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Microsoft Slam-fest: Round 2 |
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 Ok, 10.3.1 is out, the iTunes Music Store is doing battle with all comers, Apple is getting good press for all sorts of things (mostly for how great Panther is) and a dirty secret has come to light that last weekend Steve Jobs engulfed an entire rack of lamb, purchased music through BuyMusic.com on a Dell computer and then played it on his Dell jukebox, all while wearing a shirt and tie and some pleated khakis.
Almost had you, didn't I? Well, all but those things about Steve are true - proof that there's a lot going on with Apple as of late. Will I take the opportunity to write about any of them? Heck no, because everyone's favorite company, Microsoft, is providing plenty of cannon fodder!
Where to start, where to start? Ah.... I think it'll be this article, where a TechWorld headline entitled, "Microsoft prepares security assault on Linux", talks about how MS will be fighting a PR battle with Linux over which one is more secure. Apparently, Microsoft hired some "outside" analysts to see how fast holes are patched in Linux compared to Windows:
The strategy, called "Days of Risk," measures the number of days it takes programmers to release a public patch after a vulnerability is revealed. While high-profile holes in Linux and associated software tend to be swiftly dealt with, less prominent problems -- which could be just as potentially damaging -- can take weeks or even months to appear.
Whether or not anyone would actually believe this remains to be seen. Anyone who does believe any hype out of Redmond, however, should be beaten repeatedly with a rubber chicken about the face and neck.
Speaking of rubber chickens - er - I mean patching security holes, Microsoft has announced a new policy for releasing patches for Windows. A CNET article (and as it's becoming clear, anything from CNET should be prefaced with the tag, "HEY, we get paid lots of money by Microsoft, so we're pretty much just gonna say good stuff about them!) "reports" that MS is shifting to a monthly patch cycle. And no, this isn't because they're worried about having any little baby companies or because they're quitting smoking, although I can see why you might think that. Apparently they want to "ease the burden on systems administrators struggling with the frequency of security updates". Translated from IT-speak, it's because the daily frickin updates are getting pretty damned annoying!!!
However, IT-types are generally pretty leery about the new system. Some say it may even be harder to do the updates once a month because the file size will be that much bigger. Plus, some think MS should actually use it's head (there's a thought) and just release patches as they're needed. As Greg Shipley of Neohapsis says, "they should respond in a timely manner regardless of their patch cycle". Besides, monthly patches may just lead to viruses being released in the week following the latest update. Virus writers ain't dumb, and they'll go for the most bang for their buck.
Last but not least in this "Microsoft is retarded" thread, is the story of MS trying to thwart the efforts of Lindows.com. According to The Inquirer, Lindows.com is offering free PC's (among other freebies) to get people to hop on board it's class-action lawsuit against our favorite Redmond, Washington-based company. This is all part of that $1.1 billion dollar settlement that MS agreed to back in July, which incidentally was "the largest recovery of a monopoly overcharge ever achieved in the United States and the largest recovery ever achieved under the antitrust laws of California."
Under the terms of the settlement, if you bought certain goods including or containing a Microsoft OS in California between Feb. 18, 1995 and Dec. 15, 2001 you're eligible to get money back. That's right, that means if you bought any PC with Windows preinstalled, you may be eligible!
The thing is though, that "two-thirds of the unclaimed money will go to California public schools in a mix of donated Microsoft software and cash grants" and MS gets the rest. So depending how many vouchers are claimed, MS might get off paying as little as $367 million in cash.
Here's where it gets good (or bad depending how you look at it). Lindows.com has a site set up at MSfreePC.com where you can easily see if you're eligible for vouchers and sign up if you are. Lindows.com might even give you a free PC if you bought enough crap from MS (granted, the free PC doesn't have a hard drive, as it's designed as a Web-station, but hey, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye!).
Microsoft is now all over Lindows.com's case and has dispatched it's army of lawyers - with the argument that Lindows.com is making it just too darned easy for people to sign up for the vouchers. We can't have that, can we? So if you bought a product from Microsoft in California, or a computer that had Windows preloaded on it, get clicking! We have to make sure that MS doesn't walk away with any of it's money. Plus, you should get reimbursed for the pain and suffering of having to use windows for any period of time.
So wrapping things up, it's good to know that some things will never change; Microsoft will always be money-grubbing n'erdowells, Steve Ballmer will always have sweaty pits, and Steve Jobs will always be a strict vegan. At least, he will be until he gets a whiff of those Buffalo Wings.
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November 11 2003, 2:07 PM EDT, by
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Comments:
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| sweetjimmyhugs |
11/11/03, 2:51 PM EDT |
It's a funny thing, liberal media. Sometimes it's good, and sometimes Microsoft pays so much money to make themselves look good that I have to wonder if Saddam is really such a bad guy? I mean, if you can't trust a news scource (and I use that term loosly) to give you unbiased information on a company, can you trust another scource to give you an unbiased look at the rest of the world? From now on, I'll only get my news from the same place President Bush gets his: Archie Comics.
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| Wasabe |
11/11/03, 3:51 PM EDT |
Hey. I noticed something. Apple hardly every hasta worry about patches and holes and viruses. hmmmm..... i wonder how that could be?
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| stickman67 |
11/12/03, 8:50 PM EDT |
Hey, did anyone notice that MS recently released two patches for two previous patches?
And now it's attacking Linux for being an insecure OS! That place cracks me up!
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| ZackMac |
11/13/03, 9:43 PM EDT |
Liberal media is sick and insane, not funny.
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