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Groups Push FTC to Act on MS XP, Passport
BuckMulligan writes: "EPIC and a coalition of consumer and privacy groups have renewed their calls for FTC action to protect consumers from the privacy risks associated with Windows XP and Passport. In a letter sent to the FTC, the groups criticized the FTC for not upholding its statutory duty to protect consumers in light of the planned release of Windows XP. More information on the groups' previous FTC complaints is stored on the EPIC Microsoft Passport Page." So who here thinks the FTC is going to block Windows XP? Me neither. The other remedies requested (toward the middle of the letter) are interesting, though.
Microsoft is good at one thing: spin control. Even if they get hacked and everyone's data gets stolen, what do they do? Take the blame? Admit they're not very good at this security thing? Decide Passport wasn't a good idea?
Yeah right. Instead, they can simply spin it as "terrorism". That's right---you and your data have been the victims of a terrorist-hacker attack. Computer crimes are terrorism. You are a hapless victim. Microsoft is a hapless victim. Are they to blame? Who would blame the victims of a terrorist attack? Would you blame the people in the WTC buildings for the attack that got them killed?
Now whose fault does it look like? Certainly no-one would blame MS. They've provided this great service and now for their insight, innovation, and generosity, are the victims of terror. Right. How many people will learn a lesson from this? They'll just want more draconian laws passed, harsher measures taken against these "computer terrorists".
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
Anyways, here goes:
Search for a file called sysoc.inf and open it with a text editor. Look for a line with MSMSGS in it and remove word "hide" from the line(leave commas where they are). Then save the file.
Then go into control panel -> add/remove programs -> add/remove windows components and you'll see it in the list. Simply check and remove. Done.
As far as I've seen so far, removing it hasn't impacted any software on the OS, so don't buy any bullshit MS might give you about the flaming end of your OS as a result of removing one component. ;p~
"People should be allowed to keep midgets as pets."
- Gov. Jesse Ventura
What if Ford put out a car that had major problems that they knew about and yet did nothing and as a result 10,000 car accidents.
Ummm... Yea... Pinto (all models built in the early to mid 70's) -- gas tank is the floor of the hatchback which is undivided from the passenger compartment, in rear end collisions sometimes the tank would rupture filling the passenger compartment with gasoline, and in the event of a fire, an explosion. Mustang (2nd gen models) -- similar problem of gas tank serving as floor of trunk, sometimes in cases of rear end collisions the gas tank would rupture filling the trunk with gasoline, and in the event of a fire, the rear seat, being backed with fiberboard would often burn through quickly allowing fire to enter the passenger compartment. Ford vans (1980s and some 1990s models) -- gas tank placed too close to catalytic converter, often causing heat from converter to heat gas tank, and occasionally cause fires. Full size Ford/Mercury cars (Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis) -- faulty shift linkages that would occasionally cause a car to spontaneously drop to reverse if left idling with transmission in "Park" on an incline such as most driveways.
Of course in these cases, the courts have often punished Ford for product liability... Ford has had to recall and fix this sort of defects. Of course Ford, unlike Microsoft, warrants their products against defects and that they are fit for the purpose they are sold for. And unlike Microsoft's products which you only license, you actually own Ford's product when you buy it. Why doesn't the government and the marketplace hold Microsoft to the same standards?
Regardless of whether XP gets stopped or not (and at this late juncture I doubt that it's even feasible), Microsoft's practices need to be reviewed by the government. It's pretty much a given that what they are doing with XP is more of the same bundling that they were found guilty of previously (in short, this time they're attacking AOL, Winamp, Real, Adaptec, and more). If anyone in the judicial branch were to see this, it might make a much better case for a very harsh penalty against Microsoft.
Personally, I'd like to see them make the OS free and force them to open a lot of their proprietary APIs. That way, they can't continue to lock things down into a proprietary format. That should compensate for the amount of innovation they've snuffed over the last 7 years. Your mileage may vary, so I expect someone to disagree. That's just fine, I'm just stating my opinion.
Electronic Frontier Foundation for online civil rights information