URLs du Jour

2007-06-06

It's Corporate Evil Day here at Pun Salad! Raise your pinky finger to the corner of your mouth and check 'em out:

  • Professor Bainbridge has had it with the Google, the proverbial back-breaking straw being the "Street View" feature of Google Maps.
    … I'm persuaded that the people who run Google are basically evil. As a result, I'm pulling all Google widgets off the blog the next time I do an update.

    To be sure, even if you think this latest invasion of privacy for profit isn't all that big a deal, consider all the other straws Google has dumped on our backs: China self-censorship, repeated privacy invasions, ignoring patriotic holidays, infringing on copyright, the list of petty annoyances to serious errors has simply grown too long to be ignored. Google's motto, "Don't be evil," is not just a joke.

    I think the Prof means it is just a joke, but otherwise, point well taken.

  • Meanwhile, Lore Sjöberg detects Evil at Apple:
    You may have heard the news that Apple embeds your name in music that you buy from the iTunes Store, even music without digital rights management. The company's fiendish approach prevents you from even knowing what happened unless you look, and prevents you from removing the information unless you try.
    Lore goes on to detail what he terms Apple's "even more insidious tactics" and they are not only insidious, but nefarious, pernicious, and capricious as well!

  • In other good news, Slashdot tells us that the Evil Incarnate Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is being accused of extortion and conspiracy, which is akin to accusing water of being wet.

    Seriously, I have no idea if the mentioned legal action has any merit whatsoever, but if it would get the RIAA off this University's back (and others), it would be a net plus. And Slashdot commenters, as always, are a hoot.

  • And then there's InfoUSA and its CEO, Vinod Gupta. As PowerLine details, in addition to showering former president Clinton with $2.1 million in "consulting fees", and subsidizing flights on its corporate jet to Hillary, the company has also hired Paul Sand to a $180K fulltime position, despite the fact that Paul already has a fulltime job, which he's keeping.

    Oh, wait. It's not Paul Sand; it's Paul Pelosi. That makes a little more sense, doesn't it? Especially if you're Evil!

  • More stupid than Evil is ATI, which recently released a video card driver upgrade that offers "improved TV quality and Broadcast Flag support which enables full US terrestrial DTV support". Danny O'Brien points out that Broadcast Flag support is not mandated by law, and offers nothing positive for non-masochistic consumers. He asks:
    Since when did upgrades include more potential bugs, and fewer features for customers? And when will tech companies upgrade their expectations of standing up to Hollywood's demands, instead of constantly attempting to downgrade ours?
    Potential video card buyers should take note. (Via Tech Liberation Front.)

  • Spoiling our well-thought-out theme of the day, Iowahawk has decided to run for president. About time!
    I have not taken this decision lightly. When considering a run for public office, the first thing a candidate must ask himself is: what can I, as newly elected public servant, expect to get out of this deal? I have researched this question thoroughly, and believe me: being President is a pretty sweet gig. Not only does it pay 400 large, it has plenty of perks including "three hots and a cot," and the world's most fearsome military force at my disposal.
    Three hots and a cot. I like that.


Last Modified 2007-06-06 8:52 PM EDT

… And We're Back!

Sorry, a power outage took out Pun Salad last evening. We had some unusually nasty weather, including—honest—a tornado warning. This apparently scared the hamsters at Seabrook, and instead of running in their wheels as usual, they buried themselves in their wood shavings.

I looked in the BIOS settings, and, well whattyaknow, there's an option to auto-reboot the system when the power comes back on. We'll try that.