Microsoft News of the Unusual

Mikhail Gorbachev--Yes, the former Soviet Leader has posted a letter to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates asking for leniency against an alleged software pirate (for original and Google translation). The letter claims that an elementary student unknowingly pirated Microsoft software and will be sent to a "Siberian prison camp."

Gorbachev writes that he respects Microsoft's intellectual property rights but asks, that "in this case we ask you to show mercy and withdraw your complaint against Alexander Ponosov."

Microsoft's response should be interesting, because the letter is to Gates, who increasingly is viewed as an ambassador of goodwill. On the other hand, this is the same company that has targeted schools for using donated PCs with the original Windows software. Piracy is such a problem for Microsoft in Russia, the company may decide to take a hard line.

Some unsolicited advice: Somebody at Microsoft should just pay for the damn software. Gates should consider making a donation to Ponosov's school.

Update: International Herald Tribune quotes a Microsoft spokesperson in London as saying the company won't intervene on behalf of the school teacher.

Anthony of the "Opie and Anthony Show" has a video on installing Windows Vista. I don't have time to listen to radio and today was the first I'd even heard of these guys. I have linked to the video on UNEASYsilence, which is more work friendly than the original hosting site.

Apparently, Anthony spent 12 hours trying to install Vista, without success, on his PC. The video is his other installation. While I did laugh, if the video is any indication, the radio show isn't for me.

Microsoft has raised Office and Windows support costs, although Anthony could have gotten the first 90 days for free. The changes aren't exactly new, but they're making the news sites and blogs today.

Jakob Montrasio has posted a picture of a Windows Vista ad on the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai. The structure is about 420.5 meters tall.

I guess Microsoft is advertising Windows Vista pretty much everywhere but on TV. I half expected to see a Vista commercial during yesterday's Super Bowl.

Microsoft 10 has joined the bloggers raving about a so-called Mac-to-Windows convert. I've seen a bunch of links to Joe Hutsko's "A Mac User Switches to Vista." Anyone who actually read the post would know that he switched back to the Mac after completing Vista testing. Hutsko is no Vista switcher.

He writes: I really miss that peaceful, Zen-like quiet I felt with my Mac when I'd wake it up or put it instantly to sleep. For me, it just works right, without really having to think about it. So I decided to switch again. From Vista, back to the Mac--to the brand new, white MacBook on which I told this story."