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Microsoft

Mainstream Press "Cringes" At Win7 Launch Parties 830

Posted by kdawson from the tone-deaf-and-two-left-hands dept.
lurking_giant writes "Well, Microsoft has done it again with the YouTube Windows 7 launch party video that is turning the stomachs of even the mainstream press with its clueless and campy marketing style. A Washington Post reader was quoted as saying 'If Microsoft had been put in charge of marketing sex, the human race would have ended long ago, because no one would be caught dead doing something that uncool.'" Even the Guardian's resident die-hard Apple hater calls it "the most nauseating advert in history."
Music

Carl Sagan Sings 183

Posted by kdawson from the billions-and dept.
gijoel writes "Someone with too much time on their hands and access to Auto-Tune has taken clips from Carl Sagan's Cosmos series to make this fantastic song. Watch for the Stephen Hawking cameo."

Comment The final solution to the internet problem (Score 1) 129

by gnarlin (#28820683) Attached to: Australian Net Filter Gets One Step Closer

'From a technical perspective we're more than confident that if the government decided to roll out a mandatory Internet filter based on or around an Australian Communications and Media Authority blacklist or subset thereof, then it can be done without any impact whatsoever to the speed of the Internet,' [said Webshield managing director Anthony Pillion].

"From a technical perspective we're more than confident that if the government decided to roll out a mandatory train schedule for the jews around the third reich and and any subset thereof, then it can be done without any impact whatsoever on the speed of the rest of the trains in Germany", [said SS managing director Anofluthzen Pillikartoflen].

In all seriousness though. It just seems so strange to me how someone can talk about restricting the freedom of thought or speech with such glee. It's like ethics is an alien concept to these people. This guy completely misses the whole point. He seems to think that the problem with censorship is that it might affect how youtube videos with cute kitties in them perform and not that freedom is being curtailed.
Yes, yes. Godwins law bla bla bla. Knock yourself out.
The Courts

Downloading Copyrighted Material Legal In Spain 323

Posted by kdawson from the presumed-innocent dept.
Sqwuzzy notes a judge's ruling in Spain that makes that country one of the most lenient in the world as respects sharing copyrighted material over P2P networks. "The entertainment industries in Spain must be progressively tearing their hair out in recent months as they experience setback after setback. ... After Spain virtually ruled out imposing a '3-strikes' regime for illicit file-sharers, the entertainment industries said they would target 200 BitTorrent sites instead. Now a judge has decided that sharing between users for no profit via P2P doesn't breach copyright laws and sites should be presumed innocent until proved otherwise." This ruling occurred in a pre-trial hearing; the case will still go to trial.

Comment Enough already! (Score 1) 356

by gnarlin (#27686741) Attached to: Copyright Lobby Targets "Pirate Bay For Books"
I just can't stand one more bullshit copyright-gone-bat-shit-crazy story! What drugs are these copywrong thugs on anyways? It is is an intrinsic part of copyright to be able to borrow, give and/or lend copyrighted material. These people and organizations are such fucking hypocrites. When the law favors them they whine about how people aren't obeying the law, but when they don't like some new better organized way of sharing legally under fair use they complain because whey want to have their moneycake and eat it too.

Many moons ago I thought that it might to possible for the copyright-happy authors to make a new cultural-sharing bargain with the public. After all, that is supposedly what copyright is. Something to help enrich the common culture the fastest and best way for everyone.

Now, after an endless barrage of stories and every news outlet for all these years about how the copyright people are fucking over everyone in their hunt for the great big white whale of total control of culture I have had ENOUGH!

FUCK COPYRIGHT AND FUCK THOSE PEOPLE!
If they don't want the public to disseminate their works I suggest they hide them where the sun don't shine and that way we, the "pirates" will never get our hands on them... ever.

Thank you for your attention.
Censorship

French Assembly Rejects Three Strikes Bill 129

Posted by CmdrTaco from the they-don't-even-play-baseball-there dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The French Assembly has rejected the Three Strikes bill (in French!) which would allow ISPs to cut off users found to have been downloading protected content after two warnings. Summary: the Sarkozy administration can go back with a new draft for approval by both chambers or try to get upper house approval of a softer version without the cutoff passed by the lower house."
Microsoft

"Bridge To Microsoft" Gets Federal Stimulus Funds 343

Posted by kdawson from the them-as-has dept.
theodp writes "Among the first to benefit from the investment in roads and bridges from Obama's stimulus plan is Microsoft, which has $20B in the bank. Local planners have allotted $11M to help pay for a highway overpass to connect one part of Microsoft's wooded campus with another. Microsoft will contribute almost half of the $36.5M cost; other federal and local money will pay the rest. 'Steve Ballmer or Bill Gates could finance this out of pocket change,' griped Steve Ellis of the Taxpayers for Common Sense. 'Subsidizing an overpass to one of the richest companies in the country certainly isn't going to be the best use of our precious dollars.' Ellis called the project 'a bridge to Microsoft,' alluding to Alaska's infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere.'" A White House spokesman said this bridge project is still under review.

Comment Re:Screw this (Score 1) 476

by gnarlin (#27132039) Attached to: Microsoft Shoots Own Foot In Iceland
I think you are mistaking "microsoft completely compatible in in every detail" with "comparable features and extendability". Putting openoffice in the hands of a long time microsoft user who has "lived and breathed" microsoft all the way is like animal activists liberating a flock of chickens. They just don't know how to handle freedom. They have been in the matrix for too long and can't possibly bother to learn how to use anything that is in any way different from microsoft products.
Microsoft

Microsoft Shoots Own Foot In Iceland 476

Posted by kdawson from the blood-from-a-stone-middleman dept.
David Gerard writes "The Microsoft Certified Partner model is: an MCP buys contracts from Microsoft and sells them to businesses as a three-year timed contract, payable in annual installments. Iceland's economy has collapsed, so 1500 businesses have gone bankrupt and aren't paying the fees any more. But Microsoft has told the MCPs: 'Our deal was with you, not them. Pay up.' The MCPs that don't go bankrupt in turn are moving headlong to Free Software, taking most of the country with them. (Warning: link contains strong language and vivid imagery.)"

Comment Re:if you think it's over... (Score 1) 685

by gnarlin (#26914739) Attached to: Pirate Bay Day 3 — Defense Requests Dismissal

Profiting from another persons crime? the sites^H^H^H^H^Hgoogles primary income is copyrighted content, and don't pretend otherwise. they know full well without that pirated content they wouldn't have a business, hence they aren't innocent.

Here is how you can use google to find files of the mp3 and ogg kind. Who knows what license those files have? Should google have to know? Is it their job to police all web sites and remove copyrighted material or only their own, like youtube?

If piratebay is guilty then google is guilty therefore by the "logic" of ifpi: if you use teh googleh you ares terrorerist!

You might say something like:
"Duh. The piratebay indexes mostly copyrighted stuff while google only indexes wholesome family entertainment. Also I am stupid."
So, if the piratebay had a bunch of legal material indexed like google then it's hunky dory? What should the ratio between those two be?
In fact the is a lot of legal material there.

In the end, almost all of this discussion is pointless because the real problem is that publishers and some authors still think that despite technology democratizing distribution of culture for everyone they still want to maintain their monopoly on it.

If we wish to live in a just society ruled by law and not by men then we have to be able to respect the law and feel that they are just for everyone.

"To make laws that man cannot and will not obey, servers to bring all law into contemt."
You can't respect the law if they don't respect you.

Fuck the cultural monopoly.
The Internet

UK Government Abandons Piracy Legislation 155

Posted by CmdrTaco from the abandon-all-hope-ye-who-enter-here dept.
arcticstoat writes "Following last year's reports of a scheme to 'ban' pirates from the Internet via ISPs in the UK, it looks as though the UK government has now decided to back down on the plan, saying that it hopes it won't have to apply 'the heavy hand of legislation'. The UK's Intellectual Property Minister, David Lammy, said that 'I'm not sure it's actually going to be possible,' as a result of the complexities of enforcing such legislation. Lammy also revealed that he had a different opinion on file sharers than many people in the music industry. He pointed out that there's a big difference between organized counterfeiting gangs and 'younger people not quite buying into the system'. He added that 'we can't have a system where we're talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms. People can rent a room in an hotel and leave with a bar of soap — there's a big difference between leaving with a bar of soap and leaving with the television.'"

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