Starting this week, Microsoft is required to comply with a federal injunction barring sales of Office '07 containing infringing code. The decision is the result of a patent lawsuit filed by Canadian software firm i4i for blatant infringement on XLM architecture in Word and Vista programs. Along with a $200 million settlement, the software giant is barred from selling software with .docx or .docm algorithms that ingringe on i4i patents from January 11th. Microsoft hustled out a sanitized Office 07 package, as well as an Office 2010 beta to keep the shelves stocked, but the Federal Circuit Court's denial of their appeal looks like a black eye to me.
Student Experts would like to reassure existing Office 07 users that neither your software nor licensing will be affected by this decision. Also, due to the specific acnature of the code involved, OpenOffice users also escape the scrutiny of the courts. With a new version of Office looming, SE offers its expert services in facilitating your upgrade from consultation to completion. A shiny new PC running Windows 7 is the best way to start a new year.
“Email surveillance of human-rights activists has driven Google to cease censorship of Chinese search results. Viva net neutrality!”
The Control Panel seems to undergo a near-complete redesign with each successive iteration of Windows, yet they never seem to find a usable balance of accessibility and simplicity. Fortunately, a programming backdoor has been discovered, giving users seeming omnipotence over obscure system options. The controls are presented in a handy file-folder type interface that provides a nice shortcut to some truly useful tweaks. To sanctify your OS, simply create a new folder and rename it with the following sacred incantation:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
“Pi has been calculated to a record 2.7 trillion digits (over 1Tb in size) by a desktop computer algorithm over 131 days. The result? 3ish...”
Arizona Department of Public Safety's photo radar experiment is in jeopardy because of a few (thousand) unpaid tickets. 76 cameras have racked up more than 700,000 tickets in the past year, and yet the total revenue is under 1/3 of the total fines issued and is having little effect on the state's budget shortfall. A similar pilot program in Pinal County was scrapped over a year ago in lieu of hiring more deputies, having "failed miserably" according to Sheriff Paul Babeu. Even Redflex, the (Australian) contractor who built and installed the cameras, is more than $10 million in the red. Local advocacy groups are petitioning for a ballot initiative banning all photo radar, but their adversary may defeat itself before November.
Student Experts would like to take this opportunity to reiterate your constitutional rights, notably the concept of Notice. Service of process is required for any criminal accusation, and unless you waive this right by signing the ticket they mail you (you shouldn't) they are required to serve you a court summons in person. Due process is not the only means of avoiding citation, and driving the speed limit is the easiest. There is no need to resort to a volley of gunfire when a monkey mask has gotten one valley WRX owner out of 37 tickets. Proof can prove quite burdensome indeed…
