Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

The Register tells us that the great software giant is aiming to give a prediction of threat along with their vulnerability notifications:

The 11 bulletins due to arrive later on Tuesday (14 October) will contain “weather predictions” detailing factors such as whether exploit code is likely to appear, alongside the established rating system on the severity of vulnerabilities. Microsoft hopes its Exploitability Index will help organisations to prioritise patching.

Very considerate of them. Sadly The Register fails to include any clever and funny analysis in the story. The first thing that comes to mind is whether Microsoft will also begin offering a threat prediction for operating systems. Perhaps something like “You are x times more likely to be in trouble if you run this version of our software…” It could turn into a whole new marketing program: “Where do you want to go, other than Windows 98, which we admit was a disaster and about as safe as running on ice with shoes made from butter?”

Today’s Microsoft Weather: Still raining viruses with a chance of thunder spam.

Bank InfoSecurity is keeping a tally on bank closings in America:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced late Friday the closings of Main Street Bank of Northville, MI., and Meridian Bank of Eldred, IL. Deposits from both banks were acquired by other institutions, and the FDIC promises a seamless transition for depositors. Still, these closures are the 14th and 15th bank closings of the year. Only three banks closed in all of 2007.

The BBC reports that conservationists have found a new method to convey the cost and risk of loss in nature:

…study leader Pavan Sukhdev emphasised that the cost of natural decline dwarfs losses on the financial markets.

“It’s not only greater but it’s also continuous, it’s been happening every year, year after year,” he told BBC News.

“So whereas Wall Street by various calculations has to date lost, within the financial sector, $1-$1.5 trillion, the reality is that at today’s rate we are losing natural capital at least between $2-$5 trillion every year.”

The review that Mr Sukhdev leads, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb), was initiated by Germany under its recent EU presidency, with the European Commission providing funding.

Sounds drastic, but it seems to me if they are going to make the comparison they also need a way to present a stock ticker-like graphic to illustrate rate of decline and some kind of floor or zero value.