I don't think you need to be a monopoly in the Console market to be profitable - neither Sony, Nintendo, (or Sega or Atari for that matter) ever had what I'd consider a 'monopoly marketshare' and yet all have been (or still are) profitable.
No, not at all (I agree with you). To add to that, the competition is healthy and very good for the consumers.
My point (in my previous posting) is, they're using their position as a monopoly in *another* market to fund their (failing) attempt to dominate this market... this is specifically forbidden by the antitrust law I'm looking for (still).
"Reminds me of the time 25 years ago me and Dad were replacing the brakes on my old Datsun 510 and blew out the brake residue with compressed air. Dusty."
Yeah, any time you blow your nose and it comes out black, you have to wonder how much ended up in your lungs!
Back during one of MS's $1B loss (on Xbox) statements, someone posted the relevant portion of the law against abusing a monopoly... could someone who knows where to find this info either post a link to a site with the laws available, or post a reply with the relevant info, please?
The basic jist of it (from memory, it was a year or 2 ago), was "using one's position and finances within one market to attempt to dominate another, unrelated market" or something like that. I'm almost positive it specifically mentioned losses for an extended period of time (proving the company won't be able to profit in the new market until its competition is dominated).
No kidding... that's exactly why they bribed...er "settled out of court with" the owners of Lindows. They didn't have a chance of keeping the "Windows" trademark if it went to court.
Having an entry in the USPTO database DOES mean they have a registered trademark... which is what I was replying about. What do you think the United States Patent & Trademark Office is for?
Sounds like he's a nutball grammar-nazi then. Or are you saying that he's "pro-bleach"?
Would you prefer the phrasing "requires a small fraction of the bleaching and toxic chemicals that wood-pulp does"?
Either way it is phrased, it is a very strong financial and environmental arguement.
And as I stated twice in my post (that you and others replied to and ignored), I'm not a pothead... and never have been. I'm referring to the _non-THC_ producing strains of hemp, same as used in the rope you buy at home depot (no, not the yellow crap, that's polypropylene).
It's bad enough when you have to work in the same department with someone like this, but to report directly to them?
I worked for a huge corporation for 8 years, and when one person was hired and decided I was a threat to his position and proceeded to repeatedly sabotage my work and reputation... it got ugly. This person buddied up to management (literally, taking them golfing and out on his boat, etc.) and with little nagging here and there, eventually convinced them that I was the problem, not him. I got out in time... I left that company and got a ~50% raise in the process.
Upon submitting my 2 week notice, I posted this outside my cubicle... no-one took it down.
Almost immediately after I left, I ended up hearing that he targetted another in the group (since I was no longer there to be the scapegoat for his mistakes). Unfortunately for him, this guy had a phenomenal reputation in the company that spanned many levels (so it finally backfired).
The "moral of the story" is basically... you're in a "no-win situation". This person is not only going to have a negative effect on your psyche over that period of time, but he's going to have a negative effect on your reputation, making it more difficult to get another job anyways. This is, of course, if he doesn't fire you first... which will make it even more difficult to find another job.
My recommendation is to polish your resume and post it immediately... it only gets worse.
E) Pulp does not require hardly any bleaching or even a tiny fraction of the toxic chemicals wood-pulp requires to process.
E.1) No toxic chemicals to expensively dispose of (less pollution).
F) Pulp requires a fraction of the processing compared to wood-pulp.
G) Same (non-THC-producing) hemp grown for rope and clothing can be used... existing/established farming methods.
H) Requires _much_ less fertile ground (no fertilizer) for growing... technically it _is_ a weed (not just a nickname).
H.1)...as a side-effect to H, will grow in much less expensive land. Heck, add water and it'll grow in a desert.
I) Requires much less expensive processing equipment to farm (ground requires drastically less/no tilling, collection can be done with hay-baling equipment instead of heavy trucks and tree-cutting machinery, etc.).
I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
Note the reference to a non-THC-producing strain... I'm not into pot, but I certainly can see a phenomenal idea when I see one (seen this one many years ago).
They did not trademark "Windows Operating System". They trademarked "Windows" as it relates to a GUI interface for computers.
Don't believe me? Go to http://uspto.gov and click on the trademark search link on the left. Next click on "Structured Form Search (Boolean)". Now type "windows" in the first field, select "non-punctuated word mark" and "AND" in the option-bars to the right, then fill in "microsoft" in the bottom bar and "owner" for the corresponding option-bar.
Microsoft has trademarked the term "Windows" under a ridiculous number of circumstances... including the use of Windows in CARS! (registration number 2565965)
Please tell me what other computer related software, applications, theme, idea, etc. is, or ever has been called "java".
Microsoft does not sue people who sell panes of glass for houses... as that is not what the trademark itself refers to OR how tradmark law works. It refers to a computer graphical user interface.
That's the difference... the term Microsoft trademarked was already in WIDESPREAD USE before they decided to even come up with their own version.
Look at the date of MS Windows 1.0. Now look at the release date for X10 and X11... or their predecessor W (for... you guessed it: Windows!). How about SunView? These are only examples of ones used commercially... many others were hobbiest or research-based.
Sounds like the server was VERY poorly configured.
The Sun Ray device itself does not determine the performance. Any lag or performance issue will be due to a severely overloaded server, or poorly configured network.
I've set up multiple labs for universities, and they love them... no performance problems at all.
Try a different approach... instead of having to log in and out of a web page each time, log in once (per shift) and take your session with you.
The Sun Ray will allow you to log in using both your smartcard and your login/password combo. Once logged in, you can launch your web browser and log into whatever you need (and whatever other apps you need). Now, if you need to run away... just yank out your smartcard and the Sun Ray is available to someone else (they have to login at this point). When you got back, or to another Sun Ray, just slap your smartcard in, and type in your password, and everything is still running (on the Sun Ray Server), but the display has been redirected to where-ever you are.
This does not put applications to sleep, they stay running the whole time, it's only the display that's been redirected. This is called "hot-desking" and is incredibly handy.
Sun has a bunch of info on their Sun Ray web page... be sure to take a look at the tour on the right side.
They're very inexpensive, and if one breaks, you treat it like a telephone... you just plug a new one in and it is instantly available! (zero desktop maintenance)
They didn't extort money from Microsoft! Microsoft OFFERED them money to kill off the lawsuit that Lindows launched to try and revoke their illegal "Windows" trademark. In this sense, Microsoft "legally" bribed them to not go to court... think about that for a minute.
The term "windows" (to mean a paned graphical user interface) was in use for _many_years_ before Microsoft decided to claim it as their own.
Microsoft threw their weight around to get this trademark.
Do you think it's fair that giga-corporations can patent and trademark anything they feel like just because they have more money than a smaller company?
Linspire accepts Microsoft's claim that "Windows" is a Microsoft trademark. Is it? I doubt it as generic terms are not trademarkable. I think "Microsoft Windows" is trademarked.
Yes, "Windows" is a Microsoft tradmark. That's what the whole lawsuit was about. They called it "Lindows", not "Licrosoft Lindows".;)
Frankly, I think it sucks that they ceded to this, as "Windows" should _never_ have been trademarked, as it had been in use for the exact same meaning for many years before Microsoft decided to "invent" it.
Unfortunately, lots of generic terms are trademarked... all it takes is money and power.
You can get ATI All-In-Wonder remotes fairly cheaply online (ebay, for example) without the card.
They are supported in the stock 2.6 kernels, and if you're running 2.4, there's an external module you can compile.
From the system's standpoint, it's a HID device that functions as both a mouse (with the joypad and a couple buttons) and a keyboard (the rest of the buttons... so there's no interfacing involved.
The best thing about this remote is it is NOT IR, it is in fact RF, so the range is MUCH better (you can walk around the room) and you don't have to point it at the machine every time you want to do anything with it (you can even have it in your pocket if you want, though you'd have to wear loose clothes).
That might fly in Michigan (big union state, where I grew up), but Florida is a non-union state and very much a republican state... making such a thing practically impossible.
Unions go in both directions, so I have mixed feelings about them.
If there's work, great for every employee. You always get a raise for hard work, but then so do the slackers that barely get their job done, so there's hardly an incentive to be the best.
If there isn't work, you are NOT allowed to compete and you starve.
My brother is an electrician in Michigan, and royally screwed lately due to the drastic cutbacks in construction up there. He has to put himself on a waiting list... first-come, first-served. If he tries to get a job without going through the union's waiting list, he can get blacklisted and will either have to change carreers or move to a non-union state.
At the same time, unions are practically required to keep giga-corporations from abusing their employees... hence the United Auto Workers.
I'm not sure where to find the "happy medium" on that topic.
The problem is much more common and much more widespread than this.
A good friend of mine works for Motorola as a developer. He is expected to work more hours than I would believe if he wasn't at work every time I call him. He works nearly every weekend, all weekend, frequently comes home around 2-3am (gets to work 8:30am I think) on any day, etc. ALL WITHOUT ANY OVERTIME OF ANY KIND! He likes to say he's "allowed to work all the time". I tell him it sounds more like he's forced to, but he corrects me on that saying it isn't true. When I ask him if he'd get fired if he didn't work those hours they're "asking" him to work, he says "yes" without hesitation. Sounds forced to me.
He says that Florida has some law that allows this behaviour of "non-exempt" employees. Yeah, stupid term - I have no idea where they came up with it or what they are not "exempt" from.
Another example is my uncle... who works for NCR as a hardware field tech. He works 2-4 COUNTIES away from his home, while people in those counties work in HIS. He has also been forced (for years) to falsify his timsheets to show 40 hours, even though he typically works 70-90. He also is forced to work 10 days, then take 4 days off (this would drive me nuts, but at least they give him time off, unlike my friend above).
Both situations are 100% due to poor planning by idiotic management (I worked in one of these companies for 8 years, I know).
This also shows that it is not only not limited to the game-developement world, but not limited to program developers. This is a growing problem in this country, and it is due to our rewarding people based on their B.S. skills rather than their _real_ skills. It's that way in big companies, and it's that way in our government.
Unfortunately, I have yet to hear of a way to remedy the situation... it's in our culture.
True, while this is a slight possibility, it is _very_ slight (as in life-on-mars slight), the likelyhood of this being a sudden all-at-once problem for an ENTIRE SITE, is... miniscule (as in life-on-the-moon).
I've worked in many server rooms with raised floors and zinc-plated support structures... many of which were so old they still had the (grandfathered) HALON systems in place.
NEVER have I seen a problem of this sort. And most of these places have been fairly close to the beach in South Florida (read: humid and salty).
As far as killing a power-supply by shorting across one of its ICs... I'm quite sure you didn't accidentally short it with a resistor, it was a screwdriver, wasn't it?
I'm tired of typing this: The fibers they are talking about are TOO SMALL TO BE SEEN WITH THE NAKED EYE, that is the definition of "microscopic". The amount of current required to vaporize a filament of this dimention (made of a poor conductor such as zinc) is miniscule!
As I said before, if they said it was causing bit-errors by contacting the data-bus, it'd be believable, but even the control ICs in power-supplies can sink more than a few tenths of a micro-amp!
No, _I_ mentioned aluminum, as aluminum has the properties you describe, not zinc.
Zinc turns to powder when weathered. Aluminum does not (unless heavily exposed to salt-water).
Zinc will melt in the heat of a small gasoline fire (my cousin is a klutz and melted his bike's carb into a puddle). Aluminum requires DRASTICALLY more heat to melt.
My point is, zinc DOES oxidize readily, especially when the surface area is great (what I've said repeatedly).
First, I've done the 9V battery to steel-wool trick more times than I can count, and I've _NEVER_ seen any metal welded to the terminals.
Zinc != aluminum.
Aluminum oxide insulates it from further oxidation.
Zinc, on the other hand, is used as a sacrificial anode for electrolytic corrosion. To do this, it must oxidize MORE readily than iron.
I've seen plenty of carbuerators that were pitted to the point of being useless that have never been near any beach. (the vast majority of carbs are cast from zinc as it's a very cheap metal and very easy to cast... low thermal expansion rate makes it stable in molds)
Either way you look at it, zinc DOES oxidize and zinc does have a low melting and low boiling point... these ultra-fine fibers would not be able to short a power-supply, ask anyone who's ever studied electronics! IT CAN'T HAPPEN.
Q: You know what you call a super-fine fiber connected to a high-current source?
Have you ever touched a 9V battery to a pile of steel-wool?
In case you haven't... the steel wool (which is many thousands of times thicker than the micro-fibers we're talking about here) instantly ignites and burns, even though the 9V battery has a tiny fraction of the current capability of a computer's power-supply. The amount of current that is tapped is miniscule, as the fibers that are actually MAKING the contact are instantly destroyed.
The remains are non-conductive, as they are completely oxidized.
Any metal that oxidizes will, when in small enough form (ie: dust or fibers) becomes extremely flamable. Witness the powdered aluminum and magnesium used in fireworks for a good example.
BTW: if anyone decides to try the steel-wool thing, it is very cool looking, but don't do it over carpeting or anything flamable! Also, it won't work if it's coated with soap (brillo/SOS pads). The finer the wool, the more dramatic the effect... try some 00 from a hobby shop.:)
I notice the article does not mention what operating system they are running.
My bet is it's a recent Microsoft virus/worm hit and they're too embarrassed to admit it (or stupid to realize they're being conned by a cleaning company).
Capacitors (electrolytics, anyways) go bad over time, that's a given. I just replaced a pair of 680uF 180V caps in the power supply of my Deskjet 1600CM, as they failed catastrophically, but it had nothing to do with zinc whiskers.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't think you need to be a monopoly in the Console market to be profitable - neither Sony, Nintendo, (or Sega or Atari for that matter) ever had what I'd consider a 'monopoly marketshare' and yet all have been (or still are) profitable.
No, not at all (I agree with you).
To add to that, the competition is healthy and very good for the consumers.
My point (in my previous posting) is, they're using their position as a monopoly in *another* market to fund their (failing) attempt to dominate this market... this is specifically forbidden by the antitrust law I'm looking for (still).
"Reminds me of the time 25 years ago me and Dad were replacing the brakes on my old Datsun 510 and blew out the brake residue with compressed air. Dusty."
Yeah, any time you blow your nose and it comes out black, you have to wonder how much ended up in your lungs!
Been there, done that... a lot more careful now.
Back during one of MS's $1B loss (on Xbox) statements, someone posted the relevant portion of the law against abusing a monopoly... could someone who knows where to find this info either post a link to a site with the laws available, or post a reply with the relevant info, please?
The basic jist of it (from memory, it was a year or 2 ago), was "using one's position and finances within one market to attempt to dominate another, unrelated market" or something like that. I'm almost positive it specifically mentioned losses for an extended period of time (proving the company won't be able to profit in the new market until its competition is dominated).
No kidding... that's exactly why they bribed
They didn't have a chance of keeping the "Windows" trademark if it went to court.
Having an entry in the USPTO database DOES mean they have a registered trademark... which is what I was replying about.
What do you think the United States Patent & Trademark Office is for?
I'm just trying to give you a little constructive criticism on your methods of advocacy.
Heh, I'm not a hemp-advocate, an activist, or even a politician... but I'll take your seeing me as such as a compliment to my debating skills.
I just figured I'd jump in and add a few tidbits to someone else's arguement.
Sounds like he's a nutball grammar-nazi then.
Or are you saying that he's "pro-bleach"?
Would you prefer the phrasing "requires a small fraction of the bleaching and toxic chemicals that wood-pulp does"?
Either way it is phrased, it is a very strong financial and environmental arguement.
And as I stated twice in my post (that you and others replied to and ignored), I'm not a pothead... and never have been.
I'm referring to the _non-THC_ producing strains of hemp, same as used in the rope you buy at home depot (no, not the yellow crap, that's polypropylene).
It's bad enough when you have to work in the same department with someone like this, but to report directly to them?
I worked for a huge corporation for 8 years, and when one person was hired and decided I was a threat to his position and proceeded to repeatedly sabotage my work and reputation... it got ugly.
This person buddied up to management (literally, taking them golfing and out on his boat, etc.) and with little nagging here and there, eventually convinced them that I was the problem, not him.
I got out in time... I left that company and got a ~50% raise in the process.
Upon submitting my 2 week notice, I posted this outside my cubicle... no-one took it down.
Almost immediately after I left, I ended up hearing that he targetted another in the group (since I was no longer there to be the scapegoat for his mistakes). Unfortunately for him, this guy had a phenomenal reputation in the company that spanned many levels (so it finally backfired).
The "moral of the story" is basically... you're in a "no-win situation". This person is not only going to have a negative effect on your psyche over that period of time, but he's going to have a negative effect on your reputation, making it more difficult to get another job anyways.
This is, of course, if he doesn't fire you first... which will make it even more difficult to find another job.
My recommendation is to polish your resume and post it immediately... it only gets worse.
E) Pulp does not require hardly any bleaching or even a tiny fraction of the toxic chemicals wood-pulp requires to process.
E.1) No toxic chemicals to expensively dispose of (less pollution).
F) Pulp requires a fraction of the processing compared to wood-pulp.
G) Same (non-THC-producing) hemp grown for rope and clothing can be used... existing/established farming methods.
H) Requires _much_ less fertile ground (no fertilizer) for growing... technically it _is_ a weed (not just a nickname).
H.1)
I) Requires much less expensive processing equipment to farm (ground requires drastically less/no tilling, collection can be done with hay-baling equipment instead of heavy trucks and tree-cutting machinery, etc.).
I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
Note the reference to a non-THC-producing strain... I'm not into pot, but I certainly can see a phenomenal idea when I see one (seen this one many years ago).
WRONG.
They did not trademark "Windows Operating System".
They trademarked "Windows" as it relates to a GUI interface for computers.
Don't believe me?
Go to http://uspto.gov and click on the trademark search link on the left.
Next click on "Structured Form Search (Boolean)".
Now type "windows" in the first field, select "non-punctuated word mark" and "AND" in the option-bars to the right, then fill in "microsoft" in the bottom bar and "owner" for the corresponding option-bar.
Microsoft has trademarked the term "Windows" under a ridiculous number of circumstances... including the use of Windows in CARS! (registration number 2565965)
OK, I'll play along to the obvious troll.
Please tell me what other computer related software, applications, theme, idea, etc. is, or ever has been called "java".
Microsoft does not sue people who sell panes of glass for houses... as that is not what the trademark itself refers to OR how tradmark law works.
It refers to a computer graphical user interface.
That's the difference... the term Microsoft trademarked was already in WIDESPREAD USE before they decided to even come up with their own version.
Look at the date of MS Windows 1.0.
Now look at the release date for X10 and X11... or their predecessor W (for... you guessed it: Windows!).
How about SunView?
These are only examples of ones used commercially... many others were hobbiest or research-based.
Sounds like the server was VERY poorly configured.
The Sun Ray device itself does not determine the performance.
Any lag or performance issue will be due to a severely overloaded server, or poorly configured network.
I've set up multiple labs for universities, and they love them... no performance problems at all.
Try a different approach... instead of having to log in and out of a web page each time, log in once (per shift) and take your session with you.
The Sun Ray will allow you to log in using both your smartcard and your login/password combo.
Once logged in, you can launch your web browser and log into whatever you need (and whatever other apps you need).
Now, if you need to run away... just yank out your smartcard and the Sun Ray is available to someone else (they have to login at this point).
When you got back, or to another Sun Ray, just slap your smartcard in, and type in your password, and everything is still running (on the Sun Ray Server), but the display has been redirected to where-ever you are.
This does not put applications to sleep, they stay running the whole time, it's only the display that's been redirected.
This is called "hot-desking" and is incredibly handy.
Sun has a bunch of info on their Sun Ray web page... be sure to take a look at the tour on the right side.
They're very inexpensive, and if one breaks, you treat it like a telephone... you just plug a new one in and it is instantly available! (zero desktop maintenance)
Too late... "Doors" is an existing software development/management package.... they'd likely sue your lips off.
They didn't extort money from Microsoft!
Microsoft OFFERED them money to kill off the lawsuit that Lindows launched to try and revoke their illegal "Windows" trademark.
In this sense, Microsoft "legally" bribed them to not go to court... think about that for a minute.
The term "windows" (to mean a paned graphical user interface) was in use for _many_years_ before Microsoft decided to claim it as their own.
Microsoft threw their weight around to get this trademark.
Do you think it's fair that giga-corporations can patent and trademark anything they feel like just because they have more money than a smaller company?
Linspire accepts Microsoft's claim that "Windows" is a Microsoft trademark. Is it? I doubt it as generic terms are not trademarkable. I think "Microsoft Windows" is trademarked.
Yes, "Windows" is a Microsoft tradmark.
That's what the whole lawsuit was about.
They called it "Lindows", not "Licrosoft Lindows".
Frankly, I think it sucks that they ceded to this, as "Windows" should _never_ have been trademarked, as it had been in use for the exact same meaning for many years before Microsoft decided to "invent" it.
Unfortunately, lots of generic terms are trademarked... all it takes is money and power.
You can get ATI All-In-Wonder remotes fairly cheaply online (ebay, for example) without the card.
They are supported in the stock 2.6 kernels, and if you're running 2.4, there's an external module you can compile.
From the system's standpoint, it's a HID device that functions as both a mouse (with the joypad and a couple buttons) and a keyboard (the rest of the buttons... so there's no interfacing involved.
The best thing about this remote is it is NOT IR, it is in fact RF, so the range is MUCH better (you can walk around the room) and you don't have to point it at the machine every time you want to do anything with it (you can even have it in your pocket if you want, though you'd have to wear loose clothes).
That might fly in Michigan (big union state, where I grew up), but Florida is a non-union state and very much a republican state... making such a thing practically impossible.
Unions go in both directions, so I have mixed feelings about them.
If there's work, great for every employee.
You always get a raise for hard work, but then so do the slackers that barely get their job done, so there's hardly an incentive to be the best.
If there isn't work, you are NOT allowed to compete and you starve.
My brother is an electrician in Michigan, and royally screwed lately due to the drastic cutbacks in construction up there.
He has to put himself on a waiting list... first-come, first-served.
If he tries to get a job without going through the union's waiting list, he can get blacklisted and will either have to change carreers or move to a non-union state.
At the same time, unions are practically required to keep giga-corporations from abusing their employees... hence the United Auto Workers.
I'm not sure where to find the "happy medium" on that topic.
The problem is much more common and much more widespread than this.
A good friend of mine works for Motorola as a developer.
He is expected to work more hours than I would believe if he wasn't at work every time I call him.
He works nearly every weekend, all weekend, frequently comes home around 2-3am (gets to work 8:30am I think) on any day, etc.
ALL WITHOUT ANY OVERTIME OF ANY KIND!
He likes to say he's "allowed to work all the time".
I tell him it sounds more like he's forced to, but he corrects me on that saying it isn't true. When I ask him if he'd get fired if he didn't work those hours they're "asking" him to work, he says "yes" without hesitation.
Sounds forced to me.
He says that Florida has some law that allows this behaviour of "non-exempt" employees. Yeah, stupid term - I have no idea where they came up with it or what they are not "exempt" from.
Another example is my uncle... who works for NCR as a hardware field tech.
He works 2-4 COUNTIES away from his home, while people in those counties work in HIS.
He has also been forced (for years) to falsify his timsheets to show 40 hours, even though he typically works 70-90.
He also is forced to work 10 days, then take 4 days off (this would drive me nuts, but at least they give him time off, unlike my friend above).
Both situations are 100% due to poor planning by idiotic management (I worked in one of these companies for 8 years, I know).
This also shows that it is not only not limited to the game-developement world, but not limited to program developers.
This is a growing problem in this country, and it is due to our rewarding people based on their B.S. skills rather than their _real_ skills.
It's that way in big companies, and it's that way in our government.
Unfortunately, I have yet to hear of a way to remedy the situation... it's in our culture.
What about this?
And it's nothing compared to this!
True, while this is a slight possibility, it is _very_ slight (as in life-on-mars slight), the likelyhood of this being a sudden all-at-once problem for an ENTIRE SITE, is... miniscule (as in life-on-the-moon).
I've worked in many server rooms with raised floors and zinc-plated support structures... many of which were so old they still had the (grandfathered) HALON systems in place.
NEVER have I seen a problem of this sort.
And most of these places have been fairly close to the beach in South Florida (read: humid and salty).
As far as killing a power-supply by shorting across one of its ICs... I'm quite sure you didn't accidentally short it with a resistor, it was a screwdriver, wasn't it?
I'm tired of typing this: The fibers they are talking about are TOO SMALL TO BE SEEN WITH THE NAKED EYE, that is the definition of "microscopic".
The amount of current required to vaporize a filament of this dimention (made of a poor conductor such as zinc) is miniscule!
As I said before, if they said it was causing bit-errors by contacting the data-bus, it'd be believable, but even the control ICs in power-supplies can sink more than a few tenths of a micro-amp!
No, _I_ mentioned aluminum, as aluminum has the properties you describe, not zinc.
Zinc turns to powder when weathered.
Aluminum does not (unless heavily exposed to salt-water).
Zinc will melt in the heat of a small gasoline fire (my cousin is a klutz and melted his bike's carb into a puddle).
Aluminum requires DRASTICALLY more heat to melt.
My point is, zinc DOES oxidize readily, especially when the surface area is great (what I've said repeatedly).
First, I've done the 9V battery to steel-wool trick more times than I can count, and I've _NEVER_ seen any metal welded to the terminals.
Zinc != aluminum.
Aluminum oxide insulates it from further oxidation.
Zinc, on the other hand, is used as a sacrificial anode for electrolytic corrosion.
To do this, it must oxidize MORE readily than iron.
I've seen plenty of carbuerators that were pitted to the point of being useless that have never been near any beach. (the vast majority of carbs are cast from zinc as it's a very cheap metal and very easy to cast... low thermal expansion rate makes it stable in molds)
Either way you look at it, zinc DOES oxidize and zinc does have a low melting and low boiling point... these ultra-fine fibers would not be able to short a power-supply, ask anyone who's ever studied electronics!
IT CAN'T HAPPEN.
Q: You know what you call a super-fine fiber connected to a high-current source?
A: A FUSE.
Have you ever touched a 9V battery to a pile of steel-wool?
In case you haven't... the steel wool (which is many thousands of times thicker than the micro-fibers we're talking about here) instantly ignites and burns, even though the 9V battery has a tiny fraction of the current capability of a computer's power-supply. The amount of current that is tapped is miniscule, as the fibers that are actually MAKING the contact are instantly destroyed.
The remains are non-conductive, as they are completely oxidized.
Any metal that oxidizes will, when in small enough form (ie: dust or fibers) becomes extremely flamable. Witness the powdered aluminum and magnesium used in fireworks for a good example.
BTW: if anyone decides to try the steel-wool thing, it is very cool looking, but don't do it over carpeting or anything flamable! Also, it won't work if it's coated with soap (brillo/SOS pads). The finer the wool, the more dramatic the effect... try some 00 from a hobby shop.
I notice the article does not mention what operating system they are running.
My bet is it's a recent Microsoft virus/worm hit and they're too embarrassed to admit it (or stupid to realize they're being conned by a cleaning company).
See my other posting as to why it can't be these whiskers.
Capacitors (electrolytics, anyways) go bad over time, that's a given.
I just replaced a pair of 680uF 180V caps in the power supply of my Deskjet 1600CM, as they failed catastrophically, but it had nothing to do with zinc whiskers.