Corporate ethics don't exist

Hi Nick

I am Tom Large, a Crewe boy living in New York. I set up a company over here to make computer mice to a US standard, because, as it is also a law, and we make the only mouse that subscribes to the design, we thought it would be a good idea. The US Gov spends about $20-30Bn a year with the likes of Dell & HP. We designed it initially because it also stops users getting carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). CTS and the like (RSI's) are to the computer industry today what lung cancer was to the tobacco industry 40 years ago!

The point is this. Dell, HP and Apple, reeling under corporate ethics scandals; Dell desperate for a good ideas and yet, having written to all of them suggesting they might be allegedly deceiving the US Gov by their claims, I get not even the courtesy of a reply. A short note that said, “your talking through your hat” would be better than nothing from a corporate ethics point of view or so I would have thought; or “we're looking at it thanks for pointing it out”. Just so you know these letters have not gone in blind, I have meet with and communicated prior.

I wrote to the ethics directors of both HP & Dell because I thought it an ethics issue. A law under which they have sold billions of dollars of computers to the US Gov: no reply! I can prove that they both got the letters because they both reacted to the content and in Dell's case made a major change to their website (I saved the before and after pages).

Just blowing off really as journalists over here are probably too invested in those companies to give a tinkers cuss. Or maybe it is a seemingly victimless crime, but then it isn't. The Law is intended to help persons with disability, but in an irony, not supplying products that subscribe to the design actually do contribute towards disabilities like carpal tunnel syndrome, the Mayo Clinic published a paper Nov 06 that helps confirm this.

Everyone is looking for a new frontier for Dell with the seeming exception of Michael Dell himself. I emailed him recently with an outline proposal for the next generation of “pink” interface tech (keyboards, mice and software that requires less physiological effort - “we improve mouse mileage”) including explaining the fact that together we could start to reverse the statistic that one in three kids being taught to use a computer in schools today will become impaired to a point of incapacity before they have even repaid their student loans.

But instead they are coming out with Linux machines and planting trees!

Tom

Subject: Picture test - BBC

I think the BBC could have used a better picture here, don't you think? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6410961.stm

Nick

Subject: Slandering Hackers

This is a very old mistake that I see in print day after day.

Hackers are not criminals. A Hacker is someone who enjoys creating things for fun. If it is profitable that is a bonus. A very famous hack is the Apple 8 bit computer. Not a success, but it led to the Apple II :)

For some more hacks created simply because they could be done, check out http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/

The people you keep referring to who crack security for fun are Crackers. Yes this is a form of hacking, but using Hacker to mean Cracker leads readers to believe that Hacker=Crook.

Yes it is possible to have fun with computers while violating the law. Most hackers though operate legally and are the developers of Open Source Software, Freeware, Shareware & out of the mainstream hardware. One of the better known Hackers is Linus Torvalds.

Fritz

Subject: Ebay auction nicks INQ review for sale description

I sugest you replace the linked images with humorous ones that depict a graphics card in various stages of destruction. I remember a (I think) German guy stole some images from another site for use on ebay, and they did a similar thing (I think you may have put that story out, as it seems the sort of thing that you guys would report on)

Richard Murphy

Subject: "whether vein"

I'd like to know how many messages you'll receive on this one, haha :)

M

Subject: I have a problem with Andrew Thomas

I think it was intentional for Andrew to post that view to get people like myself to start sending letters.

One thing that changes the whole equation is that Microsoft has given users a 30 day evaluation period of Vista. I hate the fact that if I shell out $200 - $400 to buy the OS itself....most electronic vendors in the United States only give software exchanges, not refunds.

What this means is that even if there is an evaluation period included in the Operating System and It turns out that I don't like it, I can't return it for a full refund. In the end I am screwed first by all the mainstream stores that want to make a buck.

For this reason I encourage everyone to download and crack Vista if possible...Not just for all the lies and deception existing about Vista, but for each customer that has been or will be screwed if you take the "Honest, hard working" approach...I believe that someone should screw the companies and microsoft by actually being fair and DOWNLOADING THE OS and seeing what all the fuss is about...They call it "Criminal Behavior," I call it Balance.....

I had mine for 20 days in the evaluation period and then finally uninstalled it. Vista made me appreciate XP pro a lot more. Axel

Subject: OEM Vista crack gets round 'phone home' activation

I think the solution to the spoofed OEM crack will be more complicated than disabling the current OEM license keys.

There are already thousands of legitimate machines in the hands of end users as well as many thousands more sitting in sealed boxes in warehouses and reseller shelves.

Nuking the existing keys will only make all these machines useless irritating the affected end users, resellers and OEMs.

Assumiming MS hard coded alternate license keys into the verification algorithm the new keys will be in the hands of the hackers almost immediately.

If alternate keys are not already in place then a patch would be required for all affected machines again causing irritation for users, resellers, OEMs.

While there is bound to be a solution to this hack MS cannot afford to make it onerous on the legitimate users.

acceptor

Subject: 53c downloadable book

Here here!

Kudos to whoever set the price on the downloadable copy @ $0.53. It's nice to see someone placing an incentive on NOT printing paper copies of books.

Glen

Subject: Crook sues MICROSUCKS

Let's see if I've got this straight...

A criminal by the name of CROOKER is arrested on a felony gun charge and he's whining because the FBI found his porn collection and no doubt other incriminating information... on his PC because CROOKER believed a MICROSUCKS O/S was "SECURE" and that a HD couldn't be viewed by investigators because of a software lock?

Should a person like this REALLY be allowed to have a gun?

Ferchissake you'd think these fools could BUY A CLUE when it comes to MICROSUCKS and O/S security but evidently not.

Leave the scumbag in jail to rot - He's too stupid to be out on the streets !

Jorge

Subject: Criminal Copyright

If Andrew really wants to be a stickler, the only permissible use of a VCR is recording a television show that was broadcast freely over the air. You're allowed to play it back once, and you cannot fast-forward through commercials.

If he owns a Tivo or other DVR, goodness, throw that man in gaol!

Chris Hower

Subject: Letter from Frank Bebber

Hmm. It makes for an interesting mental exercise to replace the word "girl" with, oh, I don't know, say, "poof", in Mr. Bebber's charming missive to the Inquirer. But then I suppose it's possible that Mr. Bebber has just as low an opinion of homosexuals as he seems to of women, and would feel equally at home with that particular flavour of bigotry too.

Still it's good to see that Andrew Thomas in some way reflects your readership, in that many of them seem to have just a woeful a lack of reasoning skills and grasp on reality as him. One can understand why Mr. Thomas might feel the need to hang on to his frankly rather bizarre attitudes when the people taking him to task for them seem to express the counterpoint with flawed analogies, conspiracy theories, or in the case of our beloved Mr. Bebber, just plain pig ignorance.

Still, while I'm here, I suppose I can't resist the temptation to add my own (doubtless equally misinformed) opinion in a minor way.

Hackers are not, in general, part of organised crime. Usually they're people with a technical bent who enjoy problem solving. While they may have a philosophical problem with DRM, I've never heard of one who was actually working for the bootleggers who actually make the money from the illegal sale of software. At worst one may be able to argue that they're socially irresponsible in exercising their intellectual curiosity.

The whole DRM hoopla feels vaguely reminiscent of the plot of a bad film. Specifically the one where a dangerous secret which will destroy humanity is unearthed, and it's a race against time to ensure that it's not made public, with catastrophic consequences.

You can't keep a lid on knowledge, because if one person can figure it out, there's a whole bunch of other people who can also do the same. The content (software, music, film, etc.) industry's approach to solving the real problem of people not paying for what they are selling is effectively to hide it, which isn't working and is providing major headaches for the vast majority of people who are honest enough to recognise that the people producing content need to be able to eat too.

Nothing lasts for ever. In a new environment, commerce must look towards new ways of doing business rather than alienating their legitimate customer base by trying to shore up old models that reflect a pre-Internet society. At the moment, they're mostly looking like Dark Ages barons labouring to build thicker and thicker castle walls in the hope that eventually one of them will be strong enough to hold against the ever improving technology of the cannon.

I suspect that the smart players in the content industry already know this and are using DRM as a delaying tactic to maximise revenue for as long as possible before the proverbial hits the fan.

Christi Scarborough