I've seen a bunch of complaints lately about the new beta index. Now, I know that it's been in a state of rapid flux in the past few weeks as they try different things -- sometimes the thing doesn't even render right. Of course, this is 'beta', so you take your lumps as they work out the bugs.

Other than the occasional rendering problem and associated weirdness, though, I have to say that I rather like the new interface.

Wha? Why are you all looking at me like that?

Seriously. Listen. Okay, I don't like the green "idle" look very much, either. I personally think it's a bit difficult to read. But, other than that, I think the changes improve the usefulness of the site. Firehose has become more integrated with the main page, for instance. The whole thing is more dynamic, more AJAXy and overall the feel is much faster and much easier to sort through to find what you're looking for.

If you don't like it, you can always use the RSS feeds.

I welcome your opinions and comments, especially opposing viewpoints.

Okay, so I'm a little slow at jumping on bandwagons. Having written code to parse everything from XML configuration files to Windows-style .INI files, I've always thought that writing code to create and parse configuration files sucked. And that things like ConfigParser and xml.dom.minidom in Python made it suck a little less.

So, having worked with XML, I had heard of JSON as an alternative to XML and always thought "Wow. I'm going to have to write ANOTHER parser? Ugh." Obviously I just didn't get it.

So I wrote a little proggie the other day and needed an object-oriented-type configuration file for it and thought, for some strange reason, they I should do something a little lighter weight than XML. Flat .INIs weren't going to work because, well, they're flat. ;) So I decided to give this JSON thing a try.

I looked at the JSON documentation for Python 2.6 (and simplejson for Python 2.5, which the Python 2.6 json module is based on) and went huh? That's it? That can't be it. I'll need to write more methods than that surely.

As I looked more and more at it, I realized uhhhh...a JSON file looks rather like a Python dictionary (like a hash table in Perl or C) with str and numeric values. And lists! (Values can be lists!) Perfect. And when you parse it, you get exactly that -- a big Python dictionary. Wow! *slaps forehead* How much easier can you make it than that?

So you can have

{
        "window": {
                "width": 150,
                "height": 200
        },
        "bookmarks": [
              {
                  "name": "Slashdot - News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters",
                  "url": "http://slashdot.org" },
              { "name": "Google Docs",
                  "url": "http://docs.google.com" },
        ]
}

(forgive me if Slashdot mangles the indentation as it usually does)

and then you can access the whole shebang via

>>> import json
>>> configFile=open('foo.rc','r')
>>> config=json.load(f)
>>> config['window']['height']
200
>>> for bookmark in config['bookmars']: print bookmark['url'] ...
http://slashdot.org
http://docs.google.com

And the JSON file can be entirely self-documenting: You can put literally anything you want for each of the key:value pairs.

And since writing out the JSON file is just easy (just in reverse), you can easily write a configuration GUI, with the same brand of direct access to the JSON structure.

Now that's easy.

This is an open letter to my friend, the personal troll.

Okay, this is getting old. Someone, who obviously has a couple of sock puppet accounts (and nothing better to do), went and modded a bunch of my posts as trolls today. They must really hate me, because they waited until two of their accounts got mod points, and then blew 8 of their 10 mod points on lil' ol' me.

Probably the same person who's been trolling me for the past couple of weeks.

Whoever you are, if you had some testicular fortitude, you wouldn't hide behind socket puppets and AC trolls. I'm asking you now, as a man (or woman as the case may be), to do the honorable thing and post, not AC, with your real account, right here. Then we can discuss your issue with me, one-on-one via e-mail if you prefer.

I seriously doubt you'll do the honorable thing because you've already shown that you're a coward with no honor.

I was doing research on the (US) "Fair Tax" proposal (HR 25) which would abolish the IRS in favor of a national sales tax. In doing so, I noticed the provision which enforces taxes on bartering (sec 201'S103.d)) ) and was upset enough about that, but then I discovered that in combination with the fact that services would be taxed, not just products, and that "computer software" is explicitly excluded from "intangible property" (Sec 201'S2.a)(6)B), it may mean that Open Source software writers and users would need to pay sales tax on the "fair market value" of the software. I am hoping that I am missing something or reading something incorrectly, but here are the details:

Section 201'S103.d) reads:

(d) Barter Transactions- If gross payment for taxable property or services is made in other than money, then the person responsible for collecting and remitting the tax shall remit the tax to the sales tax administering authority in money as if gross payment had been made in money at the tax inclusive fair market value of the taxable property or services purchased.[Emphasis mine]

Open Source software (well, technically GPL-like licenses) is essentially a barter between a license to use the software on the one hand and a guaranteed license to use any resulting derivative works on the other. "You get to use this for free, but in exchange, I get whatever you make from it." Since all goods and services would be taxed under this proposal, then this would indicate that a user of Open Source would need to remit tax based on the "fair market value" of the software on the one hand and the writer would need to pay taxes on any software licensed back to them in return.

The potential taxes in this case are clearly going to be much higher than the typical price of the software ($0) and the software licensed back, especially for someone very early in the development tree might generate enough tax liability to bankrupt them.

Now, the Fair Tax does not tax "intangible property," so does this give us an out? A copyright is usually considered intangible and is, in fact, listed in Section 201'S2.a)(6)A as "intangible". But... B in that same subhead specifically excludes software from the definition of "intangible property" so it would be explicitly taxed under the "Fair Tax":

(B) CERTAIN TYPES OF PROPERTY- Such term does not include tangible personal property (or rents or leaseholds of any term thereon), real property (or rents or leaseholds of any term thereon) and computer software. [Emphasis mine]

So, presumably if I write a piece of software which might be marketed at, say, $100 a seat, and I release it under the GPL, then you would have to pay $30 in taxes to use it. If you go an turn it into a multi-million dollar system for removing brain tumors (and, as required, license the derivative work back to me), I now owe $800,000 in taxes and need to file bankruptcy (but I get to keep my silverware up to a certain value).

Obviously, this is nonsensical, but it seems to come from a plain-reading of the law. But wait, business-to-business purchases are not taxed, right? Right, at least mostly. If you use a taxable service or product in the production of another taxable service or product (see definition in 201'S2.a)(8)) then you only pay taxes on the last item or service in that chain. So, if you use my Open Source product to run your store, you need not pay taxes on it; the taxes will come out of the sales of your products. But if I use my software for personal use, I am still bankrupt.

The only other out I can see is if the donor simply makes the software public domain (in which case there is no reciprocation and no barter going on) or if all code is contributed to a "qualified non-profit" organization. In the latter case, the non-profit would not pay taxes on any benefit received and at least business users of the "free" software would not need to pay taxes on it, but private individuals would still need to pay taxes on the "fair market value" of the license they receive (and the qualified non-profit would have to collect those taxes).

What am I missing?

Stra(i)nger: So, what church do you go to?
Me: I don't.
Stra(i)nger: What church did you go to as a kid? Your parents?
Me: This is not a conversation I want to have with you.
Stra(i)nger: No, seriously, what church do you go to? You have gone to church, right?
Me: I tried... sigh... I go to the church of [insert my name here].
Stra(i)nger: What church is that? What kind of church is that?
Me: A church you've never heard of, and one that won't let you join easily.
Stra(i)nger: It's a christian church, right? You believe in god don't you?
Me: Trust me, there is no god.
Stra(i)nger: what? Why should I just trust you that there is no god, of course there is a god.
Me: Trust me, you might as well, you trusted some other puck you don't even know to reliably inform you that there is a god. At least you have met me.
Stra(i)nger: Not true, I know there is a god.
Me: How so? Did you talk to him in person? Did he revive you from the dead with his own two hands? Did he personally perform some miraculous suspension of the laws of the universe for you to witness?
Stra(i)nger: Well, not exactly, but I'm born again, and the bible tells us there is a god.
Me: You don't know the people that wrote the bible or why they did, nor the people who translated it or what their motivations were, or if they were honest people or not. "Born again" is just a figure of speech. I like to think I woke up from the dream you're having now, and now I *FEEL* reborn, or that I have a new life. I can even remember the moment it happened.
Stra(i)nger: Really? When was that?
Me: The instant that I realized I'm an atheist; that there is no god; and that you, like I was, are living in a fantasy world.

... depending on the Stra(i)nger the conversation ends there or very shortly after. Sometimes with swearing at me and curses of damnation and such.

Some religious people are just not sane. They insist on talking about it, and then tell you that they are right and you are wrong. They will even damn you for thinking they are wrong.

And people want to know why atheists are getting vocal. Trust me, it's not because religious people left us alone and allowed us to participate in life without needing their consent; without having to listen to their lunatic rantings; without having to put up with them trying to subvert the government into a branch of the church.

Trust me..... or read this if you want to see what I'm talking about. This story is absolutely priceless. Here is more food for thought for you.

Proof of the existence of the Abrahamic god is nearly 2000 years old, and still not working. The evidence for disbelief in any god at all is growing every day. How much blood do you have to lose before you believe the people telling you that hitting yourself in the face with a baseball bat is not healthy? Apparently a lot of it if you believe that the blood is merely the imagination of the unbelievers. Mirror, mirror, on the wall.... who in the land is the sanest of them all?

Today, I saw that the space age is really over. I was driving through Nassau Bay, on the opposite side of Nasa Road One from the Johnson Space Center, and saw they were gone: a dozen or so office buildings that housed the space program contractors since the very beginning. Although NASA gets almost exclusive credit, much of the space age happened here: Martin Marietta, Lockheed, Rockwell Rocketdyne, a score or more other contractors who were the backbone of America's push into space. Humans got to the moon because of what happened here, just as much as what happened across NASA Road One. My father worked in one of them, and virtually all of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab were made possible by the scientists and engineers and managers that worked there. Now it's all empty fields being prepped for new construction. A few miles down NASA Road One is a historical marker commemorating the Japanese farmers who lived here a century ago. But no marker remains here where humankind planned the conquest of space.
There will be new contracts, new programs, of course. Eventually, we may get to the moon. My experience suggests that it won't be in the next half century, not meaningfully, anymore than our reaching the moon had real meaning a half century ago. And it won't be the same culture that does it. The space age is over, although humans' use of space is just begun.
It's also the end of my own space age. I have left NASA after 29 1/2 years, driven out by contract changes and my own personal growth and progressiveness. I no longer have the heart for government work, to try to "fix the system from within", etc. I don't know what's ahead specifically, but I'm sure I'll have more energy and enthusiasm chasing dreams that I had almost forgotten rather than those the nation has forgotten.

From http://iowa.gotthefacts.org/011607/9000/PX09617.pdf:

Confidential Memo

To: Microsoft Internal
From: Walmart/Linux Taskforce: Robin Bradshaw, Christine Briggs, Mark Croft David Hoffman & Tom Perrier
CC: Rogers Weed
Date: May 16, 2006

Summary

Microtel PCs without an operating system ("naked") first started appearing on Walmart.com in CY 01. We responded by workding with Walmart.com on the language that was used to market those PCs. The focus was on "anti-piracy" messages.

The first Microtel Lindows PCs appeared on Walmart.com in June 2002. We are responding with a taskforce and coordinated efforts to understand the situation and intentions of all parties involved.

To date, there has been a lot of press about the Linux PCs selling on Walmart.com (See attached list of articles.) The media has been mixed, some telling a positive story about the Linux efforts and some pointing out the flaws in the offerings. One consisten message is that these are "substandard" PCs based on todays technology advances.

There is one critical data point we are missing: volume. Walmart will not disclose the volume of Microtel PCs they are selling, and Microtell has told us they are under a "non-disclosure agreement with Walmart." We have been working on some tactics so attempt to obtain volume estimates, but at this time, we can't confirm any numbers.

- We understand that Microtel is shipping approximately 100 units per week on Walmart.com orders.
- We understand that most of the volume is at the $199 price point.
- We understand that most of those systems are shipping with NO OS. (Naked Systems)
- We understand that there has not been a customer satisfaction issue. Walmart sets fairly strict standards for customer return rates and service calls.

The PR activity and focus from Walmart has definitely increased out efforts to understand the Linux threat on the desktop. Several Linux PCs were purchased and evaluated. See the summary of those findings below.

Linux on the Desktop

Abcdefghijklmnop.....

Microtel

Microtel is a small system builder in the City of Industry California. A couple of principles in the company came from a previous OEM Mitsuba. Microsoft filed suit against them in _____ for piracy and they went out of business. They haven't been proponents of Microsoft, their volumes haven't warrented direct account management, and we just began to engage and build a relationship with them in 2002.

We started to engage with Microtel in the beginning of FY02, but the AM was met with a closed door and had little if no success. When the Lindows issue broke, Tom Perrier (tperrier), Microsoft System Builder RSM, discovered that Rich Hindman was their VP of Sales/Marketing (from Mitsuba). Tom had worked with Rich prior at AST Computer. Tat got us in the door and Rich is open to work on the relationship with Microsoft and Tom, but isn't sharing any information regarding their plans of volume. This is a summary of his progress with Rich:

1.) Continue the engagement with Rich Hindman to focus on strategies to differentiate the offerings as Microtel introduces a new wave of SKU's. This will seperate the offerngs and focus on the added value of the Windows based systems. (Avoid the current situtation where the $299 Windows Home SKU is the same config as Lindows model but $100 more for the same model with XP Home, with no other differentiation). This can be accomplished with scenarios like the Office XP 20-Day trial (in place today).

2.) They are still very "non-disclosure" oriented. I tried and tried, but could not get Rich to divulge any shipment data. I continue to think that the shipments out of their facility in City of Industry are small. In addition, Rich would not give me any real data for the current PRM Account Profilling that we are doing.

3.) All of the conversations with Microtel are centered on growing their Microsoft business, and improving the relationship between Microtel and Microsoft. We avoid any direct conversations on Linsows.

4.) Rich realizes and states that Microtel is getting increased focus and attention based upon their offerings on the Wal-Mart.com site. He will continue to take advantage of these opportunities as they arise.

5.) In developing the relationship with the local VIA Sales Rep, Roger Goh (rogergoh), System Builder AM was able to determine that the systems built for Walmart.com are build somewhere on the east coast, and the volume is approx 1000 a week. He was not able to get the mix.

Tom has been working closely with the taskforce team and David Hoffman on driving a longer term strategy with Walmart.com. Microtel seems willing to do the implementation.

Walmart.com

Retail relationship efforts have been historically focused on Walmart corporate and not walmart.com. There is a high level of autonomy at walmart.com. They are not managed under the same guidelines and processes as Walmart corporate. They are making their own decisions about product offerings. Luke Ellison is the Technology Manager at Walmart.com. David Hofman, Microsoft HRD Account Manager, has developed a relationship with Luke. He is eager to work on some additional Microsoft programs with David, but isn't sharing too much regarding their Linux plans. This a summary of his meetings with Luke:

1.) Luke is concerned that Microsoft is mad at them for selling Linux PCs.
a. He wanted to make sure that we knew that www.wal-mart.com is very "pro-Microsoft"
b. They feel that customers that purchase Linux PCs were never a "Microsoft" customer anyway, and that by offering Linux PCs, they were broadening their customer base
c. Their goal with Lindows was to hit a very low price point - if it sold, they would keep it, if it didn't they would dump it after 90-120 days. It's selling.

2.) "Naked PCs" (no O/S) are still outselling Linux PCs (but not by much)
a. They plan to start selling Windows XP OEM (bundled with mouse) as a standalone product (technically this is legit)

3.) All the machines are build-to-order and that www.wal-mart.com carries no inventory.

4.) They are currently working on a way to offer additional software bundles with all of their PCs (like Office, Anti-Virus, etc.)

5.) He mentioned that Microtel was upset about the E-machines deal with Wal-Mart retail, but that Wal-Mart didn't think Microtel could handle being a retail partner - it was just too big of a job for them.

David is working with Walmart.com to help them promote the Windows XP PCs that are listed on walmart.com today. In an effort to differentiate the Windows XP PC from the Linux PC, we are working on a consumer software title bundle to promote as part of the purchase of the Windows XP machine.

Next Steps

1.) Continue the relationship efforts with Microtel and Walmart.com. (Tom Perrier & David Hoffman)

2.) Develop a deeper understanding of the Linux efforts at other System Builders and OEMs in the US. (Datel, ZT Group, MEI etc) (Tom Perrier & Ken Goetsch)

3.) Work with Windows Team to understand options for a Windows XP eval solution. (Mark Croft)

4.) Stay close to HP and eMachines (tow OEMs selling PCs at Walmart) to understnd their efforts and position in the account.

DRAFT

http://www.startribune.com/stories/789/3341339.html

http://mslibrary/news/elecpub/csn

http://msnbc.com/news/813350.asp

http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0,3048,a=30914,00.asp

http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS9675669942.html

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,491621,00.asp

http://newsforge.com/newsforge/02/08/22/1855237.shtml?tid=23

http://biz.yahoo.com/fo/020821/doesn t do windows 3.html

Wal-Mart Sells Windows-Less Computers
Associated Press
Silicon Valley.com

USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/2002-07-17-walmart-computers x.htm

Linux finds fans at Wal-Mart
C/Net:

Sun, Lindows.com Strike Deal
Internet.com: http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/1404731

Mandrake on Lindows
C/Net:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35576-2002Jul20?language-printer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentID=A35576-2002Jul20&notFound=true

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0.4149.470658.00.asp

http://www.pcmag.com/print article/0,3048,a-30914,00.asp

Ever wondered how the tech press all ends up talking about the same stuff at the same time and why so many stories look like dupes that make Slashdot look original? There was an editorial revolt against PR practices by TechCrunch and Wired spills all the beans. TechCrunch is tired of "Embargos", a practice where talking points are issued to everyone who's willing to wait till a specified date to publish. Both TechCrunch and Wired are fed up with spams by people too lazy to build propper relationships. Both report ugly details of abusive manipulation by the PR firms and their masters. Though TechCrunch apparently fears Waggener Edstrom, they were happy to show off an ugly letter from someone from a weaker firm. The arrogance displayed is breathtaking.

Lois is one of the most obnoxious PR people you'll ever meet, and the poster child for everything that is wrong with the industry. ... Lois takes pleasure in making people miserable, and her specialty is spamming. ... [here's what she wrote someone who asked to be removed from a list] "CES publishes a list of press. You are one of a few thousand. ... I have seen nasty people like you melt away faster than a snowball going up hill in the rain. I am waiting for an apology. Maybe we can meet at CES for a hug or a slug. P.S. I just visited your web site. I would hardly call your blog a publication, However, you do have very interesting content ...."

Translation: eat my spam or die. TechCrunch thinks the PR firm's days are over,

As the economy turns south, PR firms are under increasing pressure to perform and justify their monthly retainers which range from $10,000 to $30,000 or more. In short, they have to spam the tech world to get coverage, or lose their jobs.

It's good to revolt against these practices but they only scrape the surface of what's wrong with tech writing. Neither deals with OEM manipulation that always backs up the worst of hack writing. PR firms are also engaged in a whole other world of abuse, astroturf and heckling designed to stifle academic and professional conversations which fall outside of market force control. The sooner these games end, the better informed all of us will be. Traditional news has long failed to inform, now much of it also fails to make money.

Story also submitted to firehose.

Updates

• December 20, Slashdot discusses death of newspapers.
• December 26, Pew News Survey on death of print covered.

Yet another reviewer is tempted to Vista's annoyances and finds it still lacking.

Yes, I finally slowed down enough to let the Microsoft Vista steamroller catch me. ...

Although this PC is aimed at home and small business users, the Out Of Box Experience would make many of the people I know in those categories uncomfortable. First, the network connection didn't work. ... Second, the HP TotalCare and other setup crap gets really annoying. I'm almost certain I will delete most of these helper programs, but I'm going through all the standard steps just so I can feel the pain of all the users getting new Vista PCs this holiday. ... I had to download four big update files. I don't think these were for Microsoft, but for HP's software. Even more aggravating, while the main download popup windows sat in the middle of the screen, the task bar popups alerted me to start the exact updates that were already in progress. Speaking of progress, there doesn't seem to be much in this installation sequence over XP, at least not so far. ... Remember when nag screens were what you got from trial software, not purchased products? ... No sound from the speakers during installation, even though HP put a volume setting on the display like there should be sound. [he had to download drivers to make it work]

Elswhere, he describes his frustration with Vista networking.

Now that my sound function works, and I vented about the User Access Control, let's get to a serious problem: networking. ... Microsoft's bizarre configuration change turned DHPC into a source of incredible frustration. I've been fighting networks for over two decades and never, ever had to worry about DHCP before, but that was before Microsoft's incompetence with Vista.

Too bad he did not buy an HP system with GNU/Linux instead.

This one is worth preserving.

I hate Vista so much I want to cry. Bought a Vaio. The most useless $4k ever spent. It just will not join a sec-enabled network. ... I have nine macs!!!!!! I don't need another fucking mac. I just want ONE ARSING PC that isn't complete SHIT. ... Too late. It's going out the window. I can't put up with this sort of arse. Listemn I have parallels, I have fusion, I have 2 distros of Linux. I need jsut one, just 1 of cunting Vista so that I can review things. Forgive intemperate language, but every time I buy a PC they're worse, not better than they were before and it make me so angry I could kill. ... I've calmed down now. Vista and PCs are so crap it's funny

Nothing is so sad as the tears of a clown. Give up Steve, Vista's not worth your efforts.

If you want an inside understanding of the current financial bust, you could ask the man who wrote Liar's Poker. Or you could read his great essay on it.

Update March 23, 2009

Despite the extended looting and accompanying sucker's rally on Wall Street today, the current predatory lending and investment fraud crisis is showing it's true magnitude. Small wars have cost less than what this crisis has already cost and we are looking at the start of losses, not their end. Other interesting summaries come from Rolling Stone and alternet [2]. The people who described 12 deregulatory steps bought with $5 billion in lobby money can rightly say, "we told you so," have some interesting regulatory remedies. Here are a few interesting links that chronicle the details of the mess:

2008

• March 14 - Greg Pallast says the removal of Elliot Spitzer on private prostitution charges was done to make "bailouts," bank mergers and nationalization possible. He also gives a nice summary of the working of the predatory lending and "sub prime" mortgage scams. Stats: $250 Billion to bankers, 2 million homeowners on brink of forclosure.
• October 13 - Naomi Klein notices the "bailout" is little more than public looting. There has been no "nationalization" of banks because they are under no obligations. She further predicts that bankers will be back for more. Stats: $700 Billion spent.
• October 23 - U.S. Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox repudiates deregulation policies, "The last six months have made it abundantly clear that voluntary regulation does not work." He's talking about the "Enron loophole" where energy futures were and still are traded on the unregulated Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) where rampant speculation blew the price of oil and fattened oil company proffits. The price of oil doubled normally between 1988 to 2000 but the the market was deregulated in 1998 and 2002, shooting the price from $36 in 2000 to $60 in 2005 then a staggering $110 per barrel in 2008. This resulted in high gasoline prices that precipitated the housing collapse.
• November 27 - Alan Greenspan admits he was wrong about deregulating derivatives markets.

2009

• January 19 - Truthout jeers the second round of public looting that does little for homeowners and proposes two reasonable alternatives. The second alternative to TARP 2 is to give homeowners the difference between bubble price and current fair value instead of the banks. That would give people the ability to make their payments and rescue the banks. As things are proposed, homeowners end up with a lower priced mortgage but no equity or way to make payments and banks will end up blighted property owners anyway.

This one'll never get the attention it deserves. What's it got? It has: gubmint involvement; Loch Ness monster; the oppression inherent in the system; etc.
What brought this revelation to me was the Bloop. To digress a little, the bloop was a noise heard in 1997 that seems biological in origin, but was heard over a range of 3000 miles. No one knows what caused it.
Fads and fashions come and go. When I was kid, ESP was a fading fad, and pyramid power, the bermuda triangle and the Philadelphia Experiment were rising stars. They faded too, replaced by crop circles, and I don't know what all other stuff. When I read about the bloop for the first time this week (how did I miss it for 10 years?), and saw that it was freely and completely described on a gubmint website, it dawned on me that the gubmint really has a vested interested in stuff like this.
Area 51 is a red herring. If you were running the Pentagon's black ops, would you develop flying sharks wid friggin laser beams in the one place on Earth that is most watched by the most whackos who are the most likely to publish their findings? No, you'd act as if you were, and then develop the really cool stuff somewhere else.
It's all about distraction, like a stage magician. The gubmint scours all of science and tries to find inexplicable, but clearly documented phenomena to feed the fringe market. It keeps the most annoying propeller-beanied/hyper-mouthed/camera-toting twitch-eyes out of the way. While they're chasing fake ufos, aliens and secret aircraft, the real ufos, aliens and secret aircraft are worked on unnoticed.
Anyone who realizes the gubmint is oppressing lunatics in this way won't be listened to; The lunatics won't admit they've been so thoroughly snookered again, and reasonable people will think, "here we go again with another conspiracy theory".
That's why no one will comment on this here, and I can post this without any fear of

In the coming days I will be documenting known Microsoft astroturfers, together with evidence that paints them as such. Do what you will with this information. I will try to list only actual astroturfers, not fanboys, but I can't be 100% certain who-is-who. So, I will gladly accept any exceptions/modifications in the comments below. If you are the person in question, don't feel bad if I label you an astroturfer and you are not -- but you will be required to prove that you are not an astroturfer in order to be removed from the list.

Note: this list is hardly complete and will be issued in its entirety about once per week.

Update: thanks to those who have submitted updates and comments!

freddy_dreddy
Defcon79
ThinkFr33ly
Julie188 (her blog, linked in her sig currently), plus looking at her posting record, only posts in stories that are of interest to Microsoft.
Thaad.Isolas (to this date, this is his ONLY post, and the account is older than that)
PoiBoy evidence evidence

See this journal entry for evidence links for the other posters.

The Twitter Firehose Gaming Index

The ratio of twitter items to items by others in a given user's personal firehose.

My submissions are buried almost immediately but a good 14% of them are published anyway, so I'm sure that the system is being gamed and the firehose supports this. My submissions get more than their fair share of attention from usual suspects. No experiment is complete without verification, so I have to admit I've done some of this myself but efforts were quickly overwhelmed by the pros who use botnets. Slashdot editors are in a better position to spot this kind of activity and should take action to protect the site.

So, what should normal firehose numbers look like? Slashdot runs about 25 stories a day. That stacks up to about 750 a month and 9,000 each year. For each story there are hundreds of submissions. I average about 10 front page stories per year, around 0.1% of Slashdot. My submissions make an even smaller proportion of the overall firehose because I'm nowhere near a hall of famer and of the constant bombardment by ACs and troll accounts. Different people have different interests, so I'd expect those who's interest match mine to represent me a little better but order of magnitude differences are suspicious. That sets a rather low barrier of 1%. While that's not hard to find in the small samples easily available, hit ratios of 2, 5 or 20% are obvious gaming.

Different people also have different ways of using the firehose. Some ignore it and their personal firehose contains nothing but their own comments. Others only have front page stories in their personal firehose. Because I was only interested in submission gaming, I ignored comment posts and concentrated on submissions, journals and mainpage stories.

Here's what I found:

• Keith Russell 84 checked 12/09/2008 to 12/2005, 36 his own posts (mostly sports), 40 others (mostly M$ stuff), 8 twitter 8/48= 17%
• JWilcox154 has 6 twitter and 125 others. in 2008, 8 and 192 total to 7/21/2007. almost all others nod/nixed are front page stories. 6/131 = 5%
• Macthrope has 2 of 48 back to 3/12/2007 almost all are his own comments. 2/50 = 4%
• Dedazo 134 total, almost all of his own stuff. 5 twitter and 19 others, 5/24 = 21%
• Renegadesx 49 total, 1 twitter, 19 others. 1/20=5%

The sum of these accounts is more damning than each individual because the statistics add up. It is good evidence of general gaming.

It is stunning that people doing this kind of thing would leave such obvious traces. They should know that Slashdot's editors could check for this kind of activity even if ordinary users could not and could have easily hidden the activity with their multiple accounts. For instance, a person with 100 accounts can separate the few accounts used to heckle from those used to bury. Bury activity can be partially disguised with rotations and time shifting. Other M$ promotion can be distributed through all of the accounts to statistically disguise specific activity like this. That kind of thoroughness must be too much work for the hacks sent to ruin Slashdot.

Update:

I see that three trolls have come to comment. I've exposed these people's behavior before, Keith Russel, Macthorpe and dedazo [2], [3, self exposure]. These three accounts are probably the work of a single person, they all have the same things to say in the same way and the same place.

Letters from the Vista Capable lawsuit show just how out of touch with reality M$ was about Vista. Ron Enderle confronted them about the problem of versioning and was abused and punished for his efforts. Enderle is a long time M$ booster and the emails show that he's willing to turn away news business and lie for M$'s sake. In hindsight, we know that Vista was a dissaster that tainted everyone who tried to push it and did indeed freeze the entire market. The released email tells this small part of the story best. Here are a few excepts Todd Bishop thought captured the moment.

"Anyway, you'll do what you do," [Enderle] wrote to Microsoft's Barry Goffe. "Dell will go along; they are just trying to miss a bullet that they, and I, know you can't even see. Let's hope we can mitigate the damage otherwise the industry is really screwed."

"Honestly, in all my years of dealing with analysts, I have never been quite so flummoxed. He is just dug in and is not willing to acknowledge reality." [Microsoft's Barry Goffe wrote to others at M$].

[the next day Enderle wrote Steve Ballmer], "We had an advisory meeting with Dell where they (made) a huge stink about your plan for Vista SKUs and asked the analysts and reporters to intervene (we were under NDA so the information was contained). So I attempted to do so and spoke with Barry Goffe who was very nice but seemed surprised that Dell had a problem (I've since spoken with the CEO of another OEM who concurred with Dell) and so went back to Dell and got the attached response. Sitting on the OEM typically is not effective at making a problem like this go away. Dell was never going to publicly roll against you they were just trying to prevent a mistake ... "

At some point I'd love to learn how to help you folks without either getting shot myself or getting someone who also depends on me shot. I figure that would be a great survival skill.

Dell left him hanging and threatened him, saying "Any assessments you make are best supported/couched in terms of your own analysis and opinion rather than communicated on Dell's behalf," and threatened, "Any conversation outside the spirit of this forum [Dell GAC discussions] are in violation of the NDA. (page 29)"

Looking again at the email, you can see why people at M$ would be angry, especially now that it's leaked out to the public. It starts on page 17 and is worth quoting because he correctly predicted the whole Vista Capable fiasco. Parts where he promises to sell out his readers are emphasized.

From: Barry Goffe
Sent: August 29, 2005 11:14 PM
To: Neil hamey; Shanen Boettcher; Brad Goldberg; Debbie Anderson
CC: Lisa Worthington (Waggener Edstrom)
Subject: FW: glass vr. non-glass

I really need your help. Lisa and I did a call this morning with Rob Enderle to go through the SKU plan. Apparently Dell leaked our SKU plan (while under NDA of course) to Rob and a bunch of other analysts and press - under the guise of an 'Advisory Council' In the process Dell did its damndest to poison Rob's thinking - and they were rather successful.

Rob's Logic is:

a.) we have been showing off this great thing called Vista
b.) it has all kind of great stuff in it, like Glass.
c.) since we have not yet talked about SKUs, all customers are expecting that all the features that we have discussed will be in the mainstream SKUs - the equivalent of XP Home today on the consumer side
d.) We are going to ship this thing called Home Basic which we are going to price the same as XP Home
e.) some of the features that we have been showing, namely glass (because I can't get Rob to come up with any other feature) will not be in the Home Basic SKU
f.) customers will perceive that we are taking stuff away from Home Basic andthat it will be looked upon as a price increase
g.) this perceived price increase will freeze the entire market.

.... Rob is quite passionate as you can see from the string below. Honestly, in all my years of dealing with analysts, I have never been quite so flummoxed. He is dug in and not willing to acknowledge reality.

From: Rob Enderle
Sent: Monday August 29, 2005 11:06 PM
To: Barry Goffe
CC: Lisa Worthington (Waggener Edstrom)
Subject: RE: glass vs. non-glass

Well this is what happens when you set expectation high then pull features out. .... Microsoft is already being lambasted for crippled Vista. If you don't know what a glass looks like full anything in it looks good, but if you know what you are missing you tent to focus on what is missing, unfortunately that is where we are now. I get to do a lot of columns these days, could guarantee each of these titles [that Vista is a rip off] not only would get published they would make the front page or pull amazing numbers. ... you are convinced the customer is getting a great deal, you are the vendor, vendors always think that ... the customer often votes their feelings with their pocketbook. One thing has changed since '85 we have blogs now. .... The press was taken through the product and every time a feature is dropped the calls come in with the take that Vista is just smoke and mirrors now, I can turn some of these but there are limitations to what I can do. ...

Anyway, you'll do what you'll do. Dell will go along, they are just trying to miss a bullet that they, and I, know you can't even see. Let's hope we can mitigate the damage otherwise the industry is really screwed.

From: Barry Goffe
Sent Monday August 29, 2005 8:29 PM
To: Rob Enderle
CC: Lisa Worthington (Waggener Edstrom)
Subject RE: glass vs. non-glass

Rob,

Thanks for taking the time to think this through some more. I really appreciate your feedback.

Please see detailed comments in line below ...

From: Rob Enderle
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2005 3:56 PM
To: Barry Goffe
CC: Lisa Worthington

There will be a lot of attention spent on the UI because that is the visual change and this is often where the Apple vs. Microsoft pieces focus. I expect we'll have a number of Linux vs. Windows pieces as well but still think most of those will focus on what you get and how much you pay ... but UI is possible.

Natuarl Headlines:

Microsoft Charges More for Less: Text focuses on what fell out of Longhorn and the price increases for the premium offering.
Buy Tablet and Media Center or Else: Text focuses on the fact that to get the good stuff you have to take other things.
If You Doubted Microsoft was a Monopoly: Rant on perceived price increases.
Microsoft Raises Tax: Avoidance Advice: Price increases with recommendation you buy either Linux or Apple (or simply not buy)
Windows Consumers get 4 Choices Business gets Screwed: Focus on disparity between consumer and business lines
Windows Vista - 7 Reasons to Switch: Focuses on complexity of offering and perceived price increases.

... What I heard was there was 4 SKUs ....