Linked by David Adams on Fri 6th Feb 2004 17:46 UTC
Humor Business 2.0 has compiled a list of shameful shenanigans from last year that should give you a chuckle. Test your tech savvy. Do you remember: the iLoo, the Segway hype, the swastika font, Shift key "hacking" (and a weak attempt at using the DMCA to prevent Shift key use)?
Order by: Score:
Where was I?
by Bill Sykes on Fri 6th Feb 2004 18:02 UTC

"I wanted to seem petty and vindictive?"

""There is no business justification. That's not why I did it." Lindows.com founder Michael Robertson, whose rhymes-with-Windows company is in the midst of a legal dispute with Microsoft, on the revelation that he's the formerly anonymous donor behind a $200,000 contest to hack Microsoft's Xbox."

I missed that. I didn't know Michael Robertson was the one who was offering. Maybe he thought he could sale X-Box specific Lindows.

Good Article
by Matt Lacey on Fri 6th Feb 2004 18:03 UTC

LOL

Microsoft really do come up with some crazy ideas. I would hate to think what would happen if you iLoo crashed =O)

v DCMA?
by Accipiter on Fri 6th Feb 2004 18:06 UTC
iLoo
by mike_||38 on Fri 6th Feb 2004 18:51 UTC

i hadn't heard of this until now, but in concept it's not that bad an idea...i'd love to check my stocks and e-mail while the daily constitutional is inderway. think of all that time we're wasting!

swastikas
by Jack Perry on Fri 6th Feb 2004 19:04 UTC

Microsoft has learned of a mistake in the Bookshelf Symbol 7 font ... we failed to identify, prior to the release, the presence of two swastikas within the font.

What's absurd about this, and what the author seems to have missed, is that there was nothing wrong with the swastika -- it's wasn't the Nazis' "reverse" swastika, but the good-luck charm version that predates Nazism by several thousand years, and is still common in many societies.

What I want to know is, why didn't they include the "master-slave" story? the one where that Los Angeles directed its employees not to buy "master-slave" electronic devices, because that would be offensive?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/11/26/master.term.reut/

Ummm...
by Stack on Fri 6th Feb 2004 19:09 UTC

Pardon me, but isn't it "Most Stupid". It's surprising that "Stupidest" isn't on the list.

RE:Ummm... stupidest
by Birdie.P on Fri 6th Feb 2004 19:32 UTC


According to dictionary.com, stupider and stupidest is acceptable. They must have snuck it into the language after I left school

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=stupidest

RE:Ummmm....stupidest CORRECTION
by Birdie.P on Fri 6th Feb 2004 19:34 UTC


That should read: stupider and stupidest ARE acceptable.

/me feels silly.

iLoo
by James Sterling on Fri 6th Feb 2004 20:13 UTC

If I remember correctly the iLoo was a joke press release.

@ James
by dpi on Fri 6th Feb 2004 20:17 UTC

If you read the article you find out it isn't. Unless the article is telling us bull, ofcourse. Your source?

v Dumbest Moment....
by Michael Lauzon on Fri 6th Feb 2004 21:15 UTC
RE: swastikas
by meianoite on Sat 7th Feb 2004 05:33 UTC

[quote]What's absurd about this, and what the author seems to have missed, is that there was nothing wrong with the swastika -- it's wasn't the Nazis' "reverse" swastika, but the good-luck charm version that predates Nazism by several thousand years, and is still common in many societies. [/quote]

Both the swastika and the sauvastika (the "reverse swastika" you mentioned) predate Nazism by several thousand years.

Check this out: http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/15/151.html

Same old misinformation as usual. What would one expect when it comes from Microsoft's stupid PR maneuvers or CNN's lust for maroon journalism?

Just my opinion, anyway.

R: meianoite (IP: ---.tlf.dialuol.com.br) - Posted on 2004-02-07 05:33:45
by ChocolateCheeseCake on Sat 7th Feb 2004 14:35 UTC

True, the one that pre-dates NAZIsm is the buddhist symbol of:

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The NAZI one however is slanted on the side. Its origins lie in many ancient cultures, symbolizing good fortune. In Buddhism, it is a symbol of the Buddha's heart and mind, sometimes appearing on the Buddha's chest in sculptural representations.

v Re: stupidest
by -=StephenB=- on Sat 7th Feb 2004 14:58 UTC
Dumbest Moment
by Michael Lauzon on Sat 7th Feb 2004 16:50 UTC

I do NOT see why the following was moderated down, as it IS one of the dumbest moments of 2003; what the hell is your people's problem?!:


The dumbest moment of 2003, SCO suing IBM and also saying Linux contains source code from UNIX...hmmm the new SCO used to be Caldera; who also sold Linux!


Michael Lauzon, Founder
The Quill Society
http://www.quillsociety.org/
mlauzon@quillsociety.org

@Matt
by Nicholas James on Sat 7th Feb 2004 18:21 UTC

Microsoft really do come up with some crazy ideas. I would hate to think what would happen if you iLoo crashed =O)

All the crap would have to be flushed out. hehe