Networking World: Sex, lies and source code

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: GIBBS & BRADNER
07/26/05

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Backspin columnist Mark Gibbs talks about two companies, that
should know better, standing up in public and lying about sex
and source code
* Links related to Gibbs & Bradner
* Featured reader resource
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This newsletter is sponsored by Fluke Networks
Download the Special Report: VoIP: Challenges, Drivers, Hurdles,
and Recommendation

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Today's focus: Sex, lies and source code

By Mark Gibbs

It seems like being "economical with the truth" is all the rage
this summer.

The most public case occurred in the saga of the "Hot Coffee
mod" for the game from Rockstar Games called "Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas,"or GTA.

If you haven't followed this, here's the scoop: Around the
beginning of June rumors began to circulate that there was an
Easter egg - the hip name for hidden code - in GTA that allowed
the player's avatar (named CJ) to have a surprisingly good time
with his virtual girlfriends.

Subsequently, it became clear that the rumor was true. A
workaround called Hot Coffee had been created by Dutch
programmer Patrick Wildenborg that, once implemented, exposed
some racy content that was otherwise not visible to game owners.
(You can find videos of the naughty bits all over the 'Net and
it is not really very shocking. I'd argue that you see worse on
Fox.)

As far as I can determine, the workaround is not a simple
exercise.

But when Rockstar got called on the carpet by The Entertainment
Software Rating Board, which suddenly upgraded GTA's rating to
adults only, Rockstar decided to abuse the truth about the
origins of the content.

In a press statement Rockstar included the following ridiculous
explanation: "In violation of the software user agreement,
hackers created the 'hot coffee' modification by disassembling
and then combining, recompiling and altering the game's source
code."

Isn't that what hackers do? Do you know any hackers who are
careful to not violate license agreements? Second, they
disassembled and rebuilt the game?! Please! Who did Rockstar
think would believe this tale? The press release continued in a
similarly off-the-wall vein (see Gearblog for a link to a report
on the press release).

Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software, owned
up. Yep, the code for the naughty bits was already in there, and
yes, that means that Rockstar lied to the Entertainment Software
Ratings Board, which has taken a lot of heat over something that
I find hard to believe they could have prevented.

Now, it seems everyone is up in arms, including Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton (D-New York) who is turning this into a cause
célèbre by jumping on to the family-values bandwagon.

It makes you wonder whether Rockstar knew about Hot Coffee all
along and intentionally engineered this ruckus. Talk about
getting press!

The other dissemblance that caught my eye recently was from
Microsoft on the topic of open source.

In an interview on News.com, Martin Taylor, Microsoft's general
manager of platform strategy, was asked, "In what way is Linux
or an open source infrastructure unsuitable?" Taylor replied:
"You can build it, design it, and it will work great. The
trouble begins when you want to add things to it, add some
services and things like that. Because of the brittle nature of
the platform, when you do that, other things break."

Pardon? Did I understand you to say that Linux was brittle? In
comparison with what? Surely not with Windows?

Taylor continued the spin: "When it comes to the adding of
modules ... [Linux] becomes more and more difficult [to
manage]."

Words fail me. Taylor continued with this nonsense, implying
that Microsoft's Shared Source program that allows select
entities access to up to 65% of the source code for Microsoft's
core products is comparable to open source!

Here we have two companies that should know better standing up
in public and, well, lying. They lied about sex and source code,
and in Rockstar's case they were found out. When will
Microsoft's lies be exposed for the spin and sham they are? Will
Hillary care?

Tell the truth to <mailto:backspin@gibbs.com>. And check
Gearblog <http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/gearblog> for
links for this column. Links to be posted on Gearblog.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Verizon joins managed security game
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad3810>

2. Future-proof your network
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad3811>

3. VoIP security threats: Fact or fiction?
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad3812>

4. The ROI of VoIP <http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad3813>

5. Appliances replace DNS, DHCP software
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad3814>

Today's most forwarded story:

Verizon joins managed security game
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlgibrad3816>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Mark Gibbs

Mark Gibbs is a consultant, author, journalist, and columnist
and he writes the weekly Backspin
<http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/gibbs.html> and Gearhead
<http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/gearhead.html> columns
in Network World, as well as the Gearblog blog
<http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/gearblog/> . We'll spare
you the rest of the bio but if you want to know more, go to
<http://www.gibbs.com/mgbio>. Contact him at
<mailto:webapps@gibbs.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Fluke Networks
Download the Special Report: VoIP: Challenges, Drivers, Hurdles,
and Recommendation

Gibbs archive:
http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/gibbs.html

Bradner archive:
http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/bradner.html
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE
THE NEW DATA CENTER: SPOTLIGHT ON STORAGE

This Network World report takes a look at storage trends such as
virtualization, encryption and archiving. Here you will also
find seven tips for managing storage in the new data center, how
storage encryption can help ease the threat of identity theft,
why one exec believes its all about the information and more.
Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/supp/2005/ndc4/>
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Networking World

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Sex, lies and source code

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