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Microsoft Admits Targeting Wine Users

Posted by Zonk on from the why-wouldn't-they? dept.

Buddha Joe wrote in to mention that the lack of Windows updates for Wine users is the result of a Microsoft's active targeting of Wine users. ZDNet has the story. From the article: "As the most popular third-party translation technology in use, Wine was the first emulator to be specifically tested for via WGA"

10 of 541 comments (clear)

  1. ReactOS also has the Wine registry key by isolation · · Score: 4, Informative

    We share a lot of Win32 code with Wine as we just build the Wine dlls for Windows and make drop in replacements for ReactOS. The Wine WinMM.dll uses the Wine key and as such ReactOS will fail the check as well.

    -sedwards

    --
    Free Unix? Free Windows. http://www.reactos.com
  2. MS downloads no longer needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you go to the WineHQ site, they suggest that the downloads will not be needed to run wine in the future, since they will have completed their own versions of things like dcom95.

  3. Office can still be updated, however by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the article: "The spokesperson said users who are not running Windows XP or Windows 2000 natively can still download updates for Microsoft Office from the Office Update Web site."

    To those who were saying "what about me? I'm only using Office under WINE," you can still get updates.

    --
    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
  4. WINE by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 4, Informative
    Wine was the first emulator...

    (W)ine (I)s (N)ot an (E)mulator

  5. Re:No obligation... by mythosaz · · Score: 4, Informative

    A legitimate copy of windows, running under a hardware emulator, or a virtual machine (like VMWare or VirtualPC) will continue to be updated.

    A piece of software that performs windows-like-functions, like WINE, won't continue to be updated.

  6. Re:Dumb question but.... by turgid · · Score: 4, Informative

    WINE can use native Windows DLLs, in case you need one that isn't yet implemented fully by WINE itself, or if there is some particular quirk of the native DLL that you need to have.

    --
    Stick Men
  7. Nope! by bonch · · Score: 4, Informative

    Microsoft is under no obligation to support updates to applications that are not running under the operating system listed on that magical little section on the side of the box that says "System Requirements."

  8. -1: RTFA by SlayerofGods · · Score: 3, Informative

    You should get -1 for not RTFA.
    You can still update MS software if your running WINE. What you can't do is run windows updater to update said software for you automaticly because windows updater is a windows service. And if your running WINE you obivously don't have windows.

    --

    Technology, the cause of and solution to all of life's problems.
  9. Re:Arms race by m50d · · Score: 3, Informative

    This particular check can be beaten pretty easily. But the opinion of the wine devs is that that would start an "arms race" they can't win. They already know of one way of checking that would be impossible to fool without rewriting large parts of wine, and if they can think of it then MS with its much greater resources has almost certainly found it.

    --
    I am trolling
  10. Re:No obligation... by mythosaz · · Score: 4, Informative
    So, a legitimate user of Microsoft Office who chooses to run it under WINE is told that he can't use Office Update.

    No, no, no, no no.
    Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!

    The spokesperson said users who are not running Windows XP or Windows 2000 natively can still download updates for Microsoft Office from the Office Update Web site.

    You can't use WINDOWSupdate to update Office if you're not using WINDOWS. You have to use OFFICEupdate to update Office.