Could Microsoft be trying to acquire TomTom?

URL: http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2009-02-27-005-35-OP-BZ-LL

Cyber Cynic: "I've been talking to a lot of smart people about the Microsoft/TomTom lawsuit. One thing we all pretty much agree on is that this lawsuit doesn't make a lot of sense."

Microsoft admits to, defends banning Lesbian Xbox Live user

URL: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/aw3sdrqhPPw/microsoft-admits-to-defends-banning-lesbian-xbox-live-user.ars

Fighting harassment in the online world is a tricky problem, as is dealing with a diverse community. Sony found this out firsthand when there was a backlash against Home, its free online service, when it was discovered that the very words "gay" and "Jew" were deemed too offensive to be uttered. Now Xbox Live is in the spotlight, as a woman was banned, and harassed, simply for noting she was a lesbian in her profile.

"I had a similar incident," the woman wrote to the Consumerist, after reading about a man banned for having the word "gay" in his profile. "Only my account was suspended because I had said in my profile that I was a lesbian. I was harassed by several players, 'chased' to different maps/games to get away from their harassment. They followed me into the games and told all the other players to turn me in because they didn't want to see that crap or their kids to see that crap."

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Microsoft sues TomTom over Linux and other patent claims

URL: http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2009-02-26-009-35-NW-MS-LL

TechFlash: "Microsoft filed suit against TomTom today, alleging that the in-car navigation company's devices violate eight of its patents -- including three that relate to TomTom's implementation of the Linux kernel."

Microsoft erra em rescisões de contrato e pede dinheiro de volta

URL: http://redir.folha.com.br/redir/online/folha/informatica/rss091/*http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/informatica/ult124u509034.shtml

Um mês após anunciar o primeiro corte em massa de funcionários em sua história, a Microsoft percebeu que falhou em uma parte-chave da estratégia para corte de gastos --a empresa pagou mais do que o planejado para algumas das pessoas demitidas. Por isso, chegou a pedir o dinheiro de volta, mas acabou desistindo da medida. A Microsoft enviou cartas a ex-funcionários pedindo que o dinheiro excedente fosse devolvido. Entretanto, diante da repercussão negativa, decidiu que eles poderiam ficar com a quantia. Lisa Brummel, vice-presidente sênior da empresa para recursos humanos, afirma que as cartas foram enviadas para 25 das 1.400 pessoas demitidas em janeiro. A maior parte das pessoas com dinheiro extra ganhou de US$ 4.000 a US$ 5.000 a mais, afirma Brummel. A executiva diz que tomou conhecimento das cartas durante o fim de semana, depois que o caso apareceu em post do blog TechCrunch. "Eu decidi que isso não era correto." Leia mais (25/02/2009 - 10h07)

Zero-Day Excel Exploit In the Wild

URL: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/czkjnq5I9LU/article.pl

snydeq writes "Microsoft Excel has a zero-day vulnerability that attackers are exploiting on the Internet, according to security vendor Symantec. The problem affects Excel 2007 both without and with Service Pack 1, according to an advisory on SecurityFocus, and other versions going back to Excel 2000. The program's vulnerability can be exploited if a user opens a maliciously crafted Excel file, allowing a hacker to leave a Trojan horse on the infected system."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

New Conficker Variant Increases Its Flexibility

URL: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/45kgYzX1MsU/article.pl

CWmike writes "Criminals behind the widespread Conficker worm have released a new version that could signal a major shift in the way the malware operates. The new variant, dubbed Conficker B++, was spotted three days ago by SRI International researchers, who published details of the new code on Thursday. To the untrained eye, the new variant looks almost identical to the previous version of the worm, Conficker B. But the B++ variant uses new techniques to download software, giving its creators more flexibility in what they can do with infected machines."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft.com Makes IE8 Incompatibility List!

URL: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/9omVuufejQ4/article.pl

nickull writes "Microsoft is tracking incompatible Web sites for its upcoming Internet Explorer 8 browser and has posted a list that now contains about 2,400 names — including Microsoft.com. Apparently, even though Microsoft's IE8 team is doing the 'right' thing by finally making IE more standards-compliant, they are risking 'breaking the Web' because the vast majority of Web sites are still written to work correctly with previous, non-standards-compliant versions of IE."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Hackers Jump On Newest IE7 Bug

URL: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/BPvfhhIaFjc/article.pl

CWmike writes "Attackers are already exploiting a bug in Internet Explorer 7 that Microsoft patched just last week, security researchers warned today. Although the attacks are currently in 'very, very small numbers,' they may be just the forerunner of a larger campaign, said Trend Micro's Jamz Yaneza. 'I see this as a proof-of-concept,' said Yaneza, who noted that the exploit's payload is extremely straightforward and explained that there has been no attempt to mask it by, say, planting a root kit on the victimized PC at the same time. 'I wouldn't be surprised to see this [exploit] show up in one of those Chinese exploit kits,' he added. The new attack code, which Trend Micro dubbed 'XML_Dloadr.a,' arrives in a spam message as a malicious file masquerading as a Microsoft Word document."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Usuária processa Microsoft por cobrar downgrade do Vista para o XP - IDG Now!

URL: http://idgnow.uol.com.br/mercado/2009/02/13/usuaria-processa-microsoft-por-cobrar-downgrade-do-vista-para-o-xp

PC World

Usuária processa Microsoft por cobrar downgrade do Vista para o XP IDG Now! - Feb 13, 2009 Nova York - Norte-americana pede taxa de volta e diz que empresa abusa de seu poder de mercado, além de infringir leis de Washington. Uma norte-americana iniciou um processo contra a Microsoft relacionado à taxa de 59,25 dólares cobrada para fazer o ... PC WORLD » Dicas » Saiba o que fazer em caso de perda de senha do ... PC World Upgrade barato deve esvaziar Vista em 2010 Info Online Geek - Geek - IDG Now! all 11 news articles

Microsoft Sued Over Vista-To-XP Downgrade Fees

URL: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/7M7xs6kKbpY/article.pl

Krojack writes with this excerpt from Computerworld: "Los Angeles resident Emma Alvarado charged Microsoft with multiple violations of Washington state's unfair business practices and consumer protection laws over its policy of barring computer makers from continuing to offer XP on new PCs after Vista's early-2007 launch. Alvarado is seeking compensatory damages and wants the case declared a class-action suit. ... Irked at having to pay a fee for downgrading a new Lenovo notebook to XP, Alvarado said that Microsoft had used its position as the dominant operating system maker to 'require consumers to purchase computers pre-installed with the Vista operating system and to pay additional sums to "downgrade" to the Windows XP operating system.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft Offers $250,000 Reward to Catch Worm Authors

URL: http://www.dailytech.com/Microsoft+Offers+250000+Reward+to+Catch+Worm+Authors+/article14262.htm

The worm continues to infect a large number of computers while security experts try and figure out what to do

Cuba adota software livre por razões de soberania

URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/NoticiasLinux/~3/537682191/nl1234401870.html

"Cuba lançou esta semana sua variante do sistema operacional de fonte aberta Linux, o passo mais firme da ilha até agora para dar as costas ao Windows, por motivos de soberania tecnológica e segurança nacional. O "Nova" é uma alternativa ao sistema operacional da gigante do software Microsoft, que as autoridades comunistas da ilha consideram como pouco confiável."

Fonte: http://tecnologia.terra.com.br/interna/0,,OI3509809-EI4801,00.html

Study finds horrible working conditions at Microsoft, Dell ODM factory

URL: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/11/study-finds-horrible-working-conditions-at-microsoft-dell-odm-f/

Despite the fact that the world economy is suffering from cutbacks in nearly every job sector, factory workers in places such as the Meitai factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China -- which assembles and produces keyboards for companies including Lenovo, Microsoft, Dell, HP and IBM -- have been relatively insulated from the downturn, and their jobs secure. The National Labor Committee has conducted a covert operation to investigate the working conditions at the factory, however, and found them to be less than acceptable. The workers -- who arguably are not compensated very well to begin with -- are cheated out of wages for negligible wrongdoing, forced into overtime, fed food that even a Dickens character would refuse, work twelve hours a day seven days a week, and sleep in dorms which are "primitive" (yes, workers live at the factory). The report that the NLC has compiled is quite long, detailed, depressing, and begins, ironically, with a Bill Gates quote. Hit the read link for the full story.

[Via Boing Boing]

Filed under: Peripherals

Study finds horrible working conditions at Microsoft, Dell ODM factory originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Average User Only Runs 2 Apps, So Microsoft Will Charge for More

URL: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/TA-ep9yP3Io/article.pl

Barence writes "Microsoft's decision to limit Windows 7 Starter Edition to running only three concurrent applications could force up the price of netbooks as many manufacturers opt for the more expensive Home Premium. The three-app rule includes applications running in the background but excludes antivirus, and the company claims most users wouldn't be affected by the limit. 'We ran a study which suggested that the average consumer has open just over two applications [at any time]. We would expect the limit of three applications wouldn't affect very many people.' However, Microsoft told journalists at last year's Professional Developers Conference that 70% of Windows users have between eight and 15 windows open at any one time."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft's long, slow decline continues

URL: http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2009-02-04-016-35-NW-BZ-MS

Practical Technology: "Now, Windows is down to 88.26%. Mac OS X is within touching distance of 10% and Linux is still hanging in there with 0.83%."

Bill Gates on Linux@Intel: "This Huge Driver Group Scares Me."

URL: http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2009-02-04-014-35-OS-HW-KN

BoycottNovell: "Is Intel planning to write drivers for Linux? This huge driver group scares me. Its them doing something we should do and they will do it cross OS in a way that could be a real problem for us."

Windows Vista roda em menos de 10% dos computadores corporativos - Autor(João Brunelli Moreno)

URL: http://uoltecnologia.blog.uol.com.br/arch2009-02-01_2009-02-07.html#2009_02-02_17_29_01-133915325-0

Às vesperas do final de sua vida útil, o Windows Vista ainda está longe da popularidade do XP entre os usuários corporativos. De Leia mais...

Windows 7 UAC Leaves Door Open for Attacks

URL: http://www.dailytech.com/Windows+7+UAC+Leaves+Door+Open+for+Attacks/article14127.htm

Microsoft insists big Windows 7 security hole will not be fixed, is "by design"