Somebody call Prince because Microsoft is changing the name of the Window Media free version of Windows that it was ordered by the European commision to implement.

“We have some misgivings about the chosen name as we fear it may cause confusion,” Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake said on Monday. “We will adopt the commission’s name in order to move forward and accelerate the pace of the implementation process.”

In other words: they are complying, but are certainly not happy about it.

Keeping with the online dating theme in the last entry for just a wee bit longer, I just followed over and checked out true.com for the first time. If you read the USA article you’d see that the Michigan law is being backed by relative online dating newcomber, true.com. I didn’t mention true.com in the last entry, but the site is worth mentioning in its own entry for the mere fact of the additional steps they appear to go to for preventing married people from interacting at the website. Check out that legal disclaimer in the screenshot above.

Never hearing about this website before, and somewhat curious about the use of the name for a dating site, I think true.com is an intriguing concept for a dating site, although I can think of some legitimate and non-cheating scenarios where married people might be dating (maybe a separated couple never got legally separated or divorced?).

Check out the possible fine (up to $250,000) for the lamers who get bagged (Title 18, Section 1343 of the U.S Code) lying about their marital status and jail time (up to five years). As a married man, I feel like I need a spanking just for surfing the front page of their website and writing this entry! Married? Don’t do it … don’t click over there! Bad, bad, bad!

Tomorrow the Supreme court will hear an important case on whether P2P owners can be held responsible for the actions of their users. I read this on Mark Cuban’s blog over the weekend and now I’m seeing it at ZDNet:

Billionaire Mark Cuban has announced that he will finance Grokster’s defense against MGM’s peer-to-peer lawsuit, which is expected to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Mark writes in his usual passionate, articulate style:

Thats not the way it should be. So , the real reason of this blog. To let everyone know that the EFF and others came to me and asked if I would finance the legal effort against MGM. I said yes. I would provide them the money they need. So now the truth has been told. This isnt the big content companies against the technology companies. This is the big content companies, against me. Mark Cuban and my little content company. Its about our ability to use future innovations to compete vs their ability to use the courts to shut down our ability to compete. its that simple.

Will this case get rid of P2P clients if it goes MGM’s direction? At least those companies operating in the US. I guess I’m an optimist in this one in that I believe the Supreme Court will find in this case in favor of Grokster / Cuban / Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). If they don’t, then things could get real curious in the P2P space.

I’ll admit I’m not completely up to speed on what follows. Before giving my own feelings and opinion on what I do know, as a parent, I will run through the facts as best I know them. Readers that know a lot more please feel free to correct the details provided in the next paragraph.

Terri Schiavo has lived for 12+ years in a vegatable status, being hooked up to machines and her husband has been fighting for mercy to have the tube removed, and thus starving her to death. Terri’s parents, however, are hoping some miracle will happen and are fighting to get the tube put put back after the state courts in Florida, after much review, ruled that the tube should be, and actually was, removed. For two days now the tube has been removed. Tonight, an emergency congressional bill was assembled and congress voted unanmiously (203-58) in favor of the bill and therefore against the state of Florida’s decision. What this means is now it will go to a federal court as to whether there will be a stay in the State case why the legal fate for Terri is resolved.

Al Barger is just one of many folks with a very passionate perspective about the tragic situation swirling aroung Terri Schiavo:

Dear Congress: Please mind your own damned business. Leave the Schiavo family alone. Who in hell do you presumptuous SOBs think you are? Let me be more specific. What part of your legal mandate, the US Constitution, gives you legal authority to interfere with particular individuals specific private medical decisions? By what authority do you overrule the state courts in this matter?

I’m a husband and parent. I’m looking at this through the eyes of a parent more than a husband though because IMO children trump marriage. My children mean more to me than anything in the world and I would do whatever I could do to protect them. I don’t ever want to make any decision like this with any of our children and I can just feel the gut-wrenching decision Terri’s parents must be going through. I really don’t think I could make this decision for my children. My wife says she could, and I’m glad she’s stronger than me on matters like this.

The decision for both my wife and I in a situation like this is covered in our detailed wills. We covered all situations including sustenance, power of attorney, etc. For me, this is an issue that should get folks motivated to revisit their wills and make sure this kind of stuff is covered there. No matter what anybody else says to the contrary, I strongly believe we can prepare for the inevitable.

God, I hope as a parent I never, ever have to make any call like this one concerning our children. I’m not a very religious person but I will still pray tonight for the Schiavo family and other families in similar situtations.

Hopefully many others will keep this family in their thoughts.

Update 3/22/05: PBS has a good look at living wills and whether or not if Mrs. Schiavo had a living will it would have made any difference:

I think it would have been considerably easier. It is always impossible to say what would have happened if things had been different. But it’s hard to imagine that it would have reached this level if there had been a living will in place. One of the other things that a living will does is it makes it so much easier for the team to at least come together somewhat, so in the first place, the proxy who has a very difficult role. No one should underestimate how difficult it is to be a proxy implementing decisions….

Cell phone afficiando, Yahoo! employee, and sometimes brash blogger, Russell Beattie thinks all bloggers should repost the comic that the Chicago Tribune decided to ban that makes light of President Bush and the recent tapes where he admitted smoking pot. Hmm, Russell, I screencapped your post instead. Seems like encouraging bloggers to violate somebody elses’s copyright (the comic creator and syndicate that purchased the comic) isn’t very sound advice.

As for the content of the comic and the fact that the Tribune and a few other papers would choose not to run it?

C’mon people! Why does anybody really care if Bush smoked pot or did coke before he became President? I’m more concerned about the job Presidents do in the White House than the blow jobs they might be currently getting (which IMO Hilary had to know about slick Willy) or the powder they sniffed or bowl they tapped in college. I don’t like getting political on this blog and just as Russell should stick to Yahoo and cell phones I should stick to non-political topics, but I looked at this comics and thought:

1) it’s not that funny (although I think that about most comics) and
2) I didn’t see the big deal. How about a comic depicting Bush in a bed next to an oil pump?

Then again, maybe I’m just a bitter guy who thinks paying $2.38/gallon for gas is a sham.

Since 9/11 the FBI has been working on a system for agents to share information, to the tune of $170 million. The only problem is the thing still doesn’t work.

“After more than three years, multiple missed deadlines, and a price tag of $170 million, the FBI still does not have an investigative case management system to replace the antiquated … system,” Fine said in a statement to the Senate Appropriations Committee submitted along with his report.

I wonder if this was outsourced? (that’s a joke, albeit a bad one)

Just heard this on the local KIRO710 radio station and Googled it when I got home that a new Medicare plan next year will cover Viagra, WTF?!

A new prescription drug coverage law that takes effect next year means the government health insurance plan for the elderly must offer to help pay for medically necessary drugs, the officials said. That would include sildenafil, sold by Pfizer under the brand name Viagra, and other erectile dysfunction drugs.

I wonder what’s next? Medicare to cover cable TV? How about Medicare covering golf? Just think of all the parallels between golf and sex? I bet the adult industry and those who pitching viagra are absolutely on par with this decision.

I really hope proposed taxes on internet-related data transfer don’t ever pass.

The committee, deeply involved in writing U.S. tax laws, unexpectedly said in a report Thursday that the 3 percent telecommunications tax could be revised to cover “all data communications services to end users,” including broadband; dial-up; fiber; cable modems; cellular; and DSL, or digital subscriber line, links.

I’ll admit taxes are part of the reason we dropped most our regular phone service.

John Dvorak who has written for PC Magazine for as long as I can remember often is seen as extremely cynical but his blog often shows a quirky sense of humor. Check out his commentary on mainstream media trying to use Sponge Bob as a pawn in a homophobic discussion.

While never actually saying Sponge Bob was gay, James Dobson stupidly created a controversy by claiming Sponge Bob was promoting the gay agenda. (I’ve been looking for a copy of the gay agenda, by the way. Can someone send it along. I’m wondering what’s in it. Who authored it?)

I try to steer clear of most political discussions (life is too short) as I’ve written here before, but the thought of a cartoon sponge guy being gay made me laugh. Not that being gay is funny, because I have no problem with people who are gay, but something about a sponge having any sexuality, either heterosexual or homosexual I find humorous. Now if you want to talk about the Teletubbies … hmm. If you need more examples of John’s sense of humor then check out: Man peed way out of avalanche. Not enough laughter in the world today.

As many are, I too am saddened by the news that Mother Nature has claimed the lives of a reported 50,000 people. The list of dead is growing and many are still missing. Some of the pictures of the aftermath are downright scary, illustrating with a series of exclamation points how truly puny man is when confronted by the force of nature. Christian News:

News agencies say Sunday’s tsunami—triggered by the massive 9.0 magnitude quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra—is the deadliest of its kind since the one that devastated the Portuguese capital of Lisbon in 1755 and killed an estimated 60,000 people.

Dina Mehta asks: What’s the best platform for building a collaborative disaster-relief resource on the web? The answer seems to be a wiki is better than a blog.

Really, I’m not one of those “the end of the world is coming” guys but I do strongly believe that man won’t be responsible for the end of earth as we know it, instead it will be the forceful hand of Mother Nature or mammoth space debris. So let’s be proactive here and really get space explored so that we can someday colonize elsewhere … just in case. I’d rather be proactive and see the world’s vast finances going to better space exploration than increased militarization. Policing ourselves, though necessary seems almost like a footnote when compared to a severe earthquake or asteroid which could kill millions, if not decimate the human race.

Update: Wikipedia provides extensive coverage including pictures, video and more