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Your Daily Dose of Microsoft
Posted by
michael
on Thu Jul 05, 2001 12:13 PM
from the a-day-without-microsoft-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine dept.
from the a-day-without-microsoft-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine dept.
The European Union is considering anti-trust action against Microsoft. The Wall Street Journal ran a column today about the Windows XP registration process, which is apparently news to a lot of people who don't read enough Slashdot. IBM says Microsoft is arrogant. Microsoft's XP Beta program is a little more open than they thought. And finally, and most amusingly, one of the threat letters being sent out by the BSA on behalf of Microsoft was sent to (wait for it...) OSDN. Okay, no more Microsoft submissions today, please.
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Re:Getting WinXP Preview without registration (Score:3)
I know you all don't mind software and music pirating, but posting direct links is crossing the line.
Re:Getting WinXP Preview without registration (Score:4)
http://svmsftwxp.conxion.com/download/wxp_pro_rc1_ core.tgz
_ tools.tgz
_ drivers.tgz
_ extras.tgz
http://svmsftwxp.conxion.com/download/wxp_pro_rc1
http://svmsftwxp.conxion.com/download/wxp_pro_rc1
http://svmsftwxp.conxion.com/download/wxp_pro_rc1
You need Visual C++ 6.0 or better, and be warned: it's a 2G (yes, 2 gigabyte) download. (Oh, and it took about 3 days to compile on my PII 266MHz too, but that's another story.)
Re:that's not the issue I'm wondering about (Score:4)
So the courts will grant pseudo-governmental powers to operate investigate? Is this normal? Will the US courts also grant requests for environmentalists to do research in the records of big-polluters? Will the courts grant requests for AIDS activists to do audits of BigPharm's research in order to prove that the government really funded the research on the drug they now hold patent on?
Oh, of course not, these are the interests of the community - of the people - and the *people* aren't really being advocated by their courts *or* their government any longer... silly me - I forgot.
US of America is a sick-twisted corporate run shithole. Can you people please wake the fuck up and do something about your goddamn government? P-L-U-T-O-C-R-A-C-Y : LOOK IT UP!!
Hmm... (Score:5)
They should, you know.
- A.P.
--
Re:that's not the issue I'm wondering about (Score:3)
Scary as hell. What would be really interesting is someone like OSDN refusing entry, then being searched. Would make a hell of a headline and could be just the sort of thing to make ordinary users realize the clout MS carries through its BSA organization.
Re:Hmm... (Score:3)
Namely, they need to be subject to sufficient due process.
If you are "breaking the law quitely", NO ONE should have any right to look even at you funny. This includes both governments and megacorps.
If you don't like this, I suggest moving to Singapore.
Re:that's not the issue I'm wondering about (Score:3)
"Yes...this is the main server for my companies 24x7 OLAP money-machine...go right ahead an install some software I know nothing about - no problem answering Yes to the "Reboot?" question."
Coverage of the MS FUD War (Score:3)
Houston, we have marketing. (Score:3)
GO IBM!!!!!
Rob
Re:Actual Windows XP registration dialogue (Score:3)
This is how it starts... Microsoft will practically give the product away to make sure all Windows users upgrade to it, then they pull the noose tight and start raising annual license fees and charging more for services. Before you know it you're paying Microsoft $50 a month just to use your computer and there are no alternatives because all the competition went under when everybody was buying Windows for $10.
Does it bother anyone else... (Score:3)
Bryan R.
Re:Does it bother anyone else... (Score:5)
I couldn't agree more. That is why I think a grass roots effort needs to be mobilized. Creating a website or posting this sort of thing on Slashdot won't help, it just leads to informed people complaining to informed people. The informed people need to get in touch with the uninformed. Around my house and where I work, I am considered one who has a some what informed opinion on things computer related. Lately, I have been getting asked quite a bit about WinXP and I tell people what I think. Stay with 2000/98SE. Got to get the word out! The people I feel bad for are those who buy a new computer. Ouch.
Bryan R.
The Holy Trilogy knows all..... (Score:3)
Re:Actual Windows XP registration dialogue (Score:3)
Try this scenario with the final version and good luck.
Activation? Passivation? (Score:3)
Now suppose you do a major upgrade on your computer.. enough to cause the activations to think they are on a different computer and thus de-activating themselves. Sure, you can call Microsoft.. but you have 10 pieces of software that are all de-activated. Activating it will be a MAJOR pain in the ass!
Now suppose it's not just one machine. What if you're a system admin in a company with 150 workstations and they all upgraded on the same day.
What am I missing? It can't possibly be THIS bad can it?!
HTF can the BSD do that? (Score:3)
What would happen if the BSA called my company, and I told the BSA guy to leave me the fuck alone and then hung up?
--
SecretAsianMan (54.5% Slashdot pure)
Free Consultation? (Score:4)
As my older brother used to say: cute, but not funny.
Next time someone wants to call Zones, or Softchoice or hell, even the BSA, give them a real world example to start the giggling. Tell them you have 100 users and you need licenses for 100 copies of Outlook, 15 copies of Excel, 50 copies of Word, 10 copies of Access, NO copies of Publisher, and 5 copies of Powerpoint. Now...is that all Office Standard, Office Pro or Office Seriously Diluted and Preinstalled on the Dell for the Home User?
How many points per copy, per package, per user, per workstation? How much per point? Now, now! No fair using the scientific calculator.
I'd love like all hell to comply to licensing...well, maybe not "love." I'd do it without much complaint. And somewhere in my desk drawer is a proposal from a reseller to get my company up to compliance. The bottom line was $20,000. And even in all that licensing mumbo-jumbo, there still was no guarantee that I didn't have a missed workstation, or a missed application that would instantly put me out of compliance.
*shrug* I'll get in compliance, as soon as I figure out exactly what that means and how much to hit up the boss for. In the meantime, 3 letters from the BSA, each with a different "truce number," 1 dated last year, and all 3 addressed to different people at this company. Am I to believe that these are NOT mere direct mail advertisements?
Re:BSA? (Score:3)
L: "Uh... but my son is not in Boy Scouts."
C: "Oh shit! Sorry... I mean, We're calling to inform you that we discovered that your son is using a pirated version of Windows XP..."
You think Microsoft's stuff is leaking out... (Score:4)
More great news! I heard on a hacker mailing list, that Debian's [debian.org] stuff isn't protected either.
I snuck into the Debian site, and I got lots of good stuff. Programming tools, games, an OS that works, a couple of desktop environments, networking tools, server apps, ... gigabytes of cool stuff. Way more complete than that Microsoft ISO image.
Ignore the XP crap, and grab the good stuff before someone notices.
Nope! (Score:4)
that's not the issue I'm wondering about (Score:5)
Suppose I tell him no, you can't enter, and call the police to have him arrested for trespassing. What's he going to do, get a search warrant? On what grounds? These are the questions I'd like to see answered.
If you want to use wget (Score:5)
wget --dot-style=mega --header="User-Agent:Download Manager" http://svmsftwxp.conxion.com/download/wxp_pro_rc1. iso
H.
Correct me if I'm wrong (Score:3)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't putting something in the fine print, education enough? When the user hits "I Agree" or "I Accept" or whatever it is, aren't they legally agreeing to whatever is in the fine print that they just agreed to, whether they actually read it or not? Why is it Microsoft's fault that the users don't read the fine print? Why do they have to prepare anyone for the crackdown? It's in the license, it's always been in the license. They are finally doing something about it and now people are upset? That doesn't make sense. If you are going to violate licenses, at least accept the fact that one day you will either be caught or that you will eventually have to comply with the license.
BSA? (Score:5)
Tell that to wolfram (Score:3)
Re:Subversive advocacy with an edge! (Score:3)
I know my desktop box would cause problems... I wanted Win '98, but it came from the OEM with NT on it...
--Fesh
Re:that's not the issue I'm wondering about (Score:4)
Re:Hmm... (Score:3)
Kind of like copying a tape for a friend.
No, copying a tape for a friend is legal under the Audio Home Recording Act [loc.gov].
Re:that's not the issue I'm wondering about (Score:3)
Suppose I tell him no, you can't enter, and call the police to have him arrested for trespassing. What's he going to do, get a search warrant? On what grounds? These are the questions I'd like to see answered.
The BSA generally gets tipped off by disgruntled employees, who are commonly more than happy to tell the judge enough to get a search warrant. Further, once the BSA shows that you are using the software, it's up to you to show that you have a valid license. That's just the way copyright works, by default, you have no rights (other than fair use).
Re:that's not the issue I'm wondering about (Score:3)
Copyright infringment (duplicating copyrighted digital bits without authorization) is fundamentally different than stealing physical goods. It's unfortunate that people interchange the words.
I've heard several stories, some first hand accounts from people who've worked at a company that got busted. In every story, the BSA got a call from a former employee who told them there was pirated software.
The sworn statement of your former employee that you've got pirated software is the "gather evidence" stage.
Sure, you could turn them away at the door and insist they go get a warrant. If they do, you can be sure things will get ugly, even if you're 100% properly licensed. Once they have that warrant, they're under no obligation to minimize their disruption of your business... and since at that point you'll be a criminial in their minds.
If your business is anything like most small to mid-size ones, you've probably got at least a few computers running "what came with the computer"... but you don't have the original invoice or that original invoice doesn't specifically indicate the computer came with that software. The original manuals/holograms got shuffled into a desk somewhere, lost or filed away where nobody will find them, or perhaps fell on the floor and were cleaned up by a janitor.
If your business doesn't have a regular policy of auditing the machines, it's entirely possible that an employee installed some "harmless" program, or someone made a simple mistake. Often times, in the rush to meet a deadline or solve a problem for a customer, an employee might need to quickly load a copy of some program (say the customer emails a powerpoint file with purchase requirements and needs a quote within hours, and it's a big opportunity, but first your machine can't read his PPT file, you really want to bid for an opportunity at this sale and don't want to get off on the wrong foot and also precious time asking for a different format because your computer can not read the same attachment he sent to you and your competitors, and the clock is ticking)... the disc was sitting right there, and "we'll take care of it later", etc. These sorts of things really do happen all the time in "normal" companies.
BSA: Where I work, we have a excellent network consultant [sdesign.com] who audits all our computers every several months and orders anything that isn't proven to be licensed properly (once I lost the papers for a legally purchased win98 and months later when I couldn't find them he put it on the "need to buy" list, Doh!)... in case anyone from the BSA is reading this post.
Sure, you're innocent until proven guilty... at least in fifth-grade civics class. There are two realities about going to court: 1) it is expensive and rarely can you recover all costs even when you win, and 2) the outcome is uncertain, even when there is considerable evidence in your favor. If there's not absolutely certainty your "100% legal", the BSA will probably demand a fee to drop the whole matter instead of going to court. Maybe they won't sue if you pay... if you're smart you'll evaluate your options and choose the least expensive one, and paying will probably be the answer.
American Business vs European Union (Score:5)
Sure, Microsoft sells billions of dollars of software in Europe each year, but I hardly see what kind of "punishment" the EU could inflict to Microsoft.
-Ban their Microsoft products? Then it would pose some serious problems to european businesses and their competitivness.
-Impose an extra tax on Microsoft Products? As Microsoft is a monopoly, I guess people will still buy their products even if it's more expensive.
I really have no clue on how the EU could force Microsoft to do something against its will.
Subversive advocacy with an edge! (Score:3)
For example, I'm sure there's been a medium to large size company in your past that was not interested in adopting 'free software', but was more than willing to turn a blind eye to the occasional licensing over step with windows/office...
One of two things will happen: 1) they end up spending a lot of money paying fines and buying licenses, or 2) they pay their fines and start looking for free software alternatives...
Either way - it could be entertaining.
Re:Hmm... (Score:3)
I've used Adobe's fonts for years, and I can say none of them look anything like Microsoft's current tactics. Well, maybe Warning Pi [adobe.com], but that's hardly "many".
Re:If you want to use wget (Score:4)
wget -U "Download Manager" http://svmsftwxp.conxion.com/download/wxp_pro_rc1
Re:Does it bother anyone else... (Score:3)
Except I need to ensure that my JavaScript and HTML works under Microsoft Internet Explorer...
And I need to view this Microsoft PowerPoint presentation...
And I need to open the design documents that are written in Microsoft Word.
Face it - I don't really have a choice. Once XP gets released, I'll probably give it a partition on my hard drive. Sure, I like Mandrake (enough to have actually paid for my copy of the distro), but that still doesn't really matter, considering that in order to interact with others in college I must use Microsoft products.
Especially when the previously mentioned "design documents" explain the required design of the project that counts for half of your grade...
I suppose I could go on the "move to open software" cursade, but even the most Linux-friendly professor I can think of taught his class about how the Linux kernel works using PowerPoint. He offered his notes for download off his webpage... which means I'd need PowerPoint to view them. (Actually, since other people in that class read Slashdot, I'll admit that he was cool enough to have copied the slides into PDF format, but still... the point stands that if he hadn't done that, I'd need to grab a Windows machine to view the class notes.)
Anyway, it's summer time, and I'm working for a company... on Windows. If I want to work at home, I'll need a Windows PC. If I want to send documents to other people here, I'll need Office.
Which means that as much as I'd love to get rid of any and all MS software, I can't - I'm stuck with it. Which is why the Ninth District court upheld the findings of fact, agreeing that Microsoft does indeed have a monopoly that practically people cannot escape from.
--
Re:Hmm... (Score:4)
Interesting point: that OEM copy of MS Office that came with one office computer (and has been copied to the 9 other computers in the office) has kept the purchasing department from looking for cheaper alternatives.
Sure, if you're paying full price, the MS Office "office" is pretty expensive (e.g. 10 x $500 = $5000) but if one copy is hidden in the cost of a computer and the other 9 copies are pirated then as far as the purchaser is concerned that only cost $0 dollars.
That makes it pretty hard for WordPerfect or WordPro to compete even if their Office Suites are half the price of Microsoft Office.
Make people pay full price for their software, then maybe they won't necessarily follow the herd but attempt to limit the amount of money they need to spend.