| I can imagine Mr Gates with a small moe and a bad comb-over...
Microsoft to cut swastikas from software
SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- Microsoft Corp. said on Friday that its latest version of Office software inadvertently contained a font featuring two swastikas, and said it would offer tools to remove and replace the offending characters from the program.
The swastika, which was made infamous by Nazi Germany, was included in Microsoft's "Bookshelf Symbol 7" font. That font was derived from a Japanese font set, said Microsoft Office product manager Simon Marks.
"It was discovered by one of our customers a couple weeks ago," Marks said, adding that there was "no indication of malicious intent."
The Redmond, Washington-based software maker said that it had contacted various Jewish organizations about the font and said a utility would be immediately available on its Web site that would remove the characters from the system.
Microsoft said it will release other tools at a later date to remove only the offending characters.
A form of the swastika has been used in the Buddhist religion to symbolize the feet or footprints of the Buddha. The symbol, which was also used widely in the ancient world including Mesopotamia, Scandinavia, India and the Americas, became common in China and Japan with the spread of Buddhism.
German dictator Adolf Hitler adopted the swastika as the symbol of the Nazi Party because of its nationalist identification, according to the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights group.
...Who the hell wouldn't know about the Nazi party and a 'little' thing like WWII? You can tell that it's the doing of Microsoft, who like to treat their customers like the sort of people who spend $200 on a class that teaches them how to turn that darn computer-thingy on.
They really should've went with something classy on this one, like re-inventing the Office Paperclip.
Dressed in Nazi garb, this office assistant doesn't just sit there and look at you stupidly as you type your letter. Instead, it taunts you on your incompetence and poor grasp of language.
Dummer Kopf! Er scheint, als wenn Sie einen Brief schreiben, dem ich nicht lasse sogar den Führer abwischen seine Unterseite mit wurde!
*really crappy translation: "Stupid head! It appears as though you're writing a letter, which I wouldn't even let the leader wipe his bottom with!"
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