0xB16B00B5 was discovered lurking in code that helps a Microsoft program work with Linux open source software…
The string was used every time the Microsoft program ran a virtual version of Linux.
Kernel hacker Paolo Bonzini posted a message about the string on the Linux Kernel mailing list saying “Somone (sic) was trying to be funny, I guess”.
Microsoft was alerted to the mistake and swiftly issued a statement.
“We thank the community for reporting this issue and apologise for the offensive string,” it said to Network World.
It added that it had prepared a patch that would change the spelling of the string in an update.
Commenting on the gaffe, developer Matthew Garrett noted that the first version of the Microsoft code used a similar string of 0x0B00B135 – a form of letters that roughly translates to “boobies”.
“Puerile sniggering at breasts contributes to the continuing impression that software development is a boys’ club where girls aren’t welcome,”
(Curated by Dennis Moore. Read the complete article here)
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