WinInfo Short Takes: Week of June 24
WinInfo | at | by Mike
IBM Drops Linux Support for Thinkpads
In a curious move given its otherwise stellar support of Linux, IBM is dropping support for the Open Source solution from its line of Thinkpad laptops, effective immediately. The decision to drop this support was purely financial, with IBM dropping funding for the project and laying off the people who worked in that group. Incidentally, in IBM-speak, this is referred to a "resource action." Outside of IBM, we call it bone-headed.
Windows "Switchers" Were Solicited, Paid
So it turns out that Apple's latest ad campaign, in which real ex-Windows users explain why they made the move to the Mac, is less than honest. Contrary to comments made by CEO Steve Jobs last week, the ex-Windows users featured in the ad were solicited by Apple to make feedback and didn't approach the company first. Furthermore, the participants were paid to be in the ads and will receive royalties for each ad airtime. I don't think any of this is a problem, if it weren't for the fact that Jobs made it sound like these people came to Apple in the first place. That's not what happened.
Microsoft Posts Office Updates
Microsoft Office 2000 and XP users will want to head over to the Microsoft Web site and download the latest security patches for those products, thanks to recently discovered vulnerabilities in Excel and Word (2000 and 2002 versions). The patches fix recently discovered vulnerabilities but also roll-up all previous fixes.