Microsoft 's new copyright measures

[wyvrn]

Click here (http://www.techtv.com/products/software/story/0,23008,3311517,00.html)

If the last part is true, then you are going to have some people raising hell.

[NDC]

All I can say is Bill needs to chill!

[CMonster]

Coming soon:

Also be on the look-out for Copy Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM). CPRM will make disks check for copy protection before it allows files to be installed and could refuse to install said files. While this is now proposed only for removable media such as Zip disks, it could easily be extended to hard disks.

The following companies are reported to be pushing for CPRM: IBM, Intel, Toshiba, and Matsu****a. And get this - they hope to insert this CPRM **** into the hard disk ATA specification.

[NDC]

To be honest with you, I don't mind buying the application or OS CD's... I just think it's real BS that I'm gonna have to go through hassle whenever I need to reinstall the application or the OS. Afterall, I paid for the license which I think is rightfully mine to reinstall or install it on my other systems.


Consumers and hobbyists who like to tinker and upgrade their systems are not likely to take kindly to this less-than-friendly policy. Neither will families with three or four computers, who will need to purchase additional copies of XP and register each one separately. In theory -- because XP will be inherently linked to a system's configuration -- making hardware changes would require a call to Microsoft or a visit to its website for authentication. What would happen if you installed a new hard drive, more memory, and a better graphics card, all in one upgrading frenzy? It's hard to say, but given the loopy logistics of this policy, Microsoft would probably want you to upgrade the OS, too.


Now this just makes me SICK!

[RayH]

It seems that Microsoft is trying to give people a reason to use Linnux! My machine can dual boot!

Need an XP key? (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/16223.html)



[This message has been edited by RayH (edited 02-19-2001).]

[jaida]

That is just pathetic every OS microsoft keeps making is getting worse and worse.

Looks like linux will definetly be my next os for me down with microsoft hehe.

[daveleau]

A great article about XP's protection...
http://arstechnica.com/wankerdesk/01q1/wpa-1.html

Dave

[RobRich]

Full hardware OpenGL and DirectX 8.0a drivers (very soon, D3D 8 is already beta! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif ), easy cross compile compatability, support for various platfroms, direct hardware access, and a near microkernel implementation for performance and stability. No, I'm definitely not talking about WinXP. More like BeOS! When DX8 is completely ported: game, 3D, sound, and a variety of other software vendors will be able to finally leverage the power of the BeOS enviroment with nothing more than a code recompile. In other words, MS can now strategically place WinXP somewhere (use your imagination http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif ).

Later,
Robert Richmond

[This message has been edited by RobRich (edited 02-19-2001).]

[CMonster]

RobRich - I love BeOS ... if only my SCSI cards were supported. I'm glad to see that devolopment of BeOS is continuing. I would love to see a BeOS version 6.0.

Just for the record, MS has started a FUD campaign against Linux and open source software in general. Though I think that's great because more people will become interested in this MS "verboten" material than ever before. Kind of like hanging a sign that says "Don't look in this hole!" above a hole in a fence.


Well - my digital camera now works in Linux, there is now an open source DVD player/decoder for Linux, my printer and CDRW work in Linux, I have 3D accellerated video support in Linux now so I can play lots of great games - I guess the only thing I have left to get is a Linux friendly SCSI scanner..

My old Mustek 600 III EP is too slow anyway and although it is supported by SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy -for Linux of course) I have never been able to get check the parallel port.

Mandrake 8.0 should be the beginning of the end of the MS empire.

While Linux install and configuration can be difficult, and hardware support is still a little spotty, it is not difficult to use with a GUI.

I am running Mandrake 7.2 /KDE GUI on a box at work, a driver had to wait there for about an hour and asked if he could play some solitare on my computer. I agreed but did not tell him that it was Linux.

He played several games, opened a few applications, and then said, "Your Windows is different than mine." I told him it was different because it wasn't Windows, and then explained Linux to him.

I then found out that he had purchased his first computer 3 weeks earlier - an e-Machine with ME on it....




[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 02-19-2001).]

[wyvrn]

I am seriously considering an alternate OS. I have heard different things about Linux and BeOS. Does BeOs have a staroffice type office suite available for free? I might end up running Linux, I hear Mandrake is the easiest for a newbie. Suggestions?

I like Windows 2000 but cannot see upgrading with Microsoft after that...

[doctj]

I just installed personal BeOS after reading about it in maximumpc and I'm really impresssed with it. Multitasking without waiting, speedy, rock stable. It recognised all my drives, got the onboard sound to work easily the only trouble remaining is getting my modem to work, I haven't had time to dig around for the drivers. This OS desperately needs some multimedia software, if I could edit digital video or do mpeg 4 encoding, I'd only use windows to communicate with the rest of the world. Rob what is the future of this OS? I read their total revenue for last yr was only $480,000,is Sony going to buy them out?

[Biff]

Sounds like it could be a real pain in the @@@ even if the system worked flawlessly, and a nightmare if it bug prone.

Would this be enough for paying MS customers to move over to another OS?

[daveleau]

In a word....

YES

[NDC]

There is a reply that RayH posted above with a registry hack that will crack the Whistler protection... I wonder if this registry hack will save the hassle.....comments anyone?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/16223.html

[daveleau]

I doubt that it will be that easy when the real product is released, if they include it at all. But I do not doubt that cracks willbe successfully distributed, as there has not been a copyright yet that has not been cracked. The only thing I have ever seen that has completely evaded maniplation was the PII/PIII locked multiplier.

[Rat]

i'll just stick with my win98se until the need arises for a new os, then i'll prolly go to linux if 'ol bill wants to do this.

rat...

[wyvrn]

To be honest with you, I don't mind buying the application or OS CD's... I just think it's real BS that I'm gonna have to go through hassle whenever I need to reinstall the application or the OS. Afterall, I paid for the license which I think is rightfully mine to reinstall or install it on my other systems

My complaint exactly.

[CMonster]

People should also be aware that Microsoft is proposing a copy protection standard for music and multimedia that would put static into the files and only filter it out using Windows media player and trusted sound cards.


A new digital media security solution developed by Microsoft provides protection for content owners while excluding other
digital rights management systems.

The Secure Audio Path (SAP) adds "static" interference to media files that require video and audio cards to authenticate
themselves with Windows software before they can be played. The company would be able to verify that a media player isn't
playing an "unsecured" file, which according to Microsoft would eliminate much of the threat of piracy.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,41614,00.html?tw=wn20010213

[Axel]

The next logical step is to get totally away from selling software on media altogether -

In the future - citys will provide network access through fiber rings or possibly wireless and you subscribe to that pretty much like you do cable television and ISP's now.

You won't "own" any media copy of anything - you "lease" your OS from the provider and when you boot up - you will "boot off network" - I.E. - the hardware basically goes back to Microsoft's servers to run the OS from there and you lease it - You don't pay your lease - the computer stops working - you don't pay your lease for your favorite music - you don't get to hear it anymore....The only thing you do have to buy a media copy of is a software encripted key identifying you uniquely to MS over the network. - That, or new PC's can come with a DNA scanner that will identify you - thus your key travels everywhere with you and is much too difficult for the average citizen to forge.

Once a copy gets out to recorders and media - they lost effective copyright control over it....

Just an extension of the Napster issue....

[Jim9999]

If it weren't for people buying one copy of Office and/or Windows and installing it on thousands of machines, this wouldn't be happening. Microsoft probably isn't all that concerned about a family using a copy on 2 computers, even though you said you wouldn't when you accepted the license. I guess people think they have a right to steal. You don't get to do that anywhere else, but somehow people rationalize stealing software.

Yep, Star Office is free... but hardly full featured. But it has most basic functions and it works for a lot of folks. Go get it.

These people threatening to go to Linux/StarOffice, etc., are like shoplifters threatening to go away and expecting the store owner to beg them back.

Yeah, it'll be a hassle when I reinstall, or build a new system, etc. I'm not thrilled about it, but it's a mess we all made.

[CMonster]

Axel - yep, of which Microsoft's .NET is the beginning.

Jim9999 - hahahah! You are obivously not a Linux user - after all, why would you want something for free that does 10x what Windows can do?

I am not threatening - I am part of a growing community of Linux users. I also proudly sponser devolopement and distributors in the Linux community by purchasing my ooperating system materials -without the restrictive licensing, I might add.

This message brought to you through Mandrake Linux 7.2 and Netscape.

Long live open source!

[emcron]

I have a question and I think I've heard it somewhere before. If it wasnt for the people that shared their software(pirating if you want to call it that)would microsoft be where it is today? Pirating is good for microsoft because everyone needs an OS, it gets popular and other people will buy it. You can't say the same about dreamweaver or photoshop because not everyone is a webdesigner and you need all the sales you can get. I'm I wrong in that reasoning? I've just started using linux, but microsoft is pushing me towards it more more everyday. And if I go to linux all the computers were I work will also go to linux.

[Jim9999]

Is stealing good for a company? No. I'm amazed at the ability of people to rationalize theft. The license agreement means nothing to people but they want everyone else in the world to honor their word.

It's not sharing. It's stealing. You might as well ask if stealing a box from the computer store helps distribute the software. Somehow that is seen differently by people, probably because they're too cowardly to do something that might result in being caught.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not some weird moralist. But I'm not hypocritical enough to try to justify my actions with "I'm helping them".

As for the wonderful world of Linux... go in peace and enjoy it. But try not to join the ranks of the Mac fanatics that feel like because someone doesn't use what you like then they are wrong and they need you to lead the way.

Long live open source? Parts of it will, but there will be a fallout. VA Linux is laying off 25% of over 500 employees to try to make a profit. It's hard to run a business when you give everything away for free. As a consumer, it's fun while it lasts, and yes, I have 2 Linus boxes that I use to experiment, learn, test, etc. But I'd never pay for the software.

I want a real company behind the software that runs my businesses. If I need a UNIX box, I'll get a real UNIX box. Not some strain of Linux.

Don't be too hard on business trying to make a profit. Business are manned by people who can't work for free any more than you can.

rant=off

[phecky]

All very interesting points to an end user like me. Wonder how a court ordered breakup of MS will spin this? I find it funny how MS could justify giving away IE but now wants to protect itself from the very thing it so effectively promoted- FREE SOFTWARE! I feel that greed is the motivation behind most of the belly aching about pirating, I mean c'mon how many tapes of music and videos did the consumer ever really make to make a difference? Truth is, the fat cats want a bigger piece of the techno. pie than they already have so they can retire to their 2 or 3 homes and 5 vacation bungaloes!

[CMonster]

"Long live open source? Parts of it will, but there will be a fallout. VA Linux is laying off 25% of over 500 employees to try to make a profit. It's hard to run a business when you give everything away for free. As a consumer, it's fun while it lasts, and yes, I have 2 Linus boxes that I use to experiment, learn, test, etc. But I'd never pay for the software.


I want a real company behind the software that runs my businesses. If I need a UNIX box, I'll get a real UNIX box. Not some strain of Linux.
"


(for the record: I have never advocated stealing)


VA Linux sells servers and support - the OS is incidental. VA Linux is not the only company to ever have lay-offs, this is a common practice in business. Perhaps if the stupid investors that purchased stock which was run up 700% on the first day of trading were not filing some 20 lawsuits against VA Linux they might also have a little breathing room. Lawsuits, which I might add, were filed because would-be investors were too stupid to realize when a thing was way over inflated and now cry wah-wah! because they can't recoop their investment.


I guess you haven't heard that IBM has just invested $300,000,000 in Linux devolopment,and IBM is not the only company banking on Linux. Also, perhaps you were unaware that a huge percentage of internet servers run Linux.


Free BSD is UNIX and it can be obtained for free. Sun Solaris UNIX is now available for free. Caldera Linux and SCO UNIX are partners in addressing the needs of the business community. What other variant of UNIX are you talking about?


Desktop computers, where the profit margin is very small, are not necessarily the bread-and-butter of the industry; it is the server and network side of the industry that is the cash cow, a side of the industry that is overwhelmingly UNIX and now, to a lesser degree, Linux dominated. There is also profit in end-user software applications and vendors will port and sell software applications for any OS platform where there is a profit to be made, and rightly so; nobody is asking that they should give their product away for free.

It should be noted that desktop computers (appliances) also need a rather idiot proof OS so that the average person can use them, and in this regard, Linux has made great strides towards user friendliness and hardware support and will continue to do so.


Linux is not for everyone - you don't have to use it. But it's good to know that a great alternative does exist, for the day when you discover that all of your great software now exists only on a server owned by Bill Gates.

However, if you happen to work for Microsoft, you will undoubtedly hate what is being said here. In that case, by all means continue to love the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), random lock-ups, and let your mantra be "Reinstall the OS to fix it." You might also want to scrap the 2 old 486s you have outdated versions of Linux installed on -or perhaps use them to falsely demonstrate to naive Windows newbies how pathetic you think Linux is http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

<IMG SRC="http://www.dslextreme.com/users/cmonster3/bsticker.jpg" border=0>


This image and reply created entirely in Linux. Spur of the moment, created for a T-shirt iron-on, it had to be simple. I may add some color and animate it later. Note: No actual MS logos were injured during the creation of this image.

<IMG SRC="http://www.dslextreme.com/users/cmonster3/peeshirt.jpg" border=0>



[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 02-21-2001).]

[Kruppt]

Good Show there CMonster! I have installed Gentus Linux (a Abit distro, revamped version of Redhat 6.2) What is the most comprehensive book out there on Linux?

[t048]

I really like windows 3.1. I think it is one of the best operating systems I have ever tried. Unfortunatly, it doesn't seem to be keeping up with newer hardware. I have a 486 running it. I use it for things that tend to crash Win98 often like word processing and internet usage.

I am not anti-microsoft, but I am not pro-microsoft either. I think some of their applications are really well done, such as Excel and Word. But I have exact replicas of them on Linux. And they are free.

The direction Microsoft needs to go is simpler. They need to make a Windows 3.2 http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif or something.

[Jim9999]

You're funny... and classy, too, I see.

[CMonster]

Kruppt - "Using Linux" by QUE is a fair book. There are many others that you can look for. One good way to look for books is to go to Amazon.com and read the reviews for the books. The best way to learn about Linux is to sit in front of it and play around with it, use the documentation, man pages, and read the how-to's.

I am by no means anti-microsoft, its a great OS for what it did and for its time, I just love Linux because it is my first encounter with a UNIX type OS and I am amazed at how versatile it is.

The following quote comes from the March edition of Maximum PC magazine (traditionally a windows friendly publication) in the Operating Systems article, pg 45:

"Looking to run a proxy server, an FTP server, and a file server simultaneously on the same machine? Windows ain't gonna do it, but Linux will tackle the task with ease."


[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 02-22-2001).]

[spuck]

DOES THIS MEEM ITS TIME TO BUY AN APPLE??

[Kruppt]

Thanks for the input CMonster I will check it out. I am dual booting Win98se and Linux and have been missing with it for a few months. Linux does have a lot of versatility.