Slashdot Mirror

Honestly, slashdot is the only place I've ever seen where Windows is so almost universally hated.

Apparently you have never been here.

http://www.microsuck.com/content/ms-hidden-files.s html

"There are folders on your computer that Microsoft has tried hard to keep secret. Within these folders you will find two major things: Microsoft Internet Explorer has not been clearing your browsing history after you have instructed it to do so, and Microsoft's Outlook Express has not been deleting your e-mail correspondence after you've erased them from your Deleted Items bin. (This also includes all incoming and outgoing file attachments.) And believe me, that's not even the half of it. "

Yeah, 40 years seems like a lot. She probably would have only got 25 years (up for parole in 5) if she had killed the 4 students that had seen the popups.

Still, can't beat Firefox for malware protection, and if all else fails, covering your tracks when you clear out all your personal data (past links, cookies, etc.). Y'all know about the second browser history cache that IE keeps on disk, right? I've done a couple of forensic investigations on computers for a local lawyer and that cache is really good for divorce cases. Browse some sicko porn site, clear your history, it's still on the disk in the other cache. Bingo - you just lost custody of your kids (admittedly it's in a bible thumping state that doesn't "cotton" to that type of behavior).

Nice apologist tract. Let's deconstruct this, shall we?

> I appreciate that MS rushed production to get it out a year earlier than the other systems, as I was jonesing for a new system. I also appreciate that this rush is what produced the defective hardware.

So, in other words, Micro$oft is at it again: they rush a product through production, get it to market before it's ready, and -- what a surprise! -- it's got nasty bugs in it. Summary: M$ fucks things up some more.

> Although the delay in compensation for repairs denotes a greedy attitude on the part of MS, I am not surprised.

At this point, I'd be amazed if *anyone* was surprised.

> Corporations do not exist to serve the public good, and if you find this objectionable, then please avail yourself of a microeconomics textbook. You can't expect good intentions from corporations (and from people in general). You should be satisfied that they do the right thing, even if for the wrong reasons.

Translation: what the corporations offer the public is all they deserve, and if they don't like it they can go fuck themselves. Wonder if this 'primeval_badger' character is a Republican or a Libertarian -- what's his view on public oversight or government regulation of business? That should be good for a cheap laugh....

> Having worked for several years, I understand how difficult it is to design products, let alone systems.

Then you understand the importance of "defensive design" and "quality control", right? Because M$ apparently doesn't, seeing that they repeatedly and consistently release products that are Not Ready For Prime Time. Hell, it's no wonder my first software engineering professor got so pissed off at fuckheads like this, for creating sloppy design and shoddy quality, that it made him "want to get a baseball bat and start bashing in heads."

> Put another way, would you rather wait an extra year for a rock-solid 360, or get one a year earlier, which will probably work fine

-- unless the power supply unit undergoes a meltdown, explodes and sets fire to the carpet, which burns down the house and potentially nearby houses as well. Think I'm being over the top? Remember that little fuss a short while ago over laptop batteries? You know ...over some of them EXPLODING?

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/22/another-thinkpa d-battery-explodes/

But hey, what's a few exploding laptops, right? I mean, the user escaped with only minor burns and a ruined LCD monitor (other than the laptop screen itself), plus the firefighters came in time, so he should count himself lucky! Hell, he's even got backups of his data, so he should be *satisfied* that things turned out the way they did!! /end sarcasm/

> MS is a decent corporation with decent products.

Ahem... You seem to have contradicted your earlier statement about the nature of corporate business. More importantly, it flies in the face of the public record:

http://www.microsuck.com/content/whatsbad.shtml

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Murphy/?p=640

http://www.inlumineconsulting.com:8080/website/msf t.shilling.html

> Don't criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes.

You forgot to add, "or unless you can outdo him."

Remember Bill Gates' infamous letter to the Homebrew Computer Club? The one in which he said to the club that "most of you steal your software"? What he neglected to mention in that letter was:

- Altair BASIC was released way behind schedule (dude, talk about foreshadowing!)
- Many Altair computer users had paid in advance for pre-ordered copies of Altair BASIC, yet had never received it
-

Perhaps this article will clarify Microsoft's view of Java for you:

http://news.com.com/2009-1001-215854.html

Also, this document describes Microsoft's apparent (lack of) regard for HTML, of all things:

http://www.fourmilab.ch/webtools/demoroniser/

Oh, hell -- just go to this website, read 'em and weep:

http://www.microsuck.com/

To put it bluntly, Microsoft has absolutely no regard for open, broadly supported standards because they hinder its program of total, absolute domination of the computer markets. Lest you think I'm just a ranting anti-Gates nutjob, here's a quote from a pro-Microsoft puff piece that ran as a cover story in Time magazine: "Microsoft's goal is to have some version of Windows ...running on every computer, everywhere." THAT, by definition, is a monopoly. (Wonder why that little bit of info wasn't introduced in the federal anti-trust case?...)

In fact, Microsoft can't even stick to its *own* standards! Look at how they deliberately break support for filetypes of older versions of their apps, coercing Microsoft customers into purchasing newer, costlier, fatter, and *buggier* versions -- otherwise their valuable documents would become unreadable to everyone else who climbed the perpetual upgrade ladder! Gee, thanks Bill Gates, now I have both Steve Jobs *and* you on my Hope-They-Die-A-Nasty-Death list.

Btw, this is a long-disgruntled Apple II user talking here. Steve Jobs can take his iPod *and* his iMac and shove 'em!

I won't because they tell you what they are doing.

I will blame M$ for much worse. I blame them for intentional leaks, by making an OS that does much of the same without telling anyone, and demanding even more in their EULAs. I also blame them for making an OS with so many holes and backdoors that corporate espionage is easy.

I'll also blame any clueless Admin who bans Google while using M$. Fanboys who "standardize" on IE, Outlook, Exchange and all that other garbage should have no expectations of privacy or data integrity. These are the kinds of people who ban cell phones with cameras, but let people keep normal cameras. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Trying to give as much credit as possible, maybe the real complaint is that the "alternative" browsers don't hide files from the user like MSIE does.

In Moz/FF you can just delete cache and clear history and URL bar and that's it - it's all really gone. In MSIE, clear those things, and most users will imagine their "tracks" are erased. But then there are "Microsoft's Really Hidden Files" which still preserve a complete history. Not only are these immune to the UI controls; MS has gone to some lengths to deliberately conceal them from the user. Obviously law enforcement can take advantage of this; only advanced geeks know enough to foil the Wiggums.

So what it amounts to is, give the users more power, and would-be Big Brother naturally has some anxiety. Same as it ever was.

Unless of course you happen to use, say, Windows:
http://www.microsuck.com/content/ms-hidden-files.s html

The they don't even need to court order MS, they jus t need to yank your hard drive.

"he should at least have the commonsense of clearing the cache!"

Clearing out the cache may not be enough. Internet Explorer keeps information about your browsing history, and outlook keeps mail even after you delete it

Even with other browsers, the only sure way to know the data is gone is to overwrite it

C4 will work as well.

FUCK MICROSOFT!

http://www.microsuck.com/

Before I start, IANAL, but...

This is not a trademark infringement because they are not in the same industry. There is nothing in IP law as far as I know that says a person cannot make money using a parody. Parody is covered under fair use doctrine. The double-entendre signifies satire: fall is a verb, well is an adverb, they are constantly used in conjunction, and in its loose interpretation, it means that someone is very good at doing something very shitty. I don't know the author personally but I think that this was the desired effect, in which case this is clearly a pun, a satirical parody on the name, and is protected by IP law. This decision is wrong just as it would be wrong for Microsoft to shut down http://www.microsuck.com/ Please see http://www.publaw.com/parody.html

According to the article, "Lamparello's site criticizes Falwell's stance against homosexuality and includes a disclaimer that reads, 'This Web site is not affiliated with Jerry Falwell Ministries.'" This means that the decision that it would be confusing to visitors is a load of tripe. It is very clearly anti-Falwell and says there is no affiliation explicitly. If you would like to see the website, here's a snapshot from a year ago: http://web.archive.org/web/20030621061434/http://f allwell.com/ It was the latest one I could find.

This ruling is absolutely non-sensical and -- as far as I know -- without precedent.

IE is not as "safe as anything else." Here is the proof:

Microsoft's really hidden files

link here posted July 2002

i think poeple should choose a more friendly domain name if they want to provide an alternative.

If you read the page, you would know, they already have a more friendly name.

Microsuck - I typed this after trying to fix another stupid M$ problem on our network. (Again, I'm offtopic yet again!!!!!)