fake user "posts" on public forums and newsgroups. Yesterday I met a couple of guys from a local web-marketing company that showed me their proposal for our website. Among other interesting suggestions (user forum, mailing lists, and so on) they "suggested" some form of Internet marketing. And one of those really made me sad and thinking: the possibility to posts "user comments" on public forums and newsgroups about our product. Here I would like to discuss what will be my decisions, and what are my thoughts about such an ethical dilemma. [kuro5hin.org]

I was working at a company once, and once of my not bosses (the same level as my boss, but I that I did not report to) had gone to a site and posted a review of one of our products, masquerading as a satisfied customer. Their logic was that they could never be caught, because they had posted from a cybercafe using an identity that was borrowed from a friend. Ethics were not an issue, and I am glad that I am no longer dependent upon them for my wages.

11:57:40 PM    

ISO Could Withdraw JPEG Standard [Slashdot]

The International Standards Organization is threatening to withdraw the JPEG image format if Forgent keeps pushing to collect on royalties based off their patent.

"Under ISO terms, formally you can only have a standard you can implement on free or RAND terms. "Reasonable and non discriminatory (RAND) terms are typically published, and the same for everyone. It's clear that Forgent's claims are not RAND. $15 million doesn't sound like free to me, and Forgent is not publishing the terms of their licensing.

There is a great Q&A with Forgent's PR manager about halfway down the page here.

3:20:04 PM