Neowin.net downed by MS ‘cease and desist’ letter

A P2P SDK problem, apparently...

By John Lettice • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 7th March 2003 12:09 GMT

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Well-known Windows enthusiast site Neowin.net has been downed, reportedly by a "cease and desist" letter sent by Microsoft to the site's hosting company. The Register understands that the letter relates to an item published by Neowin concerning a Microsoft peer-to-peer SDK. "In simple terms," a Neowin source told The Register, "Microsoft scared our server host."

The Register has rather liked Neowin since somebody there tagged us as "the Linux hippies' FUD barrel,"* which is a lot snappier than most of the abuse we get. And we like their motto "where unprofessional journalism looks better" too. The site produces a lot of screenshots, not least of them being of the latest Microsoft leaked betas, but this has clearly got to take it pretty close to the wind, so it's no surprise that the Baleful Eye of the Beast is watching.

It's not clear to us whether Microsoft's objection was to something published on Neowin, to something published elsewhere that Neowin directed people to, or even to a direction to a direction to somewhere elsewhere (take-down avoidance can involve a whole heap of nesting). We understand that Neowin is currently talking to the hosting company about the removal of the material alleged to infringe, and hopes to be back shortly. ®

* We should stress this was a reader's posting, and not Neowin official policy. Neowin - bless - tells us they love us right back.

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