Would the group be at all interested in Microsoft's attempts to
control
its after-sales markets and maintain back-door access into people's
computers?
Martha Luehrmann
As much as some of us would like to hear it, I've seen nothing that
indicates that XPs activation opens a 'back door' to Microsoft. I'd like
to think I'd have noticed if there was since I work in security and have
to deal with this operating system on a regular basis.
I'm 99.99% sure that Microsoft would have more sense than to put any
back
door into any of their products but we'll never really know. If you're
very worried then Windows XP is available without activation under
certain
licensing schemes.
I'm not sure the car analogy holds: you'll find that certain car
manufacturers will insist on your use of authorised dealers to make
repairs and having problems fixed elsewhere is likely to invalidate your
warranty. In that respect you have been forced to 'register' your car
with
the manufacturer to keep it working.
'activation', registration, serial numbers, upgrades are all things
you'll
have to accept if you are set on using non-Free software. Thankfully,
due
to the hard work of the GNU project and many many others, the choice of
having a usable Free software system such as GNU/Linux exists. I won't
pretend that making the switch is always an easy one but I do promise
that
the effort is worth the reward.
Being mainly concerned with the enhancement and preservation of the
Public
Domain I think a discussion of these issues may be better discussed
elsewhere (even though most/all of the members of this list will be
advocates of software freedom). If you've got further questions I'd be
happy to answer them off the list.
Regards,
James
Have you read all the source code on Windows XP and then checked it
against the binary? That is the only way you would really know.
There is no doubt about it. If you connect to Microsoft they can scan your
computer. I guarantee it. In fact you may not even have to be connected
to Microsoft. All you need be is connected to a modem. How do you think
viruses work? Of course Microsoft could be considered a virus all on it's
own :)
Microsoft is unbelievably arrogant and think they can get away with
ANYTHING.
They think this way because the source code for all their O.S's is not
published. All sorts of little dirty tricks can be hidden in megabytes
of binary code.
At least europe and the orient are not putting up with it. I don't see
why we should either. China is demanding the source code for Microsoft
OSs.
It is good to get this out in the open on many lists. If enough people
get pissed off things will change.
Paul Lamar
Kevin & Kim wrote:
As a WorkGroup Manager for my section in the Air Nat'l Guard, I can tell you
that there are a BUNCH of hurdles the Air Force places on every piece of
software. We can't use anything, applications, OS updates, patches or
fixes, until they are scrutinized by a software team somewhere. Once they
are "blessed," then we can use them. We just started using XP last year
because of the security concerns over "New" software.
I can't tell you for sure if there's a back door. However, I believe
someone in the AF has ensured that there isn't. Otherwise, I don't think
we'd continue to pay for thousands and thousands of licenses.
Kevin
Oh yeah, back in '96, I was a part time rep for Apple. Now Apple has some
fine software and an incredible operating system. But back when they had
the best GUI OS, they were the most arrogant computer company on the planet.
They snubbed everyone including customers, retailers, programmers and
licensed clone makers - including Motorolla, their CPU maker. They do have
a niche in the marketplace, but Apple deserves every bit of their tiny
market share.
Microsoft, on the other hand was like the whore who became queen. Microsoft
sold and licensed software and hardware to anyone. Windows was always
second best. But, it was "good enough" and available to anyone building a
machine. I'd love to see the Mac OS available for Intel or AMD platforms.
But, I think Microsoft's cash infusion to Apple carried a stipulation that
the Mac OS would not be ported over. AMD's 64 bit processor would run a
version of OS X quite handily.
So, surveying the future, I fully expect Linux to give Microsoft a good
chase. We're already seeing whole governments (Germany and China the
biggest) balking at Microsoft licensing fees and demanding Open Access
operating systems on new computers. The down side? Software is one of our
(US) biggest exports. (Entertainment is biggest, which only adds fuel to
the fire in the Middle East.)
-Cheers--
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