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Microsoft Talks Daily With Your Computer
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft Corp. acknowledged Wednesday that it needs to better inform users that its tool for determining whether a computer is running a pirated copy of Windows also quietly checks in daily with the software maker.
The company said the undisclosed daily check is a safety measure designed to allow the tool, called Windows Genuine Advantage, to quickly shut down in case of a malfunction."
The EULA is suppose to disclose this daily call-in feature. Lauren Weinstein, who is co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility, was one of the first people to notice the daily communications to Microsoft. Report from Yahoo.com"
The EULA is suppose to
That should be 'supposed'. What happened to the 'd'?
disclosed this
Oh, there it is.
*wraps computer in tin foil and duct tape*
BRING IT ON!!!
XP Phone Home!
I guess they forgot to disclose that in the EULA. Honest mistake, stuff happens. Now let's go back to not worrying about DRM or Net Neutrality because Big Bussiness is looking out for our best interests.
My moms computer which was bought from Best Buy and NEVER had windows re-installed on it was determined by Microsoft to be "not genuine". What fucking bullshit, I never was a Microsoft hater before that even though I used OS X, but calling my mom a criminal even though she isnt is just plain fucking bullshit. Microsoft, you made me a hater, though out of principle I refuse to use "M$"
Monstar L
TFA says "your computer", but aren't all Windows installs "my computer" on the desktop? Shouldn't it say "your my computer"? Or is it "my your computer"?
Ah screw it! And screw Microsoft, too.
The sea changes color, but the sea does not change.
I knew my PC was cheating on me after I got a Mac. But Microsoft...
Being Slashdot, you have to praise the editors for what they didn't do. In this case they didn't write it as Micro$oft, MicroShaft or MicroShit.
Good job, boys! Have a cookie!
Trolling is a art,
Here at Microsoft, we care about the Customer Experience. As a result, we've taken the following measures to make sure your experience is as pleasant and beneficial to you as possible.
- Our new operating system, Windows Vista, requires only the best high-end hardware so that, even on a system well beyond the power you should ever need, you'll still get the true Windows Experience(TM)
- The new Windows Media Player 11 features all-new and exclusive DRM, or Degradation Resistment Technology by Microsoft, which not only provides wonderful sound in the new and improved WMA format, but protects your rights as well.
- Our operating systems now report back with system information and other information which we feel should be collected from your system at any given time to improve your computing experience.
Microsoft: Where do we want to take you today?
"Everything worth innovating today will go to court tomorrow."
Your Computer: Hey Sweetie!
M$: Hi Schnookums!
Your Computer: Just checking in
M$: I love you honey
Your Computer: Bye Bye Baby
M$: Sweet Dreams
Your Computer: No you hangup
M$: No no you hangup
TFA says "your computer", but aren't all Windows installs "my computer" on the desktop? Shouldn't it say "your my computer"? Or is it "my your computer"?
I got a totally different result myself. When I ran Windows Update on my parents laptop about an hour ago Windows Update renamed 'My Computer' to 'All your computer are belong to Microsoft' and changed the system name to 'Skynet subnode 3964270017356334576934-X371N02'. Has anybody else experienced this?
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
And since I run a legit corporate copy, it's staying blocked.
... but if you ran a stolen corporate copy, you'd unblock it? ;-)
Long ago I renamed mine to "Bill's Computer." I just didn't feel like it was mine anymore. ='(
This sig rocks the casbah.
Excuse me, in what order did you write that date ?
When all numbers are below 12, it's quite hard to get a clue
Is it even 2006 ? 1906 and 1006 fits in too...
I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
I've discovered a patch which disables Windows' "phone home" reporting. It's a fairly large download, but it seems to work.
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
Well if anyone can come up with a unexpected and creative solution to that problem, it's you :)
Yeah, just reverse the polarity on your firewall, and send an inverse tachyon pulse on a rotating Heisenberg frequency spread though port 228.
But that's, like, second semester Academy stuff, so don't be too impressed.