Thanks, Liberal Media

"Ohh... Steve, there is no Liberal Media Conspiracy. That's just wing-nut delusional paranoia." Yeah? Then why won't the company that employs Keith Olbermann let me watch the Republican Debate? Conspiracy, I tell you!

It's getting close to my early bedtime tonight (many things to do tomorrow) but I thought I'd checkout part of the Republican Debate before I went to sleep. Fire up a browser and head on over to MSNBC, click on the link... DENIED:

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This product requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 with Microsoft Media Player 10 and Macromedia Flash 6 or higher versions, or Mozilla Firefox 1.5 with Macromedia Flash 8, or Safari 2.0.4 with Macromedia Flash 8. To download these free software applications, click the links below and follow the on-screen instructions.

I have Flash 9.0.45.0, but my browser is Camino 1.1b, so I can mildly understand not properly detecting the browser (still damn lazy). Figuring that since my Firefox is much newer than 1.5, I fire it up and give it another go. DENIED.

Hrmm... now I'm frustrated. So I load up Safari 2.0.4, exactly the version MS recomends. DENIED. Not expecting much, I load Opera. DENIED. I downloaded a UA spoofer for Firefox, and finally I get through... but it thinks I'm XP so it does some ActiveX crap I can't use.

Finally, I find a PPC UA string for Firefox 1.5.x. I shove that into the right config option and revisit the site. DENIED.

So I'm giving up. Microsoft, you and your crappy programmers have won. I will not be watching the Republican Debates. I hope you're happy.

Comments

For the record, you couldn't have watched the Democratic debate, either.

I ended up listening to the Dems debate on streaming C-SPAN radio. I was in an exam during the Repub debate.

Count me as one of those right-leaning bloggers that agrees with Sen. Obama on this. The debates need to be released under a CC license!

Steve:The debates need to be released under a CC license!

Then I can post re-splicing of the candidates saying all kind of interesting things!

Looks like we'll get our wish with the CNN debates.