The Patches Are Coming, the Patches Are Coming
Today is the second Tuesday of the month, and you know what that means: We're
going to have a special patch. In fact, it's three patches: two critical, and
one moderate, fixing everything from Windows to Exchange. Get ready to repair,
rehab and reconstruct with these fine fixes from your friends at Microsoft.
Get the details from these links:
Anti-Spam List Becomes Spam List
Whenever you tell a hacker he can't do something, he goes right out and does
it! Just seeing the term "anti-spam list" got the evil wheels turning,
and soon enough someone turned
the anti-spam list into the do-spam list. If you sent your address to the
Blue Frog registry thinking you'd be safe from spam, you ain't. Many have gotten
taunting messages claiming they will be spammed into submission.
The story gets more complex when you dig into how Blue Security works, which
apparently uses a massive list of unsubscribes to launch denial-of-service attacks
on spammers. So far so good as far as I can see. (Here's a cool report.)
Of course the spammers launched their own attacks on Blue Security, which Blue
Security diverted to another company, blog hoster Six Apart, which got hammered.
So now, Blue Security is taking a beating in the press. I've read three
stories on this and still can't make total sense of it, especially as
the parties all seem to be blaming each other.
You Call This a Cheap Laptop?
Intel execs are breaking out the Bengay after patting themselves on the back
for the design of a new
$400 laptop computer. This, says Intel CEO Paul Otellini, is a godsend for
educators around the world. Pardon me if I don't join in the applause. First,
it looks like a cheap, cheesy, low-rent laptop. More important, $400 is far
from a breakthrough price. That's what Wal-Mart was selling laptops for this
Christmas. And Dell has one $499. For the Intel lapper to truly impress, they
need to cut the price in half.
| Subscribe
to Redmond Report |
This column
was originally published in our weekly Redmond Report newsletter.
To subscribe, click here. |
|
|
Bill Gates Doesn't Care About Money
Bill Gates says he
wishes he wasn't the richest man in the world, and I believe him.
Gates has some of the trappings of wealth: a nice house and cool cars. But these
have come late to Gates.
Some, like Ted Turner, thought Gates was greedy because he wasn't giving his
money away. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation put an end to that. And why
would a man with so many billions work so damn hard? Because causes like world
hunger, disease and moving technology forward are more important than lounging
on a 300-foot yacht.
About the Author
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.