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Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Shoots Own Foot in Iceland (yaxic.org) 1

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 instalments. Iceland's economy has collapsed, so 1500 businesses have gone bankrupt so 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 salty language and vivid imagery.)"
Microsoft

Submission + - Cascading Failure of M$ Licensing Revenue?

twitter writes: "Iceland has been hit harder by the economic downturn than most countries and Microsoft MVPs are in particular distress. They broker long term licenses to business and collect revenue on an annual basis. When things are fine, this protects M$ from the failure of one or two businesses. When things are bad the MVP goes under, making it difficult for M$ to collect revenue from surviving businesses. Is this a systemic weakness in M$'s business model that we will see elswhere?"
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Skull-fucks Iceland's Economy, Contracts (yaxic.org)

hesa writes: "Microsoft has made a business out of selling licenses to run software that can be copied at no marginal cost, this everybody knows. Essentially, they manufacture software, but their product isn't computer code, it's legal code. Contracts."

Comment This has been done in sports actually (Score 1) 773

If you look at bodybuilding, they have two types of competitions. Natural, and well... the other variety. Personally although the supplement companies are all over the hyoooouge IFBB pro's, who without a doubt have gained a reasonable portion of their mass unnaturally, I think the natural competitions are where you really see the nice physiques.

Some here mentioned earlier that allowing doping would just turn everyone into hulks, but that's ridiculous. I agree that watching huge unnatural hulks run around is nothing but a freak show, just as the pro bodybuilding contests have turned into freak shows decades ago. However the fact remains that in most sports pure bulk is not the key to winning, and beyond that most of the sports where pure bulk can prove an advantage, there are weight classes (think olympic judo, boxing, etc..).

For the non-combat sports, being too big usually slows you down, makes you require more oxygen to operate, and in many cases makes it more difficult to execute correct technique, which has been designed around a more natural body.

Personally I think bringing doping out into the open would do exactly what the scientists think: reduce the risk for both athletes and amateurs dabbling with (currently) illegal performance enhancing drugs. Additionally I would like to point out it's quite plausible that the drugs and methods being used for performance enhancement now because they can't be detected yet by drug tests, are more detrimental to the athletes' health than the "tried and true" ones, such as plain testosterone or other "natural" AAS for example?

Finally I would like to add that while doping should quite possibly be allowed, I would guess having a "natural" class where athletes are limited to more natural performance enhancers, would make a lot of sense, as most people have tremendous respect for those who wish to take their body to the limit without the help of drugs. The important remaining question is whether the fact that an "all-out, doping allowed" class existed would eliminate cheating in the natural class. I would hope so, but human nature has stacked the odds against it.
Privacy

Submission + - UK students must submit fingerprints for lunch (bbc.co.uk)

wikinerd writes: "A school in the UK decided to start requesting fingerprint scans from its 1100 students before being allowed to get their lunch. From next term, the same school expects to use the biometric system for controlling entry into the school, as well as for dictating who is allowed to use the school's printers. According to a concerned citizen, the school did not consult the parents before implementing the new policy. Currently students carry ID cards that are used for getting their lunches, and the school claims that the biometric system is a means to limit expenses from lost cards, and since the fingerprint scans are not stored there is no breach of civil rights and no need for asking the parents first. However, a group named Leave The Kids Alone says that this is an infringement of liberty since fingerprint templates are stored and can be accessed by the police."

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