Okay, so I can be politically sensitive. And I can understand why Microsoft would prefer to remove the swastikas from their Bookshelf Symbol 7 font (which seems to be distributed with Office 2003). And, like this site, I could ask, How do you mistakenly include not one, but two swastikas in a product? .
But … um … while I appreciate their sending out an automatic update to “fix” the problem, is that really a Critical Update for Windows (italics mine)?
This item updates the Bookshelf Symbol 7 font included in some Microsoft products. This font has been found to contain unacceptable symbols.
Based on this Microsoft KB article, doing this could break Japanese installs of O2K3. Swell. This KB article, which updates it, softpedals that problem, though it doesn’t go into any more detail.
According to this article, the font was licensed from Ricoh, and is used (reversed) as a Buddhist symbol of good luck and prosperity, and is frequently seen on Japanese maps for Shinto temples, which might explain why it was there in the first place.
The Register notes that not only do the swastikas vanish with the update, so does another symbol that some folks might consider too politically charged.
But, regardless of the reason, does it really deserve to be called a Critical Update?
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