The Acer Debacle - Closing the Chapter

I'm glad it worked out for the best. Whether Acer felt threatened by bad publicity or if they simply decided to do the right thing.

I go with the former. Without the Internet, they couldn't have been called out so clearly on their asinine policies. They back-pedaled only because they got caught.

You always assume the worst, don't you?

When it comes to corporations and what they do, and why they do it, those who assume the best, are usually wrong. Tracyann's Law

Modus Ponendo Ponens: gus3 is right.

> When it comes to corporations and what they do, and why they do it, those who assume the best, are usually wrong.

Define best. I assume they do what's best for their bottom line, regardless of what's best for the customer. :(

Which means I agree with your assessment.

It's asinine for this issue to be so difficult to resolve. It doesn't improve security at all, it just gives more control to Big Brother. Someone out to steal the data would just bash it open and take the hard drive. Someone wanting a laptop would know the Sekkrit Fix to foil the silly trusted computering dingus. Dumb dumb dumb all the way.

Yep TC, the Criminals will already know the secret disable password protect shuffle, and like all the back door passwords, which they probably already know, the only people in the dark are the honest people, who end up paying through the nose when things go wrong. All these silly 'security" measures do nothing but provide a false sense of security in those who are ignorant, but it does make for good sales figures.

@tc:

I have patented the use of the word "asinine" in this thread. You may pay me in small, unmarked bills.

Can I stake a claim on idiotic? Heck, if software ideas can be patented surely we can all claim words.

It's all yours, caitlyn.

Unless someone has some idiotic objection to it.

....Woops!

I prefer large unmarked bills to small ones.

But gas stations don't take anything larger than US$50 bills. And most banks get suspicious about US$300 bills.

Microsoft has already copyrighted several words, Windows" being one of them, so I sppose if you've got the money you can pretty much do anything you like with the English language, and probably derveral others as well.

"Derveral"? Is that another of those Aussie slang terms?

no that's just my dyslexia or perhaps inability hit the keyboard.

>> Microsoft has already copyrighted several words, Windows" being one of them,

Yes. However, that one is unenforceable. They nearly lost it when they sued Lindows for infringement. When they realized the case would cost them their TM, they paid Lindows $20M to go away.

Might be a good business model for an enterprising lawyer. Invest a few hundred thousand in litigation and get paid a few million to forget what it was you were suing for in the first place.