Semidaily Links

1. Microsoft has filed for patents on operating system technology to place pop-up ads on the screen in response to users’ actions. This is great, since if they implement it, within a year they wouldn’t have 5% market-share. Users aren’t bothered by advertisements, but they hate anything that disrupts them, like pop-ups.
2. One of the RIAA’s intimidation tactics was thrown out in court for not containing any non-generic information about the people they were accusing. Once again, the business model of suing customers runs into a hitch.
3. Why we have IRB boards. It involves people having sex in bathrooms.
4. Thompson didn’t sponsor a single piece of useful legislation in the Senate?
5. Our Iraq policy is still crazy. But in the opposite way from how it used to be.
6. Russia tests the world’s largest conventional weapon.

Slashdot heavy day. So it goes..