Woah, that was totally a complete and utter accident, man.
by schwim on Apr.17, 2009, under Software
A /. user was testing the new Microsoft filter system. Upon initial use and with the filter set to the lowest setting, the filter blocked Google. Disabling the filter brought the Goog back.
The nerds are currently deciding via /.’s commenting system if it was intentional or not. They’ll let you know what they decide.
As time passes, I grow as weary of Google’s tactics as I am of Microsoft. I use both daily, so I can hardly say that I feel strongly enough to be rid of them, but I sometimes hate to think of my role in this as an enabler.
Just not quite enough to go without my OS and Google Maps.
April 17th, 2009 on 7:51 pm
“Enabler” eh? Despicable and, no doubt, painful confession; not to mention humiliating. I’ll have to adjust my bookmarks accordingly.
I abandoned MS in late ’06 out of frustration with the cost of A/V on 3 boxes (me and 2 kids) and the fact that it only half-assed worked anyway. MS’s “One Care” with its “Media Sentry” (? I think) was a total PITA. Never got anywhere near Vista; saw through that from the git-go. Still keep XP on my machine in VirtualBox for occasional giggles; mostly to run updates every now and then to hit up MS for server time and the cost of pushing electrons at me.
As for “filtering” (or “parenting software”, as I call it)…. good luck buddy. I used the “All Knowing Dad” approach when my kids were little (about 10). Fortunately, I CAN see through walls and doors and around corners so it worked well, at least until the “is-Santa-real?” questions started. After that the conversations became more frank.
But I think my buddy’s approach is best. Just put the box in a family area, restrict access by logon, and allow specific times of access. He’s a fellow Linux user and says “Software will not save you!” It’s kinda creepy the way he says it but I think he’s right.
Google? Yep, know what you mean: “good soul corruption.” It all starts out so well but at some level of bigness the soul starts leaking goodness. So it goes. It’s the end of the web as we know it……. and I feel fine.
Oh well, back to the fun stuff. Where do I start? Hmmm….. TARP? Torture? High-Speed Rail? TPB conviction? Weapons sales? Executive compensation? Iraq? Iran? North Korea? Afghanistan? Somolia? 3-strikes? ACTA? Infinite copyrights? Ad nauseum…..
April 19th, 2009 on 11:24 am
There’s too much potential for fun to pin it down to particular topics. Like a child in a candy store, wherever you look, you’re apt to find asshats that are quickening our decline into societal oblivion.
I should write motivational slogans.