Brandon Dimmel

Careful where you place a face. That's a lesson Yahoo might be learning, shortly after its recent legal troubles involving New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The three-time Super Bowl champion (who once dated Tara Reid, by the way), is ... angry that Yahoo used his likeness to promote its online fantasy football league. Whether Tom's completely opposed to tame gambling or simply not proud of the picture in question is unclear. But, it spells bad news and bad press for Yahoo. The ad in question wasn't actually posted on the web, in fact. Instead, Brady's unauthorized mug was presented in ... (view more)

Microsoft definitely does not need this. Less than two weeks after a rather successful business launch (that did, however, have its own problems), it has become clear that a crack is available to home users that will exploit one of Vista's features ... and allow pirates to use the system for free, for up to 180 days. Although Microsoft is remaining very, very quiet about the crack (with only a rep or two whispering to the media that there's no evidence to support the rumor), it isn't particularly difficult to find a torrent or two offering it up. The key is for the user to obtain a Windows Vista ... (view more)

Although it's had its fair share of problems this year, we're still pretty hesitant to proclaim, "poor MySpace!" Despite accusations that the online meeting place is a haven for predatory offenders, MySpace has held on as one of the web's most ... popular hotspots. Unfortunately, there's a growing stack of reasons to be wary of it. Recently it became clear that a worm has made its way onto MySpace, and it's baiting gullible users via QuickTime video. The entire ploy is nothing more than phishing. No, we don't mean afternoons on the water with Dad, but instead, mischievous schemes that persuade ... (view more)

Think those goons infecting your computer with spyware are mischievous? How about a company that persuades users that they have an infected computer, and then sells them a $49.95 program to clean the "infection" that never existed in the first ... place? Doesn't sound so bad, unless you're considering the case of Secure Computer, which recently settled a lawsuit against it alleging that the company falsely informed people of possessing spyware. The original suit was filed in January, and cited the New York state-based Secure Computer as violators of the 2005 federal Computer Spyware Act. Those in ... (view more)

It started with just Novell and Microsoft. If you haven't been reading along, the two companies recently joined forces in order to root out the many programming issues lying between Linux and Microsoft Windows. And although that relationship has had ... some rocky moments (mostly as a result of MS' patent infringement allegations), Novell is bridging out once, again. This time it's joining forces with Red Hat and Mozilla programmers in an attempt to avoid problematic technical boundaries between Firefox and Linux. Some Red Hat programmers have gone so far as to refer to the stability of Linux as ... (view more)

Patronizing is everywhere in the business world. It can happen between any two companies at any time, but there's always one reason behind it: money. Recently, the two competing Internet browsers from Microsoft and Mozilla were released to web users ... across the world. In the weeks since, two of the most popular search engines have "chosen" their favorites, with Yahoo recommending Internet Explorer 7 and Google pushing Firefox 2. The most recent finding is Yahoo's encouragement that searchers use IE7 over the competition. If a user decides to follow the engine's advice, he or she will find that ... (view more)

For those who like the look of Vista -- with all its flashy new buttons -- there's a program available to give Windows XP, Microsoft's last operating system, a graphical facelift. However, testers of the program, which is called Vista Transformation ... Pack 5.5, report that there are several problems keeping it from becoming a must-have. Think of the Transformation Pack as a Chevrolet Cavalier with big, chrome wheels, tinted windows, and maybe even a flashy spoiler. Underneath the hood, nothing special is going on, but on the surface it looks about as hot as a used Audi. Cool, maybe even ... (view more)

As the release of Vista nears, so too does the highly-anticipated business tool, Office 2007. With it will come a host of new options and features for corporate users -- so long as they're playing fair. Recently, insiders are whispering more and ... more about the rumored "Kill Switch", first reported here on Infopackets.com back in July . Although we could only speculate on the possibility that the switch would exist via WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) affected Vista PCs, it's now becoming apparent that the same could be true when it comes to Office 2007. (source: zdnet.com ) Back during those ... (view more)

Microsoft sure is having some difficulty with this whole patent business. While the company struggles to calm a stormy sea caused by CEO Steve Ballmer's statement that recent partner Novell is infringing on Microsoft's intellectual property , it ... appears the software giant must now face the loss of patent rights in South Korea, a major Asian market. The problem stems from court cases dating back months, which recently reached a very unfavorable decision for the Redmond-based company. The patent infringement -- in this case -- surrounds a local university professor's claims that he first ... (view more)

Did we miss something? On the same day that Microsoft is hurrying out Vista business to the outstretched arms of highly aroused corporate entities, security experts at Symantec and Trend Micro are telling the media that they're still working on the ... operating system. We're wondering what this means for the initial batch of Vista units, which were shipped out to businesses yesterday. In fact, the only selected security company to complete their work with Vista is the well-known McAfee. However, that leaves Symantec, Trend Micro, and CA with a lot of work to do. Although home buyers can be ... (view more)