Walking away

by Tony the Misfit

Regarding Caveat Mutuor, I Told You So…
[Via Mike the Mad Biologist]

For a while now, I’ve been arguing that when it comes to lending, caveat mutuor should be a guiding principle. After all, no one held a gun to these guys heads and said, “Make me a shitty loan now!” And these guys were supposed to know how to assess housing loan risk–it’s what they do. Well, I would like to think people listen to me (although I’m sure I have nothing to do with it at all). But this NY Times article suggests that people are starting to do this:

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The problem for me with foreclosures and people walking away from houses is the effect on the rest of us – our houses usually end up being worth less. The free market is helping the banks, with government help and with credit defaults swaps. The people walking away can save a years worth of mortgage payments by letting the foreclosure process go through.

I’m not sure what we could do but some smart people might be helpful.

Something for Google to think about

Expensive malware appears for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile
[Via AppleInsider]

Malware embedded into legitimate-looking games designed for Windows Mobile has appeared, automatically dialing up foreign telephone services to rig up hundreds of dollars in illicit charges for users behind their backs.

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Getting an app from Apple’s app store is like buying something at a major chain store. You know what you are getting. Buying one for more like buying one at a street vendor. You never can be really sure just what you are getting.

Without someone to really vet the apps, there will be the danger of an app being malicious. I think many people will prefer buying from a safe place, even if it is not as wild and wooly as some of the developers want.