IGnatius T Foobar writes on Slashdot:

“Microsoft has developed a small plug-in device that investigators can use to quickly extract forensic data from computers that “may have been used in crimes.” It basically bypasses all of the Windows security (decrypting passwords, etc.) in order to eliminate all that pesky privacy when the police have physical access to your computer. Just one more reason not to run Windows on your computer.”

Think of how easy then it would be for Microsoft to provide backdoor access into its programs for the American government, definitely in the case if the US gets its hands on a Chinese laptop, but even more scary for the Chinese government, over the Internet with various programs that Microsoft provides to the American government.

Think of how easy it is already for other software makers to put in hidden software through rootkits as Sony previously did. This would make it quite easy for keystroke logging, password retrieval, and other tracking systems in order to get information on other governments.

Then again, how many people are gullible in just clicking on a friend’s IM link that opens up an .exe file?

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Google issued want could be seen as a general warning to Microsoft over the hostile bid for all of Yahoo:

Google said Sunday that Microsoft’s proposed $44.6 billion takeover of Yahoo could pose a number of potential threats to competition that need to be examined by policymakers around the world.

Google said in a blog post on its Web site that given Microsoft’s anti-competitive conduct in the past and its continued dominance in the technology industry, the proposed transaction could pose threats to “innovation and openness” on the Internet. But Google’s broadly worded concerns lacked detailed claims about the anticompetitive effects of the deal, and the company did not ask federal regulators to take any specific actions at this time.

From a branding perspective, I can see why Google would respond to the bid publicly, but I personally see Google not having to worry with a takeover of Yahoo for the following reasons:

1. MSN and Live suck majorly as search engines.
2. Yahoo sucks as a search engine company.
3. MSN and Yahoo have such different cultures that will undoubtfully clash against each other.
4. Any merger/takeover will take precious time away from fighting Google in the next year or two that will only further secure Google’s position.
5. Risk of the worst of both worlds from the takeover–MSN’s poor search engine + Yahoo’s poor marketing abilities = Google monopoly.
6. Additional Yahoo layoffs leading to top search people fleeing to Google rather than to Microsoft (lesser of two evils perhaps?)

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