Is Microsoft Trying To Make Linux Illegal?

It certainly seems that way. I run PC Linux, my wife runs Windows 7. I use a Roadrunner Email account, she uses Yahoo. Suddenly, I cannot send to, or receive from, any Yahoo or Hotmail account. So, did a little research on this sudden problem, and came up with some interesting facts. I read on techrights.org that Microsoft is making bids to buy out Novell, which owns the Unix source code. If they acquire it, they will own Unix and will be able to make Mac OS X, Solaris, BSD, and Linux illegal. This would require mass restructuring in the government, scientific institutions, and businesses that depend on Linux, and would raise the desktop market share of Windows from about 92% to almost 100%. Microsoft is attempting to make Linux users criminals.
Company Blacklist: techrights.org...

Attachmate acquires Novell for $2.2 billion

It is well known that half the servers in the world (including Time Warner) run on Linux. Linux powers about 90% of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers (only about 1% run Windows). Recently, the London Stock Exchange switched to Linux, and broke a speed record as a result. Most web servers use Apache, which is open-source. A number of them use the open-source MySQL database. The Android OS used in smart phones is open-source. Firefox and Chrome are open-source. Wikipedia uses the MediaWiki engine, which is open-source. WordPress, the most popular content management system for websites, is open-source. Open-source software is everywhere you look; it's not just a bunch of cheap software only made and used by computer nerds and hackers who live in their parents' basements.

It is very clear to this writer that Linux is a major threat to software giant Microsoft. I don't think they actually own Yahoo, from what I gathered, Yahoo is a publicly traded company who is owned by shareholders. I am curious is any of you members are having problems like me? I have many Yahoo and Hotmail user contacts, and now I seem unable to contact any of them. One good friend had to create a new Gmail account just so she could write to tell me she was having health problems. This sucks!

I'm not understanding the part where it becomes illegal though?

Perhaps linux is better then windows but i haven't used linux so i wouldn't know . Windows only sucks if you don't have a good anti-virus program ..

That's going to bring that whole monopoly debacle into question again.

reply to post by autowrench


I very much doubt M$ can make Linux illegal. How? It's not propriety code. They, if they own Novell, can control the sales of Suse Linux, which is already a pay-for-support based OS.

Linux is a wild beast man, why do you think Unix has never been able to knock it on the head?

Even if Microsoft DID acquire Novell, that would not result in Linux being illegal. We've already been through that with SCO vs. IBM. SCO lost. They lost so badly that they hardly even exist any more. Although the various flavors of Linux look like, feel like, and smell like "Unix," they still aren't Unix and this has been thoroughly vetted by the legal system. Nearly everyone has their own flavor of Unix: BSD, Solaris, HP-UX, and they've all co-existed just fine over decades now.

Originally posted by PS3Geek
Perhaps linux is better then windows but i haven't used linux so i wouldn't know . Windows only sucks if you don't have a good anti-virus program ..

As an OS Linux does everything that WIndows does, and better if you ask me. Support for your OS is based on community support and is a HELL of a lot better than trying to get an answer for an issue from MSDN.

However where it does lack is from paid software support. Not many major software developers care enough about Linux distros to maintain either interest or support for their applications.

You get at times Better software from the Linux repositories for your distro, but for most people it is with gaming where it fizzles - and if you're not a gamer and you don't mind a slightly different learning curve, there are MANY distros out there right now that have, right out of the box, everything you need.

Over the years, I've seen M$ OS development take on more and more user friendly but obviously stolen ideas from Ubuntu distros. Shameless concept theft if you ask me.

Windows 7 takes off where Ubuntu was 5 years or more, ago.

It's completely out of the question M$ will be able to put dampers on Linux.

Linux has constantly been a thorn In Microsoft's side
As has open source software.
If microsoft had not had such a monopoly on the desktop and its massive marketing
resources there might have been a greater amount of Linux desktops.
And more support for Linux from Adobe and other software companies.
It's a shame too unix and linux based systems don't have all the virus problems
that plague computers running windows.

Originally posted by badw0lf
reply to post by autowrench

 

I very much doubt M$ can make Linux illegal. How? It's not propriety code. They, if they own Novell, can control the sales of Suse Linux, which is already a pay-for-support based OS.

Linux is a wild beast man, why do you think Unix has never been able to knock it on the head?

Yes, I know. Just wanted to point out something about Linux User's main enemy, Microsoft. I also know the difference between Unix and Linux. Some Linux distros have sold out the big business, Linspire come to mind, as does Red Hat. They could never make my OS illegal under the terms M$ is setting, but! They are one step closer to owning every software company and every operating system in the world. Microsoft is New World Order all that way, with their closed source code and licensing policies. Even if you purchase the CD, Windows 7 is near $300, even if you pay cash and take it home, and install in in your own computer, one that you built with your hands, even though all of that is true, you still do not own the operating system. You are granted license for usage under certain conditions, and one of those is the Authentic Advantage, with the snap shot taken of your hardware and sent to Microsoft, for some unknown reasoning. A normal installation save nearly everything you do, from cookies to temp files, some of those cookies are HTML, and can be read by other websites. URLs you type are stored, as are whole snapshots of webpages. Your internet usage is tracked, whether you want to believe it or not. I have a hardware firewall, plus an I-Tables firewall, plus I use a switching proxy server to change my IP on every new page. Friends, even with all that, TPTB can track me. Just not as easily as they can track you.

You can try Ubuntu Linux 10.10 free.
and it installs as good as windows.
and you can run it from a CD to see if you like it.
Linuxs is catching up with windows very fast.
and when they pass it.
oh boy will that hurt microsoft.

Ubuntu Linux is a good operating system, used it myself. The good one, in my opinion, is Super OS,
I do not care for the new Gnome 3 that have on there. Hard to navigate. Ubuntu, like Debian, is a DEB built distro, all files are deb files. PC Linux, like Fedora, from which it sprang, though Mandriva, is an RPM distro, all files are rpm files. There is a difference, hard to explain. I prefer the rpm distros, I know my way around, and know exactly how to customize a new installation. I run the KDE 4 Desktop, KDE is like Windows in that the task bar is at the bottom. The best thing to do, for any brand new Linux user, is download one and install it. Try it out for a few days, look around for other one and try them too, hop around the Linux World, you will eventually settle down to something you love. Running Linux is like having a lover.
She will preform for you, if, and only if, you can tame her. Learning Linux is faster than you may think, too. My wife has a learning disorder, and it took her only a few weeks to know her way around, and do what she wanted to do. Linux come with many games, and there are many more that can be downloaded. Linux come with a strong firewall installed and in most are pre-configured, not in Mepis or PC Linux. You have to set up the firewall in those.

Join the Linux world friends! Leave old virus infected, malware driven, slower every day blue screen maker behind. Run an operating system that boots up fast every time, and is always stable as a rock. Virus free, only a root kit can invade Linux, and even that can be password protected in some distros, as are encrypted file systems in some, Ubuntu Alternate, and Fedora both have an encryption option upon install. Most popular distros have a nice, GUI install program. Easy instructions guide you on partitioning, on most, and installs are from a few minutes to a little over an hour. Help is at the Distro Forum. Every Linux distro has a support forum, some even have the creator as an active member. The forums are helpful for you to learn how to drive Linux. It's like getting out of a mini van and crawling into a new Ferrari.

It's kind of interesting how the open source software market is so large.

All of the people who support copyright enforcement seem to think if people don't get paid for something, then nothing good is ever going to come out. I think this proves them wrong.

Originally posted by James1982
It's kind of interesting how the open source software market is so large.

All of the people who support copyright enforcement seem to think if people don't get paid for something, then nothing good is ever going to come out. I think this proves them wrong.

Exactly! Many think because Linux is free, there is something wrong with it. Well, it is not totally free, in that it takes time to download it, burn it to a disk, and install it on your drive. All of this takes time. But the OS is free, like in free beer. Here, friend, have a beer. Give one to that guy too. Linux is freedom, across the board.
You can even insist on only free software for your Linux, if you feel wrong about violating the rules of a software giant. I do not feel that way. The big thing I really love about Linux is there are no help line in India for me to call. I am totally on my own, the way I like it. I have spent days installing and configuring a Linux Distro just the way I want it, then going back to a previous one because something refused to work. I am what is called a Hobbyist. I am also a computer repair technician. Linux is freedom, and fun. For me, anyway.

Originally posted by autowrench
Yes, I know. Just wanted to point out something about Linux User's main enemy, Microsoft.

Microsoft is not Linux users' main enemy, their main enemies are the companies that got involved with Linux just to shift it back to proprietary systems.

They could never make my OS illegal under the terms M$ is setting, but!

What are those terms?

They are one step closer to owning every software company and every operating system in the world.

I think Google is closer to that, but nobody is worrying about that.

You are granted license for usage under certain conditions, and one of those is the Authentic Advantage, with the snap shot taken of your hardware and sent to Microsoft, for some unknown reasoning.

Are you sure about that?

A normal installation save nearly everything you do, from cookies to temp files, some of those cookies are HTML, and can be read by other websites.

Aren't the browsers the ones that save cookies? And if it saves nearly everything I do, how does it have the space for doing it? Where does it save that information?

URLs you type are stored, as are whole snapshots of webpages.

Where?

Your internet usage is tracked, whether you want to believe it or not.

How is that done? Is that done by Windows?

Originally posted by PS3Geek
Perhaps linux is better then windows but i haven't used linux so i wouldn't know . Windows only sucks if you don't have a good anti-virus program ..

Windows only sucks if you install it. I have had nothing but trouble with Microsoft, they better not take away the only good system left.

OP
I can see them trying, according to what I have read, if you install Linux on your Xbox you can get system banned from XBox Live..

To hell with Microsoft, I will throw away my computer. But I just don't see that happening. That would make an even bigger Monopoly.

and why would Microsoft care if I install Linux, they got their money. I can't find a computer that is Pre-built that does not have a Microsoft OS.

reply to post by ArMaP

What are those terms?

To own propitiatory source code. All Linux is code, free, open source code. Let's keep it that way.

Are you sure about that?

Pretty sure. I got into a small legal battle with them once. They are a giant corporation, and I do no see how anyone could support them.

Aren't the browsers the ones that save cookies? And if it saves nearly everything I do, how does it have the space for doing it? Where does it save that information?

To tell you that would be giving away a trade secret, friend. I repair and secure computers for a partial living. If you want to know one place, check your logs.

How is that done? Is that done by Windows?

Upon installation, Microsoft Genuine Advantage takes a snap shop of your hardware configuration and sends it to Microsoft. Microsoft saves what you are doing in temp files, there are three such files, and the normal user can only see two. A default installation has Remote Access enabled with network protocol and scripting for Registry additions. Also by default every time you go to a page, it is compared with a stored page to see that it is up to date.

No backdoors in your software.

The difference between "closed source" (proprietary) and "open source" software is (how did you guess?) that their "source" is open. Huh, okay, why do I care? Well, the "source", or "source code", is like the secret recipe of every software, like the recipe of a cake. When you buy a cake, there's no way you can figure out the exact recipe (although you can guess bits and pieces, "there's some coconut in here"). If a bakery gave out the recipe for its super-sucessful cheesecake, it would soon go out of business because people would bake it for themselves, at home, and stop buying it. Likewise, Microsoft does not give out the recipe, or "source code", of their software, like Windows, and rightly so because that's what they make their money from.

The problem is they can put whatever they want in their recipe, without us knowing. If they want to add a bit of code saying "every 12th of the month, if the computer is online, create a list of all the files that have been downloaded in this computer since last month, and send it back to Microsoft through the network". Microsoft probably doesn't do that, but how would you know, since everything is closed, invisible, secret?

A little while ago (October 2008) a lot of Chinese Windows users (most of them buy pirated copies of Windows) saw something strange happen with their computer: every hour, their screen would go black for a few seconds. Nothing to really prevent you from working, but it can easily make you go nuts. Microsoft had added a bit of code (an ingredient to the recipe) saying "if this is detected as a pirated copy of Windows, make the screen black for a few seconds, every hour". Now the point is not that the software was pirated: pirating software is bad, period. The point is that these users got an automatic update for Windows (updates usually fix bugs and add new features) without knowing how it would affect their system. No one knew.

Changing the source code of open source software is a much more open process. By definition, all the recipes are public. It doesn't matter to you since you won't be able to understand the code anyway, but people who understand it can read it, and speak out. And they often do. Every time someone wants to change the source code, all other developers are able to see the change ("hey man, why did you add this code spying on the user's keyboard input, are you out of your mind?"). And even if the whole team of maintainers for a piece of software go crazy and start adding puppy-killing features all over their source code, someone outside the team can very well take the code, remove all the bad bits, create a whole new version of it, and let the world know what the difference is. It's open.

That's why you can be sure open source software doesn't do bad things behind your back: the community keeps a close eye on all the recipes.

Why Linux Is Better

I feel this is a pretty good way of describing the difference between Linux and windows.

Originally posted by autowrench
To own propitiatory source code. All Linux is code, free, open source code. Let's keep it that way.

That's not Microsoft's terms, that's how things are done by most software producers.

And I fail to see how Microsoft wants Linux not to be open source.

Pretty sure. I got into a small legal battle with them once. They are a giant corporation, and I do no see how anyone could support them.

It's not a matter of supporting them, it's a matter of what is true and what is not. I was asking if you are sure about the "Authentic Advantage" being part of the licence agreement.

And Microsoft is not the only one doing that, as far as I know, all software companies that do not use open source code have that on their licences, to make it clear that what we buy only pays our licence to use the software, we do not own the software.

To tell you that would be giving away a trade secret, friend. I repair and secure computers for a partial living. If you want to know one place, check your logs.

Can you at least tell us which logs should we look into? Saying "there's a big bad wolf there" and, when someone asks "where" you answer "I cannot tell you" doesn't sound like a great help.

Upon installation, Microsoft Genuine Advantage takes a snap shop of your hardware configuration and sends it to Microsoft.

Yes, that's why Windows asks for the registration key when we change some of the hardware that was identified during that process. That's also how they know if there is another computer using that registration key, although that information is not kept for long.

Microsoft saves what you are doing in temp files, there are three such files, and the normal user can only see two.

Do they do that for all our actions? Are those files emptied in some way or do they keep on growing indefinitely? And could you tell us what are those three files, or that is also a "trade secret"?

A default installation has Remote Access enabled with network protocol and scripting for Registry additions.

Isn't that "Remote Assistance" instead of "Remote Access"? Remote Desktop is turned off by default, and Remote Assistance, as far as I know, needs some information (a file or a password) to be sent from the computer to the remote user.

Also by default every time you go to a page, it is compared with a stored page to see that it is up to date.

Isn't that "caching", and done by all browsers and not the operating system?

My problem with this is, why would Microsoft care? Try looking for a pre-built computer that does not come with a Microsoft OS. They got their money.

This is as funny as

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. last week applied for a patent that spells out a "pay as you go" concept under which users would be charged for both the software they run and the computing horsepower they use.

Read More

Microsoft are not as much "linux-unfriendly" that many people seems to think...
Do people in this thead posting some "MS Wants to kill linux" stuff even know that Microsoft has a team (even probably more than 1) in their "Open Source Department" (yes, they have one) that participate to the linux community ? They even did a few kernel patch in the past... They don't see linux as a "competitor to kill" at all, because even if linux distributions become more and more user-friendly with time, it will never (or not anytime soon) be an operating system for an average user.
It's also a way for them to learn... because you know, even people @MS need to learn things... it can be very usefull ! and even if most people contributing the linux community does not earn money from it, doesn't make their knowledge less valuable... each party can learn from the other.

To OP: Owning unix does not mean owning linux... You can't own linux... Linux has been developped from scratch, initially imitating unix behaviour... Nothing impacting unix can have any impact on linux... linux doesn't have a single byte of code dumped from unix, they are not the same thing and work slighty differently. It's free, open, and will ALWAYS be (and believe me... I hate using the word "always"... ).

To poster that compared Ubuntu with Windows in the time frame: You can't do such comparison... Windows = an operating system, with only a few very basic application. Ubuntu (and most of linux distros) = A linux kernel + An huge bundle of a vast choice of complete applications. If you really want to compare them, you'll have to compare them at level where they are comparable... so either strip every "non-core application" from ubuntu, and you get almost nothing, either compare ubuntu with a fully installed Windows with all 3rd parties applications installed already... There are still many things that Windows average cannot do with linux... The "killer arg" is gaming I think... Even if it is possible thru DirectX api emulation to actually run almost any Windows games (even moderns) on linux, it's still often harder to get the game to work properly than on it's native enviroment... And it's perfectly normal...
Actually, userfriendlyness gets improved with time, compatibility and interoperability too... But there is still a sort of gap between the two oses... Problem is, Hardware is designed for Windows, not for Linux... Sometimes manufacturer are competent and gentle enough to provide the "device driver" and some user tools, but sometimes they don't... and when we're in that sometime, only reverse-engineering can do the trick and there can be a lot of time before the new features are "ported"...

I may sound like a MS Defender in this post, but i'm not... I'm an user of both, because both have their roles. Some roles being more appropriate for MS, some others more appropriate for linux... But basically, you can do everything on both... it's not dark magic

if some of you care, I use:
- Windows on my gaming machine, but still have a linux distro on it, mainly for some desktop tests
- Linux on my netbook (I also have Android on it, for dev purposes), my fileserver and my webserver
- Unix (pfSense) as a firewall...

Deny Ignorance And be open to use any os if you're ready to read the documentation that goes with it. Except OSX of course ! (joke, just primal "geek-racism" lol (btw, it would make more sense to compare OSX to Windows rather than ubuntu...))

Peace.