As someone who is a former Windows programmer, a Wine hacker and a security expert, I cannot escape the notion that many of Windows security weaknesses are a direct result of a deliberate design decisions made by Microsoft. This is not to say that Microsoft maliciously designed the entire system, starting with the API, going through the security and users system, and ending with the program features, based solely on "usability" and "convenience", with "security" either being discarded as unimportant or not being considered. Either way, it appears to me that many of the design decisions behind the way Windows were poorly made, security wise.

One of those rare Great Posts on Slashdot... An argument backed by facts and features not widely known in the GroupThink

Ask Microsoft's Security VP

A federal grand jury in Denver has returned an indictment against Karen Durante, 24, of Loveland, Colo., in connection with the thefts of DVD movies from the U.S. mail.

Durante was working as a contract mail carrier at the time of the thefts, according to the indictment.

She is charged with four counts of mail theft and a fifth count charges her with possession of 1,256 movies that had been stolen from the mail.

Mail theft is a seriously bad offense. What's 1256 * 5 years / $250,000? A lot.

TheDenverChannel.com - Health - Postal Worker Indicted Over Netflix, Blockbuster Movie Thefts

Terry O'Neill, 50, of Pittsburgh, was watching the game at a bar and had a heart attack seconds after Jerome Bettis fumbled trying to score from the 2-yard line late in the fourth quarter.

This might be newsworthy OUTSIDE of Pittsburgh. Within, it is to be expected. It *would* have been an awful final play for Bettis. Worth the life of a fan?

SI.com - 2005 NFL Playoffs - Man recovering after heart attack during Steelers game - Tuesday January 17, 2006 11:09AM

The NFL said the referee made a mistake: Troy Polamalu caught the ball.

The league acknowledged that referee Pete Morelli erred when he overturned on replay Polamalu's interception of a Peyton Manning pass in the playoff game between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.

It was a pretty blatant "bad call". In light of the NFL making this rare acknowledgement, it will be interesting what happens to Mr. Porter. Porter, an outspoken teammate, made the claim after the game that the ruling was an obvious example of the referees attempting to directly influence the game in favor of the other team. This is a common refrain in the Steelers' world, but typically it results in fines. Given this concession, will he still be fined for continuing with implying that this was a deliberate act? Probably.

Super Bowl News - SuperBowl.com - Official website of Super Bowl XL

Their Levees - Our Levees

Pictures of Western Levees...

Their Levees - Our Levees

Lifetime today ran radio, TV and print ads in cities including Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas and Houston. Yesterday's newspaper ads, two full pages side-by-side, told viewers to ``Take Back Your Lifetime!'' The letter to EchoStar Chief Ergen says that by removing the channels, ``millions of women will not get the inspiration and support they need and deserve.''

EchoStar's Cicero offered to broadcast, at his company's expense, any valuable information or public service announcements to its viewers that they are missing by not watching Lifetime.

Long or Short?: Melodrama and the Lifetime Channel

There's been lots of talk on the web lately about Digg being the new Slashdot. Two months ago, a Digg reader noted that according to Alexa, Digg's traffic was catching up to that of Slashdot, even though Slashdot has been around for several years and Digg is just over a year old. The brash newcomer vs. the reigning champ, an intriguing matchup.

Last weekend, a piece on kottke.org (50 Fun Things to Do With Your iPod) was featured on Digg and Slashdot[1] and the experience left behind some data that presents a interesting comparison to the Alexa data.

Indepth analysis by Kottke over the Influence vs Traffic of Digg and Slashdot. Short conclusion -- Digg is driving Slashdot (influence), but between Slashdot's audience and its policies (keeping stories for 24 hours on the front page), Slashdot is the bigger and longer traffic provider.

Digg vs. Slashdot (or, traffic vs. influence) (kottke.org)

Stung by a recent Associated Press article that didn't credit him for coining the word "truthiness," Comedy Central's
Stephen Colbert has struck back.

AP covers Colbert's attack campaign on... the AP.

Who wins?

...Truthiness

Colbert: AP the Biggest Threat to America - Yahoo! News

It turns out that by eating the smaller seaweed-grazing parrotfish on the reef, the groupers are freeing up room for larger kinds of parrotfish that are better at mowing down reef-choking seaweed.

Discovery Channel :: News :: Predators Help Reefs

His speciality is designing F.M.C.G.s, or fast-moving consumer goods--products with relatively short life spans. Some of his best designs are disposable, like his shopping bags for Issey Miyake, which are made of transparent polypropylene sheets that fold into shape, with a rubbery handle. He is opposed, he says, "to this old modernist idea of permanence, when designers produce so-called classics that will live forever. Because I don't think we're living in a time where anything will live forever anymore."
The strain of trying to redesign the offending ninety per cent of the world, while at the same time keeping pace with the fast-moving stream of consumer goods, did not look easy. Rashid closed his eyes and took a brief nap.

John Seabrook | Stories | Plastic Man: Karim Rashid