Heya,

it's not everyday you make it to the front page (Technology section) of a well-known newspaper in England. As it's also not everyday that you read something that tries to stay neutral when talking about adware and the sponsor in Messenger Plus!, I thought I could share this with you.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/29/adware-internet/

Too bad you can't see the picture that they made for the newspaper, it's... surrealistic .

Feel free to comment here
Patch

I don't know why, but when I read the subtitle..

I laughed so badly.
After that I actually read the rest and I was quite surprised. I never thought I'd read such a detailed article about several of the members of the Messenger customizing "scene".

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Originally posted by article
And he doesn't find it easy coping with the worldwide adulation. "Software developers tend to be geeks and, yes, geeks tend to be shy," he says. "Still, I've always enjoyed our gatherings, what we call Plus! Mmeetings, quite a lot. It's a nice feeling to see many people coming from many different countries and who have never met before have some fun together, speak in real life."

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It was a good read, congrats patchou

"His army of fans think he's a genius" <3

Awesome, good job!

Are you on a train or bus or something in that picture Patchou?

"sold his soul for profit"
LOL

Congrats Patchou!

you're making £34K a month

Wonder if that was actually in the Paper too?

Interesting read though.

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Originally posted by Dempsey
Wonder if that was actually in the Paper too?

Interesting read though.

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Originally posted by Patchou
Too bad you can't see the picture that they made for the newspaper, it's... surrealistic .

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so we must be said army, right?

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Originally posted by Dempsey
Wonder if that was actually in the Paper too?

Interesting read though.

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*cough* Evolution *cough*

Well, it's always good to know I have an army at my disposition. Let's go invade some country and start a new federation! we could start by invading France, the coudntry is so down to its knees now, it shouldn't be very difficult.

To the armoury!

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Originally posted by Patchou
Well, it's always good to know I have an army at my disposition. Let's go invade some country and start a new federation! we could start by invading France, the coudntry is so down to its knees now, it shouldn't be very difficult.

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But this is a man who has also outraged millions. His sin? A Faustian pact with dark forces responsible for distributing adware, those pop-up windows that torture PC users the world over. Messenger Plus! Live comes bundled with a "sponsor's program", which the unwary install unwittingly on their machines. They are then subjected to messages urging them to buy insurance, take out credit cards, play poker or download ringtones. To his opponents this breaks a sacred code of geek ethics and the two sides engage in furious online debates. Supporters say Patchou has provided a brilliant piece of software free to millions of people and the adware is harmless; critics call him "a scam artist making money off gullible young Live Messenger users".

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"If you are a youngster, then you just press the button until the thing you want is installed," he says. "You agree to the terms and conditions, so it's legal. It's human nature not to read the terms and conditions." At best, he adds, adware is a nuisance. At worst, it can be bad for online business. "It's not the way you want to behave on the internet. It does inflame the internet community."

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For all that, Paciullo is unreptentant. "People who accuse me generally do not understand – or accept – that software development is not something you can finance easily these days. People don't tend to buy software, they just download it. The idea behind an optional sponsor program is to offer a way to support the work while offering at the same time a product that's completely free of any obligation."

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Originally posted by matty
*cough* Evolution *cough*

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I agree, the debatable article is kind of misleading but the rest was good

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Originally posted by SonicSam

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Originally posted by matty
*cough* Evolution *cough*

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http://evolutionstore.ca

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Originally posted by matty

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Originally posted by SonicSam

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Originally posted by matty
*cough* Evolution *cough*

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http://evolutionstore.ca

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Well aware I was making a point of pointing it out.

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