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An Open Letter from Senior Vice President Steven Sinofsky | |
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| Time: 09:59 EST/14:59 GMT | News Source: Microsoft Press Release | Posted By: Jonathan Tigner | ||
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Microsoft Releases a Utility to Remove Inappropriate Symbols from the Microsoft Office System Microsoft has learned of a mistake in the Bookshelf Symbol 7 font included in the Microsoft Office System client applications. Due to an unintentional oversight, we failed to identify, prior to the release, the presence of two swastikas within the font. We apologize for this and for any offense caused. Microsoft is taking immediate measures to remedy the issue for all customers. Microsoft has released a utility today for worldwide download that removes the font. Again, we apologize to those who have been offended or upset. We continue to work to improve our processes in order to prevent this type of error in the future. Sincerely, Steven Sinofsky Click here to download the English version of the removal utility or click the headline for more information and links to other localized versions of the removal utility. |
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Read Only Comments Return to News |
Displaying Comments 1 through 14 of 14 |
This is an archived static copy of ActiveWin.com. |
| #1 By 20 (24.173.210.58) at Friday, December 12, 2003 10:38:47 AM |
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*scratches head* why would someone even put that in there.
Ok, ok, I can understand one of them because, after all, it's a historical symbol and if I were doing a history paper on European politics in 1936, it might come into play or something, but twice? |
| #2 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at Friday, December 12, 2003 11:03:10 AM |
| Isn't this an example of political correctness? |
| #3 By 2459 (24.175.137.164) at Friday, December 12, 2003 11:07:21 AM |
| The swastika didn't originate with the Nazis. Their adoption of it and association with it turned it into an offensive icon. |
| #4 By 478 (65.101.162.190) at Friday, December 12, 2003 11:08:48 AM |
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Abhoring the connotation of this sign certainly, I fear it might be too politicaly correct and very much agains the first amendment. Must remember that it is originaly and noting else but a 3000 years old hindu cross, which was usurped and misused by a criminal. You will see it in many ancient buildings. Does that means they should be errased? He could have used a regular cross like the KKK, as he pretended to be a christian. Are they going to remove the cross and the star of David from the Arabic version of Windows? This post was edited by recreagh on Saturday, December 13, 2003 at 10:29. |
| #5 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at Friday, December 12, 2003 11:25:17 AM |
| I would not doubt that many at Microsoft are aware of all the things you folks have mentioned. However, I think they feel an obligation to offer a way to remove it. In reality, they probably have no choice--you can either alienate and tick off a good number of your customers holding to a sort of historical/intellectual "high ground" in saying there's no need to remove it, or you can apologize and offer a fix and move on. |
| #6 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at Friday, December 12, 2003 12:17:45 PM |
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Not defending Nazi's, just thought it interesting. Not sure if it's good to erase symbols like this or not. Frankly don't think it matters, and reaction oftentimes just brings back attention to them. :(
parker - Huh? Are you upset that people are attacking fascists, that you suddenly feel the need to deflect the attack to communists? I think you're being a bit hypersensitive there. |
| #7 By 7711 (12.107.81.66) at Friday, December 12, 2003 12:24:05 PM |
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2 things...
1) Where's the other one? One is shift ` (the ~ key), but I can't find the other. 2) Can anyone translate the Chinese characters for shift ] (the } key) or shift \ (the | key)? Are we being PC because the meaning of the character is so obvious? #7...interesting page. It's interesting how PC comes into play. Time didn't put Hitler on their list of the most influential people of the 20th century due to PC garbage. I'm not saying in any way that Hitler was good (that is not what Time was doing)...arguably Hitler had more effect on the 20th century that anyone else....WWII, the holocaust, bringing Germany and possibly the rest of the world out of the Depression (granted with a war), and the European aftermath of WWII and the Cold War....all a direct result of Hitler. Can we think of anyone else in the 20th century who had a greater impact on more people over a greater part of the century? It is PC, but it is also a very emotionally powerful symbol. I'm not sure that MS really had a choice in offering a fix. (Note BTW that the fix removes the font, not the characters in the font) |
| #8 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at Friday, December 12, 2003 06:48:52 PM |
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parker - "I'm upset that communism gets overlooked as one of the great forces of mass murder in the last 100 years. "
How has communism been overlooked? Are you saying that there is a hammer & sickle symbol in the Microsoft fonts and you want it removed? "Are you upset I put them at equal footing with fascism? " Why would I be upset at that? I've always regarded them as much the same. I just thought it bizarre that you'd lash out at people for attacking fascism. |
| #9 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at Friday, December 12, 2003 06:58:03 PM |
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jimlat - Agreed. Hitler had perhaps the greatest impact on World culture of any other individual in the 20th century. Everything changed as a result of WWII.
parker - Clark Airfield in the Phillipines closed in 1991, following the Mt. Pinatubo Volcanic eruption, that was our last permanent base left in that country. http://www.clarkab.com/clark_timeline.htm But yes, I agree... we'll have troops stationed in Iraq until 2050. That was the chief invasion, to establish permanent military bases in the middle east. |
| #10 By 135 (208.186.90.91) at Saturday, December 13, 2003 12:32:58 AM |
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parker - "Leave it to you to falsely accuse me of "lashing out" Tsk tsk. "
Ok, so it must have been my imagination you even brought it up. "The US already had bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bharain and Oman. " Those bases are on leased land from those nations... We could be asked to leave at any time. Much better to have US controlled bases on US controlled territory. |
| #11 By 2332 (65.221.182.2) at Saturday, December 13, 2003 02:31:26 PM |
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Last I checked, it was Stalin, not "communism", that killed millions of people.
Unlike being a Nazi, there is nothing implicit in being a communist that says "go kill [insert group of people here]". |
| #12 By 2332 (65.221.182.2) at Sunday, December 14, 2003 09:32:19 PM |
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Communism was all about compiling list of enemies
Actually, communism was about a socialist economic policy coupled with a state-centered national religion. Just because those in power were corrupt (and, perhaps, the nature of communism leads to this corruption) doesn't mean that it was communism that killed millions of people. Can you name me a communist regime that didn't murder people in large numbers? Can you name a democratic regime that hasn't usurped rights, imprisioned people without cause, or, for that matter, murdered people in large numbers? Of course you can't. All governments have done bad things, even ours. That doesn't mean the system of government itself is responsible. Again, your dogmatic black/white view of the world is quite scary. The Baath party had much in common with the Nazi's and Communists. Really? Did the United States help the Nazi's rise to power too? http://www.rense.com/general37/frmer.htm |
| #13 By 2332 (65.221.182.2) at Monday, December 15, 2003 12:33:10 PM |
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#29 - You dodge this one before
I didn't dodge it at all. Did you even look at the link I posted? It decribes how the United States, a democracy (actually, a representative republic), supported a regime in Iraq (namely, Saddam's) which, in turn, killed people in large numbers. So there ya go. What most people would consider the greatest democracy in the history of civilization has, on many occasions, done exactly what you place wholely on communism. Of course, when we gave Saddam his weapons and power, we did it for good reasons, right? Guess what, most dictators rise to power "for good reasons". |
