I’m Shocked
The BBC reports that Microsoft admits code theft for Chinese blog Juku
Microsoft has indefinitely suspended its Chinese microblogging service MSN Juku after admitting that it “copied” code used to create the site.
A vendor contracted to work for the software giant was caught lifting code from a rival Canadian start-up, Plurk.
According to Plurk as much as 80% of the basecode was “stolen directly”.
I’m shocked to discover that Microsoft, an archenemy of illegal software piracy, has allowed itself to be hoodwinked by a contractor into deploying plagiarized code. 😈
5 comments
🙄 OKayyyyy… And the news in this story is… what? 😐
😉 😆
I suppose that M$ ‘admitted’ they screwed some poor schmuck yet again is a rare event, though it has happened before when the evidence is so obvious that no Judge no matter how pro-M$ (ie, crooked or just plain pig-ignorant) could rule against it without having people investigating their bank accounts etc. 😈
The company was founded on Piracy by the dweeb. Why would anyone in the known Universe think it’s any different today? The only shocking thing to me is how gullible and incredibly stupid people are.
Of course, it’s always the *contractor’s* fault. The one thing I do admire about M$, is their consummate ability to *cover ass*!
When you don’t have much in the way of code writers in your employ, and outsource the work, it has to be something a contractor did. Obviously the contractor wasn’t skilled enough to at least obscure their theft, and charges would be brought in Canada, not the US.
Plurk is a free microblogging system, like Twitter, and they released their API a couple of weeks ago.
Word has it that while the Plurk developers think the M$ apology is nice, a hand written note with a lot of zeroes on it had better be forthcoming. 😉
Go for the gold, guys.
Yup! And the lawsuits against M$ are piling up, and M$ are loosing in the courts. 😀
Microsoft Sued for Sidekick Disaster, Fined for Using “Money Power” to “Harass” Defendants
It’s only a matter of time… just a matter of time! 😉
“I’m shocked to discover that Microsoft, an archenemy of illegal software piracy, has allowed itself to be hoodwinked by a contractor into deploying plagiarized code.”
Yet another example of the ancient maxim, “Do not seek, and ye shall not find.” I wonder if anyone at M$ still has to hold his/her nose when they pull a stunt like that.
.-= last blog ..Hamsher: – ‘All Just Senate Kabuki’ =-.
The problem with suing M$ is that they will stall until the interest on their cash pays the settlement, if the plaintiff can manage to stay alive. It is standard operating procedure for corporations.
They hire contractors just like WalMart, lowest bid, and then they cut some more, Contractors have to cut corners to stay alive, Steve.