New MS policy on Internet Windows Activation

Lawrence D'Oliveiro · External Since: Oct 29, 2004 Posts: 548

In message <1158937817.570469.69910 RemoveThis @i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>, billwg
wrote:

> Right now XBox is outselling PS2 and that is the market.

No, PS2 is outselling XBox
<http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/106012.asp>.

Roy Schestowitz · External Since: Jun 26, 2005 Posts: 24202

__/ [ ed ] on Friday 22 September 2006 18:54 \__

> On Thu, 21 Sep 2006 17:53:22 +0100
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups RemoveThis @schestowitz.com> wrote:
>
>> __/ [ Gordon ] on Thursday 21 September 2006 17:52 \__
>>
>> > have just done a clean re-install of the retail copy of XP Pro that
>> > I have
>> > owned for 4 years, on the same un-changed laptop that it has resided
>> > on for that four years. The last installation was well over a YEAR
>> > ago. It failed the internet activation and I ended up having to
>> > speak to a customer services representative. I asked him why it did
>> > not activate over the internet. He told me that a new policy just
>> > issued is that even with retail copies, internet activation is now
>> > restricted to ONE instance - any more than that has to be over the
>> > phone.
>> >
>> > That's going to push a lot more people to Linux, isn't it?
>> > If this is true, WHAT THE HELL DO MS THINK THEY ARE DOING?
>>
>> To be honest with you, I think that Microsoft is trying to crack down
>> on piracy (yes, honest!) as means of squeezing out revenue that is
>> left to be made from overpriced properietary software. Within a couple
>> of years, not only will such software become cheap, but it will also
>> become less prevalent, or its importance lowered/obviated by
>> (LAMP/OSS-based) Web services.
>
> Everything will be done on PDA style hardware by then, which is better
> for linux as it's far easier to port to other hardware when Linux
> already boots it just fine.

Yes. As much as I love multihead displays, I have always been arguing that we
will sooner or later use more modern technology such as retinal projection
(or head-mounted displays) and projected keyboards (or peripherals in
general). How about a set of gloves [1]? In any event, direct access to the
nerves is only a matter of time. It'll change the world as we know it.

[1] http://schestowitz.com/Weblog/archives/2006/09/07/x11-config-file/

Microsoft's take on 'innovation' is mind-boggling. It seems to perceive
multi-head displays (something I have used since I was 19) as tomorrow's
technology.

http://news.com.com/2300-1008_3-6070339-1.html

This can make one giggle if put into context. How uninspir[ing/ed].

--
Roy S. Schestowitz | "How do I set my laser printer on stun?"
http://Schestowitz.com | SuSE Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
12:05pm up 65 days 0:17, 9 users, load average: 0.81, 0.79, 0.78
http://iuron.com - Open Source knowledge engine project

Roy Schestowitz · External Since: Jun 26, 2005 Posts: 24202

__/ [ Dave Barry ] on Saturday 23 September 2006 03:08 \__

> Jim wrote:
>> Dave Barry came up with this when he headbutted the keyboard a moment
>> ago in comp.os.linux.advocacy:
>>
>>> [H]omosexual Linux User wrote:
>>>> AFAIK the *pirate* copies of XP floating around, are actually the
>>>> so-called "Corporate Edition" that require *no* activation.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.os.linux.advocacy/msg/9325adcd88...10f?dmo
>>>
>>> From: Jim
>>> "Yes, I use Windows on here. Corporate license, thank you very much."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Another frothing, lying, thieving lie-nux user admits his guilt.
>>
>> Are you going to pick a seventeen month old post to try and discredit
>> everyone? Because if you are, just say so.
>
>
> You did a splendid job all by yourself.
>
> Well done, Jimbo. Smile

../me in 1993: This Windows thing is great! Almost better than Norton
Commander.

[H]omer · External Since: Apr 21, 2006 Posts: 2134

Roy Schestowitz wrote:

> ./me in 1993: This Windows thing is great! Almost better than Norton
> Commander.

Good God! *There's* a blast from the past.

I miss Norton ... the *real* one, that is, but nowadays we've got
SysInternals on Winders. who are even better. Together with Cygwin, they
are the only things holding my Windows box together.

--
K.
http://slated.org - Slated, Rated & Blogged
Beware the Penguin:
http://www.victorialodging.com/video/Never_Trust_A_Penguin.mpg

Fedora Core release 5 (Bordeaux) on sky, running kernel 2.6.16-1.2133_FC5
19:29:33 up 97 days, 19:46, 4 users, load average: 0.00, 0.01, 0.00

DFS · External Since: Jun 07, 2005 Posts: 3293

Rex Ballard wrote:

> if
[a ridiculous, imaginary Rex-Ballard situation occurs]
> then
[a ridiculous, imaginary Rex-Ballard result will follow]

> Netscape had 85% of the web browser market, until the same little nerd

Aren't you also a little nerd, Rex? Or have you gained weight - married
life will do that, eh.

>... (bought Andreeson's Mosaic to kill Andreeson's Netscape).

Who's Andreeson? For some eight years you've been claiming credit for
Netscape:

"Meanwhile, I was making reccomendations to the publisher's mailing list. I
was making reccomendations on how the Mosaic browser could be modified to
provide electronic commerce, royalty distribution, and advertizing
accounting. In a few weeks, the author's of Mosaic implemented those changes
in a new browser called NetScape. After a bit of tuning and a few thousand
downloads, NetScape issued it's IPO and made headlines everywhere. In a
matter of six months, I had generated a 4 billion dollar industry."

www.open4success.org

> These days, the customers are telling us to use Linux. Windows isn't
> even an option.

Oh, I think it is - more so than ever.

But I'll play along: they tell you to use Linux after running the numbers in
an Excel sheet...

flatfish+++ · External Since: Dec 12, 2004 Posts: 2793

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:48:58 -0400, DFS wrote:

>
> Oh, give yourself some credit, Rex (or all the credit, like you normally
> do). You're no amateur - you're a professional liar. That's why you
> naturally gravitate to comp.os.linux.advocacy, where you'll find yourself in
> friendly territory amongst other serial liars who won't bother to question
> any of your ludicrous statements.

And Roy Schestowich is his biggest supporter.
Says a lot about Roy's motives and COLA in general.

> For every *exaggeration* Steve Ballmer makes about Linux (in fact, can you
> quote even one?), you post dozens of outright LIES about MS and Windows.

At least Ballmer is entertaining, even when he is sweating and falling all
over the place.

Rex would have the entire audience fast asleep and begging for mercy.

As they say in my profession "He definitely left the audience wanting less"

> Yep, Linux is winning alright... just ask its "advocates".

They are out of their minds.

When major players in the industry are saying Linux MIGHT reach single
digit usage on the desktop in 5 years, that says it all.

And all the web counters agree pretty much on stats and they are all
hovering around .1 percent.

The Linux advocates are living in some kind of a geeks wet dream world.

John Hastings · External Since: May 28, 2006 Posts: 15

>
> I can count every single actual deployment of Linux ever done, compared to
> the number of Windows machine actually deployed in the market today, and
> come up with 55 million it 1999, or 200+ million in 2006, giving Linux 20%
> of the market today.
>

Ok, I am going along with you so far except for the above statement. How
can you possibly "count every single deployment of Linux ever done"? How
can you even estimate the number and know that you are correct inside a
factor of 10 either way? Or a hundred?

Case in point. I downloaded a copy of Sarge 3.1 back when it came out
(coupla years ago, maybe?). That single copy has morphed into an untold
number of installs in schools, business and homes. I have no idea just
how many copies I made for people setting up servers (mostly for replacing
NT, but some for non-techies who were just tired of booting up to email
their granddaughter and winding up with an electronic worm farm), but it
is over 50. And this is just a small town. I also don't know how many
of those copies made other copies. None of which are logged,
tallied or counted. Multiply that by all the small towns in the US, and
for that matter, the rest of the world.

JH

flatfish+++ · External Since: Dec 12, 2004 Posts: 2793

On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 20:22:06 +0000, John Hastings wrote:

I have no idea just
> how many copies I made for people setting up servers (mostly for replacing
> NT, but some for non-techies who were just tired of booting up to email
> their granddaughter and winding up with an electronic worm> farm)

......snip
> JH

Electronic worm farm you say?
What will they think of next!

flatfish+++