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Slashback: Epson, AbiWord, Justification

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the nova-nova dept.

Slashback tonight brings you updates on AbiWord's recent donation theft, persistent Australian spammers, more support for open software in government, and more -- read on below. Update: 10/31 00:09 GMT by T : Oops, doubled news of AbiWord / Paypal situation update has been halved; apologies.

It was the least they could do. Last week, AbiWord's PayPal account for donations was lightened to the tune of several hundred dollars. Now, an anonymous reader writes "According to this posting, PayPal has succumbed to the pressure. They have agreed to reimburse the AbiWord team for the money that was stolen from their account last week. I still want to know how the AbiWord account was broken into..."

Because licenses matter. specht writes "I am a bit surprised that nobody has reported this yet. EPSON KOWA made their scanner and printer software available for downloading again after they had to pull it because of a GPL violation (see the previous Slashdot story). More information about this (and why it had to be removed in the first place) are here . Kudos to EPSON KOWA and EPSON for working with the FSF to resolve these issues."

No, that's "Gorilla marketing." akiaki007 writes "As many might have noticed, Friday most of Manhattan was covered with butterflies. This article on CNN that states that NYC fined MS $50.00 and the cost of cleaning up the static-cling plastic ads. On a side note, most other companies probably would have been fined per ad, though somehow MS got off, pretty much scot-free."

Priceless -- which is nice when you're paying. Digital Soldier writes "HERE is an article from Government Executive Magazine justifying, from a security perspective, the use of open source software in government. In short, the article makes the point that open source software allows security administrators to be pro-active rather than purely reactive in their work. I guess they don't like waiting for service packs."

Lovely spam, lovely spam ah ah ah ah ... ghostrider_one writes "Australian IT is reporting that notorious Australian spammers T3 direct have appealed the recent dismisssal of their lawsuit against the person they blame for being blacklisted in SPEWS."

6 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Don't store money on PayPal! by grytpype · · Score: 5, Insightful

    PayPal is not a bank. It's not run like a bank, it's not regulated like a bank, and deposits are not insured like a bank.

    --

    - Have a picture

    1. Re:Don't store money on PayPal! by buffy · · Score: 5, Insightful
      PayPal is not a bank. It's not run like a bank, it's not regulated like a bank, and deposits are not insured like a bank.

      PayPal looks like a bank, smells like a bank, and sounds like a bank. The fact that they are not regulated nor insured doesn't mean they're not a bank--only that they've not yet been busted as such. Write your congress critters to take note. PP all but ignores a large amount of fraud, simply because it's cheaper to do so--most people won't do the leg work necessary to get their, usually, smaller amounts of cash back.

      Regulation will come eventually. PP/e-bay will put that date off as long as possible for sure, however.

    2. Re:Don't store money on PayPal! by buffy · · Score: 4, Insightful
      By your statement i should be able to sue the stockmarket, 401k plans and social security plans.

      They smell like a bank, look like a bank, hold my money like a bank, transfer my money like a bank, but aren't insured like a bank. Heck, i can loose every dime i have and someone owes me!

      Umm...no. Each of the items you mention ARE in fact regulated in some fashion. If you're invested in a Mutual Fund, and the MF Manager makes off with your money (ie. doesn't invest it, but actually makes off with it!) you bet your ass there is something you can do about it in the legal system.

      I mean...think, man, think, before posting! ;)

      I'm so happy the tipjar was broken into, and i certainly wish paypal wouldn't have given in. Sometimes a dose of the real world is what alot of people need.

      Welp, that's awfully mean of you. That's like saying I hope you get mugged tomorrow. I don't, and I hope it doesn't. Decency is a good quality, not a bad one, and I don't think it's unreasonable to give it, and expect it in return. Not that it gives you and excuse to not be prepared for when you don't receive it, but still...

  2. Good for AbiWord, but... by rob-fu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    what about the countless other people that haven't resolved problems with Paypal? It seems the only way to get a response from them is to have someone post a story on Slashdot so they'll buckle under the pressure :)

  3. Three big companies, three... by merriam · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... unsatisfying resolutions.

    Paypal will resolve a problem with a prominent customer after a big fuss has been made about it. Otherwise, of course, no change.

    Epson makes the smallest possible change to a license (not to forbid reverse engineering), so as to use an LGPLed library legally. It looks like Epson tried it on; it didn't work out, but it was worth a try.

    Microsoft was almost certain to gain more by the stunt than it would lose in fines. $50 per "decal" would have been cheap, but it wasn't even fined that much.

  4. Re:All well and good for AbiWord. by cybrthng · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't work for paypal and don't know anyone who does.

    1. I've never had a problem.
    2. Been a customer "since day one"
    3. I've done a few grand through paypal and while they don't have phone support, i've never had an un-answered email request.

    I only deal with ebay sellers +5, i only take payments from verified paypal account holders and i keep a seperate checking account established for just linking to such accounts.

    Paypal is a godsend for those who push money, goods and materials. I don't treat it like a bank, and i respect it for what is is.

    Change your passwords, don't be "gullible" deal with good people.

    Common sense people.