Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Microsoft now controls your computer
If you have downloaded or installed any recent Microsoft product (eg, Windows XP, Windows Media Player 9), did you know that you have signed away control of your own computer? It’s all in the fine print of the software agreement, which I bet you didn’t read. Here is what the agreement says in plain language:
“I hereby allow Microsoft to install a spy on my computer that constantly reports back to them what software I am running. If Microsoft does not like that software (eg, if I didn’t buy it from Microsoft, or I got a copy from a friend, or my dealer installed the operating system without giving me the original disks, or I swapped some music files, or any one of a thousand other things that computer users do), I give Microsoft the right to disable either that software, or my computer’s operating system, or both.�
That also means that if I buy a new computer, and try to reload the operating system onto it from my old computer (using legal disks that I bought), Microsoft won’t allow me. How do they prevent me? Because I have to verify the licence with them before it will function (it’s called “product activation�). What this means is that even after you've purchased and installed the software, you have to contact Microsoft for permission to 'activate' it. How come? Well, during installation, XP surveys the PC's hardware and creates a 44-key code, which is a unique 'fingerprint' of your system. This effectively locks the copy of XP to your hardware and has a number of interesting implications. If you upgrade your hardware, for example, XP may 'deactivate' and require you to call Mr Gates for permission to reinstall. The same applies if you buy a new machine and desire to move your copy of XP to it. And so on.The same goes for Word, Excel, Powerpoint and all the other programs you have grown to depend on. If you don’t believe me, try it and see.
This is only the start. In 2004, Microsoft plans to introduce a new copyright protection system called Palladium. Amongst other things "Palladium won't run unauthorized programs". And Microsoft gets to decide which programs are authorized. Microsoft is paranoid about open-source programs like OpenOffice, which originated in the Linux stable but have been migrated to Windows. In fact, Microsoft has a division with the sole mission of trying to destroy Linux (I am not making this up). So guess what Palladium is going to do with all those freebie programs you have downloaded?
The moral of the story: don't sign any software agreement until you have read the fine print carefully. Otherwise you could one day find yourself with a very dead computer.
If you have downloaded or installed any recent Microsoft product (eg, Windows XP, Windows Media Player 9), did you know that you have signed away control of your own computer? It’s all in the fine print of the software agreement, which I bet you didn’t read. Here is what the agreement says in plain language:
“I hereby allow Microsoft to install a spy on my computer that constantly reports back to them what software I am running. If Microsoft does not like that software (eg, if I didn’t buy it from Microsoft, or I got a copy from a friend, or my dealer installed the operating system without giving me the original disks, or I swapped some music files, or any one of a thousand other things that computer users do), I give Microsoft the right to disable either that software, or my computer’s operating system, or both.�
That also means that if I buy a new computer, and try to reload the operating system onto it from my old computer (using legal disks that I bought), Microsoft won’t allow me. How do they prevent me? Because I have to verify the licence with them before it will function (it’s called “product activation�). What this means is that even after you've purchased and installed the software, you have to contact Microsoft for permission to 'activate' it. How come? Well, during installation, XP surveys the PC's hardware and creates a 44-key code, which is a unique 'fingerprint' of your system. This effectively locks the copy of XP to your hardware and has a number of interesting implications. If you upgrade your hardware, for example, XP may 'deactivate' and require you to call Mr Gates for permission to reinstall. The same applies if you buy a new machine and desire to move your copy of XP to it. And so on.The same goes for Word, Excel, Powerpoint and all the other programs you have grown to depend on. If you don’t believe me, try it and see.
This is only the start. In 2004, Microsoft plans to introduce a new copyright protection system called Palladium. Amongst other things "Palladium won't run unauthorized programs". And Microsoft gets to decide which programs are authorized. Microsoft is paranoid about open-source programs like OpenOffice, which originated in the Linux stable but have been migrated to Windows. In fact, Microsoft has a division with the sole mission of trying to destroy Linux (I am not making this up). So guess what Palladium is going to do with all those freebie programs you have downloaded?
The moral of the story: don't sign any software agreement until you have read the fine print carefully. Otherwise you could one day find yourself with a very dead computer.
