After the Feds and Microsoft in March chopped off the head of the hydra that was the 1-million strong “Rustock” botnet responsible for sending billions of spam, several heads have sprung in its place. PC World notes a Symantec report of a 24% jump in emails containing malicious links and attachments, possibly representing an attempt to regrow the forces of zombie controlled computers and fill the void left by Rustock. [More]
microsoft
You Could Be Under Sidekick Contract Or Not, Depending On T-Mobile's Whim
By 4.8.11
Chad is a T-Mobile customer who used to be a Sidekick user. He also still is a Sidekick user, depending on which situation is more advantageous to T-Mobile. See, he signed a new contract and got a shiny new Sidekick last February. Earlier this year, that phone died and he bought an inexpensive Android phone to use while he waits out his contract. T-Mobile is ending Sidekick service soon, and has offered users still under contract the choice of leaving their contracts with no early termination fee, or switching to a different subsidized phone and sticking around. Chad is still under the original contract that he signed when he got his Sidekick last year, but at the same time is not under a Sidekick contract according to T-Mobile, so neither option is open to him. [More]
Report: FTC Considering Giving Google A Good Probing
By 4.5.11
Less than a week after Google reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its Google Buzz privacy debacle comes a report that the FTC is ready to probe the internet giant once more, this time over antitrust concerns regarding its search engine. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: Apple Vs. Microsoft
By 3.24.11
For the final showdown of Round One, two eternal foes step into the octagon for a bloody battle to the death! [More]
Apple Sues Amazon For Using The Phrase "App Store"
By 3.22.11
Earlier this year we wrote about Microsoft’s bid to block Apple from trademarking the phrase “app store,” and now comes news that Apple has filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com for using those words. [More]
EECB Gets Microsoft To Stop Dillydallying And Overnight Laptop
By 3.18.11
George was able to get Microsoft to pick up the pace and ship him a laptop he’d been waiting for for almost a month thanks to a well-crafted EECB. What I like about his is the little personal story he puts at the beginning that’s very much in line with the “praise with faint damn” approach we’ve advocated in the past. [More]
Man Installs Windows 1.0 Through 7 To See What Happens
By 3.3.11
A man decided to try installing every single major upgrade version of Windows in consecutive order just to see what would happen, and made a video documenting the amazing results. Quite a dose of nostalgia. I like how the attention to seeing how the color scheme preferences are maintained or not maintained across installs is a major point of focus. [More]
Hotmail Sucks: The Rap Video!
By 2.3.11
Dan Bull has been using Hotmail for 10 years but he’s just about reached his breaking point. So the U.K. bedroom rhymesmith made a rap video open letter to Microsoft about how much their product sucks a giant brick. In the vocal style of The Streets, Dan takes aim at the emails that don’t arrive, their weak spam filters, and MSN’s wack way of adding extra steps when you try to make links. [More]
Google And Mozilla Announce New "Do Not Track Me" Features
By 1.24.11
Google and Mozilla have posted that they’re adding new features to their browsers that will let users opt out of being tracked by third-party advertisers. The move comes a few weeks after the FTC issued a report recommending browser software developers to implement such a mechanism. [More]
Microsoft To Apple: You Can't Trademark "App Store"
By 1.12.11
It’s been over two years since Apple first submitted an application to trademark the phrase “App Store,” but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft from attempting to stymie the iPhone maker’s request. [More]
Photos: Behind The Scenes At CES 2011
By 1.5.11
While most of the reporters here spent this day before the official launch of CES 2011 going from press conference to press conference, I managed to convince a security guard that it was perfectly okay for me to walk around taking photos of the big booths being constructed. [More]
Microsoft Replaces Defective Netbook, Saves Christmas
By 12.24.10
Even the biggest and scariest corporations employ compassionate people who put customers first. You just have to find them. David was lucky enough to find one such employee at Microsoft. He received a free Dell netbook after purchasing Office 2010, and set it aside as a Christmas gift for his mom. It was defective. David thought that the gift would be late…until a Microsoft employee went above and beyond, saving Free Netbookmas. [More]
No Sexy Sex Games For Kinect Arriving Any Time Soon
By 12.20.10
Start crying your salty, dirty tears now, gaming perverts — Microsoft has decided to block the release of a developer’s sex game for the Kinect. And by sex game, we of course mean a weird experience involving manhandling cartoon ladies. Classy! [More]
Microsoft Has Different Instructions Every Time I Call About My Brand-New Broken Xbox
By 12.2.10
Peter tells Consumerist that in early November, he purchased a new Xbox 360 with Kinect. His new system didn’t waste any time–it started breaking down that very night. Bringing it back to the store wasn’t an option, since he had transferred all of his licenses. His only choice was to contact Microsoft for repairs or a new box. [More]
Microsoft Wants To Turn Your Xbox Into A Cable Box
By 11.29.10
Whether it’s through the Zune Marketplace or Netflix, you can already watch movies and other video content on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console. But a new story says the company is looking to expand its offering to what could end up turning Microsoft into your cable company. [More]
Kid Gets Kinect-Clocked In The Face
By 11.9.10
There’s a reason why the instructions on the Xbox Kinect, which allows you to play video games by sensing your gestures, tell you to clear the playing area and make sure you have plenty of elbow room, especially when you are playing with two people. The reason is this video. [More]
No, The Kinect Is Not Racist
By 11.4.10
Speaking of the Microsoft Kinect, you know those
rumors that it has trouble with, er, certain skin tones? Yeah, just
turn up the lights, OK?
