Archives for October, 2004
Bush-Cheney Campaign to World Internet: You’re a Security Threat
Thursday, October 28th, 2004
As feed subscribers will know, yesterday I added a del.icio.us link about the apparent blocking of all international traffic to George Bush’s official re-election site — non-Americans need not apply. I gave the link a comment along the lines of “Somebody please tell me that this was accidental.
Well, the BBC has followed up, and [...]
Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock
Tuesday, October 26th, 2004
The houses are haunted
By white night-gowns.
None are green,
Or purple with green rings,
Or green with yellow rings,
Or yellow with blue rings.
None of them are strange,
With socks of lace
And beaded ceintures.
People are not going
To dream of baboons and periwinkles.
Only, here and there, an old sailor,
Drunk and asleep in his boots,
Catches tigers
In red weather.
Wallace Stevens, from “Harmonium,” published [...]
No, Seriously, I Have to Stop Posting about Bad Patents
Friday, October 22nd, 2004
It’s not even an issue that I spend a lot of time thinking about, but others keep pointing these things out and I’m invariably horrified. Then I have to share my horror with all of you. Enjoy.
Today’s delight comes via Techdirt, being another little gem filed by Microsoft. The original submitter summarizes [...]
Mars Wants Women
Thursday, October 21st, 2004
…and startup Affini, currently offering a Beta product, wants to stop spam in an exciting new way! Oh, and by the way, they also want you to provide a fair amount of demographic information! And if you want to provide them with information on your paypal account or credit card, you’ll get access [...]
The Ass Patent is Inevitable
Thursday, October 7th, 2004
Techdirt noted this morning that Microsoft has been granted a patent on a game show format. I know that MS is trying to work the IP scene, but really, now — this seems a bit much.
I can imagine the day that this application was filed…MS managers holding departmental meetings, passing out sheets of paper [...]
Quick Hit: Microsoft Lives in Interesting Times
Wednesday, October 6th, 2004
It is apparently unclear whether “may you live in interesting times” is actually an ancient Chinese proverb/curse or the product of a SciFi author’s imagination; whatever the source, it’s a phrase that probably resonates all too well in the halls of Redmond these days.
There’s no question that Windows still dominates the desktop. Windows will [...]
