A short message to all WordPress-bloggers: The actual security update version 2.3.3 is strongly recommended. Here at codedifferent no problems occure while upgrading.
Taking this upgrade as an opportunity – the anti spam plugin was also exchanged: In the future every commentator at codedifferent has to prove to be a pattern recognizing human. And by using the reCAPTURE-plugin we aditionally help others: The CAPCHA codes used here are not only some generated graphics – they represent words which could not be recognized by OCR-software. reCAPCHA was developed from Carnegie Mellow University and they actually support the project Internet Archive.

That’s a big one: It really looks like Steve Ballmer want’s to get into the search engine and online advertisement market. Today, Microsoft announced, that the company proposes the acquisition of Yahoo! at a premium of 63% to the current trading price.
It’s a teamup for competing Google – but we’ll have to see whether this transaction will be allowed by the anti-trust authorities and whether joining the forces of Microsoft and Yahoo! development teams will lead to innovation as they want it to be.
How should we call that company in the future? Microhoo!?

P.S. I hope they’ll now hire Ms. Dewey for the future Microhoo! search engine

[Update] You can vote for your favorite name of Microhoo at engadget

The Deutsche Telekom – and its subsidiary T-Mobile – antagonize designers and creatives by claiming a trademark for the color magenta at the European brandoffice. No other company should be allowed to use this color for their stationary advertising campaigns. Strictly speaking, this would lead to the fact that only the Deutsche Telekom would be allowed to print in full color: Finally nearly all full color prints are realized with the four colors C – cyan, M – magenta, Y – yellow and K – black.
Graphic designers in the Netherlands started a "consumer created content campaign" against the prohibition to use magenta in advertisement.

As a result, the claiming of the color magenta as a trademark may damage the value of the Deutsche Telekom image substantially.

Source & picture: freemagenta.nl, source: connectedmarketing.de

According to techcrunch, Chine declared war on western search engines, like Google and Yahoo. All requests to those search engine sites from within China are redirected to Baidu. This takes cyberwar to a next level. Or should we say DNS-cyberwar? A cyberwar against companies like Google and Yahoo, but also a fight against the freedom of speech and the freedom of information. But to be honest … this cyberwar against honest citizens who want user their right for freedom of speech or freedom of information … is not only situated in China. Also in western democracies like, the US or within the EU these fundamental citizen rights are called into question also. So, let’s hope that freedom and democracy are on the winning side at the end.

Source: techcrunch.com

This blog is normally not focussing on politics, legislation, the constitutional state or democracy. But the things happening in Germany’s domestic and legal policy these days, slowly but massively affect our life and work. It affects our rule of law, our democracys, our civil rights, our constitutions, our freedom. Not only in Germany. Especially, if you deal with the internet in private and business … as probably most of us do.

Heribert Prantl, domestic policy editor the big German newspaper sueddeutschezeitung, wrote a profound article in the NZZ folio titled "Terroristen als Gesetzgeber" – terrorists as legislators. I’m really sorry that his article is only available in German – but it’s really worth reading it. All of us, who love democracy and freedom should be concerned about the facts he describes precisely.

Sources: NZZ-Folio 09/07, lawblog.de