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Visually Impaired Gamer Sues Sony

An anonymous reader writes "A visually impaired gamer has sued Sony because game products allegedly violate the Americans With Disabilities Act. 'According to the suit, Sony ignored repeated requests through postal mail and e-mail to come up with reasonable modifications to its games to make them more accessible.' This suit seems to be a combination of National Federation of the Blind v. Target, which complained of inaccessibility to the visually disabled (which settled for $6 million) and Martin v. PGA Tour, Inc., where the US Supreme Court ruled a disabled golfer was entitled to a golf cart where one was not already allowed as a reasonable accommodation. If the plaintiff wins, Sony will have to make 'reasonable accommodations' which are not an 'undue financial burden.' In my humble opinion, providing access for the disabled is not only the right thing to do but it will generate more profit for Sony."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

 

 

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Microsoft's Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool Uses Open Source Code

And apparently does so illegally. Rafael has written up a great post, with a side-by-side code comparison, about how Microsoft's Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool uses code that was obviously taken directly from open source code that is licensed under the GPL.

While poking through the UDF-related internals of the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, I had a weird feeling there was just wayyyyyyyyy too much code in there for such a simple tool. A simple search of some method names and properties, gleaned from Reflector’s output, revealed the source code was obviously lifted from the CodePlex-hosted (yikes) GPLv2-licensed ImageMaster project. (The author of the code was not contacted by Microsoft.)

I see two problems here. (I’m not a FSF professional, so there may be more.)

First, Microsoft did not offer or provide source code for their modifications to ImageMaster nor their tool. According to GPLv2.

Second, Microsoft glued in some of their own licensing terms, further restricting your rights to the software (TermsOfUse.rtf). According to their terms .... "You may not ... publish the software for others to copy."

I understand Microsoft is a big company and that this could have been externally contracted work, but someone dropped the ball during code review/licensing.

Yes, yes they did.

 

 

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If it looks too good to be true..... it’s probably fake

We’re talking software here of course. Piracy is a constant problem – not just for Microsoft but for all our legitimate partners who not only have to compete honestly in a tough market but also fight the rip-off merchants. A recent thread on avforums highlights this with yet another example of someone who thought they’d got the real thing – Office 2007 - for a great price, but then discovered they’d bought fake. Thankfully they reported it to us and have received a genuine copy, and expect a refund from their credit card company.

 

With genuine software:

 

·        You can get help when you need it. With genuine Windows, you can count on Microsoft and its partners for support. Genuine Windows also includes all the available documentation like quick-start guides and owner's manuals to help you get the most from your computer. Who stands behind counterfeit Windows? No one that you can trust.

·        You get the most from your PC. Only genuine Windows users receive exclusive access to all optional updates and downloads from Microsoft. There are also other benefits, such as offers and promotions available only to genuine Windows users.

 

Validation is particularly important right now, if you’re considering an upgrade to Windows 7. You’ll need a genuine copy of a qualifying operating system in order to upgrade. To check that your software is genuine, or to report any instances of suspected piracy, please visit the Get Genuine website.

 

And if you’re looking for genuine offers on Windows 7 and maybe a PC too - take a look here. 

 

 

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Zoho Office Suite

The Zoho Office Suite is an online office suite which includes tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis, CRM, project management, invoicing and other applications. Being web-native, all Zoho applications are operating system independent.

 

 

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Support for Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2008 R2 coming

Just a quick update for you about a topic that some of you have raised.  In case you did not see it, the Microsoft Exchange Team announced earlier this week that based on the feedback we have received, the decision has been made to create and issue an update for Exchange 2007 enabling full support for Windows Server 2008 R2.  According to the Microsoft Exchange Team’s blog post:

“Earlier this year we made a decision in one direction, and due to the feedback we have received on this blog and elsewhere, we have reconsidered.  In the coming calendar year we will issue an update for Exchange 2007 enabling full support of Windows Server 2008 R2.”

• Kevin Allison - GM Exchange Customer Experience

For those of you doing work with Microsoft Exchange Server, you may want to sign up to follow the Microsoft Exchange Server Team Blog for the latest news from them, in addition to being able to provide feedback to us on Microsoft Exchange.

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman – Follow me on TWITTER and RSS
Global Partner Experience Lead
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

Bookmark on: MSDN , TechNet, and Expression

 

 

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Seven Perfectly Legal Ways to Get Windows 7 Cheap (or Even Free)

Windows expert Ed Bott offers up an excellent guide to getting Windows 7 on the cheap, along with some great advice. It's a must-read:

Only suckers pay retail.

If you’ve read any reviews of Windows 7, you’ve seen references to its price list, which ranges from $120 for a Home Premium upgrade to $320 for a fully licensed copy of Windows 7 Ultimate.

Well, guess what? You don’t have to pay that much. Most people have much better options available, if you know where to look. As I’ve detailed here, the best deals go to PC manufacturers, which you benefit from if you buy a new PC.

But there are plenty of other discounts available as well. In this post, I’ve researched deals in three separate categories: upgrade offers available to anyone, special deals just for students, and subscriptions intended for technical professionals and developers.

My goal in this post is to point you to deals that customers legitimately qualify for. I am not trying to encourage attempts by anyone to get away with something you’re not entitled to. If there are restrictions for a specific offer, I’ve noted them here.

Go forth and save.

 

 

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The daily roundup: here's what you might've missed

	Netflix instant streaming demoed on PlayStation 3 We've got to admit -- the whole thing looks exceptionally sleek, but given the PS3's multimedia prowess, we didn't really expect anything less		HTC Hero / Eris mega faceoff on video Any way you lean it's a pretty good handset with some perhaps overly bulky software, a wonderful pricepoint and probably a limited time in the sun with upcoming Android 2.0 devices rolling on in.
	DROID mania sweeps the nation, so to speak And if riffraff like us can waltz into the store and get them, you should certainly be able to. Good luck being assimilated out there today.	Other news of import Poll: Will the DROID have you in its clutches? OpenOfficeMouse isn't free, isn't pretty Unused Adamo XPS prototypes reveal touchscreen trackpads, key-less keyboard
	Microsoft emancipates Digital Cable Tuners with second Media Center update today This half should enable all Windows 7 PCs to work with the CableCard tuners, sans-OEM requirement or inconvenient hacking.		Verizon confirms DROID tethering cost, will ask subscribers to double-down on their data plan $60 monthly for "unlimited" data, here meaning 5GB of data per, a total of 10GB split between the two $30 plans.
ATI DCT Firmware update pops up on Windows Update, DRM-free MCE recordings & are a go Orb for Mac finally arrives, streams media from OS X to any internet-connected device Boxee shows off its new look at Beta Unveiling jam December 7		LG to announce Snapdragon-boasting Android phone, Korea-bound in 2010 Nokia's latest batch for emerging markets includes its cheapest phone ever Google breaks from tradition, posts DROID ad on home page

The daily roundup: here's what you might've missed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Myka announces its latest Linux-based 'net top box'

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Early in the summer, IPTV startup Myka delivered an impressive Linux-based device which was not quite a set-top box and not quite a home theater PC (HTPC). Though the device's identity was sort of nebulous, the company's goal was crystal clear: to easily make the tons of different types of Internet video content viewable on the TV.

This week, the company has announced its second device, the Myka ION, which pushes itself up against the HTPC category. Because it's equipped with a 1.6 GHz dual core Intel Atom 330 CPU, it could even be called a "net-top box."

Whatever you want to call it, Myka is really charging toward its goal of making the vast spectrum of Web video available in an easy and compact way. Since the ION is effectively an Ubuntu 9.10 mini ITX PC, it can run popular media manager software Boxee and XMBC alongside the Hulu desktop client -- a bit of useful software which neither Boxee nor XMBC can actually run themselves.

In case the name didn't already give it away, the Myka ION is equipped with an Nvidia ION GPU which supports DirectX 10 graphics, and full 1080p HD video without overtaxing the CPUs.

The company expects it to be shipping in about four weeks, and it will be available in various configurations, with different capacity hard drive sizes (up to 1 TB) and with additional options like a Blu-ray drive, and 802.11n wireless.

We'll give it a closer look when it becomes available before the holidays.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009

 

 

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Google Gives You A Privacy Dashboard To Show Just How Much It Knows About you

The more Google products you use, the more data it collects about everything you do online—your search history, your emails, the blogs and news sites you read, which videos you watch on YouTube, your news alerts, tasks ,and even shopping lists. For some of these, you need to explicitly grant Google permission to keep track of data associated with your profile. But it’s hard to keep up with everything Google is tracking.
So now the company is launching a Google Dashboard, which will give you a high-level summary of everything Google knows about you by virtue of the Google products you use. This might include how many emails are in your inbox, recent subject lines, which YouTube video you’ve watched lately (yes, all of them), appointments on your calendar, and more.
If you want more detailed data, it sends you to the particular data repository for that product. And for security purposes it does not create a second database of all the data, it just brings it up in your browser without restoring it server-side.
The Dashboard is only for Googel products which require you to sign in with your Googel account. It does not include cookie-based data Google collects through DoubleClick ads or other ads. For that, you need to go to the Ad Preference Manager, which has its own issues.
You can see the list of all the products the Dashboard keeps track of below.
Account & profile
Web-history
Gmail
Docs
Calendar
YouTube
Blogger
iGoogle
Latitude
Reader
Talk
Health
Orkut
Picasa
Shopping List
Voice
Contacts
Alerts
Finance
Friend Connect
Tasks
Custom search engines
Mobile Sync

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

 

 

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Dear Blog and IT Community

• Windows Server 2008 R2: A primer – Check out this guide tour of Windows Server 2008 R2 which includes technologies such as Windows PowerShell, Remote Management, Core Parking, Active Directory changes and BranchCache.
• Microsoft Assessment and Planning:  MAP Toolkit 4.0 – If you are looking to migrate to Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 then MAP 4.0 is an essential tool to help you inventory what you have.  This article covers all the details!
• Windows 7 and System Centre Configuration Manager: Windows 7 Deployment Guide – In this article Chris Adam discusses deploying Windows 7 with SCCM 2007 R2 and uses Microsoft’s own internal deployment as an example.

 

Sincerely,
 
Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology
Blog:  http://ceektechnology.spaces.live.com
Web Site:  http://www.ceektechnology.com

 

 

 

For IT Community Review

Thanks for the insight and update

Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technolgy

 

Dear Blog Site:

Sincerely,
 
Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology
Blog:  http://ceektechnology.spaces.live.com
Web Site:  http://www.ceektechnology.com

 

 

 

For Your Information

Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology

 

Dear Blog Site:

 

Sincerely,
 
Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology
Blog:  http://ceektechnology.spaces.live.com
Web Site:  http://www.ceektechnology.com

 

 

 

Well this is interesting for the mobile world running Sybian.

Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology

 

Dear Blog Site and IT Community:

Sincerely,
 
Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology
Blog:  http://ceektechnology.spaces.live.com
Web Site:  http://www.ceektechnology.com

 

 

 

For Your Information

Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology

 

Dear Blog and It Community                 

Sincerely,
 
Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology
Blog:  http://ceektechnology.spaces.live.com
Web Site:  http://www.ceektechnology.com

 

 

 

 

Dear Blog Site and IT Community

Sincerely,
 
Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology
Blog:  http://ceektechnology.spaces.live.com
Web Site:  http://www.ceektechnology.com

 

 

 

Glad to see that this was resolved.

Christopher McMillan, CIO
CEEK Technology

 

 

 

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NVIDIA confirms Intel chipsets won't support USB 3.0 until 2011

What was once an unverifiable rumor from an anonymous source has now, sadly, become a confirmed fact. Intel won't be integrating USB 3.0 support into its chipsets until at least 2011. Motherboard makers such as ASUS can still opt to add discrete 3.0 controllers at an extra cost, but Intel -- already accused of dragging its heels on the standard's development -- won't be. NVIDIA spokesman Brian Burke has expressed, in no uncertain terms, his company's disappointment with Intel, while also claiming that chipsets by NVIDIA are more feature-rich and just plain better than Intel's own efforts. We'll add this to our ever-growing collection of things NVIDIA doesn't like about Intel, but we also hope that the immature outburst doesn't obscure the real issue. NVIDIA is correct in noting that Intel needs competition in the chipset space, and the new interconnect's dependence on Intel's whims demonstrates the market-altering powers that reside in Santa Clara, CA. Unless another chipmaker gets serious about competing with Intel, we could face plenty more of these seemingly arbitrary delays in tech rollouts. Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

NVIDIA confirms Intel chipsets won't support USB 3.0 until 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Talking Windows 7 Upgrade Media with Microsoft

So I had an in-person discussion yesterday with Microsoft about how its Windows 7 Upgrade media does (or does not) work. I'm going to update my Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media article to include this information, but I wanted to communicate it to you as quickly as possible. So here are some data points to consider...

If you run Setup from an existing install of Windows ... Windows 7 will always activate.

If you boot your PC with Windows 7 Upgrade media ... and there is an existing install of Windows on the first partition, Windows 7 will always activate. If the existing install of Windows is on some other partition, Windows 7 should still activate. There are instances in which this won't work--especially when people really muck around with directory structures and so on, but it should activate.

There is one major and important change between Windows Vista and Windows 7 Setup with regards to compliance checking ... In Windows Vista, Setup did the compliance check (to see whether you have a valid prior version of Windows and thus qualify for the Upgrade version) after the phase where you can format the disk. This means you could actually format the disk, thus destroying your previous install, and then fail the compliance check. Microsoft fixed this in Windows 7. That means you can format the disk during Setup: Windows 7 will still activate because the compliance check occurred earlier.

A recovery partition will never qualify you for the Upgrade version. Setup does not understand or parse recovery partitions.

If you clean install Windows 7 with Upgrade media and it does not work for some reason, Microsoft's recommendation is that you call Microsoft Support immediately ... They will get you activated immediately, no questions asked, and the call is free. You're provided with free support calls as part of your purchase.

The Full and Upgrade media for Windows 7 are indeed identical. The only difference is the product key. The code on the discs is the same.

The double-install trick is documented and supported by Microsoft. It's dumb and slow, but Microsoft does support the double-install method (Method #3 in my Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media article) for clean installing Windows 7 with Upgrade media. They do not support the Registry hack (Method #2 in my Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media article) but couldn't think of a reason why it should be avoided otherwise. (I think they just don't like it.) The vibe I got was that if you ever had problems later, you could always call Microsoft support for free and they'd just fix it.

 

 

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New Directory Services KB Articles/Blogs 10/25-10/31

KB

975830	The memory usage of the Dns.exe process keeps increasing after you install hotfix 941672 on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 SP2 and that has the DNS server role installed
972622	The Active Directory Application Mode index may become corrupted if you search the instance by using the LDAP virtual list view control
975792	Numeric host names cannot be resolved on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008
969371	Error message when you run a command at the Command Prompt window in Windows Server 2008 Server Core: "The specified service does not exist as an installed Service"
975943	Error code when an application uses the CredSSP if the authenticated user account is a member of many security groups on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008: "0x80090329"
976921	A DFSR propagation report logs the following error on a Windows Server 2008 domain controller: "Cannot open test file on the member The network path was not found."
976922	The "Run only allowed Windows applications" Group Policy setting displays no entries on a computer that is running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows 7
968929	Description of the Windows Management Framework on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008
974522	A LDAP simple bind action fails on a domain controller that is running Windows Server 2008 if the distinguished name of the user account exceeds 256 characters
976427	Computers that are running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 stop responding at a black screen if a screen saver is enabled
977110	How to select time zone for countries or regions that are not listed in Windows time zone list

Blogs

Explanation of the Remote Desktop Services CAL Upgrade behavior in Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008

DFS Referrals and IPv6: Outta site!

How to Decommission an ADAM/ADLDS server and Add Additional Servers

Using ADMT 3.1 to migrate to Windows Server 2008 R2 domains

Learn more about system image backup

Quick, Dirty, Super-Useful Scripting

Remote Desktop Load Simulation Toolset

DNSSEC Security Guide – update now available

Free MS Press ebook: Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2

Snapshot recovery tool strikes back

Cross post: Terminal Server 2003 issues with Group Policy Preferences History Folder

Announcing the availability of Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 for Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows Vista SP2

Update: Free P2V tool: Disk2Vhd.exe – Command line support

Cool new tool for comparing IE Zone Security Settings

Powershell v2 is yours!

Windows Management Framework is here!

New DirectAccess documentation is now available

Optional configuration for the DFS Replication Management Pack

Windows 7 - Do I need to change my Active Directory for new Group Policy features?

Configuring the DFS Replication Management Pack

Scalable Networking Pack revisited for 2008

 

 

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Windows 7: Clean Install vs. Upgrades

A hot topic as I traveled to my customers this month has been the recent confusion around upgrading to Windows 7. And inevitably the questioned is asked: Should I do a clean installation or simply upgrade my computer? Here’s a list of why I believe an upgrade is a REALLY BAD IDEA.

• Some applications don’t work properly after upgrading from earlier versions of Windows.
• Not all security settings migrate to the new operating system (requiring you to harden security post installation).
• Exploits (i.e. viruses and spyware) migrate with the upgrade.
• Upgrading carries forward performance problems that occur due to normal performance degradation.
• Confusion due to inconsistent configurations can lead to an increased total cost of ownership.
• Upgrading doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity to start fresh with standardized reference configurations.
• The upgrade deployment process is significantly more complicated than the wipe-and-load deployment process.

It is safe to say there has been a lot of confusion caused by the lack of published information when the new operating system hit the retail shelves on October 22nd.  Over the years, one of my favorite non-Microsoft sites is Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows, and a customer recently pointed me to a series of articles that takes the user through several Windows 7 upgrade scenarios.

Microsoft has also published their own series of articles as well that can be found at the Windows 7 Compatibility Center. although some of their resources are not as detailed as those found on the SuperSite (Paul includes some very detailed screenshots), they include scenarios like: Upgrading from Windows XP, Upgrading from Windows Vista, and 32-bit vs. 64-bit Windows.

Eric Ligman, of the Microsoft Small Business & SMB Channel Community Blog, has also published a series of Windows 7 articles that expounds on the process from a licensing perspective. (There is quite a lengthy series of comments that follows many of these postings that clearly illustrates the frustration with initial lack of documentation around the upgrade process.)

One of the great aspects of the Windows 7 operating system is the support of the new mini laptops (aka netbooks).  I have personally installed almost every version of operating system on several netbook models including the Dell 2100, the HP Mini 2140, and Lenovo S Series devices.  (There are many other quality devices out there; these are only the ones I have worked with.)  These systems do not have CD drives.  If you do not own an external drive, then you usually have to install from a USB drive (or use Windows Deployment Services, but that’s a whole other topic).

The Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool allows you to create a copy of your Windows 7 ISO file on a USB flash drive or a DVD. To create a bootable DVD or USB flash drive, download the ISO file and then run the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool. Once this is done, you can install Windows 7 directly from the USB flash drive or DVD.

 

Another great tool to have in your back pocket is the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. It scans your hardware, devices, and installed programs for known compatibility issues, gives you guidance on how to resolve potential issues found, and recommends what to do before you upgrade.

 

 

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