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Comment Microsoft failing on all fronts (Score 1) 547

by smorpheus (#44055099) Attached to: Microsoft Kills Xbox One Phone-Home DRM
Microsoft's big idea for getting people to actually buy a Windows RT Tablet is to partner with Best Buy and have actor/salesman "blue shirt" say the Windows RT is pretty cool. This is so snowblind to the actual tablet market conditions, and the way people in the real world think, it's almost impossible to comment on without resorting to expletives. Three years ago, I was just about to get my first Windows Phone, was enjoying my XBox 360, and for the first time ever, happily paid full price for a Windows license when I bought 7. Now, I hate my Windows Phone and curse at it on a semi-daily basis, am probably going to go back to exclusive PC gaming (despite racking up a 150K gamerscore), and I've completely abandoned trying to use Windows 8 for anything but testing software compatibility.
Books

Submission + - Microsoft Patent Deems Comic Books Shameful

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: What's that, Comic Book Guy? Worst. Patent. Ever.? A newly-surfaced Microsoft patent application describes methods of secretly matching up individuals whose shared 'fringe interests' might be 'a source of shame or embarrassment' to them should they become known to society-at-large. No, not sexual preferences. A much bigger taboo. Comic books. 'For example,' explains Microsoft in its filing, 'an ambitious professional is not likely to divulge that he likes, say, comic books, even though quite true. Appreciably, certain affinities especially those relating to fringe interests, eccentricities, or topics about which there is a common misconception or very little mainstream familiarity or understanding are generally omitted rather than included in conventional descriptions. Typically, this is so because these affinities might be a source of shame or embarrassment or incur undue explanation.'
Crime

Submission + - Copyright Troll Complains of Defendants Legal Fees

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Steve Green writes in the Las Vegas Sun that copyright enforcement company Righthaven, accused of coercing defendants into settling with threats of damages of $150,000 and forfeiture of the defendants’ website domain names, is complaining that one of its litigation foes is needlessly running up legal costs that Righthaven may end up having to pay. In one of its more extensively-litigated cases, Righthaven sued the Democratic Underground last year after a message-board poster re-posted the first four paragraphs of a 34-paragraph Review-Journal story. After suffering a fair-use setback in another case involving a partial story post, Righthaven tried to drop its suit against the Democratic Underground, which would have resulted in a finding of “no infringement.” But the Democratic Underground is pressing for Righthaven to pay its attorneys fees and says new evidence had surfaced that would bolster their case. “Defendants agree that this case should be over — indeed, it should never have started. But it should not end until Righthaven is called to account for the cost of the defense it provoked," say attorneys for the EFF. "To allow Righthaven to avoid compensating those who have no choice but to defend would be unjust and unsupportable." In other news, Righthaven has filed five more lawsuits, bringing their total since March 2010 to 246 lawsuits."
Social Networks

Submission + - Man Jailed For Creating 35 Blogs Insulting Ex (techspot.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: 38-year-old Stephen Andreassen ended a relationship with 36-year-old Rebecca Pattinson, and immediately started creating websites to insult, embarrass, and terrorize her. Andreassen was apparently annoyed that Pattinson said no when he asked her to look at an apartment together after four weeks of dating, so he created up to 35 blogs to get back at her.

After the breakup, Andreassen began bombarding her with calls, e-mails, texts, and Facebook messages begging to be taken back. Pattinson reacted by threatening to call the police, removing all her contact details from her online profiles, and deactivating her Facebook account. Andreassen then set up a series of blogs, posting messages to warn all men about her and listing links to his other websites giving his account of their affair.

Comment Re:Can I have theatrics for $2000, Alex? (Score 1) 213

by smorpheus (#27733193) Attached to: IBM Computer Program To Take On 'Jeopardy!'
They are doing this because it gets them maximum publicity. After Big Blue beat Kasparov, IBM got a huge number of investors. This translates into real money to invest in the company, and is the entire reason they are demonstrating this technology. How else do you get NYT to start coverage months before the actual event? It's genius, and excellent marketing.

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