Microsoft gives up on Yahoo

A month ago it looked like Microsoft wouldn’t take no for an answer in their hope to bid to merge with Yahoo!, but last night they decided “no” is the way it will have to be.

[UPDATED] I’m leaving Flickr

[Updated to reveal the new location of my online photo albums. - Nanci]

After careful consideration I’ve decided to leave Flickr in light of Microsoft’s vow to mount an unfriendly takeover of Yahoo, Flickr’s parent company.

Funny Microsoft warning

I found this image while Stumbling around late last night and I just have to share it with you all.

Thanks to C-D-Rom for finding the original image and tagging it for Stumblers. And yes, that is the Ubuntu logo on Tux’s stomach.

Protest DRM at the BPL tomorrow

The Boston Public Library has opened part of it’s collection of books, music and movies to users over the Internet, but only if you can utilize Microsoft’s Digital Rights Management system, meaning Mac OSX and Linux users are effectively blocked from using these library resources. But a protest has been put together by free software and anti-DRM activists to let the BPL that this places unfair restrictions on its users.

Cnet writer goes Ubuntu

This is the year I kiss Windows good-bye. Well, maybe not entirely, but the writing is on the wall for Microsoft’s flagship operating system, and all other desktop bloatware: The future of PC software is open source.

That’s how Cnet’s Dennis O’Reilly opens his series on changing his Windows computer from Windows to a Windows/Ubuntu dual boot system.

[UPDATED] The bet is on! Ubuntu vs. Microsoft

Last night I was checking Planet Ubuntu before crawling into bed when I stumbled across this topic on the Ubuntu forums and I just had to share it with you guys. A guy runs Windows Vista (he has my sympathies after the Vista horror stories I’ve been hearing) and his friend was always going on about how much better Ubuntu is than Vista. He finally told his friend to put up or shut up, and the friend made a bet. The guy has to use Ubuntu for thirty days (the friend even rooked the power supply for the guy’s desktop computer), and if he finds anything that Vista can do that Ubuntu can’t he gets a new laptop, if not he has to pay for his friend’s new laptop.

Shuttleworth fires back at Ballmer

Yesterday I posted that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer accused open source programmers of not respecting intellectual property rights, mentioning Red Hat Linux by name. Today Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Ubuntu Linux developer Canonical, Inc., fired back, setting the record straight and shedding some light on the real IP problem children.

Microsoft threatens Linux over patents. Again.

Microsoft has long claimed that Linux infringed on some of their patents, and it’s the big reason they’ve set up agreements with Novel. Steve Ballmer’s at it again, and now he’s got Red Hat in his sights.

Is Microsoft’s promise to protect their Linux partners worth what they say it is?

Microsoft is promising to protect their Linux partners from lawsuits, and many people think that makes those particular distributions more worthy of being used. But Matt Asay has written a wonderful article on his cnet blog about the real value of Microsoft’s promise not to sue, or rather the threat of a suit against Linux distributions that haven’t signed agreements with the boys from Redmond.