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Gates and Lasser on Palladium

A rather funny juxtaposition this morning - Bill Gates or someone with his signature stamp sent a spam-gram to pretty much everyone who receives any sort of Microsoft email: Bill only mentions Digital Rights Management in one throw-away sentence. And like most other spam, he promises it's a one-time mailing. On the other hand, Jon Lasser of Think Unix fame takes a harsher look at Microsoft's vision of a world where your computer is trusted against you.

9 of 358 comments (clear)

  1. Ahhh by Chetmurray · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would never would have thought MS would spam, that is something only desperate companies do.

    And here I thought that was a personal note to me. I have spent the last three hours writing my personal reply. Guess I will just send it to this nice Nigerian man who just emailed me, he just suffered a personal tragedy and seems to need some support.

    Chet

  2. Re:Palladium is E-V-I-L by The+Cat · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is because when it matters, Microsoft's security is tough as nails.

    So, I guess the next question is obvious: why doesn't it matter in their products?

  3. Not aiming very high! by ddstreet · · Score: 3, Funny
    Quoth Bill Gates:

    Six months ago, I sent a call-to-action to Microsoft's 50,000 employees, outlining what I believe is the highest priority for the company and for our industry over the next decade: building a Trustworthy Computing environment for customers that is as reliable as the electricity that powers our homes and businesses today.

    Well that's reassuring! I think the general population of California would like for computers to be a bit more reliable that their electric grid!

    And even if you're not in CA, electric power is notoriously unreliable. Brownouts, power outages, power spikes, 120V vs. 220V, etc. Is Bill trying to tell us that Windows will never be reliable at all?

  4. Re:The Hipocracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Man I hope none of the other users on this Unix system want to post as ACs. This a ridiculous, single-user OS bias!

  5. Re:The Hipocracy! by daeley · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's because their posts are done with Wizards, don't you know. :)

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  6. Why you'll never get another message like this by Lumpish+Scholar · · Score: 4, Funny
    We're also working with others throughout the industry to improve Internet protocols to stop email that could propagate misleading information ...
    ... like this message you've just sent, Bill?-)
    --
    Stupid job ads, weird spam, occasional insight at
  7. Re:Palladium is E-V-I-L by MrResistor · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is because when it matters, Microsoft's security is tough as nails.

    I worked in construction for over 10 years, and I can tell you without hesitation that nails are not tough.

    Hardened lag bolts are tough.

    Glue-lams are tough.

    Reinforced concrete is tough.

    Nails are not tough.

    Nails bend and break with surprisingly little effort, especially when pitted against things that are actually tough.

    Similarly, Microsoft has been hacked a few times, and I don't mean their misconfigured products in the field -- unless that includes Windows Update and their source control servers (which were in fact hacked not too long ago and were open for some time).

    --
    Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
  8. not very trustworthy by rmassa · · Score: 2, Funny

    Six months ago, I sent a call-to-action to Microsoft's 50,000 employees, outlining what I believe is the highest priority for the company and for our industry over the next decade: building a Trustworthy Computing environment for customers that is as reliable as the electricity that powers our homes and businesses today.

    Those utility companies are sure reliable and responsible...

    Hey microsoft... I've got some enron stock to sell you...

  9. Reliability... by Shirloki · · Score: 3, Funny

    Six months ago, I sent a call-to-action to Microsoft's 50,000 employees, outlining what I believe is the highest priority for the company and for our industry over the next decade: building a Trustworthy Computing environment for customers that is as reliable as the electricity that powers our homes and businesses today.

    I live in California, need I say more? Not to mention the price of electricity here...