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It looks like the brouhaha has intimidated Sony enough to make them back off.

Sony to pull DRM

McAfee is the first. Detects, removes, *and* prevents re-installation.

See below:

http://www.betanews.com/article/Antivirus_Firms_Ta ke_On_Sony_DRM/1131641594

From
Dell: Apple should close shop

To
Dell: We Would License Mac OS X

Pics on s/MSN Messenger/Windows Live messenger
http://www.betanews.com/slideshow/Windows_and_Offi ce_Live/96/2

your premise is flawed; the new ms format is fully documented, and public. After reading this article you will most likely change your mind, that is if you are intellectually honest. We both know you are not so you will continue to spread FUD, but I thought I would give you a link to you let you have confirmation that you are just spreading FUD.

Microsoft Office Open XML (June of this year, before the MA CIO's decision, and the basis of Office 12)
http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Opens_Of fice_File_Formats/1117692086

"Microsoft offers open and royalty-free documentation and licenses for the Microsoft Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas" That is from the first paragraph.
http://www.microsoft.com/office/xml/default.mspx

http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Yahoo_to _Link_IM_Networks/1129075667

Just recently Yahoo and MSN linked IM programs. What is this guy talkingg about? You can search all over the internet for articles about this.

What good is a leak. If nobody wants it?

This is a gross misconception and an attitude that is causing OSS to fall further and further behind commercial offerings from Apple and Microsoft. The fact is that millions or people want it! There are countless fan sites like Flexbeta, BetaNews, NeoWin, WinSupersite, PCWorld, ZDNet, and thousands more that are all breathless with anticipation of Vista. They and theirmillions of readers eagerly await Vista's release and the countless "innovations" that it will bring.

Meanwhile, back in the OSS camp, people are saying insightful stuff like Gaim is more than adequate and RTFM. Microsoft IE sucks, yet it is still the dominant browser and I guarantee that at least 50% of today's Firefox users will switch back to IE upon the release of Vista. That is very telling but, people don't seem to be interested in the message.

People, like you, need to get a better attitude. They need to look at what Microsoft is doing and meet or exceed its capabilities. It is not enough to rest on your laurels while being pretencious and self important. Microsoft is charging ahead and is positioning itself to unleash ten years of its concentrated effort, en mass. Right now, OSS is rapidly slipping behind while people pound their chests saying; "but, we're more secure!". This is not enough to prevent you from being marginalized into obscurity by Microsoft, as if OSS wasn't obscure enough already.

How many of your relatives know what Linux is? How many of them know what Windows is?

Betanews has a story from June:

Yahoo has completely shut down its unmonitored user-created chat rooms, which reportedly were being used to promote sex with minors. The company did not say how long the chats would be closed, but will leave open company-created rooms.

Yes they did prove it...at least my college physics prof did by using a hypothetical line 1 foot above your head carring an impossible amout of power (1 million volts or somthing silly like that). The magnetic field generated by the line was several orders of magnitude less than the magnetic field of the earth which you are exposed to at all times.

Also the cell phone brain cancer thing is becoming less and less likely.

While Bryan would not comment directly on whether the company believed Client Protection would strain relations with others, he did say that Microsoft has "knowledge and an understanding of the capabilities of the operating system" that its partners may not have, but it would not hide this information from those companies. -- bold added

I'm not trying to rant, but...

Normally, BetaNews rips stuff right off the front page of Slashdot, but this time it looks like it went the other way around. I mean, was it really necessary to copy the exact headline, word for word, from the linked BetaNews article?

In PayPal's defense, there are a lot of people out there running scams claiming to be raising money to help the hurricane victims. After raising substantial amounts of money, they keep it rather than donate it. Unfortunately, things like that happen anytime there is a need. Something Awful may very well be one of the excpetions, but how is PayPal supposed to know that. I'm guessing based on his comments that he most likely was fully intending to give the money to the Red Cross while rewarding those who donated with free stuff he already had sitting around. It's unfortunate, but I can certainly understand why the account would be flagged as suspicious and shut down.

On the other hand, not allowing money to be given to the Red Cross because "the United Way is PayPal's relief organization of choice" is just plain rediculous!

mm just playing Devil's advocate and wondering why this wasn't on slashdot yet (correct me if you wish)

Check it out: Microsoft Office Open XML Formats:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/fileovervi ew.mspx

http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Opens_Of fice_File_Formats/1117692086

http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Heats_Gr id_Iron_with_Bigtop/1104374194
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,174 6291,00.asp

It may be on the back burner at MS for now, but as we've seen many times if they perceive a market they're missing out on they can throw enormous resources at a project to get it to market.

Betanews has a direct dl link:
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Quake_3_Sourc e_Code/1124550740/1

... this is one hell of a clever move by Google.

As much as folks here on /. would like to see FireFox winning over browser marketshare(including myself), in any case - it aint going to happen anytime soon.

Microsoft includes RSS support into next IE release. Which in turn means, that RSS going to be much more popular than before (admit it - even tho RSS is much more popular than few years ago, it still aint used to max potential)

Now - since RSS is going to be much more popular for granted, why would Google want to share ad profits with their competitor (Microsoft)?

Especially, since Microsoft are catching up with Adsense, Additional info on context ads by Microsoft.

I don't know how many - but here are four recent murder cases that claim video games were a part of the problem - or in one case actually taught the "perp" how to commit the crime. This was the first 4 answers under google news to your question... http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl e?AID=/20050725/APN/507251163 http://www.betanews.com/article/GTA_Battle_Goes_to _the_Courts/1121894331 http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/12180380. htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&arti cle=UPI-1-20050721-14014500-bc-us-playstation.xml

If I am not mistaken, I think .NET 2.0 was pulled (or at least significantly scaled back)and would be included as a later stand alone addition/download (a la WinFS).

XAML, if you want to do a little reading for fun, there is a good review of it that concludes:

Examined superficially, XAML tags have many of the features of traditional Web standards like HTML, as well as those of newer Web approaches like Mozilla's XUL. Alas, it lacks proper CSS stylesheet support. Examined more deeply, however, XAML tags reuse, reinvent, and renew many standard idioms from the software development world in a highly integrated way.

There are also people out there who see XAML as just a proprietary XML and MS will try to do to XML what they did with JScript/JavaScript

That doesn't count loads of other features, like the explorer, IE 7, a ton of security features, better search, better web services through Indigo (try doing web services with PHP now - I've done it, and it's such a pain that it's not really worth it. Microsoft nailed web services in 2002, and the new stuff is even better!).

I have alway been happy with SOAP/XML and it seems like they are doing pretty well Also, it seems like Indigo isn't what it used to be, or at least not yet. We also do not know how these new services will affect other internet users, presumably they will be a Vista only feature and in that case, how many developers will fully embrace them with MS's current adoption rate for XP. Will the Vista adoption rate be better or worse? One could argue not as good due to the increased system requirements for the "full" Vista experience, compared to the 98/2000 upgrade path. We went from 66MHz/16MB/225MB to 133MHz/64MB/2GB to "current processor, current computer". From that I guess 2GHz/512MB-1GB/64MB-128MB-256 VRAM, (hard drive space is not an issue anymore) That is quite an increase in specs, though I admit that is extrapolation from this:

Will my PC run Vista? That depends on how recently you bought it. Microsoft Allchin said in an April interview that he expects Vista will need about 512MB of memory and "today's level" of processor. The ability to display all the fancy new graphics will depend on what type of graphics card one has. On some older machines, the graphics may look similar to today's Windows.

Apple is doing the slapdash hacks, and Microsoft leads the way in beautifully architected software.

Now you are just tossing out some flamebait. "Slapdash hacks" is a disservice to the wonderful integretion of OOS into OS X. Also OS X has been lauded by many (I hate to do this, but this was the best all-in-one collection I could find without searching/cutting/pasting all night. This is only slightly bigger than the attention Apple was given for Panther.

Also, MS has been accused of many, many things, but has never been accused of creating "beautifully architected software". Seriously, XP SP2 took some important steps, but I am not going to say any such words until I see a final p

So has Microsoft retracted their stand on Open Source being a a cancer? They can't possibly stick to that story, specially after so many organizations are seeing the benefits of Open Source. Will MS really and their fanboys ever learn?

You missed the boat.

Samsung to release 16GB IDE flash drive in august.

I want them in my servers.

Schemas will be open, fully documented and carry a "perpetual" royalty free license.

By the way, TechEd is this week, which is probably why we're seeing so much MS news. (No, I'm not there - I have real work to do.)

Here's the link to the latest/last version: http://dl.betanews.com/SetupDVDDecrypter_3.5.4.0.e xe

Odd. According to this article on BetaNews, Apple isn't really interested: Apple Not Serious About Sirius

Who in the fuck would buy a system with "Banner Ads" built into the damned GUI?

BetaNews ran a story about this, which says that Time Warner had considered spinning off AOL but decided that "it would be unnecessary to do so at this time."

"'Right now AOL is currently integrated into our operations,' Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons said. 'But if it gets to the point where consolidation is happening in the Internet space and, in order to play most efficiently, we need ... our own currency, the possibility [of an initial public offering] is out there.'"

Story at: http://www.betanews.com/article/Time_Warner_Consid ered_AOL_Spinoff/1116616630

BTW, the first sentance was originally "The Wall Street Journal is reporting that AOL will release Netscape 8.0 - also being reported at BetaNews and a growing number of sites." ... but he changed that to CNet which has the 5 page review ... the Firefox 1.03 reference is from BetaNews.

Finally, I had added this closing statement/question "While Netscape was the dominant browser years ago, it has faded dramatically ... does this release have significant enough features such that end-users will give it another try? Time will tell." ... and I personally think it's a bit too little too late - Firefox works darn well for me, and with the iview extension, I have one-click access to IE if need be. But the browser wars are far from over as IE7 appears to be copying many of Firefox's features, plus Opera and Safari continue to get good press ... so time will tell!

BetaNews is running a story right now (which is showing adjacent to this story on /. if you're using the RSS feed boxes) titled Sony Launches Consumer HD Camcorder. Numbers in the article include $2,000, 1.5 pounds, 90 minutes of recording time on a single charge, 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio, still picture 2.8 megapixel camera.

BetaNews is running a story right now (which is showing adjacent to this story on /. if you're using the RSS feed boxes) titled Sony Launches Consumer HD Camcorder. Numbers in the article include $2,000, 1.5 pounds, 90 minutes of recording time on a single charge, 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio, still picture 2.8 megapixel camera.

Finally remembered the name of the product...PC Satisfaction. There are a few news articles on the web about it including this one regarding system performance. My wife and kids nearly killed me for testing it on our home PC as it was such a resource hog. Late in the beta it got a little bit better but then they decided to shelve the product. I'd guess that they took what they learned in that beta and applied it to the AntiSpyware and upcoming antivirus programs.

Smells like bullshit (possibly just bad wording from the anti-virus company). Mozilla wouldn't run a java applet that requires special privileges (and doing anything to your disk requires privileges) without asking first -- actually, the Java runtime wouldn't. If you really found a threat you'd be asked to trust the applet first, with several warnings in a dialog box.

Just like this past notice.

Smells like bullshit (possibly just bad wording from the anti-virus company). Mozilla wouldn't run a java applet that requires special privileges (and doing anything to your disk requires privileges) without asking first -- actually, the Java runtime wouldn't. If you really found a threat you'd be asked to trust the applet first, with several warnings in a dialog box.

Just like this past notice.

... and you may NOT download and talk about the most recent Longhorn pre-beta build!

... and Longhorn's feature set is still mostly undisclosed, with major stuff earlier revealed to be backported into XP + 2003.

... and of course not just anyone can easily be allowed to get any insight in the actual development to be able to comment on that. Jeez, what were you thinking!

So, what are Microsoft thinking bloggers should write about?

"WOW I JUST SAW THIS NEW UI AND LONGHORN LOKS SO COL AND IT WIL KIK APLAS BUTT SO HARD!11!1!!1 WTF DID U HAAR ABOUT TEH NEW COOL DOT NET TECHS!!111!!1 WHAT F3ATURAS THERE PLANNIG?????!!?? OMG I HAEV NO IEDA YET BUT IMM SURA ITL B AEWSOM31111 OMG WTF"

Just wait until they all start using exploits on the sites they are attempting to phish as outlined in this article http://www.betanews.com/article/What_Phishers_Know _That_You_Dont/1114784531/

"Well, once a suit has been commenced, RIAA will have access to discovery procedures"

And discovery goes both ways...It would be a chance to get their books opened up for one.

"Plus, they're a big industry association with a good reputation. You're just some guy, and are probably a music pirate. They have a lot to lose if they aren't straightforward, and copyright suits are so open-and-shut, especially factually, that there's not even a good reason for them to make it up."

No....They would NEVER make them up...Dead people are all pirates according to the RIAA...

http://www.betanews.com/article/RIAA_Sues_Deceased _Grandmother/1107532260

B.

I know how people hate to hear this, but if you don't commit the crime, you won't be hunted down.

Stop and think for a moment about your statement. You know that people hate to hear this. Did you ever wonder _why_? It's for the same reason that people hate the phrase "innocent people have nothing to fear from the police".

Police make mistakes; innocent people have served time. The police at least try their best to acertain guilt.

The MPAA/RIAA make no such attempts. They have filed suits against dead people, much less innocent ones. A lawsuit that goes to court at all already amounts to complete financial ruin for most people, regardless of the final verdict. Now you can go to jail for the crime of not being able to afford to fight your case in court.

The most amusing thing about all of this is that these infringements are already covered by copyright law. This legislation has no reason to exist other than as a scare tactic. It would have been cheaper (senators are expensive, after all) and probably more effective to put up posters saying "Don't share pre-releases or we'll send Guido over to break your kneecaps."

I look forward to any replacement to PDFs. Adobe is one of the most bloated, terrible peices of garbage

Hmm.. OK. You're confusing a format, a piece of software and a software company there.

Sounds like you're using Acrobat Reader. Not a great choice, as others have said, but you can at least disable the little-used plug-ins to make it start much more quickly.

Don't criticise the format because you're using a lame product to read files in that format. It's like saying HTML is no good just because IE doesn't work.

thankfully TFA has one, and it doesn't look like iChat

while they sue themselves for leaking Tiger? Sunny must be pissed as hell right now.

You know, it's just amazing to see you and everybody else fall for the old accidental "leak" trick.

This "leak", just like that one is a classic PR trick to get press time. It works, as you can see. Did you even wonder why the "leaks" came all boxed-up (just like the final version) to select individual and companies able to make noise about it?

That Duke is modifiying heavily? I'll tell you were iPods are valuable... urban areas. People are being mugged and killed for them, and the muggers leave the wallets behind!

Too late. They've already sued the dead..

http://www.betanews.com/article/RIAA_Sues_Deceased _Grandmother/1107532260

B.

I read "Maureen O'Gara reports" and backed away.

There's no way I'm giving clicks to the likes of her - she's worse than Laura DiDio.

May they both end up crying into thier afternoon tea when SCO is nothing but a little smudge of red ink on the floor of the Utah desert.

Soko

Maybe it already has sold....

"The reason they're worse is because there aren't really good free alternatives."

You mean like, Quicktime Alternative or Real Alternative through Media Player Classic?

"The reason they're worse is because there aren't really good free alternatives."

You mean like, Quicktime Alternative or Real Alternative through Media Player Classic?

"The reason they're worse is because there aren't really good free alternatives."

You mean like, Quicktime Alternative or Real Alternative through Media Player Classic?

This kid still has to do 18 months in prison! 18 months! 13,128 hours! (linked from the same site)
18 months is almost 10% of the time this kid has even been on the planet!
Microsoft just helped him out by letting him live his life once he gets out of prison instead of being in debt for the next 40 years.
I bet it's extremely hard for a convicted felon to work off a $500,000 debt.
--
Fairfax Underground: For residents of Fairfax County and Northern Virginia

1. Sit in on many of the standards committees.
2. As the committee begins to discuss ideas, patent them behind the scenes
3. Dont implement standards properly (IE, Office, TransactSQL...), but do implement own proprietary protocols/specs/language correctly.
4. Scare people away from standards using patents
5. Profit!

Even for Microsoft, this one reeks.

Having said that, you can understand why Microsoft are claiming patent territory - they have been smacked around pretty badly by software patents in the past. I wonder how many other gems are out there waiting to be discovered in amongst the 3000 or so patent apps per year MS puts forward.

On Jan. 14th, 2005, Eric Kriss, Secretary for the Executive Office of the Administration of Finance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, gave a speech wherein he described what they called "Open Standards" work the state had been doing for a year and why this work mattered. They were extending their work to cover what they called "Open Formats" as well.

Briefly, the state wants to preserve public electronic documents for future use and in order to do that, they need to make sure they can read the document. "Open Formats" are "specifications for data file formats that are based on an underlying open standard, developed by an open community and affirmed by a standards body; or, de facto format standards controlled by other entities that are fully documented and available for public use under perpetual, royalty-free, and nondiscriminatory terms.". By filtering out software that doesn't support "open formats" they could avoid falling into a trap. Things looked rosy and bright for a while, as if the state wasn't going to do their government work with a file format that they might not be able to read 100 years from now because some proprietor leveraged their DMCA-backed power to shut off access.

By the end of the month, Betanews reported that Kriss had announced a change--"Under the change, Microsoft Office file formats could be considered open by the Commonwealth, depending on the terms of usage.". Kriss also included that "[...] it is our expectation that the next iteration of the Open Format standard will include some Microsoft proprietary formats". Microsoft has changed the terms of usage for "end users who merely open and read government documents". Note that "merely open[ing] and read[ing] government documents" might not include doing a number of other useful things with documents such as: printing, copying, or excerpting material from documents.

One wonders if Massachusetts did this in exchange for some low-cost licenses.

The reason they are probably doing this is because of the new policy about third party clients? Although I agree that this is a highly shady new policy, it seems striking that it would come so shortly after the announcement of "support" for third party clients. Sounds like they are trying to keep themselves from getting screwed over by them by someone *else* doing all these evil things they've said they're not responsible for.