Good God!!!!

[ThRoNkA]

Omg.. look at this!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3382073018&category=2312

[davidw]

It's gone up since the $61,000 to now of almost double that. Bid incriments are $100 each.

EDIT: It's been getting an average of 8 hits per second!!! So far almost 228,000 hits!!!

[BBA]

That kid needs to be taken to teh woodshed and beat like a red headed step child.

He fooled everyone into thinking he was an innocent victim but the end truth is he registered the name in order to extort MS. As it turned out, that is exactly what he ended up doing.

[gino x]

Woah.. lol its at $100,000 right now - 311sam is the high bidder o_O

[davidw]

look at the bid history/retractions... :D

[Edsel]

major LOL!

[ThRoNkA]

Who has that kind of money is the question.

[BBA]

Hopefully its a bunch of linux geeks just pulling his leg.

[davidw]

Have you seen the auction lately??? $20,000,000.00 and rising.

[Mntsnow]

I wouldnt give 2 cents for it....MS should have CRUSHED HIM!

[mholtum]

Originally posted by Mntsnow
I wouldnt give 2 cents for it....MS should have CRUSHED HIM! I would agree with that 100% I am so tired of people doing crap like this just to make a buck. Whatever happened to earning your $$?

[Cowboybooter]

Fraud looks like an easy option to so many people, these days!

BTW I just did a google and found that

'eggsdreampeaseacentreal' has not been taken, yet!

:D:D

Bob

[GohanSSJ]

Well it's MS own fault really, sure he is taking advantage of it too, but if MS left him, then there would be no problem.

[Mntsnow]

He's getting away with as to many bleeding hearts were starting to complain that "little boy" is getting over run by big bad corporate......Well little boy should have been burnt and nobody cry for him when he gets burned cause he knew he could get burnt when playing with matches......

Just like I don't pamper my son when he does something he knows he's not supposed it and it backfires on him....Heck if he's really unlucky he might get his butt paddled too!

[LordKwiKSilva00]

here here snowman!!! :D

[GohanSSJ]

Originally posted by Mntsnow
He's getting away with as to many bleeding hearts were starting to complain that "little boy" is getting over run by big bad corporate......Well little boy should have been burnt and nobody cry for him when he gets burned cause he knew he could get burnt when playing with matches......

Just like I don't pamper my son when he does something he knows he's not supposed it and it backfires on him....Heck if he's really unlucky he might get his butt paddled too!
Microsoft blew it out of proportion though, if they had left him then he wouldn't get all this attention.

I'm not sure why he registered that domain, maybe that he simply registered because ofcourse of his name, but also because it sounds a bit like microsoft.
However that site wasn't made to scam anyone or something, so it was completely harmless.

[Cowboybooter]

Gohan,

If his name is Mike Rowe, then his site would be MikeRowe.com! Why add the word 'Soft' to the end?

He has a website, therefore a computer, but he had never heard of Microsoft? No Chance!

He set out to scam, how else would the name be so close!

:)

Bob

[mholtum]

Originally posted by GohanSSJ
Microsoft blew it out of proportion though, if they had left him then he wouldn't get all this attention.

I'm not sure why he registered that domain, maybe that he simply registered because ofcourse of his name, but also because it sounds a bit like microsoft.
However that site wasn't made to scam anyone or something, so it was completely harmless. Do you live in a cloud somewhere or do you actually believe this crap. He did it for 1 reason and one reason only. In hopes that MS would offer to pay him for the domain name.. You can't really be that naive. Or can you?

[Mntsnow]

Mike Rowe was quoted to have said something to the effect of "I wonder what they (MS) is going to do about it" and Was also known to have bragged about making a site that sounded like MicroSoft. Then he said he added the "soft" to his name as he wanted to sell website themes and such.....Well at that point he's name should have been something like MikeRoweDesigns ect. A Theme is not SOFTware....it is a design/art/etc but not SOFTware

[gjimene2]

Everyone retracted their bid! HAHAHA.

[mholtum]

Originally posted by gjimene2
Everyone retracted their bid! HAHAHA. ROFL http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3382073018&category=2312 back to his starting point. I hope he gets nothing.

[Cowboybooter]

Funniest part is he says he is not accepting bids from people with 0 Feedback; His own rating - 0 Feedback! I bet he can't give it away!

:)

Bob

[davidw]

I have now removed all of the bids because of the amount of bogus bids this auction has received. If you were a serious bidder please contact me and I will forward you the stipulations of the auction.

He only deserves how much he has earned... and I don't think two red cents will cover it.

[GohanSSJ]

Originally posted by Mntsnow
Mike Rowe was quoted to have said something to the effect of "I wonder what they (MS) is going to do about it" and Was also known to have bragged about making a site that sounded like MicroSoft. Then he said he added the "soft" to his name as he wanted to sell website themes and such.....Well at that point he's name should have been something like MikeRoweDesigns ect. A Theme is not SOFTware....it is a design/art/etc but not SOFTware
But he did it for fun, it was not like he was trying to get people his site and then scamming them trying to get them to think it was the Microsoft site, that Microsoft reacted like that is their own fault really, if they left him then there would be no problems at all.

[davidw]

Final value: $1,037.00

[Axel]

folks - this is one of the reasons why MS OS's cost so much money. IT's not the programming, or the packaging, or even the raw materials - it's idiots like this and the lawyers it takes to defend against such idiocy.

I realize that's a gross simplification, after all - the Redmond WA MS campus wasn't free, but you get my point......

Boneheads like this drive up the cost of everything for the rest of us.

I hope the winning bidder stiffs this idiot!

[GohanSSJ]

Axel, as far as i know MS sue'd him, they made a big deal out of it, they are the one causing prices to get so high.

Well actually it isn't, it's more like greed...

I mean ok the guy registered te site MikeRoweSoft.com but it's not like he can scam people out of money letting them think it's the MS site, yeah i'm sure he registered that domain because it sounded like it, but i certainly don't believe he did it for any kind of reason except for just fun, and then i mean harmless fun.

[ThRoNkA]

i just want real proof that this guy is mike rowe.

[EndobioticChaos]

Here's a quote from The Register He registered the domain in August because he thought it would be cool to have a site that sounded like the famous company to show his Web designing skills.
I really am inclined to believe that. Remember, this is a 17-year-old. I can easily see why someone like him might think it's cool, and be naive enough not to realize MS would make a fuss.

Regardless, I think MS was stupid to make a fuss about it.

[BBA]

I agree...MS should have ignored the site. You can own everything that resembles you name. Then again, the kid did it to scam MS from the start.

He succeeded. Doesnt make him any better...he is still just a 17 yr old kid with an attitude.

[ThRoNkA]

but if they ignored it, then MS would lose thier comyright to the name Microsoft and they could be sued. Then other companies that kids make up couldnt be sued because they ignored thier own copyright

[GohanSSJ]

Originally posted by BBA
I agree...MS should have ignored the site. You can own everything that resembles you name. Then again, the kid did it to scam MS from the start.

He succeeded. Doesnt make him any better...he is still just a 17 yr old kid with an attitude.
He did it to scam? Do you know what scamming means? Because i don't you think you do, the guy didn't pretended to be the Microsoft website, he also didn't tryed to get any kind of money or goods through his site.

What he did was make a site, that indeed sounds a bit like Microsoft, however doesn't look by far to Microsoft, and well on the internet you type things, don't tell me you end up on MikeRoweSoft when you are typing Microsoft.
So it doesn't look like it, and it doesn't try to be it, it was a harmless joke, Microsoft made a big deal out of this, and that while there was no "deal", they caused all the problems themselfs.

If they are really so concerned about the internet then let them get illegal porn sites and stuff like that closed, not some harmless site where the name was just made for fun, however didn't affected Microsoft in ANY kind of way.

I simply don't get why they done this, i really don't, and i'm glad they lost, because if they did then everyone could just get around closing other sites because they kinda sound the same as their own.

[PresterJohn]

i would have to disagree with some of the earlier posts that imply or insinuate that the kid was scam-ing, extorting, or doing something else morally objectionable. his name happens to be mike rowe and as a clever gag or 'what have you', he decided to register the name...nothing wrong with that. they aren't even spelled alike or nearly alike that someone would mistakenly type the kid's name in their browser thinking it was microsoft.

then you have microsoft coming along, who with their enormous ego and hubris, decides that they won't even tolerate someone whose site sounds like their trademark. so they try to intimidate and leverage their enormous legal resources to intimidate the kid.

nope, i don't think the kid was doing anything wrong in everything that led up to this.

as for now...yep, he's trying to make some money off his 15 minutes of fame. you can call it tacky....and i don't particularly care for it, but if someone is stupid enough to bid on his stuff, go right ahead. :rolleyes:

[GohanSSJ]

Well let's face it, if you got some crap that could get you money, then wouldn't you sell it? I sure would.

Don't get me wrong, i certainly don't see him as a victim or whatever, and i'm sure he had some fun out of this, but this was totally not the purpose, MS caused this, not him.

[PresterJohn]

Originally posted by Axel
folks - this is one of the reasons why MS OS's cost so much money. IT's not the programming, or the packaging, or even the raw materials - it's idiots like this and the lawyers it takes to defend against such idiocy.

nope, the reason why MS OS's cost so much is because microsoft knows they can get away with it, pure and simple! even with all the press linux has been getting, microsoft still has the lion's share of the corporate desktop OS market and that isn't going to change significantly in the near future.

i read in an article that one of their biggest cash cows is their microsoft office suite. have you ever seen the price on that drop?...never!

microsoft fields a large legal team because it has always been their modus operandi to pursue legal action against other companies or consumer groups to forstall or deter litigation unfavorable to them or to intimidate rival software vendors.

[EndobioticChaos]

What he did was make a site, that indeed sounds a bit like Microsoft, however doesn't look by far to Microsoft, and well on the internet you type things, don't tell me you end up on MikeRoweSoft when you are typing Microsoft.
So it doesn't look like it, and it doesn't try to be it, it was a harmless joke, Microsoft made a big deal out of this, and that while there was no "deal", they caused all the problems themselfs. I definitely have to agree with this.

nope, the reason why MS OS's cost so much is because microsoft knows they can get away with it, pure and simple! even with all the press linux has been getting, microsoft still has the lion's share of the corporate desktop OS market and that isn't going to change significantly in the near future.

i read in an article that one of their biggest cash cows is their microsoft office suite. have you ever seen the price on that drop?...never!

microsoft fields a large legal team because it has always been their modus operandi to pursue legal action against other companies or consumer groups to forstall or deter litigation unfavorable to them or to intimidate rival software vendors.And this. I think this is spot-on.

[BBA]

He scammed. It was a fishing expedition...just waiting to see if MS bites.

He took it pretty far to, so he could maximize his payoff, which he DID collect.

He was acting like he was on some moral high ground being victimized by the big bad wolf, but he sold out everyone who supported his plight.

The kids a punk.

[GohanSSJ]

BBA, you are basing this on nothing, just your believes.

He didn't scam, scamming is when you pretend something to people to get their cash, he made a site that sounded funny, he didn't try to sell products there, he didn't try to get any money, and the site name sure doesn't looks like Microsofts site.

MS would of had no problems at all with this site, which is why they lost the case.

He took it pretty far? What did he took pretty far? It was MS that sue'd him, and if MS would of been right to do so, then they would of won.

He isn't acting like a victim, i don't know how you got that, yes he is indeed making money out of it, but like i said, it's MS own fault, not his.

The kid is a punk you say? What do you base that on? I think you are taking this a bit to far.

If i had his name, and i could of thought of it then i would of registered it too, not to annoy MS or whatever, but simply because it sounds funny.

You know, not everything a person does is to annoy people, some people also do things for fun, and this is harmless, as no one is loosing anything out of it, or anyones reputation is getting harmed, it's MS own fault, simple.