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DRM Hole Sets Patch Speed Record For Microsoft
puppetman writes "Wired columnist Bruce Schneier has an article up called 'Quickest Patch Ever', about a patch that was issued within three days to fix a vulnerability in Windows Digital Rights Management (DRM)." From the article: "Now, this isn't a 'vulnerability' in the normal sense of the word: digital rights management is not a feature that users want. Being able to remove copy protection is a good thing for some users, and completely irrelevant for everyone else. No user is ever going to say: 'Oh no. I can now play the music I bought for my PC on my Mac. I must install a patch so I can't do that anymore.' But to Microsoft, this vulnerability is a big deal. It affects the company's relationship with major record labels. It affects the company's product offerings. It affects the company's bottom line. Fixing this 'vulnerability' is in the company's best interest; never mind the customer."
No matter what anyone in your company tries to tell you, this kind of rapid response is EXACTLY what we are clamoring for when we ask that you take security seriously. Please tell your bosses. Thanks...
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
This is not a patch. A patch fixes a problem and makes software usable again.
This takes usable, functioning software (FairUse4WM) and breaks it.
"Patch" my ass, this is a bug, which users are expected to install themselves.
It's not a lie. It's the truth with lossy compression.
In WA state the programmer is a slave to overtime. WA state laws allows busineses to require overtime without having to pay for it on any salaried worker. This is a device of Microsoft. Microsoft lobbied to get he laws changed so that the programmer positions changed.
A programmer is the person who actually, through their very creativity and knowledge, makes the product come into being. This is far different than someone that works as an assembly line worker who just does their small part. Programmers are the reason the products exist. For me, that's the reason I don't work as a programmer. I don't want my blood, sweat, and creativity exploited by companies such as Microsoft that make billions of dollars a quarter on my work.
WA needs to revert back to the laws that allow these programmers to get paid overtime. It is only fair. This isn't a management position and thus should never have been changed. It only happened because Microsoft lobbied to make it happen.
You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.