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Last Friday, Ina Fried detailed an interesting report from blogger Long Zheng, who “is drawing attention to an apparent shortcoming” in Microsoft’s desire to make
Windows 7 less annoying.

“We understand adding an extra click can be annoying, especially for users who are highly knowledgeable about what is happening with their system (or for people just trying to get work done),” Ben Fathi, a Windows 7 engineer, wrote in a blog post. “However, for most users, the potential benefit is that UAC forces malware or poorly written software to show itself and get your approval before it can potentially harm the system.”

(Credit:
Microsoft)

So, there’s your challenge, Microsoft: make Windows 7 more secure, but cut down on UAC annoyances. Is it possible? Sure. But in its current state in Windows 7, it’s not enough of an improvement to ensure more security, since many users won’t change the default setting, leaving them open to exploitation, while others will ignore most of the prompts.

In Windows Vista, a UAC prompt popped up each time any major change was made to the system. Some users found that annoying. Realizing that, Microsoft decided that in Windows 7, users would be able to decide how often they want to be notified. The default setting in the beta release of the OS only notifies users when a third-party application is making a change.

But it’s because of that setting that Windows 7 is less annoying. But should we accept annoyance anyway, if it means more security? I think we should.

“Does (UAC) make the system more secure?” Fathi said. “If every user of Windows were an expert that understands the cause/effect of all operations, the UAC prompt would make perfect sense and nothing malicious would slip through. The reality is that some people don’t read the prompts, and thus gain no benefit from them (and are just annoyed)…There is the potential for a definite security benefit if you take the time to analyze each prompt and decide if it’s something you want to happen. However, we haven’t made things easy on you–the dialogs in Vista aren’t easy to decipher and are often not memorable.”

Worse, the company found in an internal study that users are “approving 89 percent of prompts in Vista and 91 percent in SP1.” In other words, users are “responding out of habit due to the large number of prompts rather than focusing on the critical prompts and making confident decisions.”

It should be noted that Zheng’s contention is based on the Windows 7 beta, which means practically nothing until the final build hits store shelves. Microsoft can change that setting at any time and make this issue go away. More importantly, it can be changed by the administrator, so the issue, while present, shouldn’t be blown out of proportion.

Annoyance with more security isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But Microsoft is trying to find a way to achieve less annoyance while maintaining security. That won’t be easy.

Check out Don’s Digital Home podcast, Twitter feed, and FriendFeed.

Zheng said in a blog post that he and a fellow blogger, Rafael Rivera, have designed a proof-of-concept code to prove his theory. He believes, “at a minimum, that Microsoft’s default setting (should) also warn users if a change is being made to UAC itself.”

The annoying, more secure Windows 7?

So maybe the issue isn’t necessarily the number of UAC prompts, but the quality of those prompts. Maybe Microsoft needs to focus on making those UAC prompts more intelligent, more informative, and less derivative. After all, if users are better informed, they may be less annoyed, creating a situation where UAC actually cuts down on many of the issues facing Microsoft’s operating system.

According to the report, Zheng believes that because Windows 7’s User Account Control isn’t as annoying as it was in Windows Vista, Microsoft is leaving its users open to more threats by third parties trying to exploit vulnerabilities. Zheng contends that due to changes in UAC, “malicious code could turn off alerts entirely with the user getting little notice that such a change had been made.”

In the same blog post, Fathi posed the question of whether or not UAC actually makes your system more secure. Unfortunately, the answer was less than ideal.

No one said securing Windows 7 would be simple. But Microsoft has a vested interest in keeping us safe when we use its OS and UAC is a key component in that. Now it needs it to figure out how to make everyone happy. And maybe, eliminating annoyance isn’t the best way to do that. Perhaps, annoying us just a little less, is the best way to secure Windows 7.

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Dell)

Shipping is free (make sure to choose three-to-five day delivery at checkout), though you’ll probably have to pony up a few bucks for sales tax.

Dell promises 25 pages per minute for black printing, 18 ppm for color, and 17 ppm for copying–impressive speeds given the entry-level nature of this model. You’ll pay around $19 for replacement blank black cartridges and $25 for color.

Find more deals, coupon codes, and bargains on CNET’s Shopper.com.

The V305w works only with Windows systems, and it can be plugged into a USB port if necessary. (It even comes with a cable, which is weird). CNET has yet to review this model, but check out the gushing user reviews at Dell’s site.

I’ll never buy another printer that requires a cable. Wireless printing, that’s the ticket. Fortunately, you don’t have to pay a premium for this enviable capability, as evidenced by Dell’s V305w–an all-in-one model currently on sale for $79.

The Wi-Fi-enabled V305w features a 100-sheet input tray, borderless photo printing up to 8.5 inches by 14 inches, and media-card slots for printing photos without your PC. (Alas, there’s no preview LCD.)

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Apple)

I imagine most of you are familiar with the Touch by now, so I won’t waste your time with specs and info–all of which you can find in CNET’s review. I will say it’s my single favorite gadget of all time, and that if I’m wearing pants, you can bet I’m carrying it with me.

A few caveats. First, Buy.com offers only a 60-day warranty. If you buy a refurb Touch from Apple (currently $299), you get a one-year warranty. Second, plan on spending another $10 for the recent 2.0 software update (which isn’t included with Apple’s refurbs, either). Finally, rumor has it Apple plans to unveil some new iPods in a couple weeks, and a newer/better Touch could be among them. But none of that changes the fact that this is the best price you can get on a 16GB
iPod Touch. I reckon they’ll sell out fast, so don’t mull for long.

Find more deals, coupon codes, and bargains on CNET’s Shopper.com.

If you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger on the “iPhone without the phone,” now might be the time. You can get a refurbished 16GB iPod Touch for $269.99 shipped from Buy.com. That’s 30 bucks lower than I’ve seen it anywhere else.

Hasbro on Thursday filed a copyright and trademark lawsuit in New York against the creators of the ad-supported Scrabulous application, which boasts an astonishing half-million daily users.

The lawsuit names as defendants Kolkata, India-based RJ Softwares, its CEO Rajat Agarwalla, and Jayant Agarwalla, who launched Scrabulous two years ago. It asks the court to yank the Scrabulous game from Facebook, disable the Scrabulous.com domain name, and grant Hasbro damages and attorneys fees.

This is the lawsuit we all knew was coming: Hasbro, which sells the Scrabble board game, has sued to shut down the wildly popular knockoff on Facebook called Scrabulous.

Hasbro combined the lawsuit with a notice to Facebook invoking the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s takedown provision. As of 11:30 p.m. PT on Thursday, the Scrabulous application was still listed on Facebook.

Blecher said Hasbro waited, “in deference to the fans,” until it launched its official Scrabble Facebook app earlier this month. That was created by Electronic Arts and is used by a mere 8,900 daily users.

We believe that games are an important part of the social experience on
Facebook and have been impressed by the creativity and innovation of the
games that developers–both large and small–have built on Facebook
Platform. In the case of disputes such as the one involving Scrabulous, our
hope and expectation is that the parties can resolve their disagreements in
a manner that satisfies the parties, that continues to offer a great
experience to gamers and that doesn’t discourage other developers from using
Platform to share their creativity and test new ideas. Over the past year,
Facebook has tried to use its status as neutral platform provider to help
the parties come to an amicable agreement. We’re disappointed that Hasbro
has sought to draw us into their dispute; nevertheless, we have forwarded
their concerns to Scrabulous and requested their appropriate response.

Facebook representative Brandee Barker replied with this statement, which is succinct enough to include here verbatim:

It’s unclear how the lawsuit will proceed; the defendants could simply ignore it if they have no U.S. assets to seize, and aren’t worried about Indian courts enforcing a default judgment. RJ Softwares did not respond to queries on Thursday.

Mark Blecher, general manager for Hasbro Digital Media, said in a telephone interview that his employer’s goal is to promote its authentic, legitimate Facebook application. “This is theft of intellectual property,” Blecher said of Scrabulous. “It’s really no different from when the recording industry faced the issue of folks posting music on sites like Napster and letting them copy it for free.”

Most expect Yang to come in for the latest in a long series of serious criticisms. The company’s stock closed at $19.18 the day before Microsoft launched its attempt to acquire Yahoo, soared immediately afterward to near $30, but since then has dropped back down below $20.

Don’t expect to hear about Yahoo’s new board at the meeting, though. Icahn, whose proxy battle won him and two allies seats on it, won’t be joining the board until after the meeting, and his two allies won’t be announced until August 15.

Carl Icahn may be ducking the spotlight at Yahoo’s shareholder meeting Friday, but we’ll probably hear who else shares his dissatisfaction with the Internet company’s recent share price.

Any shareholder disgruntled with how Jerry Yang and colleagues handled Microsoft’s attempted acquisition may pipe up at the meeting. CNET News plans live-blog reporting and video coverage for the shareholder meeting in San Jose, Calif.

For a preview of tomorrow’s attractions, this piece by my fellow reporter Dawn Kawamoto provides good background.

Yahoo's stock price soared in February, when Microsoft announced its effort to acquire the company, but since then has slid back down to nearly the level it was at before the offer.

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FinancialContent.com)

Click here for full coverage of Yahoo’s shareholders meeting.

Roz Savage set off from San Francisco more than two months ago to row across the Pacific Ocean. Here, she's seen early in her voyage, near the Farallon Islands.

Savage's view from her boat on day 36 of her trek across the Pacific.

There’s a flip side too. “You’ll never be 100 percent ready.” But, as Savage said, “I’ve managed.” That applies on land too.

Savage is rowing across the ocean in three stages over three years. So far she’s been averaging about 30 miles a day. She is hoping to reach Hawaii by the end of the month. In all, she plans to travel more than 7,000 miles, ending up in Australia in 2010. (Among the safety gadgets she has aboard her boat, the “Brocade,” is a positioning beacon from Marine Track. Find out her latest position by going to her blog. Information includes latitude, longitude, and speed.)

What’s not working? Her energy-efficient Spectra desalinator that was capable of producing 25 liters of water an hour. “It’s totally corroded.” But she has reserve water supplies and a hand-pump water maker. Her onboard chart plotter also isn’t working, so that’s where the TomTom comes in. (In a blog posting Monday, Savage wrote: “The death toll on electronic components continues.” Over the weekend it seems chargers for her satellite phone and
iPod conked out. Luckily, she’s got backups.)

The 40-year-old Brit has set out to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean, and she passed a milestone recently: She’s now halfway to Hawaii. That’s after setting off from San Francisco in her 24-foot rowboat just before midnight on May 24.

Updated 8:45 a.m. August 13 to correct the model of Sinclair computer. It was a ZX81.

The same could be said of Savage and her own stick-to-itiveness. But she hasn’t always been that way. “I did have to work up to this kind of thing. It was incremental…I didn’t go from an office job to rowing across an ocean,” said the former IT consultant.

In addition to her major task at hand, Savage also aims to raise awareness about the effects of pollution–in particular, plastic–in our oceans. Her trip is a project of the Blue Frontier Campaign, whose focus is on “seaweed (marine grassroots) efforts” surrounding ocean and coastal conservation.

Ask Roz Savage what her favorite gadgets are aboard her rowboat and she’s quick to answer.

In an interview with NPR last year, Savage talked about first coming up with the idea to row across the Atlantic: “My first thought was that is the best idea I’ve ever had. Of course, my second thought was that was without a doubt the worst idea I’ve ever had.”

“The ones that are still working.”

“You never regret being ready sooner rather than later,” she said Friday. “It was an absolutely mad scramble” once she got a window of good weather to set off on her trip this time around. She had only 36 hours’ notice.

(Credit:
Roz Savage )

(Credit:
Roz Savage )

Savage has said that her ocean voyages lead to frequent “a ha” moments. So what are some she’s had during her time on the Pacific?

One gadget Savage is relying on is her TomTom GPS device. As she quipped in a photo caption on her blog, 'the TomTom GPS from my car is rather confused to find itself in the middle of the Pacific.'

She has two laptops onboard, a MacBook and Panasonic Toughbook. Savage sends updates for her Web site via her satellite phone. (She also has a spare phone this time. When Savage rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in a race a few years ago, her satellite phone went dead about a month before she arrived at the finish.)

She also has a handful of iPods onboard, but she said she’s only used one so far: the one that TWiT.tv’s Leo Laporte loaded up with more than 300 audio books. (Laporte checks in with Savage a couple of times a week for the podcast series “Roz Rows the Pacific.”) A few of the titles that have stood out so far include the fantasy novel A Game of Thrones and the nonfiction work A Crack in the Edge of the World, which covers the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

So what’s still working?

“Sustainability is rather limitless,” said Savage. While she doesn’t currently have a home, Savage knows what she would do if she did. “I would very much want to make it energy-efficient, self-sufficient.” She said she finds value in being an example to people in different ways, and one aspect of that is embracing green energy.

It is her second attempt to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific. Last summer, Savage set off only to be foiled by bad weather some two weeks into the trip. She was rescued by the Coast Guard about 90 miles off the California coast.

(Credit:
Roz Savage )

“It’s hard to tell from the (reader) comments. It’s a self-selecting sample,” Savage said. “But something I set out to do is draw people to the Web site in hopes that…they’ll stick around long enough to get the environmental messages.”

Savage keeps people coming to the Web site with the help of her mother, Rita Savage. As part of her “shore manager duties,” Rita keeps the blog updated, uploads photos, and has even written a couple of guest blogs. Rita, who turns 70 next year, has “moved along with technology,” said Savage. It goes back to the early 1980s when Rita bought a primitive computer for the family: a Sinclair ZX81, which had to be plugged into the TV set and had 1 kilobyte of memory. She’s very methodical and persistent, too. While “some of us would be heaving the laptop,” Savage said her mother sits there and tries to solve the problem.

And while you might think rowing solo across an ocean would make everything else in life seem easy, well, it doesn’t. “There are so many different kinds of challenges,” Savage said. Taking on these treks has given her more self-esteem, self-respect, and confidence. But, she said, she’s aware of her limitations too.

“The TomTom GPS is working. I consult that six times a day,” said Savage, adding that she’s been using it to update the ship’s log. She got the TomTom GO 720 last year for her
car. (Savage wrote in a photo caption on her blog: “The TomTom GPS from my car is rather confused to find itself in the middle of the Pacific.”)

With under 1,000 miles left to go on the first leg of her voyage, she took time out late last week to talk via satellite phone. Her location? Somewhere in the Pacific. More precisely, around 140 degrees west.

Are people more receptive to her message because people in general are more environmentally aware these days? Or is it harder to get people’s attention because of all the news out there?

Even so, as Savage has said, her boat is a little model of self-sufficiency. She has solar panels and a wind generator providing the power for her electronics. She is growing her own bean sprouts. So what could this mean for the world at large?

Shares of Take-Two were up 34 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $27.65 in after-hours trading.

The company, which has rejected a $2 billion buyout offer from rival game maker Electronic Arts, is also having ”
formal discussions” with other parties about strategic alternatives, Chief Executive Ben Feder told Reuters.

In May, Take-Two announced that the new game had raked in all-time records of $310 million on its launch day of April 29 and $500 million during its first week. The single-day figure shattered the previous record, set last September by Halo 3, of $170 million.

Take-Two said it expects to earn 45 cents to 55 cents per share, excluding special items, on revenue of between $325 million and $375 million in its current, third fiscal quarter.

“The board remains committed to exploring strategic alternatives and we’re actively engaged in that process now,” Feder said. “We have had and are having formal discussions with a number of interested parties.”

For the second quarter ended April 30, net profit was $98.2 million, or $1.29 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $51.3 million, or 71 cents per share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2007. Sales were up more than 160 percent to $539.8 million for the period, blowing away analyst estimates of $499.1 million.

EA, which offered $25.74 a share for Take-Two in April, is undaunted in its takeover bid. The company recently announced another extension of its merger offer.

Video game maker Take-Two Interactive Software announced better-than-expected earnings on Thursday thanks to recording-setting sales of Grand Theft Auto IV.

The company also raised its forecast for the remainder of the fiscal year.

A big question, of course, is whether Thompson’s disbarment will do anything to stop his broadsides against the video game industry. His stark anti-game press releases don’t require a law degree, and he’s still going to be famous and the source of good quotes, so don’t expect him to go silent just because he can no longer take law clients.

Kotaku also said Thompson sent it a note explaining his situation and including the following language: “The timing of this disbarment transparently reveals its motivation: This past Friday Thompson filed a federal civil rights action against The Bar, the Supreme Court and all seven of its Justices. This rush to disbarment is in retribution for the filing of that federal suit. With enemies this foolish, Thompson needs only the loyal friends he has.”

Executives throughout the video game industry may be breathing a big sigh of relief. That’s because it looks like one of the industry’s biggest critics, Florida lawyer Jack Thompson, has had his voice cut off at the knees, to mix a metaphor or two.

Thompson might best be known for his withering attacks of Rockstar Games for the sexual content that was hidden in its hit game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. But he has also been vocal in his criticism of countless other games for what he saw as too much violence and sexual content.

According to a Thursday report on the popular video game blog Kotaku, Thompson has been disbarred by a Florida judge who ruled he has been guilty of some seriously unbecoming conduct.

Essentially, according to Kotaku, the court ruled that Thompson “made false statements of material fact to courts and repeatedly violated a court order…communicated the subject of representation directly with clients of opposing counsel…engaged in prohibited ex parte communications…publicized and sent hundreds of pages of vitriolic and disparaging missives, letters, faxes and press releases to the affected individuals…targeted an individual who was not involved with (Thompson) in any way, merely due to ‘the position (the individual) holds in state and national politics’…falsely, recklessly and publicly accused a judge of being amenable to the ‘fixing’ of cases,” and so on.

Still, his inability to make a living as a lawyer may force him to take up other pursuits that could occupy his time and leave him little room for pursuing his anti-game agenda. Knowing him to be a fan of publicity, I would expect no less.