In commemorating the end of IBM’s PC-making saga, I offer a trip down memory lane, to the machine that arguably started the revolution, and planted the seed for making Bill Gates a very rich man.
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Apple doesn’t like when you Think Different<sup>TM</sup>
Remember when Apple wanted people to “Think different?” Yeah well, in case you didn’t know, it’s all lip service. In yet another instance of Apple being very protective of how people use its products, one guy decided to use an Apple product to think differently, and Apple just didn’t like it:
EBay removed a modified U2 iPod from its auctions Monday after Apple Computer complained of copyright violations, to the wonder of several intellectual-property attorneys.
Francis Hwang, an artist and director of technology at Rhizome.org, purchased a U2 iPod and loaded it up with seven albums from Negativland, a collage band that mixes original music with audiovisual clips from other artists and corporations. Hwang wanted to make an artistic statement about sampling and free culture, and planned to donate the proceeds of the sale to Downhill Battle, a music-activism group.
Here’s a question for ya: Whose copyrighted work did Hwang actually infringe upon? Negativland surely didn’t seem to be in a huff over it, and U2’s single was gone from the auctioned iPod. So why is Apple complaining?
And what if I buy a Special Edition U2 iPod, and decide that I don’t like U2’s new album (which I don’t) and thus remove the album and replace it with my own music? Would that anger Apple?
Rumsfeld to Troops: Tough Shit
“As you know, you go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”
– Donald Rumsfeld
I’d agree with Donald, if, say, Iraq attacked us 9/11 style. But as we all know, Iraq could have waited (after all, Iraq waited ten years when Bush’s daddy failed to finish the job).
You shouldn’t go to war with someone period, when you don’t have to, let alone start a war without the army you want. Especially when the army you have is busy looking for real terrorists… and has yet to find them.
By the way: am I alone in thinking Rumsfeld would make a great character on Red Meat?
You know I’m right… the beady little eyes, the mischevous, evil expressions that work perfectly in still images…
AdWare or SpyWare, we still don’t want it… and they don’t want each other.
Let be direct here. “Adware” and Spyware companies are slime. There really is no other way to cut it. They are just as bad as spammers, their lowlife cousins. And we as computer users really don’t want to be bombarded with pop up ads every time we try to surf the web, and we really don’t want a hidden piece of software telling us that we need to buy more Viagra, or that we need to play more online poker. When we go to a website to shop or conduct business, we don’t need a piece of malicious software redirecting our queries to the website of an unscrupulous competitor.
But spyware companies are starting to do something that is somewhat beneficial: removing the software installed by competing spyware companies:
The tactic is in the spotlight in a little-noticed legal dispute unfolding in Seattle. Caribbean-based ad company Avenue Media last month accused New York-based DirectRevenue of using competing software to detect and delete Avenue Media’s Internet Optimizer program from its customers’ computers.
According to the Nov. 24 complaint, DirectResponse’s software detects Internet Optimizer and then sends a command to “kill” the program, a process that deletes its files from the PC registry and from the computer altogether. Avenue Media said DirectRevenue’s tactics have caused it to lose about 1 million customers–about half its installed base–and as much as $10,000 a day in revenue.
Oh boo-hoo, losing money that wasn’t legitimatly earned in the first place. Now, if only an “autoimmune” bug of sorts could be introduced into DirectRevenue’s software that makes it mistake itself for a program that should also be “killed…” 🙂
Newtons still chuggin’ along
This site reminds us that to this day, people are still using Newton MessagePads.
I remember wanting one, but the price was way too much. Yet, despite their humongous size and their relative age compared to current, more advanced and powerful offerings, they appear to still be quite useful. It’s a shame Apple pulled the plug on what could have been a revolutionary product line, though it did allow more innovative thinkers to do the job better.