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Microsoft Stops Supporting Win98 Early
Christopher_G_Lewis writes "Today Microsoft announced that it is 'not feasible to make the extensive changes necessary to Windows Explorer on Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (ME) to eliminate the vulnerability' to fix Security Bulletin MS06-15. Granted, the vulnerability is easily prevented by basic firewalling, but this basically is the first time Microsoft has admitted that Windows 98 is so broken that it's crazy to be running it on today's Internet."
Good. Win98 fucking sucks.
Who ever said Windows 98 was buggy?
"Windows is so broken that it's crazy to be running it on today's Internet"
I think that's a little harsh. I mean it's been what, 2 months since the last vulnerability made news? Give MS some slack.
Funny part is that the exploit isn't as critical as it sounds.
From TFBulletin, "An attacker would need to convince a user to visit a Web site that could force a connection to a remote file server." It also looks like the way to make the exploit work would require Javashit and/or ActiveX being enabled on the victim's machine, and the web browser in question being IE. Filtering TCP port 139 is listed as a workaround.
In other words, it's like most other exploits: It requires the user to do Something Stupid first. A Win9x user running Firefox, and doing so from behind a firewall, can rest easy.
If it ever was a confession, then it would be known that Microsoft doesn't know how to scale its software. It buys the predictable software-houses having a hit product, but in the long run it abandons it all when peak profit dwindles. The developers are constantly trying to maintain compatibility, while moving to more advanced architecture. Possibly, it's the reason why x86 is still around; because Microsoft is slow to move Intel and AMD, and has only since been impugned with the vast scalability in Linux.
All the API Microsoft was involved with previously, will be preserved perhaps in such products related to Wine. The market will return, if it was ever found that the applications themselves are not implemented on modern software. I see more people wanting to run old software simply because it doesn't need to be updated or expect it only available on hardware of a certain timespan. In that regard of demurring future purchases of Microsoft products, it could be a reason why Microsoft wants software to be rented so as its income is liquid on an anual basis and easily predicted other than a buy-once product at the store shelf. Microsoft Office has always been no less than USD 400 for an immediate purchase that few would justify, so Microsoft would want a payment plan for a customer to pay USD 15 per month for 2 years without selling the product at all (instead of just one purchase at USD 400, with perpetual activity to the product). Caldera DOS, Novel DOS, and IBM PC-DOS was destroyed by Microsoft, but freeDOS arrived for the legacy applications and can't be dislodged through commercial actions. Wine, separated in prowess through CodeWeavers Wine and Transgaming Cedega/WineX; is a drop-in replacement for all version of Microsoft Windows application environments. Still, the durable computers that are still in service, of quality components and measurable performance, move to a non-Microsoft solution for the API and environment on different hardware.
As it was before, Microsoft began its timed/rent software solution late. In favor of Microsoft would be computer hardware that fails or is expected to complete its product life by failure as well as its software life to terminate after migration. Coulnd't that be accomplished with the same processor core engineered in such a way to satisfy both performance and product degradation(excessive heat and power)? The average Intel system I've administered had a Pentium 4 that lasted only 2.5 years.
Every action of Microsoft has been a continued exercise of ill behaviour, to sell products that break by design. That's neither free market or capitalism; it's economic slavery to prevent independence. No different than Edison funding drive-by murder to Hollywood, IRS selling limited liability, and Mousad threatening unincorporated towns, and oil companies threatening creators of Water Electrolysis and Joe Cell. It's supposed to be bought to perform and degrade at environmental expectations or limitations, not engineered to die.
without prejudice
2 months? You're kidding, right? Or are you really that out of touch with the "news"?
Or maybe... oh wait, I'm sorry. You're just trolling.
Never mind.
o 1 Sig beneath your current threshold
I always wonder: just WHO IS Bill Gates to people like you, that you have to jump up and defend him? Boyfriend? Son? Chosen as your Personal Savior? I mean, if Christ had this many people defending him... if Mother Teresa had this many people cononizing her... if John Holmes was this popular with the ladies...