Microsoft attacks FTP sites for hosting OpenOffice

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2003-03-07 10:16pm

The Business Software Alliance, an organization primarily backed and funded by Microsoft, has used script spiders to attack and harass public FTP sites for mirroring OpenOffice.

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/28/1317244

Remember, dear site owners, challenging Microsoft is unAmerican.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-03-07 10:20pm

The next Democratic candidate for presidency will most likely have my vote. The current administration needs to stop sucking up to businesses like Microsoft.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-03-07 10:26pm

I find it hard to believe that anyone could be so unspeakably stupid as to think that no product but Microsoft office would contain the word "Office" in the filename. This reeks of a "convenient" mistake, which would have the completely unintended side-effect of making FTP server admins take down their copies of OpenOffice for fear that they violated someone's copyright. The fact that the BSA notice does not even say precisely whose copyright is being violated is even fishier, because it becomes that much harder for the admins to figure out the truth, and the idea is obviously that they'll take it down just to be safe because the BSA is a powerful organization with lawyers. Fucking sneaky bastards.

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2003-03-07 10:26pm

Shinova wrote:The next Democratic candidate for presidency will most likely have my vote. The current administration needs to stop sucking up to businesses like Microsoft.

Be careful what you wish for. The Democrats passed the DMCA and AFIAK also the Disney Copyright Extension Act. There's no money in protecting civil or human rights so no political parties even pay lipservice to either cause.

The only way Microsoft will be cut down to size is if North Koreans or al Qaida do a major WMD release in Redmond. The US government isn't going to do anything about Microsoft because what's good for Microsoft is also good for the government.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-03-07 10:27pm

This problem could be solved if we only had a scrupulous administration in power (snicker).

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2003-03-07 10:40pm

Driving at something Mike?

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-03-07 10:42pm

Enlightenment wrote:
Shinova wrote:Be careful what you wish for. The Democrats passed the DMCA and AFIAK also the Disney Copyright Extension Act. There's no money in protecting civil or human rights so no political parties even pay lipservice to either cause.

The only way Microsoft will be cut down to size is if North Koreans or al Qaida do a major WMD release in Redmond. The US government isn't going to do anything about Microsoft because what's good for Microsoft is also good for the government.

*Plots to consult with alien powers to take over world and establish a global government run by a council of sd.net members*

Until then, hopefully the consumers gradually change the tide against Microsoft. Microsoft doesn't listen to the public, but I'm pretty sure they'll listen to dropping profits.

What would really suck then is when they respond to dropping profits by doing even worse things.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-03-07 10:46pm

Shinova wrote:
*Plots to consult with alien powers to take over world and establish a global government run by a council of sd.net members*

Until then, hopefully the consumers gradually change the tide against Microsoft. Microsoft doesn't listen to the public, but I'm pretty sure they'll listen to dropping profits.

What would really suck then is when they respond to dropping profits by doing even worse things.

Of course they'lll do worse things, there solution will be to blame it on rampant piracy; they will then at best begin a new more intense round of suing lesser companies into oblivion.

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2003-03-07 10:50pm

Shinova wrote: What would really suck then is when they respond to dropping profits by doing even worse things.

See the other thread. Microsoft's response to dropping profits is to force everyone onto a Palladium/.NET infrastructure where software is rented as a service and all user data is stored on central servers controlled by Microsoft.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-03-07 10:51pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:
Of course they'lll do worse things, there solution will be to blame it on rampant piracy; they will then at best begin a new more intense round of suing lesser companies into oblivion.

And people become even more dissatisfied with Microsoft and go more into open-source.

Hopefully. Maybe.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-03-07 10:52pm

Enlightenment wrote:
See the other thread. Microsoft's response to dropping profits is to force everyone onto a Palladium/.NET infrastructure where software is rented as a service and all user data is stored on central servers controlled by Microsoft.

Do you know when this will be put into effect? I'm gonna get a new computer sometime this year and I don't want it infested by Palladium/.NET.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-03-07 10:54pm

Well, damn. The whole world's just gone straight to hell.

Pu-239 · Post by **Pu-239** » 2003-03-07 10:58pm

Shinova wrote:
Enlightenment wrote:
See the other thread. Microsoft's response to dropping profits is to force everyone onto a Palladium/.NET infrastructure where software is rented as a service and all user data is stored on central servers controlled by Microsoft.
Do you know when this will be put into effect? I'm gonna get a new computer sometime this year and I don't want it infested by Palladium/.NET.

Fortunately, the slow adoption of broadband will make this impossible for years to come. After all no one is going to run everything off a server at 26.4kbps. M$ will lose a large deal of marketshare if that happens.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2003-03-07 10:59pm

Shinova wrote:
Sea Skimmer wrote:
Of course they'lll do worse things, there solution will be to blame it on rampant piracy; they will then at best begin a new more intense round of suing lesser companies into oblivion.
And people become even more dissatisfied with Microsoft and go more into open-source.

Hopefully. Maybe.

You obviously the punishment willing too be took by the average ignorant Windows user.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2003-03-07 11:09pm

Well, I guess we just have to un-brainwash these sods...

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-03-07 11:37pm

Captain Lennox wrote:
You obviously the punishment willing too be took by the average ignorant Windows user.

Lennox, that is THE most incoherent statement I've heard since Jan 1st. What are you trying to say??????

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-03-07 11:40pm

Shinova wrote:
Captain Lennox wrote:You obviously the punishment willing too be took by the average ignorant Windows user.
Lennox, that is THE most incoherent statement I've heard since Jan 1st. What are you trying to say??????

I believe the English translation is "You obviously underestimate the punishment the average ignorant Windows user will passively endure."

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-03-07 11:44pm

Darth Wong wrote:I believe the English translation is "You obviously underestimate the punishment the average ignorant Windows user will passively endure."

Oh.

That's quite true on the home desktop or similar front. I'm not sure about commercial biz. Maybe those people will make some kind of difference (apparently more and more companies are switching to Linux).

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2003-03-07 11:44pm

Darth Wong wrote:
Shinova wrote:
Captain Lennox wrote:You obviously the punishment willing too be took by the average ignorant Windows user.
Lennox, that is THE most incoherent statement I've heard since Jan 1st. What are you trying to say??????
I believe the English translation is "You obviously underestimate the punishment the average ignorant Windows user will passively endure."

After having done maintenence on a copy of WinME, I know how much punishment it is, and I am resolved to, when both these computers eventually crap out and die, move to an open source.

I will miss my games, but my freedom and privacy come first.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-03-07 11:47pm

I do hope the Linux community comes out with a good Windows games emulator thing. And wider driver support, along with progressively user-friendly interfaces. When they get those accomplished, I'll probably switch completely to Linux.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2003-03-07 11:48pm

Thank you Mike.

And I onl have bad grammar and poor typing skills on the web. As everyone that has meet me in the past I begin too make incoherent statements once I have settled in my domain.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-03-07 11:51pm

According to the thread on Slashdot, the BSA sent out an apology fairly quickly (e.g. within an hour) and said that they'd fix their spiders.

I didn't see how the spiders were actually "attacking" the FTP servers (certainly they were harrassed)

Pu-239 · Post by **Pu-239** » 2003-03-08 12:19am

Shinova wrote:I do hope the Linux community comes out with a good Windows games emulator thing. And wider driver support, along with progressively user-friendly interfaces. When they get those accomplished, I'll probably switch completely to Linux.

Wine can only run games that use < DirectX 9 and without copy protection.

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2003-03-08 12:20am

Crayz9000 wrote:Well, I guess we just have to un-brainwash these sods...

How do you propose to do this given that all wide-distribution media outlets are sympathetic to the enemy's cause?

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-03-08 12:24am

Shinova wrote:
Enlightenment wrote:
See the other thread. Microsoft's response to dropping profits is to force everyone onto a Palladium/.NET infrastructure where software is rented as a service and all user data is stored on central servers controlled by Microsoft.
Do you know when this will be put into effect? I'm gonna get a new computer sometime this year and I don't want it infested by Palladium/.NET.

Its easy enough to solve, specify that you dont want Xp and get linux instead.