Tech no-nos and patent yo-yos. What will they think of next?

People doing dumb things is always an amusement, so I'd like to start today's post with an instant classic. Fox News reports on a thief who was busted for stealing a computer, not by tracking the MAC address or Windows key-code registration, but for calling tech support. Yep, this bright young thief (actually, I have no idea what his age might be) was caught red-handed when an on-top-of things tech-monkey at IBM realized the ID of the computer they were trouble shooting had been reported stolen. Police were notified, houses were searched, and the end result was about what you'd expect. Still, an amusing occurance.

On the related note of doing things you're not supposed to do, skipping work is at an all time high. Even better are some of the excuses people are coming up with when they call you. You'll have to read the article to believe it, but somone actually though admitting "I'm too drunk to drive to work" would be a good way to call out sick.

If anyone watches the show Myth Busters, you might find this article interesting. A group of college kids, backed by their professor, actually busted one of the Myth Busters busted verdicts. In English? The Myth is possible. Which myth? Why the one about Archimedes Death Ray of course.

Microsoft seems to be a glutton for punishment again as the rumored one-play DVD turns out not to be a rumor. And I thought I was paranoid about people copying my work. Apparently Microsoft is willing to feed that paranoia just so they can sell some new technology. And, on the topic of Microsoft doing stupid things, Symantec sues Microsoft over their proposed integrated anti-virus software. The charge? An anti-trust violation. But maybe this one will actually go somewhere.

Speaking of being under fire, US Blackberry users might be sad to note that RIM lost the legal battle with NTP over e-mail patents. NTP is calling for an immediate enforcement of the patents, which could be blackberry service would be shut down for all users. Best case scenario is that RIM dips into its pockets to pay off NTP and let business go on, but of course that means a nasty backlash in price to the users themselves.

And on a more seasonal tone: People are dumb. I will never understand why someone would choose to complain about something they can simply avoid by changing a channel, flipping the station, or (god-forbid) taking a different street home. My current beef? The idiots complaining about a Haloween prop they don't want their children to see because it "offends them...and is evil". Think I'm joking? Read the article. Oh, and I think the prop is awsome. Scary, most definately, but also awsome.