pixelpoke

"Gee, Brain what do you want to do tonight?" "The same thing we do every night Pinky. Try to take over the world!"

Okay, so I'm not exactly Brain, but I did find out that one of the patent applications I'm named on was approved. How did I find out? Did I get a call from Bill Gates? Nope. How about the US government ? ("uh... hey. um... one of your patents has been accepted. Have a nice day.")

Nope.

Only in the land of the Free  do I find out via somebody trying to sell me something.

Sigh.

On a happy note, today we welcome another new ACES blogger: http://blogs.technet.com/engauged/default.aspx

Oh, and I came across this post today over at Avsim, in which a fellow by the name of mgh in Reply # 5 states about our FS Insider site:

"I've previously expressed my doubts about this site.

Does anyone know of any other MS site that sells apparel, outerware, bags, office accessories, speciality items, and gift certificates through a 3rd party in this case eCompanyStore?"

All I can say is yes the FS Insider site is really ours, and yes, other Microsoft Games Studios have 3rd party sites where they sell stuff:

http://www.bungiestore.com/productcart/pc/default.asp and http://www.xboxgearstore.com/

Both clearly state: "This web site is operated by Sunrise Identity, Inc. and is solely responsible for its contents and operation. "

You may also note that the Bungie store is linked directly from their website: http://bungie.net/

I think it's wise to be cautious in today's world, but hopefully the fact that the Insider site is ours is now unambiguous.