Mac News

Ruin your PC with an Aqua Dock - The Register UK
Andrew Orlowski is all fussy about Aqua's Dock, Apple' efforts to shut down Windows Dock emulators, and the current state of those efforts. An interesting read that is part editorial, part news item.

Mac Columns/Editorials

Mac Scope - Komando Strikes Again - Low End Mac
Our friend Kim Kommando, the Mac-ignorant radio talk show computer host, is busy giving out misinformation about the Mac to her listeners. Color us stunned. An entertaining read.

Mac Humor

Apple Quietly Hiring Geniuses, Ninja. - Crazy Apple Rumors
The crazy folks at CAR bring us fake word of Apple's latest efforts to add ninjas to its payroll. A very entertaining read.

Copyprotection/Copyright Articles

Tech, entertainment take on copyrights - ZDNet
The boys and girls that will be deciding many of our future online rights, without actual representation by anyone writing or reading this, are meeting now. A scary read on an important subject.

Technology, Evil, And MP3s - A Commentary And Response To John Martellaro - Applelinks
With Charles Moore, we are usually either a defender (GO FREE SPEECH!) or a detractor. It is in the latter role that we bring you today's piece from. In it, he tries to deconstruct John Martellaro's recent dissertation on the nature of thievery. Unfortunately, he uses some of the same tired old rationalizations that many pirates use (not that we know if Mr. Moore himself is a pirate): It's civil disobedience to steal, copyright is outdated, digital information isn't "real," so it's not "theft" to steal it, blah blah blah. Civil disobedience would be cracking copy protection, or boycotting music. Stealing it, however, is just that, theft. He raises many other issues in the piece, and we recommend it as a thought provoking read, no matter which side of the piracy fence you stride.

Microsoft Articles

On the Microsoft FTP server leak - The Register UK
The Reg catches us up on how Microsoft let a massive amount of customer data open on the Internet. An entertaining read.

One licence for MS Jupiter apps - The Register UK
The Reg also has details on the latest scheme from Microsoft to bilk it's customers of money through licensing fees. A boring read, but a fine report.

Spam Articles

Spam king lives large off others' e-mail troubles - Free Detroit Press
Alan Ralsky is a Spammer. He makes money by wasting your time, your bandwidth, and your CPU cycles. It is almost inconceivable that you have not gotten at least one Spam from this jerk, and he just bought himself a new US$740,000 house in a market where that buys a small palace. The Free Detroit Press has the details of this unapologetic leech. An annoying read, but a fine report.

Other Tech Articles Articles

Identity thieves strike eBay - News.com
News.com reports on criminals using stolen credit cards in a new rash of online identity theft. A good read.

We rate our articles using a very informal and highly subjective system. The purpose of Mac OS News Around The Web (MOSN) is to highlight articles that stand above or below the norm. Most of what we highlight is something we simply feel is good or important. We also include the occasional article that is just badly written, or better yet wrong. Sometimes, we even offer a good rootin' tootin' rant.

• Good Read - The article is enjoyable for some reason, but not stellar. It may have a good angle or just be well written.
• Very Good Read - Everything that a Good Read has, and then some.
• Great Read - We give this rating quite rarely, and an article or editorial has to really knock our socks off to get it. This usually requires style in addition to substance.
• Important Read - Some articles are important. They might state an opinion we think vital, or perhaps someone has uncovered some fiendish new plot, but Important Reads should be read. Now.
• Fun Read - An entertaining article, usually comedic in nature. We are fond of satire, subtlety, and witty things that make pointed fun of Microsoft.
• Entertaining Read - Unlike a Fun Read, an Entertaining Read just sort of tickles our fancy. Many Entertaining Reads are clever.
• Interesting Read - This is a close cousin of the Entertaining Read. This article is something that caught our attention, but may not be spectacular, or even outstanding, in terms of writing style. That's usually what keeps an Interesting Read from being a Good Read or a Very Good Read.
• Handy Read - A Handy Read is an article that is helpful in some way. It's almost always a tip piece, or some other kind of help article.
• Frustrating Read - Sometimes spotted as an Annoying Read, this article is usually just a really stupid opinion. Sometimes it will even be a stupid opinion that is poorly written.
• Really Bad Read - Most articles that fit this description are seldom worth our, or your, attention. Sometimes something is so bad, however, that we feel compelled to mention it so that you can avoid it. We're nice like that.
• A Waste Of HTML - We haven't actually given this one out yet, but we are almost looking forward to the day we do so.

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