TresSugar

Microsoft Changes Race in Photo, Then Apologizes

TresSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0700

If you're going to change someone's race on your corporate website (which you shouldn't!), you might want to do a better job with the Photoshop. Microsoft got itself in a bit of trouble when its Polish-based unit altered a photo on its website by replacing a black man's face with that of a white man's but forgetting to change the color of the man's hand.

Microsoft's US web site had the original photo of two men: one black, one Asian. But apparently Poland isn't ready for that. Some point to Poland's ethnic homogeneity as a motive for the (sloppy) alteration, and in the meantime Microsoft has apologized.

What do you make of Microsoft's offense?

Human Rights Online: Tech Companies Adopt Conduct Code

LibertySugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:15 -0700

Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are set to adopt voluntary and uniform guidelines to govern their international business practices, this week. These Internet companies have struggled to find acceptable means to deal with countries like China, which silence the voice of dissidents on the Internet, and block certain websites. China has used emails sent by dissidents as evidence to put them behind bars.

Part of the code of conduct will require the companies to carefully scrutinize a government's demand for information about users, or government requests for nationwide censorship. The rules, generated by teams from the tech companies, public interest groups, academics, and socially conscious investment funds, weren't just created in the name of human rights - they're also designed to counter bad publicity surrounding tech company compliance with repressive governments.

Should international companies stay true to their hometown freedoms, or should they expect to play by the rules of all the countries where they do business?

Source

Bill Gates: Tight Immigration Leads to Outsourcing

LibertySugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:00:33 -0700

Allowing more foreigners to work in the US would not steal jobs away from Americans. Instead, it would create more jobs for Americans. That's what Bill Gates told Congress today, when he urged lawmakers to increase the number of visas available for high-skilled immigrants. The 65,000 H-1B visas granted this year were snatched up in one day, and Gates believes that the tight controls force companies to outsource jobs overseas.

Gates told the panel:

Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities.

Are you surprised by the counterintuitive link between importing high-skilled professionals and creating more jobs for Americans? Why do you think America needs more foreign workers to keep its high-tech industry competitive?

Source

Front Page: Microsoft Fine, Turkey Must Leave, China Talks

CitizenSugar — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:04:27 -0800

The European Union has fined Microsoft a record $1.4 billion for defying sanctions imposed on it for anti-competitive behavior. The fine ruling goes back to a 2004 decision that says Microsoft is guilty of not providing key code to rival software makers. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said, "Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the Commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an antitrust decision."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is set to tell Turkish leaders that they must conclude their current invasion of Iraq, and leave in no longer than two weeks. Turkey began this invasion into northern Iraq last week against separatist rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK. The U.S. provides Turkey with intelligence and surveillance assistance. Gates said, "It's very important that the Turks make this operation as short as possible and then leave. They have to be mindful of Iraqi sovereignty."
China has said that it will resume human rights talks with the U.S. This agreement appears to be aimed at countering potential criticism from activists ahead of the Olympic Games to be held in China this summer. The talks stalled in 2004 after the Bush administration sponsored an unsuccessful resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Commission rebuking China’s human rights record. China has warned that attempts to link Darfur with the Olympics will not help resolve the issue.

Move Over iPhone!

GiggleSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:30:00 -0700

The iPhone officially hits the market today and it's causing quite a frenzy, but will this madness be short-lived? Trends come and go, and "tiny" has been the latest craze. So now that Apple has proven that we can squeeze practically everything but the kitchen sink into the smallest of hand-held devices, what's next? Think BIG, folks. Think: Microsoft Surface. Who needs convenience when you can have "a big ass table" instead?

Microsoft "Clippy" In Real Life

GiggleSugar — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 08:00:00 -0700

If you've ever used Microsoft Word, then you've encountered "Clippy," the little paper clip that bounces to attention when "you look like" you're having difficulty doing something. With big, blinking eyes and brows that just won't quit, Clippy continually pops up to help you troubleshoot. Clippy doesn't take "no" for an answer and has a tendency to get beyond annoying. Unfortunately, he isn't any more helpful in real life.

Microsoft Interns Embrace Their Dorkiness

GiggleSugar — Mon, 21 May 2007 10:56:46 -0700

Five Microsoft interns got together to say "Bye, Bye, Bye" before leaving the company. Their choreography was certainly 'N SYNC, but someone failed to tell them that the song is so seven years ago. Something tells me they know this...

WTF?!

GiggleSugar — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:02:00 -0800

MicroSoft: "Eat me."

Source

Front Page: Rep. Tom Lantos Dies, Microsoft, Troop Withdrawals

CitizenSugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:53:19 -0800

Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) has died. Lantos was a Holocaust survivor and currently finishing what he'd called his last term after being diagnosed with cancer of the esophogas. He was 80 years old. Lantos often called himself, "an American by choice." He was born to Jewish parents in Hungary and was 16 when Hitler occupied his country. He survived by escaping labor camps twice, before receiving protection from Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg.
Yahoo rejected Microsoft's $44.6 billion offer, saying that it "substantially undervalues" the company. The offer, $31 per share, was a 62 percent higher price than the trading price when the offer was made. Since making the offer, Microsoft's shares have devalued quickly. A combined Microsoft and Yahoo would equal one of the world's biggest technology firms.
The US may halt troop withdrawals from Iraq this summer, for what Defense Secretary Robert Gates is calling a "pause" for evaluation. In what basically amounts to a reversal of the "surge" 30,000 troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by July. All five brigades scheduled to leave will do so, after which time Gates wants a "period of evaluation". The situation in Baghdad has improved recently, but peace remains fragile. Gates said, "a brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense," and that he hopes that the drawdown can continue until only ten brigades remain by the end of 2008.

Front Page: Tanning Beds Elevated to Highest Cancer Risk

TresSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:00:19 -0700

International cancer experts have reclassified tanning beds into the top cancer risk category of "probable carcinogens." The beds are now considered as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas. - AP
Microsoft and Yahoo have reached a deal to collaborate on Internet search and online advertising, in hopes of challenging Google. - NY Times
Michael Jackson's personal chef is speaking out about her time with MJ, including the day he died. - AP
US housing prices are on the rise again, showing that the bust might be coming to an end. - WSJ
Terrorists are threatening Sacha Baron Cohen over their portrayal in the film Bruno. - London Times