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Microsoft Blocking Wine Users From Downloads Site
IamTheRealMike writes "In January, Microsoft announced a new anti-piracy initiative called
Genuine Advantage. From this summer onwards all users of Microsoft Downloads will be required to validate using either an ActiveX control or a standalone tool. Yesterday Ivan Leo Puoti, a Wine developer, discovered that the validation tool checks directly for Wine and bails out with a generic error when found. This is significant as it's not only the first time Microsoft has actively discriminated against users running their programs via Wine, but it's also the first time they've broken radio silence on the project."
Microsoft is just hastening their ultimate demise. It's been clear for several years that the commoditisation of their core product sectors - office suites and operating systems - was going to drive them out of business. Now, where are the great brave new strategies that will breath life into their products? Patches. Delayed releases. New anti-spyware and anti-virus aquisitions. Blocking Wine users from MSIE downloads.
MS are dead and their cash pile will disappear faster than a fridgeful of champagne in a brothel on Monday morning.
It's a shame. If only MS had released a suite for Linux about 2 years ago, they'd be sailing pretty by now.
Sig for sale or rent. One previous user. Inquire within.
How can I compete against someone that sells pirate editions of Windows, with a piece of hardware that is often sold just above cost, $80 is enough for a customer to go elsewhere, even on some of the higher-end systems.
Myself by using the anti-piracy sheets that Microsoft puts out was not only able to get a corporate sale worth $30,000 (plus consulting), but was able to prevent them from throwing their money at a COA reseller, which would have put them out of compliance for the audit that was scheduled with the BSA a month out.
Sure this probably make me evil in the eyes of many of the /.ers, but it doesn't really matter to most who are in this industry, because all that matters is that we are able to put the food on the table every night.
Hey, your cabin in the woods is on fire, better go tend to it before all your explosives go off. Freak. They most certainly can dictate where Office runs, both office and windows are their products you moron. If someone makes something exclusively for a particular platform, then don't whine and bitch about how it won't run on your platform. You know the solution? Go to the developer of the product in question. I.e. I want Starcraft on linux, why should I bitch at Microsoft? Why didn't Blizzard do a linux native version of it? I swear some (a great deal actually) of the people on /. really need to see a shrink. You get a little too worked up when you hear the name Microsoft.
Linux sucks. And you're fat. Take a shower hippy.
I now see the logic. If I want to keep my copy of M$ software updated, I must run it on a Windoze machine. After all, Micro$oft now tells me that they are cheaper at the level of the TCO and more secure. So, it is bye-bye Linux, bye-bye OpenOffice, bye-bye Nvu, bye-bye Mozilla, bye-bye Firefox. Now I know that I need Windoze Fisher Price (XP). Now I know I need M$ Office. Now I know I need FrontPage. Now I know I need Outlook. Now I know I need IE. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have not seen this before? Praise the Lord! Bill, can I have your babies too? [Would someone please pass the Soma!]
Wow, you own Office. How did that happen, Every time I talked to Microsoft about it they just sold the right to use it, not own it.
Fantasy remains a human right; we make in our measure and in our derivative mode... -- JRR Tolkien
If you use the software you agree, its pretty damned simple. If you dont agree with THEIR terms, you dont have a right to use it. Period. End of story. Any court would back THEM up, not you.
Also you only bought a license to use. Nothing in that box belongs to you.
Nice little dream world you live in.
Explain your fantasies to the judge.
---- Booth was a patriot ----