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Microsoft Acquires Winternals and Sysinternals
SJasperson writes "In a move that will be good for Redmond but may have consequences for the rest of us, Microsoft has acquired Winternals and Sysinternals. This gives them well-known developers Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell as well as dozens of well-loved and much-praised utilities, both commercial and freeware. Though Mark says on his blog that the Sysinternals site will remain 'for the time being,' this would be a good time to download the latest version of essential Windows tools like Process Explorer before they can go mysteriously missing or be locked up behind the wall of Windows Genuine Advantage."
Noooooooooooooooo!!!! WHY, God, WHY!?!
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel...
After months of ripping out what's not important, Windows Vista is finally getting a heart and a brain. Alas, no courage is yet available.
Q. What are you announcing?
Resistance is futile.
Q. How does this acquisition affect Winternals' customers?
Cost is going up, delivery is going to suck.
Q. Will you continue selling Winternals' portfolio of products?
There is no such thing anymore.
Q. Why is it a good thing for Winternals' customers?
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
Q. Will I still receive technical support and if so for how long?
How long can you tread water?
Q. Why is Microsoft acquiring Winternals and Sysinternals?
To assimilate.
Q. What exactly is a Technical Fellow?
Microsoft Bob.
Q. How many Technical Fellows are there at Microsoft?
There can be only one.
Q. My Product Assurance Contract with Winternals on Administrator's Pak (or other tool) is about to expire (or has just expired). Can I still renew it?
You're new around here, aren't you?
Q. What were the terms? How much did Microsoft pay for Winternals? Was it a cash or stock deal?
A few spare souls that have not been allocated yet.
Make a torrent of the latest tools STAT!
The (near) monopoly maker of flat tires buys out all of the patch companies.
Before it gets slashdotted:
Q. What are you announcing?
A. Winternals and Sysinternals have been acquired by Microsoft. Winternals is a leading provider of systems recovery tools for Windows-based enterprises worldwide and Sysinternals is one of the leading community and enthusiast sites for people interested in information about the internals of the Windows operating system.
Q. How does this acquisition affect Winternals' customers?
A. Microsoft will stop and kill everything as soon as all legal, hardcopy contracts are over
Q. Will you continue selling Winternals' portfolio of products?
A. No, it will get integrated halfly into Windows 2006 though.
Q. Why is it a good thing for Winternals' customers?
A. It is a good thing because now they can't spend any money anymore on stupid tools and they can finally switch to Linux
Q. Will I still receive technical support and if so for how long?
A. Winternals will continue to provide technical support for the current term of your Product Assurance Contract.
Q. Why is Microsoft acquiring Winternals and Sysinternals?
A. Extend, embrace and extuingish.
Q. What exactly is a Technical Fellow?
A. The guy that will come install Linux on your servers
Q. How many Technical Fellows are there at Microsoft?
A. A lot, they are undercover penguins.
Q. My Product Assurance Contract with Winternals on Administrator's Pak (or other tool) is about to expire (or has just expired). Can I still renew it?
A. No, there are no plans for renewal.
Q. What were the terms? How much did Microsoft pay for Winternals? Was it a cash or stock deal?
A. Microsoft threatened with a lawsuit over some of the programs.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
I have a legitimate windows installation, but i refuse to install WGA. Im not a big fan of spyware.
turn up the jukebox and tell me a lie
You're complaining that Microsoft expects you to use a purchased version of Windows? WTF
No, he's complaining of being constantly suspected to be a thief by Microsoft, as well as, sometimes, being a collateral victim of malfunctionning paranoid DRM.
I love their tools too, but why the commotion?
Good for them. Now they get fat paychecks, good bonuses, and they work for the empire.
And I'd bet that if MSFT offered you $$$$ for whatever you were making, and a fat paycheck with good bonuses - you'd be a fool to not take it...
= Grow a brain...
It's not the "purchased version" part that I'm worried about but the "of Windows" part. I'm complaining that I can't use the utilities with Wine (an independent implementation of Win32 spec, commonly used with *BSD and *Linux) or with ReactOS (an operating system consisting of Wine on top of a reimplementation of the NT kernel).
Windows Genuine Advantage mistakes 20% of genuine XP operating systems as counterfeit. If you install the update, you have a 1 in 5 chance of kissing your operating system goodbye. The summary for installation says it will then "help you obtain a licensed copy of Windows."
The problem is that WGA enforcement sometimes blocks innocent users of ReactOS and other Wine-based software stacks.
They're complaining that Microsoft has software built into its OS with considerable power to mess with your property that does you no good and assumes you are a criminal. What makes it worse is that WGA will never stop real pirates.
The name is also stupid. It should be called "Windows Copy Protection".
You do have a point, though.
Stupidity is like nuclear power, it can be used for good or evil. And you don't want to get any on you.
This has to be seen in the context of anti-interoperability action of Microsoft and orders from the competition authorities e.g. in the European Union. Still Microsoft fails to comply with the documentation orders of the European Union.
Now Microsoft takes over tools which enable interoperability with its plattform and puts them under their licensing control. What we will see next is a restrictive Microsoft EULA for it which discourages use for reengineering or interoperability for Ms competitors etc.
Worth to file a complaint at the responsible EU competition consumer liason office.
Personally I have auto updates set to notify me when the download is complete and the files are ready to install. If you deselect the WGA option, you can then choose to never install it. Same goes for the windows update website.
turn up the jukebox and tell me a lie
body massage!
Does anyone else find it a little funny that Microsoft bought out Winternals to get Mark Russinovich? According to a Microsoft employee, "Mark is one of the top five or 10 people in the world when it comes to Windows internals." I'd believe that, but isn't it just a little funny that Microsoft had to go to a 3rd party company to find an expert in the internals of Windows?
YES seriously. Not because the copy of Windows that happens to be running on the current machine is not paid for, but because it's lame to have to worry about copying utilities around from machine to machine and all of a sudden have some problem because Microsoft f'd with it.
Microsoft doesn't get it. It's very obvious. They add features they would like, not what the rest of the world actually wants.
Some of Mark's blog entries in the past have cited shortcomings and oversights in Windows systems and he has often provided utilities to get around/address them. Now that Mark is a Microsoft employee, will such criticism be forthcoming, or silenced?
Mark's investigations into Windows workings have been very informational and useful over the years. Now that he'll be under NDA and non-compete...
The reason for the acquisition is obvious. The programmers at Microsoft were constantly complaining about not knowing what processes were running on their machine, or the need for a utility to defrag their pagefile, etc. Most software development shops would develop the necessary tools. Microsoft, not having a clue what's actually going on in their OS, decided to purchase the company that made these tools...
The problem, as has been said thousands of times on slashdot and elsewhere, is that these measures don't stop piracy. They do, on the other hand, sometimes cause problems for legitimate users. On top of that, WGA is little more than spyware and treats me like a criminal checking everyday to make sure that my copy of windows is valid. If it was valid yesterday, why would it not be today? Add to the mix that when I purchased my copies (plural.) of XP, this WGA was not part of the software or even something that the public had been told would be in the future.
Also, much of the complaint this time around, at least in regards to this, is not just that WGA sucks. It's that very good, useful, high quality software which has previously been available to anyone will likely be made available only to people who install useless DRM from MS. While MS may have the right to do whatever they want with the software now that they've purchased the company, it doesn't mean people have to be happy about it.
I've found Process Explorer and Registry Explorer to be great tools to help find out exactly what's going on in a Windows box, and they're great for tracking down malware. They're a hell of a lot more useful than the ctrl-alt-del dialog box in XP.
I'm sure with Vista coming out soon that Redmond would love to obfuscate or disappear these utilities that would help let people know what Vista is really doing under the hood.
People (apparently you) seem to think that the only possibility is running Windows and this utility on some nice and pat environment. Rarely is this the case with most of us here. I may have to fix some computer by shoving a CDrom in the computer and running a utility because there is some problem. So if the utility won't run because the OS is confused (which MS OSs often get confused) then there's no way to fix the problem. Essentially they would have shot themselves in the foot.
If some MS exec decides that win.com (or whatever) is protected fine, but leave the utilities and similiar ilk alone. Protecting the world is great at some boardroom meeting, but reality is quite different.
That works only for the Windows Genuine Advantage Notification one. Not the actual WGA itself.
?
I think their full of it.
The license dies (for me) with transfer of license ownership (ie: giving my disk / 4th generation pre-keyed backup to another person).
Meanwhile, I wonder if there's a market for pre-keyed windows installations? ie: purchase a windows disk, create a pre-keyed / slipstreamed / no question / extra utility (say, ClamAV and Spybot S&D, set to run silently at regular intervals at low prio)/ extra app (say, Openoffice, Firefox and Thunderbird preinstalled as well) DVD version, and sell both for slightly more than the purchase cost of the original. Since the license accompanies the disc, and since I'm not removing anything from the user, I think it would be a sweet thing to be able to buy. Microsoft's making their money, so they've no reason to bitch. Everything else is OSS...
Actually, lemme get started on the process for that; it should be relatively easy and potentially batchable (get a batch of WinXP discs of a set version, use one to create the base image, and change the key for each disc).
Call it "Windows XP - Not Lame Edition"
110100 1101000 1101000 1100110 0 1101111 1101000 1100011 1
No, he's complaining of being constantly suspected to be a thief by Microsoft, as well as, sometimes, being a collateral victim of malfunctionning paranoid DRM
That's preposterous, who in their right mind would beli
Microsoft have determined your installation of Windows includes non-registered components. Failure to comply will result in the shutdown of your operating system and a visit from the BSA Stormtroopers.
ike it was something out of Star Wars with Darth Vader and all. Sheesh, get real!
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
WHY, God, WHY!?!
Because you chose to run Microsoft software. These are the consequences.
Developers: We can use your help.
Do not go thinking that even that technology cannot be without drawbacks to legit customers.
One case where I bought something, the cashier rang it up and put it in a bag. I got it home and discovered an antitheft tag still on the item. And it was the kind of tag that would wreck the item with dye if removed incorrectly. So I had to return to the store to get the tag removed. And this store was a fair distance away. That technology cost me money in gas and time.
There could be an analogy made for WGA. Analysis of the strings in WGA code leads to the conclusion that WGA code can shut down a windows install that WGA thinks is invalid. If WGA is wrong (Microsoft? Bugs? Never!) then a legit copy of Windows may go inactive with a major hassle to get it working again. Even if the owner has the Certificate of Authority. I don't blame people for opting out.
-- 3 events that reshaped the world in the 20th century: WW1, WW2, and WWW
Some Microsoftie marked the parent comment as flamebait. However, it seems likely that Microsoft bought SysInternals to silence a web site that provided software of far higher quality than software from Microsoft.
Anything SysInternals did was the best, and made the sloppiness of Microsoft software obvious.
Wget -R ???
www.christopherlewis.com
Microsoft will continue to meet all Winternals customer support agreements through their terms.
was probably supposed to read
Microsoft will continue to meet all Winternals customer support agreements, but on their terms.
the same typo occured in several places.
<bashful_grin>Just trying to be helpful.</bashful_grin>
I've followed Mark's advice and used some of his utilities for years. I will be forever grateful for the things I learned by analyzing the source code to some of the utilities. I think Mark is entitled to cash in on his effort, but I'm not very optimistic about the quality of stuff that will come from Winternals from now on. Mark (and Winternals) was independent and worked at an independent pace, which is going to degrade now that there are layers of bureaucracy added.
On the other hand, the Winternals utilities represent about 10% (IMO) of the utilities needed to really analyze and fix Windows when it malfunctions. I'm too old to do this myself, but maybe a group of ambitious analysts could step up and continue the good work. Even more important, maybe a good group of analysts could develop a methodology for analyzing the OS and then point the way toward needed utilities.
I'm actually feeling a little grief over the demise of Winternals as an independent company.
"The mind works quicker than you think!"
They want to halt all the tech calls, gray hair and suicides caused by this.
If your motherboard dies, you can replace it with a new motherboard without buying a new copy of Windows. That's according to Microsoft's licence.
If you just want to upgrade, though, and your old motherboard is working fine, then it's considered that you bought a new computer, and need a new copy of Windows.
That's assuming that said copy of Windows is an OEM version, rather than retail box.
Retail box you can transfer to your heart's content, as there's no restriction to a specific computer.
"City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
Intrusive? Time consuming? All I have to do is press a frikkin button. And not even once every 108 minutes!
I smell an excuse.
I'm Rocco. I'm the +5 Funny man.
mark then put on his high heels, lipstick, and sun-dress, and passed around cocktails on a tray at billg's dinner party.
free software, open standards, open file formats, no software patents.
Yes but the stores remove the tags from the items when I purchace them and don't try to sneak into my house later on and put the tags back on them so that I have to make a trip back to the store with a reciept to prove I bought them so they can remove the tag again...ad nauseum...
If you must!
Check out http://www.osronline.com/ . They have some similar utilities and are the place to go for windows device driver questions and debug. They are the folks that finally fixed much of the DDK documenation . I still have the mugs they gave away for finding doc errors.
By the way, I highly recommend their classes. I have taken a bunch of them and I am pretty sure that these folks know windows internals better than any other organization...maybe even MS.
-- soldack
If WGA is wrong (Microsoft? Bugs? Never!) then a legit copy of Windows may go inactive with a major hassle to get it working again.
Has that happened to anyone yet? I don't know anybody who had a legit copy of Windows and got screwed over with WGA.
Also, I don't think MS will actually shut down Windows machines just yet, too many issues with that:
1. They're scared of the situation mentioned above
2. If they do it they have to make sure you can't get around it (easily)
3. LOTS of their software is pirated in countries from Eastern Europe, Asia etc., and it's not clear what would happen if they all of a sudden can't run Windows. One thing is pretty certain, they're not going to actually purchase Windows.
Guess it remains to be seen, but until people actually have real issues with WGA, I think it's just the "bitching of the moment" and is not warranted.
http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecove ry/locksmith.asp
what a surprise... Microsoft takes down the locksmith. Anyone have it for me?
Thanks
stuff |
I am almost irrationally sad about this. Microsoft is clearly getting a couple of deeply gifted people. But I consider several of the Sysinternals utilities, especially Process Monitor, essential for good Windows Health. Tuning performance or squashing spyware of friends' PCs or what have you, they write great stuff. Plus their web site is a great, independent resource to learn about some of these internal issues.
I suppose a very optimistic person would assume that functions like seing what processes spawned other processes, have files open, have sockets open, etc., will now be available in future Windows versions. I guess I must be cynical, because I'm feeling a sense of loss and sadness. Thanks for the great stuff, Sysinternals.
Some of you already have those cute little shirts on that say disco sucks, right? That's not all that sucks.-Frank Zappa
You need to read the article again. Here's the sentence right from the top:
One in five computers labelled as counterfeit are running legitimate operating systems
This does not mean that one in five computers are flagged as counterfeit. It means that of all the computers that are flagged as counterfeit, one in five are incorrectly flagged. No percentage is given as to how many computers are actually flagged so we have no idea what the overall ratio is. Please work on your reading skills before making claims like you did.
I love my sig.
Most of those links are 404'ed now.
That suit is already settled: http://www.winternals.com/Company/PressRelease90.a spx
Google aquires former Microsoft developers Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell
make a file with the contents in that link
if you haven't, set up your http_proxy environment variable for wget:
export http_proxy=http://proxy.com:8080/
wget --proxy=on -i yourfile.txt
if you have no proxy, it's cake:
wget --proxy=on -i yourfile.txt
Oh please, please let them do this. The lawsuit would be staggering, and it would probably be Microsoft's XCP in terms of convincing the execs that the whole approach was a massive business liability and should be stopped permanently.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
WGA doesn't recognize my version of XP Tablet Edition. Its stright off toshiba's store, never been wiped, and I'm unable to do windows update because WGA would cripple my machine.
How is this insightful?
When Google hired Guido van Rossum (Python head-honcho), there were no "Google is hiring this guy only to NDA valuable information from the rest of us" comments. Everybody understood that Google merely found a bright guy doing something related to their business (Google uses Python on a massive scale) and snapped him up. But when MICROSOFT hires a coupla guys who seem to be doing something cool with Windows, we get dumb comments like "Yet another proof that Microsoft can't behave like a normal market player".
Look, I hate Microsoft as much as the next geek (*more*, probably, as I've been stuck developing exclusively on PCs since DOS 2.1), and I'm sure SysInternals will soon disappear, but comments like "they feel the need to control everything under the sun" just don't add anything to the discussion.
Oh, and if you absolutely MUST pack files together for a non-torrent reason, use something that is freely (in all senses) available to all people, not just to a select elite.
"Select elite"?
http://www.rarsoft.com/rar_add.htm
UnRAR for OS/2 Command line freeware OS/2 UnRAR.
UnRAR for Mac OS X Command line freeware Mac OS X universal binary UnRAR.
UnRAR for Mac OS X Command line freeware Mac OS X UnRAR.
UnRAR for PowerPC Linux Command line freeware PowerPC Linux UnRAR.
UnRAR for x64 Linux Command line freeware x64 Linux UnRAR.
UnRAR for Familiar Linux Command line freeware ARM/iPAQ/Familiar Linux UnRAR.
UnRAR for Solaris 8 Sparc Command line freeware Solaris 8 Sparc UnRAR...
The UnRARs are completely free, and I have several free utilities that evidently use the dlls they also supply. (Eg, 7-Zip)
Aside from the philosophy, RARs just are more suited to large and/or segmented files, Zip has been stretched to manage that, but RAR is just smoother. But Real Men use tgz, I suppose.
Uploaded to megaupload. Sorry for the annoying ads that come with it. It's the fastest site to upload to I could find http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9M999M8L There may be a few repeats in there. I didn't check.
I hope he got more money than that kid that sold WinAMP to AOL for $100 million.
this would be a good time to download the latest version of essential Windows tools like Process Explorer before they can go mysteriously missing or be locked up behind the wall of Windows Genuine Advantage."
Or, you can actually buy a legitimate license for Windows and not worry about "Windows Genuine Advantage."
Case is on his way with his Ono-Sendai, and has the extraction planned for tonight. Maas-Biolabs can't keep him protected forever.
John
Well, at least the kill switch code has not been enabled yet.
But check out this article In it we have this quote:
So apparently there at 20% WGA validation failures that are not due to leaked or stolen codes. That seems to leave that they were actually valid.You might try googling for "WGA failure Dell"....
-- 3 events that reshaped the world in the 20th century: WW1, WW2, and WWW
..as if millions of slashdotters cried out and then were suddenly silenced.
Actually, all we need to know is the ratio of counterfeit to genuine systems
You are correct. This is the part we don't know so the rest of your post is irrelevant. What we do know is that one in five of the machines that shows as counterfeit, is not.
Slashdot +1 funny -4 Insightful +1 informative -2 Redundant
Karma: Somewhere between SCO and Microsoft
Perhaps you do not realize that they also offer a pro tools kit, which has all of these tools and then some, and which has support. Until the support contracts run out, because Microsoft will not be supporting them.
Having the tools folded into the resource kit would be about the worst possible outcome for these customers, because not only would they be unsupported, but no one else would bother to provide tools that do the same stuff that are supported, because "official" microsoft tools would already do the same job.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
That's ok, I have no interest in having an argument with someone who cannot check their facts, even when I made it obvious the other's made a mistake. Arrogant much?
If you're going to wget, may I suggest playing nice with rates, delays, and non-essential files:
t ml -X /Video,/Chat,/Forum,/Blog
wget -w 2 --limit-rate=5k -m http://www.sysinternals.com/SysinternalsSiteMap.h
A relatively reasonable 81MB and 553 files.
And don't redistribute. As a software author, beyond it being illegal I consider it to be quite disrespectful to the authors if you were to redistribute these files in violation of their license. On the other hand, it certainly seems like a good idea to make a personal copy at this moment, and that certainly IS in accordance with their license.
Looking for freelance Actionscript (Flash/Flex) or ColdFusion work and/or freelance developers. Email me, put Slashdot
I just took a peek at the EULA.TXT included in a fresh download (PsTools .zip file) vs. a copy that came with the same download a couple months ago (file dated Jan 11 2006), and it's *completely* changed. The new version is a "free for personal use only" sorta thing whereas the previous EULA was free for all uses short of infringment and void of warranty.
Have to see how well those EULAs hold up. IANAL of course, but it looks to me like if you're a sysadmin at a commercial entity, you can't use their previously-free tools for free any more. Pretty sad.
Somebody please tell me I'm reading it wrong....
teeker
The excellent and GPL'ed 7-Zip can unpack RAR files. Is that better?
I use a WSUS server (basically a local server for automatic updates), and it hasn't even appeared as an option. With WSUS I can have updates downloaded once onto my server and then distributed out to clients from there, as well as select which updates should be applied to what computers. I can also see what updates computers have/need installed.
Not totally on-topic, but, one "critical update" that showed up on my server a few weeks ago was to remove the swastika from a font. If Microsoft thinks that something of that nature is critical, then I'm sure they would be OK with calling WGA a "security update". <sarcasm>After all, they are doing all of this because they are really concerned about malware coming with pirated copies of XP.</sarcasm>
Every time you post an article on Slashdot, I kill a server. Think of the servers!
DOWN WITH RAR!!!
I don't necessarily agree with all your reasoning, but am totally with you on the result.
Rarred mp3s? Rarred mpegs? What are those torrent people on???
The revolution will not be televised... but it will have a page on Wikipedia
http://www.rarlab.com/rar/unrarsrc-3.6.7.tar.gz
For comparison, here are the EULAs from two versions of Process Explorer. The new one is far more restrictive, and over *10 times* as long.
Process Explorer 10.11 (old version):
This software is provided "as is" and use of the software is at your own risk. Sysinternals disclaims any and all warranties, whether express, implied or statutory, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement of third-party rights. Sysinternals does not warrant that the software is free of defects.
You are allowed to use software published by Sysinternals at home or at work without paying a commercial license fee provided that you downloaded the software yourself directly from Sysinternals, and:
* Use the software on computers for which you are the primary user; or
* Use the software on computers for which there is no primary user
(e.g. servers, including Terminal Servers) and you are a full-time
employee of the company that owns the computer; or
* Use the software on computers within your residence
A commercial license is required to use the software in any way not covered above, including for example:
* Redistributing the software in any manner, including by computer
media, a file server, an email attachment, etc.
* Embedding the software in or linking it to another program
* Use of the software for technical support on customer computers
Sales of commercial licenses support Sysinternals product development and assure that this Web site continues to offer valuable, up-to-date tools. Established software companies redistribute these utilities and incorporate the code into their products because this offers the potential to save significant development time. Sysinternals commercial licenses are priced according to the complexity of the licensed code and its role in the target application. If you are interested in licensing Sysinternals tools or source code for redistribution or for inclusion with or as part of a software product, please contact licensing@sysinternals.com.
10.2 (new version):
Sysinternals - Information on Terms of Use
ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS.
The services that Sysinternals provides to you are subject to the following Terms of Use ("TOU"). Sysinternals reserves the right to update the TOU at any time without notice to you. The most current version of the TOU can be reviewed by clicking on the "Terms of Use" hypertext link located at the bottom of our Web pages.
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES.
Sysinternals provides you with access to a variety of resources, including utilities, download areas, communication forums and information (collectively "Services"). The Services, including any updates, enhancements, and/or new features are subject to the TOU.
PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE LIMITATION.
Unless otherwise specified, the Services are for your personal and non-commercial use. You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information, software, products or services obtained from the Services.
PRIVACY AND PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.
See the Privacy Statement disclosures relating to the collection and use of your information.
NOTICE SPECIFIC TO SOFTWARE AVAILABLE ON THIS WEB SITE.
Any software that is made available to download from the Services ("Software") is the copyrighted work of Sysinternals and/or its suppliers. Use of the Software is governed by the terms of the end user license agreement, if any, which accompanies or is included with the Software ("License Agreement"). The Software is made available
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
--Aristotle
There's a big difference though. Guido is allowed - nay, encouraged - to spend half of his work time at Google improving Python, an language from which anyone can benefit thanks to its license. Microsoft on the other hand have a long track record of buying up threats. Off the top of my head I remember a company called Coopers and Peters who had developed an Office clone in Java in 1997, a pretty incredible piece of work. Microsoft bought them and that was the last we heard of that.
Maybe it's just me being cynical.
--- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
Bill Gates is no longer with Microsoft. Besides, Ballmer looks more like Locutus already.
Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
I am certainly aware that Microsoft employees have been recommending SysInternals free utilities over Microsoft's sloppily coded and primitive utilities that do the same thing.
I am also very aware that Microsoft has no utilities at all for some of the Windows functions people need, and Microsoft employees have long been recommending SysInternals utilities for those functions.
Remember, the Windows Command Line Interface and command line utilities are upgraded DOS programs. DOS is shockingly primitive compared to the Linux command line interfaces, for example. And not all of the DOS utilities have been converted completely to 32-bit Windows; they fail in weird ways that have not been fixed even though the failures have been discussed thoroughly over the years.
The SysInternals programmers are some of the finest Windows coders in the world, if not THE finest, in my opinion. However, I don't think the SysInternals employees will stay long in the abusive and adversarial and socially backward and ignorant Microsoft climate.
I think what will happen is that Microsoft will embrace and extend and poison the SysInternals software, as they have done for the dBase language, or, much more recently, for Giant's AntiSpyware.
Microsoft began tinkering with Giant AntiSpyware, which became Windows Defender. Giant was considered the best in its field. Now the Microsoft version has problems. Sometimes, for example, it will fail, and re-installing will not fix the failure.
Of course, Giant AntiSpyware was only a bandaid for problems that exist because of Microsoft's sloppy coding that leaves huge numbers of vulnerabilities. Remember that Microsoft makes more money if there are more vulnerabilities, because people buy new computers as their old computer become slow because of infestation.
Anyone who thinks that an OS is complicated, and therefore must have vulnerabilities, should buy a secure OS like OpenBSD for $5,000 per copy. The really expensive operating system organizations can hire extremely skilled programmers who know how to eliminate vulnerabilities. Oh, wait, sorry, OpenBSD is FREE, and is coded by volunteers.
Microsoft is a socially backward and adversarial organization, in my experience, but they aren't so dumb they don't know how to hire people who can write secure software. The reason for the huge number of vulerabilities seems to be that, when a company effectively has a temporary monopoly, more vulnerabilities make more money.
You should be calling Toshiba and raising hell then, because they're screwing you.
Not Meta-modding due to apathy.
eh? Do you think $100 million was a BAD deal for a freeware mp3 player?
Some old downloads do not seem to contain any EULA at all (just a readme.txt with some general disclaimers)
more recent downloads (february 2006) contain a short and easily understandable EULA.
All zip files I just downloaded from sysinternals have a change date of 18.7.2006 17:53 GMT+1 (yesterday) and contain a changed and much longer EULA, that also mentions that sysinternals is a part of microsoft now
Old EULA:
NEW EULA:
The torrrent referenced in the parent has a current set of the utilities. The last-changed dates are this month, at least on important ones such as Process Monitor and regmon. Also a new EULA.txt in each file as another poster mentioned.
There is a new torrent now, pre-MS versions. http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3504886 See notes therein.