Microsoft XP License Prohibits VNC

jhml writes: "Looks like the monopoly muscles are flexing. According to this article in Infoworld, the XP license prohibits products other than from Microsoft's from being used to remotely control an XP workstation. So ... guess they were having a little trouble with VNC being widely used?"

Comments

And this is a problem...why?

[cscx]

Remote desktop is included. Free. It is also much better than VNC anyday. First of all, ever try running a web browser through VNC? Try scrolling a web page and you'll soon discover how much it sucks (refresh that screen!). Two, RD is a whole lot more polished... I find the interface with the desktop is a lot more "solid" than VNC. Also, it's more tightly integrated within the OS... IOW, you have more control over some things... like, whether or not you want wallpaper to be displayed (to improve speed), the color depth you want used in the remote connection, and the sound quality as well. That is the most awesome part... you can play an MP3 file on the remote computer and have it play through the guest computer's speakers by way of the RD sound driver! (It's transparent to the user). RD will also dynamically change transmitting sound bit rate encoding according to available bandwidth/net congestion. The only thing I couldn't do under RD flawlessly is play a Divx-encoded AVI video clip. Also, RD makes you log in with your workstation's username/password combination. VNC doesn't - one password for all. Also, last time I used VNC, the password went over the net unencrypted. RD uses 128-bit encryption for their net connection. All in all, all VNC basically does is forward mouse clicks and movements and show you a crummy screen capture. RD is more of an application. RD client is also available for almost every OS imaginable, too.

Unless you're one of those anti-Microsoft jackholes, once you've tried RD you'll see there is no going back to VNC, ever. Plus did I mention it's free with XP pro? Yeah, I think we all know that. This is like saying you own a Ferrari and a Yugo but Ferrari says you can't drive the Yugo if you want to drive the Ferrari. I don't see a problem there. :D

I'm not bashing VNC. It's a great tool, and I used to use it constantly to manage NT4 Server back in the day. But now that I have something better available for free, I just don't need it anymore. It's as simple as that.

Re:My Experience With Linux

[geoffwa]

Can't tweak the settings of the system
WPCREDIT is win32 only...

Can't flick into a console during a game or some other full-screen application to change options
ALT-TAB...

Can't run it on a really old system at a decent speed without a GUI
Try running X on a 486... FAG
(props to Be for getting an OS to run *really* well albeit with no hardware support)

Can't install software they need without having to fork out another $50 for each package
Alright, you need to fork out some dollars a month for a service called broadband internet. This service supplies pornography and warez to your computer.

Can't enjoy the features of a full text editor like vi, gedit or kwrite.
You deliberately left out emacs... FAG

Can't set up an account for their pesky brother or friend who knows just enough to be dangerous, and limit their ability to modify/delete vital system files. Or prevent them from overwriting your personal settings
Buy Jimmy & Co his own fucking computer so he can get his greasy mits off your keyboard.

Can't, if capable, create complex shell scripts to perform manipulations on files that GUI's can only dream of.
Can use a GUI to create thumbnail galleries of pornography?

Can't customise much of their GUI at all (eg, can't remove start bar, can't add menu's or applets to the start bar, etc)
Stuck with two equally gay GUIs.

Can you see what is wrong with this example?
BSD begat OS X, therefore UNIX is EVIL