I'm Not Picking on Microsoft. Really

Hi folks -- got two Microsoft-related items to close out the week:

Here's a YouTube video that was on BoingBoing today: Microsoft Re-Designs the iPod Packaging:

It was apparently created in-house last year by Microsoft graphic designers; it shows the challenges in creating good design and packaging, as well as demonstrating the dangers of trying to reconcile too many different and conflicting requirements.

Though I guess it could also be looked at as a general warning about designing anything by committee.

This next one comes from Slashdot: "Remote Exploit of Vista Speech Control" -- it describes a potential security flaw in the Windows Vista operating system that takes advantage of its built-in speech recognition, and it goes something like this:

1. Vista user visits a Web page.
   
   
2. Something on the Web page triggers a sound file that plays over the computer's speakers.
   
   The sound file is a recorded voice that's designed to trigger a system command (say, something like: "Shutdown...OK")
   
   
3. The sound file is picked up by the computer's microphone; the voice recognition hears the command and executes it.
   

Now, to be fair, this isn't a problem that only Microsoft has. One of the Slashdot commenters linked to an old newsgroups chestnut, of an apocryphal story/joke where pretty much the same thing happens during a demo. And there are ways to avoid this, like using a key phrase in front of any commands, like in those TomTom commercials. But it's theoretically possible, and somewhat amusing.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Thanks -- Joe

Tags: vista speech command, ipod packaging video