They started showing up a few weeks ago: blank postcards with pictures of Regent Street, little tins of biscuits, pints of Tetley’s English Ale. It could only mean one thing: Amber wants to come home. Apparently life with the Duke of Wayne isn’t all tea and crumpets. Well, tough toenails, sister. "Forgive" and "forget" are not in my vocabulary.
Off-the-job training: Rumor has it Microsoft Learning (formerly Microsoft Training & Certification) has axed 30 workers, all involved in producing content. According to my spy, Microsoft fired all the creatives but kept the managers. The scuttlebutt has Bill & Co. moving content creation offshore, possibly to India, where Microsoft opened a support center in April. My spy asks, “Will MCSE [Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer] soon stand for Microsoft Curry Seasoning Expert?”
McAfee-based support: Several readers wrote to assure me that, contrary to my report of two weeks ago, McAfee Security still supports VirusScan for NT. When I followed up with McAfee, its spokeshuman said the company had dropped support for the consumer version of VirusScan only; it still supports NT for enterprises. Maybe consumers should be thankful: Other McAfee users pay $3 per minute for phone support or -- according to Cringe sources -- wait in a queue nearly three hours for free online chat help. I’d wait three hours in line for Springsteen tickets, but to chat with some geek? I think not.
The summer of my disc contents: The owner of an unnamed online adult video store says a DVD licensing group is trying “to SCO” him. Attorneys for the DVD6C Licensing Agency (which includes AOL Time Warner, IBM, and Toshiba) have demanded proof that the discs he sells are covered under its DVD licensing agreement. Apparently the attorneys couldn’t reach the makers of the videos, so they’re going after the retailer instead, demanding royalties of 5 cents per disc. Sounds like the corporate types are trying to grab a piece of the action.
I tossed the cards, gave the biscuits to Apache, and drank the beer. The taste was bittersweet.
Heard a hot rumor or a good brewing tip? Send em to cringe@infoworld.com. I’ll pay $50 for the best.
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