The worst thing for Linux is...

[Skeith]

The fact that you can pirate Windows so easily. The average home user, the difference between Windows and Linux is measured in megabytes, not dollars. Piracy is a win and a loss for Microsoft. They may not have paid it, but they are not using Linux. Now that Microsoft has implemented anti-piracy features in Vista I expect to see many more people switch to linux.

Also did you notice how now that open standards from linux are starting to make an impact. Mircrsoft starts releasing a few open standards themselves. Things like XPS as far as I understand, don't have an open source equivalent. Will open source adopt it or shun anything from microsoft? Since it is released under a royalty-free patent license and Microsoft has given a "Covenant Not to Sue

[ahaslam]

It may be easy to download & install a pirate copy of XP but what happens after 30 days :-k

Tony.

[ComplexNumber]

there is no doubt in my mind that microsoft is keeping a very watchful and worried eye on the development of open source.

MS is going to burn itself oput in the next 10-20 years because its trying to be all things to all men. one can see this in their attempts with mobile phones, the xbox, tv's, etc.

[Kadmium]

If you apply a crack, provided by the scene, nothing will happen after 30 days.

[ahaslam]

If you apply a crack, provided by the scene, nothing will happen after 30 days.

Would you trust a crack from such people?

I wonder where that malware came from :-k


Tony.

[John.Michael.Kane]

Kadmium please refrain from talking about circumventing Software protections.

[justin whitaker]

Let me provide some insight: the crackers are a community to.

They want to get everything for free, just like most Open Sourcers do. They get rep for getting the crack done, and getting it right-that is their currency.

It is very easy to defeat WPA and WGA...but why bother? Somewhere down the line, Redmond will make it impossible to update without the latest version of the WGA...and then you are running a cracked OS that you cannot update. Not very smart.

BTW: I do not condone piracy, but I'm a realist. I understand that it exists, and I find the cat and mouse game between Microsoft and the cracking teams fascinating.

[Yossarian]

I have no doubt there will be cracked versions of vista.

They might be impossible to update, unstable, and preloaded with malware. People will use them anyways.

[ComplexNumber]

Let me provide some insight: the crackers are a community to.

They want to get everything for free, just like most Open Sourcers do. They get rep for getting the crack done, and getting it right-that is their currency.

It is very easy to defeat WPA and WGA...but why bother? Somewhere down the line, Redmond will make it impossible to update without the latest version of the WGA...and then you are running a cracked OS that you cannot update. Not very smart.

BTW: I do not condone piracy, but I'm a realist. I understand that it exists, and I find the cat and mouse game between Microsoft and the cracking teams fascinating.
yeah, but its illegal. thats why its not allowed on forums etc. it doesn't matter if its ethical to crack some horrible software or not..the bottom(and only) line is that its illegal, and it doesn't reflect good on the admin on any respectable forum

[aysiu]

Disclaimer: I'm speaking from an Amero-centric point of view. I have no idea what the operating system market is like in China, India, or Europe.

I don't think we've gotten to the point yet where most users feel the crunch of DRM and "anti-piracy" measures.

Some Windows power users are beginning to get annoyed at WGA and are trying out or thinking about trying out a Linux alternative, but most Windows users will stay just where they are and keep their old version or pay whatever money Microsoft wants them to pay so they can run the software they're used to.

Of course, since Bill Gates has stated explicitly that he would rather have people using pirated copies of Windows than not using Windows at all, I suspect that they won't prosecute people who are finding ways to get around WGA.

[skymt]

For the record, I wouldn't use Windows if Microsoft gave it away. I would take it if Microsoft paid me to, but I'd just toss the disc right away. ;)

Windows piracy has nothing to do with the popularity of Linux. Most users just use the version of Windows that came with their computer, so it's free to them. Linux has to compete in features and quality, because pirated or bundled, Windows matches it in price.

[justin whitaker]

yeah, but its illegal. thats why its not allowed on forums etc. it doesn't matter if its ethical to crack some horrible software or not..the bottom(and only) line is that its illegal, and it doesn't reflect good on the admin on any respectable forum

Oh, yeah, that is certain. I'm surprised this thread is still up, actually. I don't think that advocating software piracy is 1. a good thing, or 2. something that anyone should be doing.

[justin whitaker]

Windows piracy has nothing to do with the popularity of Linux. Most users just use the version of Windows that came with their computer, so it's free to them. Linux has to compete in features and quality, because pirated or bundled, Windows matches it in price.

That's a great point.

[Kateikyoushi]

In my opinion those win preinstalled machines are bit worse because they even fund MS not just bind users to the company.

[blastus]

For the people that are already borderline fedup with Windows, the anti-piracy features in Vista may drive some of them to an alternative. I view the anti-piracy features as intrusive and controlling. I don't like the idea that Microsoft has the power to render my computer useless.

The problem is that this is not just an application, its the operating system without which you CAN'T use your computer, and its YOUR DATA on that computer. It's also YOUR network bandwidth that they are using for their own purposes. Your motherboard manufacturer, hard drive serial number, etc... does not belong to them.

[viper]

Well said Blastus, here here.....

[prizrak]

The worst thing for Linux is people like RMS, those who are viewed as radicals by potential switchers.

Price, features and ease of use doesn't make the slightest difference. Even preinstalling it won't help. OS X is preinstalled and Apple is well know they still have a tiny market share in computers. The reason is Apple goes after the individual, the individual doesn't matter, he/she doesn't care about computers and will use w/e is the easiest to get.

Linux can only be adopted if it targets organizations, they will drive individual adoption and have enough economic power to force ISV's and OEM's to suppor them.

[megamania]

yeah, but its illegal. thats why its not allowed on forums etc. it doesn't matter if its ethical to crack some horrible software or not..the bottom(and only) line is that its illegal, and it doesn't reflect good on the admin on any respectable forum

hmmm. So if there's a murder we can't talk about it because it is illegal? Is it illegal to kill or to talk about killing?

Is it illegal to crack software or to talk about the fact that people crack software?

[BLTicklemonster]

That misuse of logic is so sophomoric, please don't make yourself look stupid. Just because you can question something doesn't mean it's questionable.
(*edit: I just noticed my avatar, so if you choose to ignore me, I'll understand)

That said, I think the day I'll be worried about cracked software is the day that you see a download for a cracked ubuntu.

j/k

koff koff anyway, I think the best thing Microsoft could do for itself is would be to adopt the "gotta use a password" any time something is installed or attempted to be changed, and they ought to center on selling their os to businesses and offer a free version to the public. And pigs should fly, I will win the lottery, and Rosie O'Donnell wants me.

Dang.

[justin whitaker]

For the people that are already borderline fedup with Windows, the anti-piracy features in Vista may drive some of them to an alternative. I view the anti-piracy features as intrusive and controlling. I don't like the idea that Microsoft has the power to render my computer useless.

The problem is that this is not just an application, its the operating system without which you CAN'T use your computer, and its YOUR DATA on that computer. It's also YOUR network bandwidth that they are using for their own purposes. Your motherboard manufacturer, hard drive serial number, etc... does not belong to them.

I have 2 licenses for XP: one from a retail box ($200 at Staples at release) and one that came with my new machine. I can't install either because the validation kicks them-when I called, they said that the keys had been installed too many times...which is probably true, since I'm always wiping my drives, installing Linux, going back to XP in a huff....when I explained that, they said, that's great, but you need to give us $100 for a new key. :evil:

That's the new program: any suspect keys get the Windows Amnesty offer, which means you get a new Key for $100, and an offer for a similar level Vista disk.

I guess Microsoft does not want my business anymore. I could run a WPA crack, or something, but why bother? I'm not going to buy Vista, so it's better to switch now and get it over with.

Besides, Kubuntu is really, really, nice. :-D

[megamania]

That misuse of logic is so sophomoric, please don't make yourself look stupid. Just because you can question something doesn't mean it's questionable.
(*edit: I just noticed my avatar, so if you choose to ignore me, I'll understand)

I never ignore people who talk to me, why should I ignore you because of your Avatar? ;)

To be honest I don't see a misuse of logic. One thing is turning this forum in a place for hackers and software crackers, another thing (a completely different one) is talking about piracy and its problems.

I was surprised to read some posts saying "it's illegal, we can't talk about it" and couldn't help highlighting the big difference between doing something illegal and talking about people who do something illegal.

If that makes me look stupid, well - I should start accepting that I probably am.

[BLTicklemonster]

The "it's illegal, so we can't talk about it" is, if I'm not mistaken, part of the forum rules, though I may be wrong, it usually is on most public forums.