Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: MyCrowzOft, Inundation, Taxation
You have until April 15 ... quickenman writes "I used TurboTax for many years but used TaxCut last year (2002) after they Put C-Dilla spyware into the program. TaxCut worked well (it lacked 1 form I needed) but TurboTax seemed to be a little more user friendly. I publish several free internet newsletters, "Dr M's Computer Tip List" and also "Dr M's Computer Tips"and have told my subscribers that the link to eliminate that C-Dilla spyware is still available even though Intuit no longer lists it on their web site. Go to: support.turbotax.com/kb/ViewDocument.asp?do cumentId=491&categoryId=80068"
All publicity is probably good publicity ... for Mike Rowe. bwhaley writes "Microsoft has eased is reins after the an unexpected battle from teenager Mike Rowe in defense of his "trademark infringing" domain, mikerowesoft.com. According to a Reuters article, 'Microsoft has indicated it may have overreacted to the Web site' run by Microsoft's namesake. Thanks to this Slashdot story and lots of others like it, Mike Rowe may be able to keep his domain after all."
I doubt that Mike Rowe is Microsoft's namesake ;)
Niue free wi-fi is not gone freitasm writes "In a previous Slashdot article the author said "The world's first free national wireless grid is no longer with us, after waves from Cyclone Heta swept over Niue's thirty metre cliffs, destroying everything." This turned now not to be what actually happened there. It is now known that the The Niue Internet Users Society stored everything in water proof containers before the cyclone hit the island" "Most of the equipment survived," said IUS-N technical manager, Richard St. Clair. "That's because we stored it all in a water-tight metal shipping container before the cyclone hit." "Some WiFi antennas were lost," said Emani Lui, who originally installed and tuned the antennas for the WiFi service. "But many have now been repaired or replaced and are functioning normally." Since then Telecom New Zealand has restored communications with the island."
CosmacVIP writes "The .nu domain manager says anyone who wants to help should make donations to the New Zealand Red Cross's Pacific Cyclone Relief Fund (www.redcross.org.nz), instead of registering .nu domain names, so the aid will go directly to those who need it most."
All depends on whom you ask. Greedo writes "This article at Wired contradicts earlier news that HP was working on getting WMA support built into their branded iPod. "We're not going to be supporting WMA for now," said Muffi Ghadiali, product marketing manager for HP's digital entertainment products group. However, one analyst said that between now and summer, HP may come up with a way to convert WMA to AAC, or an equivalent technical fix. I guess we wait and see."
After that, if it breaks, you get both pieces. Ieshan writes "Microsoft has just decided to resume support for Windows 98 and apparently other product lines, as mentioned in this CNN article. Well, I guess it didn't die for long. They say customers in developing countries weren't made aware of the changes. I say they probably realized that people in developing countries couldn't afford to upgrade entire networks, and might pursue alternatives."
Mike Rowe gets to live? Yeah!!! :)
:)
Seriously, it's getting to the point where I wouldn't put it past microsoft to actually require a name change for guys like Mike in the next ten years... How blatantly wrong could they be? I'm surprised they didn't go after any website that had "Bob" in the name... cuz after all, that's a lot like their MS Bob...
On the flipside though, how long before people start changing their names just so they can get domain names? I'm eyeing Natalie H. Gritts myself... sure I'm a guy... but the domain name, and the right to keep it would be priceless, and worth the ackwardness...
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Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
I don't know about everyone else, but we gave up on Intuit a long time ago, after they introduced a heap of serials/product keys just to install/upgrade. Between our numerous versions, and multiuser licences, trying to install Quickbooks/other Intuit shit was a nightmare. We'll never be supporting them again.
Well it's great they're still going to support 98, but ME? Come on! ME is quite possibly the worst OS Microsoft put out. Sure XP sends stuff to MS without telling you, and 98 is unstable, but at least they are useable operating systems. The worst thing about ME is that you can't restart in DOS mode, no matter what. Even though it runs on top of DOS, and you can use a boot disk to get to DOS, ME won't let you restart into DOS mode. Networking support is also a pain. By "a pain" I mean would rather get shot than try and get ME working with a network card. One time, when I didn't know the evils of ME, I tried getting a Realtek card to work. Bad idea! After almost a week of screwing with the computer, I formatted it and put (what I think is the best thing to come out of Microsoft) Windows 2000 on it. The card worked great in 2000. I thought 2k and ME are supposed to have the same TCP/IP implementations, the ones from BSD. I bet MS could save a TON of time and money by solving all ME problems with a free format and XP home installation.
Karma: Meh (Mostly from meh.)
Assuming that this isn't a troll... Slashback, by definition, is a bunch of updates on earlier stories...
"Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
why don't they sue this. It took me one whois to find it.
This seems as good a time as any to introduce my new screename. Im not worried about being sued because old-school Napster never cared about copyrights.
bit trollent
If I registered the site called MyGrowsSoft.com and used it to sell Viagra?
...spake 'nevermore'.
(apologies to Edgar)
Everyone will start to cheer when you put on your sailin' shoes.
If he did that, Microsoft really would have a case against him. Nobody's going to confuse microsoft with mikerowesoft, but buttheadedsoftwarearchitect is getting a bit too close.
...Have something in common.
I saw on a PBS special a few years back that the original Colonel Sanders, after selling off Kentucky Fried Chicken, opened a restuarant called the Colonel's Lady and was sued by KFC for using his name and his face to which they held the trademarks. The Colonel won eventually.
Just thought someone might think that was an interesting precedent.
Wait a sec... DRM's Computer Tip List? DRM's Computer Tips?
Don't fall for it! IT'S A COOKBOOK! IT'S A COOKBOOK!
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WARNING:Slashdot karma not redeemable in the afterlife.
I did the same, but I still found it annoying. When you installed TurboTax 2002, C-Dilla was also quietly installed. C-Dilla ran all the time, taking up memory. Originally, C-Dilla would remain installed even when you uninstalled TurboTax. Only after a public outcry did Intuit decide to release an uninstaller for C-Dilla. Sure, it's not the end of the world, but it's definitely annoying.
Not sure where you heard that but according to MikeRoweSoft.com the site is staying up due to the kind offer of hosting from Deafening-Urge.net. So slashdot publicity helped the guy get new hosting after slashdot publicity caused him to lose his host. It all balances out in the end.
Thats why they call it Karma
However, one analyst said that between now and summer, HP may come up with a way to convert WMA to AAC, or an equivalent technical fix. I guess we wait and see.
What??? That makes about as much sense as converting ogg to mp3. It can be done easily, but it'll be lossy as hell - they're different formats, damnit. Maybe I could an analyst and then they could pay me to be dumb. Or better yet - a pundit. Bah.
See you, space cowboy...
Chances are this is not infringement. There have been numerous cases where people who used their own names as their business names have been found not to infringe.
Of course ICANN is not a fair organization and they would have probably taken the domain from the guy but in court Mike would have prevailed.
BTW there are thousands of companies called delta, washington, montana or whatever. It's OK for two businesses to have the exact same name. The issue is whether a reasonable person would confuse the two businesses. Maybe you would confuse the MikeRoweSoft company and Microsoft but a reasonable person would not.
War is necrophilia.
If Microsoft enforcing its trademark against MikeRoweSoft is an evil-empire action, what kind of precedent are we setting for other companies? I'm just going to start companies called Banc ov Amerika, Koka-Kola, Jonsen and Jonsen, Redd Hat Linucks, and Appul.
This guy said himself that he intentionally made a homophone of Microsoft just to mess with them. It's a clear-cut case of trademark infringement. I don't see the problem here.
<IANAL>
If you started a company called Appul that sold microcomputers and related software, then Apple might have a case.. but if your Appul company sold fertilizer or hand-tools, they'd have nothing. Likewise for Jonsen and Jonsen... do that and sell barbed-wire or plastic soda bottles, and you're not infringing anything.
In Mike Rowe's case, he's not selling personal computer operating systems and productivity software, and it's just weird that his name, said real fast, sounds like half of Microsoft.
In the case of your fictional Banc of Amerika, or Redd Hat Linucks, I think you might get in trouble, because they're still the exact same words as the name of the "real" company, just spelled different... and the made up versions don't have any real meaning, unlike "Mike Rowe" which is somebody's name.
</IANAL>
// TODO: Insert Cool Sig
www.mightgrowsoft.com/
This domain's been around since 1997, and their site layout is strangely familiar. Not to bring any heat on them- this must be protected parody, or IP law is seriously broken.
Or I am crazy. Help me figure this one out.
Big Daddy, Johnny, Burp, Aunt Zelda, Scott, Slurp, Big Momma
So that's how the BSA got their name!!!
I used to get high on life, but I developed a tolerance. Now I need something stronger.
I had a pretty horrible experience with TaxCut last year. There was a bug (triggered by my combination of being self-employed and renting my home) that refused to complete my taxes unless I filled out some fields that were non-applicable with values that satisfied TaxCut's constraints. Basically, it wouldn't let me file my taxes unless I filled them out with false and confusing information.
I call technical support, which of course is in India. All they could help me with were monkey steps involving turning on my computer, logging into Windows, etc. There was no process for escalating actual bugs to people that can help you work around or solve them. Classic horror story of outsourced tech support.
I wound up throwing TaxCut in the trash and filling out my forms by hand. I'm going to give TurboTax a shot this year -- hopefully I can work around the spyware.
...sued the head of clan McDonald, Lord Godfery MacDonald. He said: "McDonald is one the most famous names in the world. McDonald's everywhere must be furious at the way their name is being used."
There's nothing more dangerous than a bored lawyer.
So says this PC World article
Which is good, because (as I whinged in another comment) I had a horrible experience with TaxCut last year.
Evidently it has been a while, but according to The Register there has been a dispute with an Australian maker of synthetic pillows and duvets. One of their products is also called "Microsoft".
SIGBUS @ NO-07.308