Commentary, Rants, and Raves

On the day of the Apple iPhone launch, what really happened to the early adopters who literally camped out on the AT&T Store's front door? Well, for one stupid lady, she got iPhowned [KDFW Fox 4 via YouTube, 2:06]. She's living proof that a fool and his money are soon parted. (Well, a fool and her money, in this case.) I found this link from the iPhone Hog Gets Owned entry on Tech Chick Blog.

Microsoft want you to believe that Windows Vista is the most secure operating system the world has ever seen. Just ask Baghdad Bob if you don't believe me. When the gold master was 90 days old, a Microsoft drone wrote a 90 Day Vulnerability Report comparing Windows Vista to Linux and Mac OS X. Very slick propaganda, that, but it's nothing more. The report neatly ignores Internet Explorer flaws as well as features of Vista that are fundamentally insecure, yet it points to flaws in applications and libraries merely available in many Linux distributions and doesn't give them the same exemptions Vista was granted. Despite being hosted on a site for security executives, it's nothing more than Microsoft propaganda designed to panic ignorant managers. Any security expert outside of Microsoft worth his salt would immediately file this in the /dev/null file.

Well, now that Windows Vista is six months old, the same "security researcher" at Microsoft has published an updated report using the same flawed and hypocritical standards. Full Disclosure does a nice job debunking the report. (Picked up from Slashdot: Vista Security Claims Debunked .)

Security is proven, never claimed. The only answers to the question of whether a system is secure are "no" and "maybe," never "yes."

"Mr Roberts finds himself awoken inexplicably in a white room. A man sits before him at a desk, and in between them stands a black button. If Mr. Roberts pushes it, he will receive a briefcase filled with millions of dollars. Or he can take the key to the door and leave penniless. The catch? Pushing the button will result in the death of a human being. What would you do?" This is definitely worth watching if you have the bandwidth to load it.

• The Black Button - A short film by Dark Heart Productions via YouTube [7:06].

I need money. I have entirely too much stuff. Those two things meet, rather conveniently, here on the Web. I have some of my stuff listed on Amazon.com (DVDs for now). I don't list on eBay anymore because the fee structure is out of control, their own item listing system is broken to the extent sellers are stiffed routinely, and they're banning good payment systems in favor of their own scammer-friendly system.

So... Please check out my stuff.

An open letter to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corporation: Show us the code. Show us the Linux and free software code that infringes your company's patents. You don't want to because you feel you don't need to. Microsoft are not interested in scaring common home users because, first, they rely on home users being ignorant, and second, they know they won't change the mind of anyone who knows alternatives exist. Their real money for the long term is in corporate contracts, contracts made by those deathly afraid of being sued and ignorant of the truth. That's why Microsoft don't care about destroying Linux. That's why they don't want to show us the code.

• Sony v. Crain: Ms. Crain counterclaims against RIAA for using unlicensed investigators - Recording Industry vs The People. Ms. Crain was displaced by Hurricane Rita only to be sued by the RIAA for sharing music, even though she never shared any files.
• MPAA's Media Defender sets up 'fake' site to catch pirates - George Gardner, Tech.Blorge.com. The MPAA authorizing a specific company to offer MPAA-owned content for free download in order to combat piracy? Sounds to me like they're trying to create criminals instead of catch them. To quote the article, entrapment comes to mind.
• The iPhone's root password was cracked in three days - Uh, Apple... What in God's great universe would possess you to ship iPhones with the weakest root password next to none ever? Fortunately, there's not much iPhun for it. ...Yet.
• The Evolution of Self-Defense Technologies in Malware - Alisa Shevchenko, Kaspersky Lab via Net-Security.org. More technical than most people will like, but interesting nonetheless.
• Ubuntu Dell is $50 Less than Windows Dell - From Dell themselves, no less. This is interesting, especially for anyone wanting to try Linux, have major vendor support, and not have to worry about installing it. That's Windows Vista Home Basic, the edition I still can't pay someone to take from me, that the Ubuntu Dell is $50 less than.