Careers: Sure, it’s ostensibly easier to tap a repository for jobs and employees. But not is always as it seems. “I’ve said it again and again, and I’ll say it yet again: Monster.com is bad for you whether you’re a job hunter or an employer,” Nick Corcodilos explains in Monster racket. The situation is so dire that Corcodilos thinks Congress should get involved. It’s not just Monster, but all the huge, unregulated databases of personal information. But when it comes to Monster, he does not mince words. “Recruiters who use it are promoting unsafe practices. Job hunters who post their resumes are danged fools.”Platforms: Often, one question leads to another. Such became the case when Oliver Rist posed Does Vista suck? What ensued, quite naturally, was the some probe into Mac OS X. I know, I know, legions of Apple’s devout will be offended at the mere asking and that’s alright for those in charge of themselves. Nonetheless, for enterprise-class IT professionals, it’s a worthy consideration. Rist was a skeptic, but since January has found that “the Orchard does slowly assimilate you.” Bearing that in mind, Mr. Rist grades Mac OS X on the same scale he used for Vista. Does Mac OS X suck? “Apple failed a category where Vista didn’t, but that’s a fuzzy business/marketing category, not something tangibly technical…From a business buyer’s perspective, I’ve got to give it a C-.”Notes from the field: The sometimes-harbinger of bad news, Cringe returns to that role. “Bad news, Facebook fans. It turns out the Internet is full of spammers, scammers, and naughty naughty men. Who knew?” he jokes in Facebook faces the music. But Facebook is making some changes. “Exactly how the new, slightly less open Facebook will play out remains to be seen.” The news beat: Microsoft says that much-awaited Vista SP1 will become available early next year, and a beta will go out next month. Deutsche Telekom confirms discussions with Apple about becoming an iPhone partner. SAP pushes for settlement talkswith Oracle in the case involving its subsidiary TomorrowNow allegedly illegally downloading Oracle information. And Earthlink layoffs signal a change in municipal Wi-Fi, and not for the better. Careers