Sooner or later there will be quite a few people running spyware removers on their Macs thinking "Isn't this why I quit using Windows ?!"
I moved my mom to a Mac and the strangest thing happened one day. She called me and said "I downloaded something (Y! IM) and this warning popped up that I needed an administrator password to install it." This was entirely new to her, because her Windows PC simply ran anything and everything without much warning.
I suppose someday a good virus/spyware/malware coder could find a way to install and execute a program without requiring admin access, but any vulnerability found would be resolved with a patch in a matter of days/weeks. In the meantime the user will have to be somewhat complicit in running malware/spyware/virii by approving the software to be installed/executed.
It's not that I am smug about security, it's simply that the Mac is safe enough for clueless folks like my mom. I do believe that someday (possibly soon) that we will see virii and malware, but I also believe that it will all be related to patchable vulnerabilities as opposed to design/security flaws in the foundation of the OS and how it networks.
They can't legal (sic) say that you can only use their software their hardware.
That is arguably the stupidest thing I've heard so far this year. Either you drastically misunderstood what the "couple of lawyers" said or there are some seriously incompetent lawyers out there.
Perhaps someday someone will come up with a sort of list of "system requirements" to run specific software. Until then, consumers will just have to live in hope that the copy of Windows XP they just purchased will run on their Amiga.
I'm not shocked at all that iTMS tracks my clicks to suggest music - I would be pretty pissed off if they didn't. I don't want to see Perry Como when my purchase/click history suggests I like classic punk.
In this day and age most savvy users are subscribing to and purposely running applications that track their music and suggest new artists, friends and interests. Last.fm? del.icio.us? Are these not useful, positive tools?
If iTunes is "malware" for tracking preferences, certainly the latest wave of social software must be the worst kind of malware - some sort of "mega-malware", if you will. They not only track your preferences, but attach it to your username and then share it with anyone who knows how to operate a browser. *gasp!*
We must stop this malicious software from helping us!
Anheuser-Busch envied the MS contractor model so much that they implemented MS policies, right down to badge colors, contractor term limits and different user-id's mapped to email addresses.
Working there as an "orange badge" is the equivalent to being charitably bussed to an expensive private school from a poor neighborhood. You are an untouchable, not to be socialized with and become the scapegoat for poor management. You don't attend department meetings that directly effect your project and workload, you aren't allowed to attend office parties (even those happening right outside your cube - just getting some cheese from the party tray is firable) and you are reminded daily by ego driven managers that you are disposable trash that has no value to the company. Morale sucked.
I was "disposed of" when a manager was being investigated for sexual harassment reported by a co-worker who was a blue-badger. HR scheduled an interview with me on the matter and days before the interview I was sacked. They provided no reason for my seperation, simply that I was "no longer needed." Nevermind that I was the lead on a major rollout that was nowhere near completion.
I've read several short-sighted responses of "these stupid whiners should be thankful they have a job" and "these orange badgers make crap-tonnes of money." Thanks to a glut of techs on the market when I signed on, I wasn't well compensated and I ended up unemployed for the first time in my life. Due to "orange badge" policies, I was unable to get a reference from AB or anyone who worked there. Oh yeah, I was thankful... thankful my ass!
I worked several contract jobs prior to AB with nothing bad to say about the previous companies or contract work in general. Companies who foster the "orange badge culture", such as Microsoft and Anheuser-Busch, really need to find a better way to integrate contractors into their workforce.
Dear Plextor,
My DVD-R drive motor died after only 30000 hours of constant DVD piracy. Your published specifications clearly state that the MTBF for my unit is 60000 hours. I researched changing the motor out myself, however it is not customer replacable, which I find totally unacceptable for such a complex and expensive electronic device.
Although I've burned over 3000 DVD's since I purchased the unit, you should refund me the full purchase cost of my drive. The drive ran out of warranty last year and I chose not to purchase an extended warranty some years ago, which is entirely your fault. Anything less than a refund will cause me to whine incessantly on/. about how horribly unreliable your top selling, top rated drives really are.
See you in court,
Phil Ken Sebben
Slashdot Mirror
I moved my mom to a Mac and the strangest thing happened one day. She called me and said "I downloaded something (Y! IM) and this warning popped up that I needed an administrator password to install it." This was entirely new to her, because her Windows PC simply ran anything and everything without much warning.
I suppose someday a good virus/spyware/malware coder could find a way to install and execute a program without requiring admin access, but any vulnerability found would be resolved with a patch in a matter of days/weeks. In the meantime the user will have to be somewhat complicit in running malware/spyware/virii by approving the software to be installed/executed.
It's not that I am smug about security, it's simply that the Mac is safe enough for clueless folks like my mom. I do believe that someday (possibly soon) that we will see virii and malware, but I also believe that it will all be related to patchable vulnerabilities as opposed to design/security flaws in the foundation of the OS and how it networks.
That is arguably the stupidest thing I've heard so far this year. Either you drastically misunderstood what the "couple of lawyers" said or there are some seriously incompetent lawyers out there.
Perhaps someday someone will come up with a sort of list of "system requirements" to run specific software. Until then, consumers will just have to live in hope that the copy of Windows XP they just purchased will run on their Amiga.
They won't be happy until we're all wearing white ear buds and listening to militant Islamic artists, like Cat Stevens, on our iPods.
In this day and age most savvy users are subscribing to and purposely running applications that track their music and suggest new artists, friends and interests. Last.fm? del.icio.us? Are these not useful, positive tools?
If iTunes is "malware" for tracking preferences, certainly the latest wave of social software must be the worst kind of malware - some sort of "mega-malware", if you will. They not only track your preferences, but attach it to your username and then share it with anyone who knows how to operate a browser. *gasp!*
We must stop this malicious software from helping us!
Those weren't shipped, they were planted by the B.L.O.
That was far too brilliant to attribute to poor QC at Mattel, which appears to be the case with the preview DVD's.
Anheuser-Busch envied the MS contractor model so much that they implemented MS policies, right down to badge colors, contractor term limits and different user-id's mapped to email addresses.
Working there as an "orange badge" is the equivalent to being charitably bussed to an expensive private school from a poor neighborhood. You are an untouchable, not to be socialized with and become the scapegoat for poor management. You don't attend department meetings that directly effect your project and workload, you aren't allowed to attend office parties (even those happening right outside your cube - just getting some cheese from the party tray is firable) and you are reminded daily by ego driven managers that you are disposable trash that has no value to the company. Morale sucked.
I was "disposed of" when a manager was being investigated for sexual harassment reported by a co-worker who was a blue-badger. HR scheduled an interview with me on the matter and days before the interview I was sacked. They provided no reason for my seperation, simply that I was "no longer needed." Nevermind that I was the lead on a major rollout that was nowhere near completion.
I've read several short-sighted responses of "these stupid whiners should be thankful they have a job" and "these orange badgers make crap-tonnes of money." Thanks to a glut of techs on the market when I signed on, I wasn't well compensated and I ended up unemployed for the first time in my life. Due to "orange badge" policies, I was unable to get a reference from AB or anyone who worked there. Oh yeah, I was thankful... thankful my ass!
I worked several contract jobs prior to AB with nothing bad to say about the previous companies or contract work in general. Companies who foster the "orange badge culture", such as Microsoft and Anheuser-Busch, really need to find a better way to integrate contractors into their workforce.
$4.2 Billion lost *world-wide* to piracy?
What's the US share of that... 5%?
Dear Plextor, My DVD-R drive motor died after only 30000 hours of constant DVD piracy. Your published specifications clearly state that the MTBF for my unit is 60000 hours. I researched changing the motor out myself, however it is not customer replacable, which I find totally unacceptable for such a complex and expensive electronic device. Although I've burned over 3000 DVD's since I purchased the unit, you should refund me the full purchase cost of my drive. The drive ran out of warranty last year and I chose not to purchase an extended warranty some years ago, which is entirely your fault. Anything less than a refund will cause me to whine incessantly on /. about how horribly unreliable your top selling, top rated drives really are.
See you in court,
Phil Ken Sebben