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Free Upgrade From XP Home to XP Pro Lite
Novus writes "The Register reports that many of the features of Windows XP Pro, such as Remote Desktop and user management, can be enabled in Windows XP Home simply by changing two bytes in an installation data file. Another explanation can be found here."
The EULA of Windows XP is not visible to the buyer before the sale, so it is not part of the contract in many countries. It's still borderline illegal, but the EULA has nothing at all to do with it.
The EULA has no legal validity. As long as you don't violate the copyright (which you aren't, since the copy is transitory and for personal use only) or breaking any other laws, you can do what you like with the CD you own.
I am trolling
My driver's license isn't legal until I sign it. The same should apply here. I will not be bound by any contract that I did not sign. If they want these things to be binding, make the customer sign an agreement before money changes hands.
What?
I never understood how that decision worked... The makers of Bnetd never, necessarily, even bought/installed/played a Blizzard game.
Exactly. IANAL, but it should be possible for one to argue that, as they had not seen (and had little to no means of seeing) the EULA at the time of doctoring the CD, that they were unaware of the conditions imposed therein. Further, as the EULA would not apply at that point, there is little valid argument as to why slightly modifying (for personal use) software one physically owns is bad. This is another example of Microsoft's exploitation of users and, should they pursue this further (removal of comment letters, anyone?) they will continue to turn users toward alternatives.
It's been done many times before. One example is USRobotics about 10 years ago. The Sportster (low end) and Courier (high end) modems were the same physical product. The couriers simply received an init string somewhere along the production line.
Naturally, USR changed the products once the string leaked out.
I use Macs to up my productivity, so up yours Microsoft!
You can modify the setupp.ini file in the /i386 folder on the CD for more tricks. You can turn an OEM disk into an upgrade version that will accept OEM keys (and properly activate with Microsoft) my simply copying the setupp.ini from an upgrade version into the /i386 folder, and changing the last three bytes on the "PID=" line to OEM. This little file is the only differential between XP Home OEM, XP Home Retail, and XP Home Upgrade.
you can describe a method with no issue
Not if describing the method is ruled to constitute an "offer" or "provid[ing] to the public" a technology that circumvents the copyright protection. See sections 1201.2(a) and (c) of the DMCA, where it's illegal to
manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof.
2600 was thought to have been providing deCSS simply by linking to it, even without describing the method of its operation. The balance of freedom of speech vs. the clauses in the DMCA that prohibit speech are, IMO, unclear, and HAS been used to quell even spoken descriptions of circumvention techniques.
Dave Touretzky demonstrates in his DeCSS gallery how retarded and incoherant this law's gag on free speech is.
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This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.