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No Windows 7 XP Mode For Sony Vaio Z Owners
Voyager529 writes "While virtually every Core 2 Duo processor supports the hardware virtualization technology that powers the Windows 7 XP Mode, The Register UK reports that the Core 2 Duo processors in the Sony Vaio Z series laptops had the virtualization features intentionally crippled in the BIOS. Senior manager for product marketing Xavier Lauwaert stated that the QA engineers did this to make the systems more resilient against malicious code. He also stated that while they are considering enabling VT in some laptop models due to the backlash, the Z series are not among those being retrofitted."
The virtual technology extensions of my Lenovo Thinkpass T400 has also been intentionally crippled.
Really? As a user of an X200 with virtualization, happily using it with KVM on Linux, I am surprised they did something different on the larger T400 series.
What I found annoying was that the Intel AMT feature on my Thinkpad X200 lacks a "small business" provisioning mode in the BIOS, so it seems I cannot make use of the remote control feature unless I go through the absurd effort of setting up "enterprise" provisioning infrastructure. I've enjoyed this small business mode on some "executive" series Intel mainboards for small desktop/fileserver PCs I've thrown together, as it lets me do remote powerup/shutdown from the LAN as well as serial-over-LAN to access the bootloader and OS console. A few years from now, an aging Thinkpad with such a feature would have been a great toy for low power embedded appliance applications.
That's funny, my 3-year old HP notebook gives me the choice to turn VT on or off, right there in the otherwise useless System Config.
Sony didn't just make it "harder" to enable, they've purposely removed the choice to do so. Enjoy your nerfed laptop, because Sony wants to protect the people buying $2500 laptops from their own rampant ignorance.
That sort of mentality is partially why so many geeks hate Sony with a passion. Sure, they make shiny products (that don't last), but the pervasive attitude is that they seem to think their customers are mind-blowingly stupid. Don't get me wrong, people are mostly dumb, but not THAT dumb.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
You're full of crap. As you posted further down the chain, you don't even have the password to get into your BIOS, because it belongs to your COMPANY.
Bullshit! Everyone can use a LiveCD. What the hell makes you think that this is to block Linux? Sony supports Linux and commited code to the Linux kernel that is upstream.
Here be signatures
msoft is involved with or actively and quietly coercing hardware manufacturers (especially consumer computers/laptops/cell phones/multipurpose devices capable of loading and usefully running Linux or non-windows apps/OSs), then i dare say that ms needs to be NUKED TO HELL by any and all means possible. I won't do it myself, but if an escrow account asking for money popped up, i would seriously consider donating a few dollars (unless the government turned me into a pussy wishing to avoid jail/prison time).
If they call it something like "Legal fund to put ms into restraints" (or, at least didn't use obvious terms that imply illegal plans to illegally depose ms once and for all), then i would imagine those in favor of crippling/knee-capping and skull-cracking ms the entity should be legally safe ... After all, there are all sorts of charities that are not under scrutiny (and some, for anti-terrorism reasons and banking irregularities/money laundering activities) in which a court might not find against an individual. I would imagine the perps would have to set up, operate, and account as a legitimate business... until the VERY END, when they hear that frackin' tune that switches Cylons on...
But, tell you what, I'd rather be a sleeper Cylon or turgid Hybrid water than yield to mshaft... If, only IF i had a magic wand with any wish available... of ALL the possible wishes, i'd even give up immortality to see a handful of companies pummel mshaft into permanent oblivion. It would force individuals, companies, and countries to pull ms' trunk out of their rear ends and take control of their computing landscape.
(Go ahead, mark me troll/flamebait/inflammatory/etc... At least this will get read.)
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"