From Microsoft via Chris Pirillo on the massive demand for the new (and free) beta of Vista, the next generation of Windows.

We are hitting ceilings on bandwidth. Right now we are serving out product keys 10x faster than we can serve the downloads. Already this is the biggest software download event in history.

We are pumping out bits as fast as we can. If we pushed out bits any faster there would be a measurable impact for the Internet. So, we are literally saying that if we increased our bandwidth any further there’s a possibility of taking down the Internet - people might have problems with World Cup viewing, etc. That would [sic] be bad. So, it isn’t that we weren’t anticipating demand - we were and are - it is that we are at the threshold of what the Internet can bear.

Microsoft is wise indeed, do not mess with the World Cup…

Recently, Microsoft has made available multiple betas for free, I currently have Office 2007 (440 mb) and Web Designer (224 mb.) This is a new approach for them, having this many public betas. I haven’t installed Office 2007 yet, however the feedback has been positive. Web Designer is the replacement for Front Page, aimed at developers, and it’s impressive. There is big change afoot at Redmond, methinks.

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A man who purchased SunCruz Casinos with lobbyist Jack Abramoff in 2000 has told authorities he knows who killed the casino’s founder the following year, according to a report published Friday.

Adam Kidan told authorities in a 2 1/2-hour interview last month that John Gurino, who was later killed by a business partner, shot SunCruz founder Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis in 2001, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

Kidan and Abramoff had previously insisted, through their attorneys, that they knew nothing about Boulis’ killing.

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British police have apologized to the Muslim minority for last week’s anti-terror raid on a house in east London, which resulted in the arrest and shooting of [one] apparently innocent Muslim and undermined the minority’s trust in the police establishment as they felt unjustly targeted in the anti-terror drive.

“I am aware that in mounting this operation we have caused disruption and inconvenience to many residents in Newham, and for that I apologize,” Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman of the Metropolitan Police said in an official apology published by The Independent newspaper on Friday, June 9.

“Disruption and inconvenience?” Police officers shot two apparently blameless men then terrorized a neighborhood. I’m guessing those residents would consider that to be a teensy bit more than an ‘inconvenience.’

Appealing for calm, Hayman said: “We must all pull together in a tolerant manner. This isn’t the time for conflict and anger.”

It’s the police who need to learn tolerance. For an apology to mean something, those apologizing need to change their behavior so it doesn’t happen again, otherwise it’s just a meaningless, empty pretense.

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The Akaka Bill was an attempt to bring some limited self-government to Native Hawaiians. Some in the burgeoning Hawiian sovereignty movement opposed it as too little, the Right has savagely attacked it whenever it could. The sovereignty movement continues to gain momentum, even if there are speed bumps.

Okay, one last post before I go…

The vote on the cloture motion just failed, 56-41 (60 needed). Akaka bill will not be brought to the Senate floor for full debate and vote.

I think the bill is effectively dead for this session.

There’s always another day.

Get up, stand up
stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don’t give up the fight
– Bob Marley (who lived on another colonized island)

Their land and sovereignty was stolen from native Hawaiians by force, with the complicity and aid of the US government. They want it back. So would you.

This Hawaiian Man

We, the voices behind the face,
Of the Hawaiian nation, the Hawaiian race
Rise for justice the day has come
For all our people to stand as one,

We the warriors born to live
On what the land and sea can give
Defend our birthright to be free
Give our children liberty
– Israel Kamakawiwo`ole

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The Senate rejected a major Republican effort on Thursday to eliminate the estate tax on inherited wealth. The vote was a big defeat both for President Bush and for Senate Republican leaders, who had framed their opposition to what they called the “death tax” as a popular and even populist crusade.

This should have been a slam dunk for the neocons, and a year ago it would have been. That’s how far they’ve fallen.

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Check it out.

Discussion leaders.

Parties too.

Hosted and organized by the soon-to-be-married Chris Pirillo and Ponzi who have about a zillion blogs, websites, and projects going, Gnomedex is a tech conference about blogging, podcasting, web 2.0, etc. I went last year and will return this year. It is sooo nice to be able to walk up to someone at Gnomedex, start babbling geek, and know they’ll respond with the same, and not with the dreaded eyes-glazed-over syndrome.

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