MediaSnipe

SCO denies plans to sue

No plans to sue Linux companies, says SCO - theage.com.au"The SCO Group said today it had never planned to sue any Linux companies, had no concrete plans to sue anyone and also no current plans to take a commercial Linux customer to court." In other news, SCO likes Jell-O

War profiteering

War profiteering MetaFilter: "Can it be called war profiteering? The size and scope of the government contracts awarded to Halliburton in connection with the war in Iraq are significantly greater than was previously disclosed and demonstrate the U.S. military's increasing reliance on for-profit corporations to run its logistical operations. Independent experts estimate that as much as one-third of the monthly $3.9 billion cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq is going to independent contractors ."
MetaFilter: "Guantanamo is growing
... and a Halliburton subsidiary lands yet another no-bid contract. Its total bill for the U.S. government last year: 1.3 billion. Maybe more "
From "rebuilding" Iraq to illegal jails in foreign countries, Halliburton is there to serve you!

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FFII: Software Patents in Europe
Websites may soon be closed down regularly due to software patents. Software patents can get you prosecuted for publishing texts you wrote yourself!
This is not a protest against patents themselfs or intelectual property. This is a protest against putting criminal law judgment in the hands of inadequate and incompetent patent bureaus.

Microsoft Windows: Insecure by Design

Microsoft Windows: Insecure by Design (TechNews.com)'Windows XP on the Internet amounts to a car parked in a bad part of town, with the doors unlocked, the key in the ignition and a Post-It note on the dashboard saying, "Please don't steal this."'

Computers don't kill people, Microsoft kills people

Virus hits hospital systems BBC: Technology: "Staff at a Glasgow hospital work round the clock to restore its computer systems after the Nachi worm struck."

"We won't do business with someone who treats us poorly."

Tech News - CNET.com "I became an open-source guy because we're a privately owned company, a family business that's been around for 30 years, making products and being a good member of society. We've never been sued, never had any problems paying our bills. And one day I got a call that there were armed marshals at my door talking about software license compliance."
"But when (the BSA) went to Congress to get their powers, part of what they got is that I automatically have to pay their legal fees from day one. That's why nobody's ever challenged them--they can't afford it."

Texting blamed for summer movie flops

Texting blamed for summer movie flops "The problem, they say, is teenagers who instant message their friends with their verdict on new films - sometimes while they are still in the cinema watching - and so scuppering carefully crafted marketing campaigns designed to lure audiences out to a big movie on its opening weekend." The problem is not the movies being steamy turds, it's they can't lie about it. Ah, I'm so happy this people can now conduct searches on private homes and send people to jail.

The greatest army on Earth. Indeed.

Navy's Intranet crippled by worm outbreak - Computerworld

It's OK, it's SAFE

Read Article"Gilbert Badoni remembers how Navajo uranium miners took their water bottles into the mines and filled those bottles with radioactive water for their wives to prepare formulas for their babies."

The end of White Hats

SecurityFocus HOME Columnists: The Sad Tale of a Security Whistleblower " About six months later, according to defensive filings, McDanel discovered that Tornado had never fixed the vulnerability he discovered. Using the moniker "Secret Squirrel" he sent a single e-mail to about 5,600 of Tornado's customers over the course of three days, staggering the release each day to prevent flooding Tornado's e-mail servers. " " For his efforts, McDanel was arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to sixteen months in the federal pokey, which he has now served."

Put a Word Doc on the Web, get fired.

New Scientist"Byers discovered a wealth of deleted text and potentially sensitive information including people's names, email headers, network paths and text from related documents."

How Niagara Mohawk and Enron brought energy deregulation to the US.

MetaFilter: "How Niagara Mohawk and Enron brought energy deregulation to the US. Greg Palast explores the links between Mohawk, Enron, Bush I, and George Pataki and how their successful attempts at deregulation has left the US with a weaker grid and more expensive energy."
From the article, " So too the free-market British buckaroos controlling Niagara Mohawk raised prices, slashed staff, cut maintenance and CLICK! -- New York joins Brazil in the Dark Ages."

Microsoft fined $520m in patent case

Microsoft fined $520m in patent case BBC: Technology: "A Chicago court awards damages against the software giant for infringing a small firm's patent, but Microsoft says it will appeal."

SCO hires al-Sahaf

SCO hired Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf for the newly created position of Chief Legal Information Oficer. McBride said on the appointement announcement "Muhammed previous position makes him the ideal person to convey SCO's positions and represent SCO in the quest for truth that lies ahead".
On his first press conference al-Sahaf said "There are no IBM patents in SCO. Never! Our initial assessment is that they will all die. Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves! Be assured. Our costumers are safe, protected. We are not afraid of the Linux users. McBride has condemned them. They are stupid. They are stupid and they are condemned. I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they have started to buy licences from SCO. We will encourage them to buy more quickly. Please, please! IBM is relying on what I called yesterday a desperate and stupid method." He finished off with "We are winning!"

Italy's 'subversive' judges warned

Italy's 'subversive' judges warned In BBC: Europe"A spokesman for Silvio Berlusconi has threatened to retaliate against judges whom he accuses of persecuting Italian prime minister.

EU gives 'last chance' to Microsoft

EU gives 'last chance' to Microsoft BBC: Technology: "The EU executive says the US software giant has a final chance to comment before action is taken against 'market abuses'."

Hey buddy. Everything costs. You a communiss or something ?

Hey buddy. Everything costs. You a communiss or something?.... MetaFilter: "Future of the Net: "Information wants to be free" vs. "truth costs extra" "...a coalition that included Amazon.com, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, Disney and others....spoke of "tiered" service, where consumers would be charged according to "gold, silver and bronze" levels of bandwidth use. The days where lawmakers once spoke about eradicating the "Digital Divide" in America has come full circle. Under the scenario presented by the lobbyists, people on fixed incomes would have to accept a stripped-down Internet, full of personally targeted advertising. Other users could get a price break if they receive bundled content -- news, music, games -- from one telecom or media company. Anybody interested in other "non-mainstream" news, software or higher-volume usage, could pay for the privilege . The panel's response was warm, suggesting that the industry should work this out with little federal intrusion. That approach has already been embraced by the industry-friendly Federal Communications Commission." For more, see The Center For Digital Democracy"
Making sure the unwashed masses remain unwashed.

Red Hat files complaint against SCO

LWN: A look at Red Hat's complaint
LWN: Red Hat files complaint against SCO, launches legal fund

Diamonds are a terrorists best friend

love on a ring ? more likely a ring of death.