Xaero.org

Too funny. The sound guys used a cracked version of SoundForge to create the WAV files for Windows.
Article here.

Windows XP: Command-line reference A-Z: “All the comands you’ll ever need in Windows XP, explained.”

(Via digg.)

In case you’re not familiar with OneCare, it’s basically a antivirus, antispyware, and backup package you subscribe to for $50 a year. The ironic thing is that this is a paid service to protect you from the many security problems in Windows. Basically, you’re paying twice: once for a security-hole ridden OS, and again for (Mafia-like) “protection”. Why doesn’t MS just scrap the legacy code and write a real OS?

Article available here.

Found this on BoingBoing. Apparently the real reason MS charges a license fee for its DRM components is to lock out the “little guy” and Open Source software. Haven’t they played this game before?

The first beta test of a set of updates for Windows XP is designed to bolster the operating system’s security and add support for Version 1.1 of Bluetooth and a new wireless LAN client. Via Computerworld News.

“The step after ubiquity is invisibility. Last week, I wrote about the peculiar business psychology of Microsoft, and this week, we cut to the chase — what it all really means. And the key idea lies in that first sentence. Microsoft’s goal has always been to make Windows ubiquitous, but achieving that goal will ultimately be the company’s doom. And at the highest reaches of Microsoft, they know it,” Robert X. Cringely writes for PBS.com.

Check it out here.

Straight from the “whiny beotch” department. Microsoft is complaining about the recent plan by Japan, China and South Korea to create a trusted open source OS for use by the state. From the article: “Governments should not be in the position to decide who the winners are”. I guess convicted monopolists should be, eh? Read all about it on CNET News.

Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox believes that Microsoft’s upcoming major OS release will not be generally available until 2006, a year later than what Microsoft is currently predicting. He believes that the changes planned are too far-sweeping to be rolled out quickly, when you take into account that developers need time to prepare their software. Via OS News.

Guess Microsoft needs a few more years to copy Mac OS X. No sleep lost here.

“Microsoft has employed Akamai’s Linux-based servers to protect its Microsoft.com Web site and reduce the site’s vulnerability to viruses, worms and denial of service attacks…” Via ZDNet UK.

Interesting. I thought Linux and FOSS was a cancer and shouldn’t be used under any circumstances. Funny how reality kicks in when your server software is riddled with security flaws. Trusted Computing strikes again!

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) is criticizing last month’s decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to exclusively use Microsoft Corp. software, arguing that recent computer virus and worm attacks against Microsoft products are evidence that such a decision is a poor choice. The word “duh” quickly comes to mind.