A variation on the argument here: selling used cars takes potential income away from the car makers who are interesting primarily is moving their new cars.
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Hitting my head with a brick might hurt, but if I just change my expectations and optimize for different variables, then I would see that it’s really not that bad.
Or I could, you know, spend my valuable time doing something I enjoy instead of torturing myself with the tedious process of seeking out alternatives to all the software I use and relearning all my workflows and computing habits, just so I can bask in the virtuous aura of freedom and openness. No thanks.
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Dude, don’t be a hater! I switched my 70 yr old mom to Ubuntu and she never had an issue. The only time she really mentioned it was to say she hadn’t had to reboot it in over a month.
Maybe, just Maybe @robertbos 's comment wasn’t directed at you who are apparently a heavy duty computer user (who apparently hates computers) as opposed to 90% of computer users who browse the web, use email and a printer.
For you, I’d recommend a Mac. The expensive computer designed for people who don’t actually like computers. .
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Don’t forget that he was making them look like they came from Dell. He was copying their recovery disks including printing the logos and barcodes to make them look exactly like the ones Dell distributes. I think the counterfeit nature of his disks is what raised suspicions in the first place.
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I haven’t used them, but I hear Linux Mint MATE and Zorin OS are pretty good for Windows users. So yeah, Debian pretty much.
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Amen to that.
Also, as a linux user, I have the exact same experience going to windows. Lot’s of stuff I use daily just plainly doens’t exist or is very unpractical to use.
Each platform takes some getting used to.
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I usually love your comments, so I find this one especially disappointing. Linux is a system made by volunteers. It is free, to use, modify and distribute. It is built on people contributing their effort to improving it, and part of this is working with it while it is deficient to make it better. So, instead of punting and telling everyone else to do the work and “call you”, why not contribute to expanding the breadth, depth and polish of the Linux ecosystem by using it and making or suggesting improvements? Or, you can continue complaining about shitty monopolists while hypocritically using their system and refusing to support a revolutionary alternative.
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In the past I’ve downgraded the OS on a couple machines I’ve been given to XP to run embroidery equipment. The licenses for modern versions of that software run in the thousands of dollars and when you still have the USB key and Windows XP install disc for that software, it’s a simple choice.
Usually I just call Microsoft up to get the old XP key released that is on the machine’s sticker, then reinstall XP on that machine using the released license.
Is it that a re-seller get slapped with harsher restrictions or have I broken the law a couple of times?
This counterfeit software exposes people who purchase recycled PCs to malware and other forms of cybercrime
That is a very coy way to refer to Windows XP.
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Well, I gladly switched to LINUX about fifteen years ago and haven’t looked back since! This is OLD NEWS for former MS users, who ‘saw the light’ and moved on to ‘brighter’ and ‘better’ things! MS sux!
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You are going to get flak for this sentiment, but I totally agree.
I like the idea of Linux, and have used it much over the years. Two big gripes of Windows dev are:
Documentation Hell
DLL Hell
But however bad it is on Windows, it is far worse on Linux.
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I feel like you’re not giving me a fair shake, here. I’m not saying that you should use something totally nonfunctional for you. I’m just saying that Linux may not be the best, 100% perfect thing for you in every respect, but in the respect that it won’t invade your privacy, and in the sense that you have full control over every aspect of your OS, it’s better.
So it’s a tradeoff. If you’re willing to budge a little bit on some things, you can have benefits in other things.
You went straight to a really mean comparison. I’m not suggesting you “hit your head with a brick”, and you’re being kind of a dick when you said that. It really did hurt my feelings a little bit, if you don’t mind my saying. If that was the intent, I think maybe you should re-evaluate some things.
If you don’t want to use Linux, fine, don’t use Linux. If you don’t value the things that Linux does well above the things that Windows does poorly, then don’t use it. If Windows spying on you or Microsoft doing evil shit is fine with you, and doing your work using the absolute best tools is important to you, then go ahead.
But if you’re willing to take a hit on the tools and exchange it for a little more freedom, then hey, maybe it’s a good option for you. And you might be pleasantly surprised at how good some of the tools are.
But if you’re coming into Linux angry and hostile, then yeah, stay with Windows.
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Because not everyone who uses computers for a living is a programmer with the copious amounts of spare time and technical expertise needed to make GIMP actually be as good as Photoshop?
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Speaking personally, I’m not sure where this is coming from. Library versioning is indeed a problem, but Linux generally handles it pretty well, you can have multiple versions of shared libraries installed side by side with relatively little hassle.
eg libXX.so.5 and libXX.so.6 can be linked to independently without issue.
Anyway, package dependencies from the distributor usually handle that. I run into problems sometimes when I’m messing around with WINE, but for the vast majority of the time the upstream distributor deals with it.
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So is Windows’ problem here that this guy was extending the life of all these old, abandoned licenses? They want people who buy these second-hand machines to foolishly buy new licenses for machines that already have them?
Are people who sent these machines to ewaste still the owners of those keys? I presume that’s what Windows would claim…
The crazy thing is that the case is about the narrow definition of the value of the CD’s themselves, which should be $0… Was this guys selling the installation disks to people?
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You don’t need to be a programmer. Users also have plenty to contribute, by using the product, kvetching publicly (maybe through bug reports, maybe just on blog comments), and encouraging change. There are many, many ways to contribute. It doesn’t take copious amounts of spare time, either. A few hours a year might be sufficient - if everyone contributed as much, the sum of effort would be huge.
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Most people just want to get on the internet, email and what ever. Linux can do that just as well as anything else. I show my guests how to do it in 2 minutes. Give me a few more and I can show you how to update navigate the file system.
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This is not what he was doing here, he invested $80k in duplicating and counterfeiting a Dell recovery disk, with the intent to sell them for a profit to other companies who refurbished Dell PCs (one of whom was cooperating with the feds). He does not have the right to sell Microsoft’s IP for a profit, regardless of whether they provide it for free download or not, they can charge whatever they want for their own bits, he can not. If he gave the disks away for free then there’d be no case to answer, it’s the fact that he was profiting off the venture that makes this a criminal matter.
A 15-year prison sentence seems pretty excessive though, a suspended sentence and a fine would seem far more appropriate. That’s down to the judge though, not Microsoft.
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it seems to me that the core issue is that MS claims that when you sell or give away a computer, the operating system license is not part of that transfer. If the license to run Windows on your hardware does not transfer when you sell or give away your computer, then it would be criminal to install windows on the machine using the old license key.
So, Dell buys an OEM license, installs windows, sells the machine, and you loose the right of resale once you buy your computer and that to me is a problem. The OEM license isn’t attached to my name, it’s attached to the hardware sold by the OEM.
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Free download from the copyright owner’s website doesn’t really mean anyone has the right to make and distribute copies. It boils down to the licensing terms.
That MS can argue that the free download is now worth $25 is the real problem here. At most I think a copyright holder should only be able to have the license-violating copies confiscated or destroyed if the value is essentially $0.
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