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Microsoft Counts Down To XP Death
mikejuk writes "Microsoft have just released an end-of-support countdown gadget that ticks off the days until XP is no longer supported — but it only runs under Vista or Windows 7! It focuses the mind on the fact that XP is being forcibly retired. It is a wake-up call to think hard about the unpleasant situation and consider the alternatives.So as you watch the count down to XP's death tick by think about the problems created by using software that actually belongs to someone else..."
So what's going to happen to the online activation?
Long ago when XP came out there was an issue of what happens when XP gets killed and there's no more activation. I believe Microsoft claimed that they were going to release a patch to take away the activation before killing XP, but I don't know if that's even true. And if it's not, people may be in serious trouble when their XP thinks their new harddrive requires phoning home and Microsoft refuses to answer. Forced upgrades for everyone.
It's time for all coders to go over and give the guys at REACTOS a hand getting it out of Alpha.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
And if you read the license carefully you are entitled to 2 free support calls, after that you're billed € 250 excl. VAT per case just like the rest. That was the quote about 8 years ago, I don't think it has been lowered in the meantime. Of course this is only valid if you bought a full license.
The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness.
That's why I write my own OS, drivers and software. I also dug my own well in my backyard, bought a windmill-powered generator, built my own car, bake my own bread and only read stories that I wrote myself. Of course, with the latter, I usually have to wait about five years to forget the plot, but at least I know I'll like it.
Actually, I do bake my own bread, weather permitting.
I know you're joking but I've several friends who have *built* their own wind-powered generator systems (largely from instructions in MAKE magazine or Instructables) and while small generators like that certainly aren't running their whole houses, they do offset some electricity usage. Likewise, one of them has also made his own inverter for his solar panels, so he can back-drive into the grid (which seems like a Very Bad Idea, but hey he's the one with the master's degree in electrical engineering, not me.)
I was in a car crash a couple years ago and have serious memory problems. Back when my brain worked better I used to write a lot of short fiction, and guess what? I do reread my old stuff with no clear idea of how it's going to end. Le sigh. So your joke is all too real.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.