Technology

HTC Android devices to get 5 GB of Dropbox storage, free

Pocket Lint reports exciting news for owners of HTC Android-based devices:

Microsoft has Skydrive, Apple has iCloud, and now HTC has Dropbox following a new partnership between the phone maker and popular cloud storage service.

HTC has confirmed to Pocket-lint that users of its latest Android handsets, like the HTC Rhyme, will get a bonus 3GB of storage in addition to the 2GB of free storage offered by Dropbox if they connect to the platform with the new phone – launching in October.

The deal, which will extend to all Sense 3.5 devices in the future, will mean that users will be able to save files and photos on their phone and have them automatically synced to their computer at home or other devices running the Dropbox software.

Microsoft vulnerability, now served with plain text files

It is the year 2011 and we learn that even opening plain text files in Microsoft Windows is not as safe as you thought.

The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a legitimate rich text format file (.rtf), text file (.txt), or Word document (.doc) that is located in the same network directory as a specially crafted dynamic link library (DLL) file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user.

You’ve got all your buzz words here: remote code execution; legitimate rich text, text, or Word document; network directory; local user rights, etc. It’s good to know that it’s fixed. Yet it’s still worrying as to what else is there …

Microsoft catching up with Google

Way too often do I hear from the Microsoft fans that the company is catching up with Google. Each and every time I disagreed, but in the heat of the discussion it’s not always easy to find supporting facts. Yeah, I know, I should come ready for such arguments, but I really take them when and where they find me.

Anyways, Google Android and Microsoft Mobile is only one side of a discussion. Advertising is the other. And search is yet another one. Well, I’ve heard the numbers before, but never bothered blogging them. This time I will. Slashdot links to a CNN Money article, which tells a really sad story.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) has lost $5.5 billion on Bing since the search service launched in June 2009, but the company’s search losses actually pre-date that. In fact, the software giant has never made money in its online services division. Since Microsoft began breaking out that unit’s finances in 2007, the company has lost a total of $9 billion.

There is even a little visual aid in case you prefer your trends simplified. It doesn’t look good, and it will never will. And the secret is very simple. Microsoft is not an online company. It never was and it is too large to change. If it will ever change, it will be as different from what it is now as IBM is different from the company it used to be in the last century.

Automattic Creed

I’ve mentioned several times why I think Automattic is an awesome company to work for (no, I don’t work for them, yet). Here is another example. This is a bit that goes on the offer letter that new potential employees get. This is what the company stands for.

I will never stop learning. I won’t just work on things that are assigned to me. I know there’s no such thing as a status quo. I will build our business sustainably through passionate and loyal customers. I will never pass up an opportunity to help out a colleague, and I’ll remember the days before I knew everything. I am more motivated by impact than money, and I know that Open Source is one of the most powerful ideas of our generation. I will communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company. I am in a marathon, not a sprint, and no matter how far away the goal is, the only way to get there is by putting one foot in front of another every day. Given time, there is no problem that’s insurmountable.

Read the rest of the story as told by Matt.

Happy Software Freedom Day!

Apparently, today is the Software Freedom Day. If you are asking yourself the question: “What is Software Freedom Day?”, the official website has an answer for you.

Software Freedom Day is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Our goal in this celebration is to educate the worldwide public about the benefits of using high quality FOSS in education, in government, at home, and in business — in short, everywhere!

Being a great fan of, user, and contributor to Free and Open Source Software I think that this is an excellent idea. I also understand the benefits of always having it on a weekend day, so that meetings could be organized easier. But I have to say that I am not a big fan of using moving dates for holidays. It makes it difficult to remember and prepare to. Just have a look at how popular Sysadmin Day is and that one is celebrated for years now.

Either way, happy Software Freedom Day! If you are a contributor to Free and Open Source Software, I thank you and hope you will get more appreciation for the work you do. If you are just a user, I hope you will find a way to contribute soon, even if that is just buying a beer to a contributor next to you. And if you are a poor soul who haven’t heard about Free and Open Source Software, please educate yourself – you are missing out. You can start with Wikipedia pages for Free Software and Open Source Software. If you need any help, feel free to contact me or anyone else who is already a member of the cult. One thing is for sure though. It doesn’t matter if you believe in Free and Open Source Software or not, if you are reading this – you’ve definitely used and benefited from it. No? Yes you did. You are on the Internet, aren’t you…