontrar en más del 90 por ciento de todos los ordenadores del planeta. Esto incluye la plataforma Mac, cuya furioza leales usuarios a regañadientes hacen uso de Microsoft Office para Mac, mientras la nativa de Apple suite ofice, iWork, se enpolva en los mostradores.
Parte de la razón para el monocultivo de Microsoft no es en absoluto técnico. Microsoft actúa como un movimiento político, así que mientras la “prensa de Microsoft se centra en los aspectos técnicos” [http://mcpmag.com/blogs/certifiable/2010/11/microsoft-in-10-years.aspx], Techrights no pasará por alto el papel de la política. Los que evitan pasar por alto la explicación de muchas decisiones. █
Summary: First show for 2011 speaks about consoles, sales, Android, software patents, and an outlook for the new year
THE FIRST 2011 audiocast is out. The show is getting a new site very soon and OpenBytes publishes the show notes for everybody. Today’s show concentrates on Microsoft failures, criticism of statistics in the media or the recording industry, and finally some 2011 predications about Android’s success and Steve Ballmer’s departure.
Posted in Site News at 6:25 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Apple gets all zealous about the appearance of its CEO while customers of Apple have their human rights totally tarnished
APPLE views itself as a privileged child — the one to whom special rules apply. Outrageously enough it gets away with it a lot of the time and Apple still thinks it owns Steve Jobs, which means censorship of this man’s image. He is all “IP”, isn’t he? Anyway, Techrights hopes that more people begin to see Apple for the malicious entity which it has become in recent years. Humility does not start with an “i” and products like iPad and iPhone are said to be leaking data on their users right now:
Two groups of iPhone and iPad users are suing Apple saying apps for the gadgets leak personally identifiable data.
The groups want to stop personal data being passed around without owners being notified or compensated.
It’s funny that Apple lets users’ data leak whilst it’s shutting down sites which leak information about Apple’s future products and also shutting down Wikileaks apps [1, 2, 3]. Shame on Apple. It’s 1984 on Steroid. █
Summary: Santa Clara County schools will need to purchase more software (proprietary) after a settlement that’s hardly a punishment for Microsoft’s illegal activities
IT IS “FUNNY MONEY” season just before the year closes. Yes, a Microsoft victim is once again bragging about some so-called ‘settlement’ which leaves much to be desired. We have found many reports about it, mostly from California where schools were reportedly too slow (if not late) to claim Microsoft’s debt to them.
Too much focus is put on the sum of money [1, 2] and too little about how it must be spent. As one report put it:
Funding for the first and second phase is used in the same manner. Half of the Cy Pres awards come in the form of general-purpose vouchers to reimburse school districts for the purchases of eligible computer hardware, information technology support services, professional development services for teachers and a broad array of computer software.
The other half comes in the form of specific category software vouchers that reimburse school districts for the purchase of only particular types of software.
What “particular types of software” would that be? It does not specify. For those in need of some background, here is a portion of another report:
The settlement comes from a 1999 lawsuit in which businesses and consumers charged that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) engaged in unfair business practices in selling certain systems.
Microsoft basically broke the law to drive competitors out of the market and then hike the costs. Why is Microsoft even around after obviously engaging in illegal activity? Because the way the law works, if Microsoft can pay “settlement” money to the plaintiff, then the case goes away. It’s just like a bribe, but they call it a “settlement” because it sounds so much more benign (like “licensing” versus “racketeering”). To put the scale of this bribe in perspective, we’re talking about a rate of $5.31 per pupil in one case. What’s the real toll of a kid being grown up to be enslaved by Microsoft software? This is surely disproportional.
Santa Clara County schools will receive nearly $821,000 for technology purchases, and San Mateo County schools will receive nearly $306,000, in the second phase of a settlement of an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.
The funds benefit schools that applied for a portion of the settlement. The awards, granted at a rate of $5.31 per pupil, range from less than $100 for small continuation schools to $18,141 for Independence High School in San Jose, which has about 3,400 students.
[...]
Schools receive the funding in the form of vouchers they can use for technology purchases — and not just ones sold by Microsoft. Half of the value of the vouchers must be used for particular software.
And there are strings attached to it. As prodigy educator Diane Ravitch put it the other day (we’ll come back to it later), “[i]nsisting on controlling the use of one’s gift of money is another low form of philanthropy. Today’s givers want to control others’ lives.” Ravitch referred specifically to education and added: “Insisting on recognition for philanthropy (cf. Mark Zuckerberg) is the lowest form of philanthropy. It is ego-driven.”
Ravitch is critical of both Gates and Zuckerberg, but that is a subject for another day. The huge damage the Gates Foundation is doing to public education is a massively-underrated subject which is suppressed through actual control of the media (e.g. sponsoring journalists). In the case of the schools above, they can’t use Free/libre software if a software purchase is strictly required. Coincidence? Maybe. This is is not mentioned by anyone and not even the self-serving strings are mentioned a lot of the time, with exceptions:
Schools that serve large numbers of poor children are getting new money to pay for technology as the state releases $25 million through the second phase of a legal settlement with Microsoft, the California Department of Education announced today.
[...]
The awards come in the form of vouchers to reimburse school districts for buying computer hardware, information technology support services, professional development services for teachers, and computer software.
As usual, the biggest winners in these cases are the lawyers. Moreover, Microsoft manipulates the settlement so as to make it self-serving (to Microsoft). It does not really pay fines if those fines have to be redeemed in particular ways. █
Summary: Techrights interview from the December 2010 issue of Linux Format Magazine
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