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General :: Outside the Cube :: Computer Hardware
Advice on computer hardware issues.
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Risky upgrading to Windows XP - is Linux better?Who one considers to upgrade to Windows XP to achieve the best of two worlds – the versatility of Windows 9x and the reliability of Windows NT, one should understand that this will lead to some dependency on Microsoft.
The reason for this is the product activation which happens online or by phone. It ties the installation more or less to the specific hardware configuration of your PC. Since the activation can happen via phone (and thus is guaranteed to be anonymous), it is questioable if Microsoft really does this to reduce the number of illegal installations.
But maybe Microsoft’s biggest problem aren’t the users with illegal installations. Maybe they worry more about those users who still use Windows 98 or NT 4.0 (or even Windows 95) and are satisfied with it.
Even when Microsoft announced to discontinue support for these old systems, these people (usually not too technical folks) did not buy news computers or new operating systems. (Their old machines would be overwhelmed by Windows XP, that’s why I mention the purchase of new hardward.)
There are very few reasons to upgrade their PC/ software for people like my local small car dealer who still runs a Windows 3.1 installation to connect to the DMV and register cars.
Now Microsoft found something against these people who boycott consumerism: Product activation. As everyone knows, sooner or later you have to reinstall Windows for some reason. Maybe a new hard disk, or the installation is damaged. Fast forward to 2008. Microsoft has been selling „Windows Vista“ – the successor of Windows XP – for several years now but you did not feel like jumping onto that wagon yet. Now you bought a new hard disk (since it is supposedly impossible to crash a Windows XP installation, haha) and want to reinstall your Windows XP.
Microsoft’s server can simply reject your product activation attempt and force you to upgrade to Vista (or whatever they sell then).
But it gets better. As you know, Windows XP tries to reject unsigned (not certified) drivers, firewalls, utilities etc. In the current state it shows you a warning that you’re about to install possibly dangerous code that is not certified by Microsoft. With one of the many Windows security update you may have changed this behavior from a warning to a flat rejection.
So Microsoft can control what software you are able to install.
They can very easily render „old installations“ to be useless, outdated and even dangerous if security patches cannot be applied. At the least you would not be able to use your new scanner or digital camera with your outdated Windows. At the worst, you cannot install a non-Microsoft virus scanner.
The latest idea is „Windows Genuine Advantage”. Read the propaganda here:
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/whyValidate.aspx
The idea is that urgent security fixes are available for everyone and the full range of updates only for „validated genuine windows users“. Unfortunately Microsoft made news this month (September 2005) with a failure of their validation servers.
As you can see, the possibilities for power and abuse are endless and one does not need to be a pessimist if one prefers to stay away from automated operating system updates, online activation/ validation and Windows XP in general.
| Generated 8:00:45 on Apr 24, 2018 | Most recent comments
2018-04-23 22:56:40:
by marts.capitalfinance@gmail.com
in Web publishing
on Getting started with CSS:
Sir/Ma
I am a financial consultant and have a very good and reputable Provider of some bank instruments which can be monetised and discount for funding of your various project within lenders/ ... read more
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2018-04-23 12:33:56:
by rao621
in Finances
on Well-respected bank offering Payday loans:
We specialized in Bank Guarantee {BG}, Standby Letter of Credit {SBLC}, Medium Term Notes {MTN}, Confirmable Bank Draft {CBD} as well as other financial instruments issued from AAA Rated bank suc ... read more
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2018-04-23 05:12:56:
by anonymous
in Dating Scams
on Dating scammer Rhoda Naa from Accra, Ghana:
You mean this young woman, is a guy?
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2018-04-23 02:29:44:
by info.iqfinanceplc@gmail.com
in Delphi
on The meaning of Runtime Error 217:
IQ FINANCE PLC provides a full financial planning service to both the commercial and domestic markets. At IQ FINANCE PLC we believe that financial planning is about two things: creating wealth and pro ... read more
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2018-04-22 23:34:54:
by Stroman leon15@gmail.com
in Dating Scams
on Dating scammer Amanda Smith from Ghana:
There a young lady that lives I Ghana she go by the name mercy willson her email address is daniellasare94@gmail.com . I have talk with for a while she says so love me and want to spend the rest of he ... read more
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2018-04-22 14:26:05:
by anonymous
in Passwords
on Need password for encrypted RAR or ZIP archive:
please tell me the pasword of sniper elite my email is muiz0016@gmail.com
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2018-04-22 03:40:49:
by anonymous
in Male Dating Scammers
on Dating scammer jack bruno:
Que bueno que busque la direccion de este tipo... Ya me parecia raro que sienta amor por recibir un mail. Nadie en su sano juicio lo hace.
Tengan cuidado!
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2018-04-21 20:13:37:
by anonymous
in Male Dating Scammers
on Dating scammer Josh Kelly:
cuidado con el
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2018-04-21 14:14:58:
by [hidden]
in Male Dating Scammers
on Dating scammer Eric Wilson:
I have seen this man so many times! Could it be his is the actual victim? So many people get scammed, and not realizing that the photo you see is not the person you are talking/emailing. He could be t ... read more
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2018-04-21 11:25:09:
by anonymous
in Male Dating Scammers
on How you recognize male scammers.:
So should I continue texting him
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