Image from Android Beat

Summary: Concerns expressed about adoption of Microsoft's patented file systems and a preinstalled 'app' from Microsoft which turns phones into always-on listening devices

THE Microsoft-TomTom dispute showed us, as much as nearly 7 years ago, that Microsoft is firmly and openly engaged in a patent war against Linux. Microsoft would even take companies to court over it. Microsoft is still attacking Linux (mostly Android) companies using patents (5 such attacks were covered here earlier this year) and we therefore worry a great deal about whatever Microsoft is doing to make the ground more fertile for lawsuits, in the same way that Monsanto (less figuratively) plants the seeds for lawsuits against farmers whose fields have 'patented' seeds (this relates to Benoît Battistelli's EPO these days).

"File system patents, like those which Microsoft used against TomTom, are being imposed on Android."The NSA's PRISM pioneer and audio-visual informant (that's Microsoft) has built a bug, with audio recording always on, into Android, using its Trojan horse, Cyanogen. We saw it coming and now we see it materialising. To quote this new article: "At the official announcement post for Cortana’s availability on iOS and Android, Microsoft also announced that future versions of Cyanogen OS will feature deep integration of Cortana. Along with this, it is now announced that Cortana will come along as part of the Cyanogen OS 12.1.1 OTA update for users of the OnePlus One in the USA, in December."

This, however, does not worry us as much as the patents. Several hours were spent today in our IRC channels discussing these matters. File system patents, like those which Microsoft used against TomTom, are being imposed on Android. It's an alternative 'cash cow' plot. Here are the relevant parts from IRC:

XFaCE	schestowitz: also, (haven't looked at TR in awhile) did you cover CyanogenOS's inclusion of Cortana	Dec 19 14:47
XFaCE	schestowitz: also, CM13 nightly recently added an NTFS driver	Dec 19 14:47
XFaCE	http://review.cyanogenmod.org/#/c/123061/	Dec 19 14:49
-TechrightsBot-tr/#techrights-review.cyanogenmod.org | Gerrit Code Review [ http://ur1.ca/ocp4n ]		Dec 19 14:49
XFaCE	"sepolicy: Set the context for fsck.exfat/ntfs to fsck_exec"	Dec 19 14:49
schestowitz	didn't see it	Dec 19 14:50
schestowitz	is it in C-Mode?	Dec 19 14:50
XFaCE	http://review.cyanogenmod.org/#/c/122995/	Dec 19 14:50
-TechrightsBot-tr/#techrights-review.cyanogenmod.org | Gerrit Code Review [ http://ur1.ca/ocp4p ]		Dec 19 14:50
schestowitz	Or just Cyanogen Inc?	Dec 19 14:50
XFaCE	"Native NTFS kernel driver support"	Dec 19 14:50
XFaCE	this is CM13	Dec 19 14:50
schestowitz	I mean, upstream	Dec 19 14:50
schestowitz	is it included in the core of CM?	Dec 19 14:50
XFaCE	yes	Dec 19 14:50
schestowitz	wow	Dec 19 14:50
cubexyz	schestowitz, I'm asking for permission to use it as it's a private email	Dec 19 14:50
schestowitz	You said CyanogenOS	Dec 19 14:50
XFaCE	schestowitz: yeah, in realtion to cortana	Dec 19 14:50
XFaCE	*relation	Dec 19 14:51
schestowitz	what's the link?	Dec 19 14:51
schestowitz	Because they claims CM is barebones and then vendors can do to it a bundle	Dec 19 14:51
XFaCE	http://www.xda-developers.com/xda-external-link/cortana-now-available-where-and-when-you-need-her-no-matter-what-smartphone-you-choose/	Dec 19 14:51
-TechrightsBot-tr/#techrights-www.xda-developers.com | Cortana to Come Preloaded On Cyanogen OS 12.1.1 on OnePlus One [ http://ur1.ca/ocp4r ]		Dec 19 14:51
schestowitz	also, are there articles about it?	Dec 19 14:51
XFaCE	so to summarize	Dec 19 14:51
schestowitz	one PlusOne	Dec 19 14:51
schestowitz	but is it also upstream?	Dec 19 14:51
XFaCE	NTFS/exFat is added to CyanogenMod	Dec 19 14:51
XFaCE	Cortana on CyanogenOS	Dec 19 14:51
XFaCE	so CyanogenOS has become a transparent Microsoft marketing bed	Dec 19 14:52
XFaCE	and CM13 is slowly becoming one :P	Dec 19 14:52
oiaohm	XFaCE: sorry you don't understand the problem.	Dec 19 14:53
XFaCE	"At the official announcement post for Cortana’s availability on iOS and Android, Microsoft also announced that future versions of Cyanogen OS will feature deep integration of Cortana. "	Dec 19 14:53
oiaohm	NTFS and exFat in fact becomes stupidly forced by storage device makers.	Dec 19 14:53
XFaCE	I don't even run either on my sdcard	Dec 19 14:53
XFaCE	I just use JFFS	Dec 19 14:53
oiaohm	You still don't understand the problem.	Dec 19 14:53
XFaCE	that was an aside comment	Dec 19 14:54
oiaohm	Some sdcards if you put anything other than exfat or ntfs on them they will destory you data.	Dec 19 14:54
oiaohm	and I am not kidding.	Dec 19 14:54
XFaCE	well that's fucked up	Dec 19 14:54
XFaCE	link?	Dec 19 14:54
oiaohm	Why they storage card system for working out what sectors it can recycle for wear leveling is working from the information it extracting from the file system.	Dec 19 14:55
oiaohm	It was covered in a 2010 australian Linux conference video.	Dec 19 14:55
XFaCE	"Nevertheless, in order to be fully compliant with the SDXC card specification, many SDXC-capable host devices are firmware-programmed to expect exFAT on cards larger than 32 GB. Consequently, they may not accept SDXC cards reformatted as FAT32, even if the device supports FAT32 on smaller cards (for SDHC compatibility). Therefore, even if a file system is supported in general, it is not always possible to use alternative file systems on SDXC cards a	Dec 19 14:56
XFaCE	t all depending on how strictly the SDXC card specification has been implemented in the device. This bears a risk of accidental loss of data, as a host device may treat a card with an unrecognized file system as blank or damaged and reformat the card."	Dec 19 14:56
XFaCE	wow	Dec 19 14:56
oiaohm	XFaCE: Please note SDXC contains exfat as part of the standard.	Dec 19 14:56
XFaCE	after how much $$$ from MS?	Dec 19 14:57
oiaohm	So format SDXC with NTFS and its exfat only you data is screwed.	Dec 19 14:57
oiaohm	XFaCE: when you understand the problem what choice do OS vendors have when Hardware makers lock in the format.	Dec 19 14:58
XFaCE	thanks for this info, I didn't know that	Dec 19 14:58
schestowitz	thanks	Dec 19 14:58
schestowitz	will do an article about i	Dec 19 14:59
schestowitz	it	Dec 19 14:59
XFaCE	two separate ones?	Dec 19 14:59
oiaohm	Please note when buying ssd harddrives this problem can apply as well.	Dec 19 14:59
oiaohm	Yes always look for Linux support on a ssd harddrive because that means generic file system support.	Dec 19 14:59
oiaohm	Windows or OS X only ssds could be nasty.	Dec 19 14:59
XFaCE	god damn	Dec 19 14:59
XFaCE	oiaohm: do you have an example of a Linux-ready SSD?	Dec 19 15:03
XFaCE	for future reference	Dec 19 15:03
XFaCE	schestowitz: looks like what oiaohm has said - the cm13 ntfs thing is an android-wide developement	Dec 19 15:04
XFaCE	cyanogenos however IS going microsoft	Dec 19 15:04
oiaohm	https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/intellectualproperty/mtl/technologylicensing.aspx?f0ebc726-7ebd-4545-a353-de9b1edbdbee=True   Yes Microsoft does demard patents over exfat.	Dec 19 15:05
-TechrightsBot-tr/#techrights-www.microsoft.com | Intellectual Property Technology Licensing Programs [ http://ur1.ca/ocp5c ]		Dec 19 15:05
XFaCE	oiaohm: this is the kind of shit that anti-trust agencies should be raving on	Dec 19 15:06
XFaCE	this is clear monopolistic bullshit	Dec 19 15:07
cubexyz	schestowitz, briefly it's like this... customer says win10 KOed his computer to the point he can't even install a new OS	Dec 19 15:07
oiaohm	XFaCE: ssd even Linux ready ones have major teeth at times.   https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/18363/Intel-Solid-State-Drive-Firmware-Update-Tool	Dec 19 15:07
-TechrightsBot-tr/#techrights-downloadcenter.intel.com | Download Intel€® Solid-State Drive Firmware Update Tool [ http://ur1.ca/ocp5f ]		Dec 19 15:07
cubexyz	I've asked him for permision to quote him, as soon as he gives that I'll post the text online	Dec 19 15:08
XFaCE	major teeth?	Dec 19 15:08
oiaohm	XFaCE: ssd drives have firmware updates read the notes about it.	Dec 19 15:08
XFaCE	yikes	Dec 19 15:09
oiaohm	XFaCE:  ---If the Intel SSD firmware update process is interrupted, your Intel SSD may not function properly.---  found this bit.	Dec 19 15:09
oiaohm	In otherwords I can eat your data.	Dec 19 15:09
oiaohm	Now Microsoft is wanting to make firmware updating on stuff automatic.	Dec 19 15:09
cubexyz	the upside, if there is one... is the customer will be more receptive to non-microsoft operating systems	Dec 19 15:10
oiaohm	My main usage of ssd harddrives is as bcache where the majority of the data is kept on old school spinning media.	Dec 19 15:11
XFaCE	oiaohm: how are kingston ssds for linux compatibility?	Dec 19 15:11
oiaohm	XFaCE: From what I have seen of kingston ssds they all had Linux firmware update tools.    Now a problem you can run into with a kingston ssd they don't have os x tools and older drives don't have current version of Windows tools.	Dec 19 15:14
oiaohm	XFaCE: so kingston ssd is more Linux compadible than anything else.	Dec 19 15:14
oiaohm	Ie not compadible with mostly everything else.	Dec 19 15:14
XFaCE	lol	Dec 19 15:15
XFaCE	well that's good to know	Dec 19 15:15
XFaCE	Kingston SSDs it is	Dec 19 15:15
oiaohm	XFaCE: I guess you starting to see this SSD stuff has major holes.	Dec 19 15:15
XFaCE	well I never even thought of it	Dec 19 15:15
oiaohm	So a SSD good for Linux can be horible for Windows and OS X.	Dec 19 15:15
XFaCE	thanks very much for bringing it to our attention	Dec 19 15:15
XFaCE	the sdxc thing is just... wow	Dec 19 15:16
oiaohm	And you can swap that around.	Dec 19 15:16
oiaohm	So when you buy a SSD it better match the OS's you are wishing to use in spec.	Dec 19 15:16
XFaCE	oiaohm: in an ideal world SDXD would require JFFS or something open	Dec 19 15:16
XFaCE	or YAFFS	Dec 19 15:17
oiaohm	XFaCE: F2FS is from samsung.	Dec 19 15:18
XFaCE	ah right	Dec 19 15:18
schestowitz	https://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/helloworld.html	Dec 19 15:22
-TechrightsBot-tr/#techrights-www.gnu.org | Hello World! - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) [ http://ur1.ca/ocp69 ]		Dec 19 15:22
oiaohm	XFaCE:  JFFS and YAFFS don't have the required size to meet SDXC spec sizes let alown what a new spec could put up.   But F2FS does.	Dec 19 15:22
XFaCE	yeah I think I was thinking of F2FS oiaohm	Dec 19 15:23
XFaCE	oiaohm: yep, my bad	Dec 19 15:26
XFaCE	the names can get confusing	Dec 19 15:26
XFaCE	but yeah I'm using F2FS on my phone	Dec 19 15:26
oiaohm	I know.   Its only that I watch the australian Linux conference videos that I got it right.	Dec 19 15:26
oiaohm	cubexyz: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/lifecycle   Read down notice Oct 2016 preinstallation of Windows 7 and windows 8.1 is no longer meant to be performed by Microsoft Profesionals.	Dec 19 15:28
-TechrightsBot-tr/#techrights-windows.microsoft.com | Windows lifecycle fact sheet - Windows Help [ http://ur1.ca/ocp6l ]		Dec 19 15:28
oiaohm	cubexyz: and "Retail software end of sales " is the full boxed set editions.	Dec 19 15:29
oiaohm	cubexyz:  mostly the old OS stuff you find in stores is old stock.	Dec 19 15:30
XFaCE	oiaohm: writing on the wall	Dec 19 15:30
XFaCE	gentoo for me	Dec 19 15:30
oiaohm	Debian for me.	Dec 19 15:30
XFaCE	all the time	Dec 19 15:30
oiaohm	systemd does not bother me enough to move away from it.	Dec 19 15:30
XFaCE	the only windows installation will be in an internet-free KVM	Dec 19 15:30
XFaCE	like studying a virus or bacteria :)	Dec 19 15:31
oiaohm	From what I am hearing is the windows 10 upgrade is being deployed by the Windows 7 and 8.1 update system.	Dec 19 15:32
oiaohm	If that is the case Microsoft can declare it a critical update for Windows 7 and 8.1 so kill support to anything that is not 10.	Dec 19 15:32
XFaCE	yeah	Dec 19 15:32
XFaCE	I feel sorry for the Windows 7 users now - every windows update has to be examined	Dec 19 15:33
XFaCE	I have an ignore list for what it's worth	Dec 19 15:33
oiaohm	Windows 10 no ignore list	Dec 19 15:33
oiaohm	For gernal users.	Dec 19 15:33
XFaCE	yeah	Dec 19 15:33
XFaCE	oiaohm: Windows 10 is not for general users :)	Dec 19 15:34
XFaCE	or any users	Dec 19 15:34
XFaCE	as schestowitz would say, it's for the useds(sic)	Dec 19 15:34
oiaohm	Only way I can see that I can run Windows 10 is run it inside virtual machine some how.	Dec 19 15:34
XFaCE	KVM yeah	Dec 19 15:34
XFaCE	isolated from the rest of the system	Dec 19 15:34
oiaohm	So I can control its internet access so control its update system	Dec 19 15:34
XFaCE	oiaohm: there is WSUS	Dec 19 15:34
oiaohm	WSUS is only for enterprise editions.	Dec 19 15:35
XFaCE	that program enterprises use to control windows updates to machines	Dec 19 15:35
oiaohm	That is another change with Windows 10.	Dec 19 15:35
oiaohm	Windows 7 and 8.1 as long as it was pro you could connect it to WSUS.	Dec 19 15:35
*schestowitz takes notes for later		Dec 19 15:35
XFaCE	oiaohm: well, there's always just downloading updates and installing them via cmd script	Dec 19 15:35
XFaCE	aka the Windows 95 and below way :P	Dec 19 15:36
oiaohm	XFaCE: remember Windows 10 auto updates.	Dec 19 15:36
oiaohm	So internet connection it getting it themselves.	Dec 19 15:36
XFaCE	hence why the KVM (or equivalent) should have no or tightly regulated internet access	Dec 19 15:36
cubexyz	it sounds like utter crap	Dec 19 15:37
XFaCE	pretty much	Dec 19 15:37
XFaCE	at this point running MS-DOS 10 sounds preferable	Dec 19 15:37
oiaohm	http://www.wsusoffline.net/docs/  At least wsusoffline supports Windows 10	Dec 19 15:38
-TechrightsBot-tr/#techrights-www.wsusoffline.net | WSUS Offline Update - Update Microsoft Windows and Office without an Internet connection		Dec 19 15:38
oiaohm	So you don't need to give windows 10 internet access to get updates for it.	Dec 19 15:38
XFaCE	good thought	Dec 19 15:38
XFaCE	I forgot about WSUSoffline	Dec 19 15:38
oiaohm	I have worked out that I can perfectly contain Windows 10.	Dec 19 15:39
oiaohm	Problem is virtualisation stuff like sharing a video card between 2 OS's is still crap.	Dec 19 15:39
XFaCE	true	Dec 19 15:39
XFaCE	I guess Wine would be needed to run those applications	Dec 19 15:39
XFaCE	graphics-intensive ones	Dec 19 15:40
oiaohm	Businesses use a lot of applications that don't run in Wine.	Dec 19 15:40
MinceR	businesses can afford to have those applications rewritten by people who have a clue	Dec 19 15:40
oiaohm	MinceR: not exactly so.   I wish it could say that.	Dec 19 15:40
cubexyz	surely is this the total end of microsoft's dominance though	Dec 19 15:41
cubexyz	it's so bad...	Dec 19 15:41
MinceR	not unless uefi dies	Dec 19 15:41
oiaohm	MinceR: some applications are forced on companies by stupid governement departments.	Dec 19 15:41
XFaCE	cubexyz: end of *total* dominance perhaps	Dec 19 15:41
XFaCE	but not the total end of dominance	Dec 19 15:41
MinceR	oiaohm: governments can especially afford to have those applications rewritten by people who have a clue	Dec 19 15:41
MinceR	skip buying hypePads for every MP for one year and it's funded	Dec 19 15:41

As can be seen above, the discussion went on to a different topic, which is Vista 10. We have been sent the following message from someone who claims that an 'update' happened without even consent. To quote: "I am replying on an ASUS laptop computer using Windows 10. At one time it was a backup to my desktop until Windows 10 destroyed itself on my CyberpowerPC. Windows 10 does updates without asking. Having shut down to do a restart, after one update, it could not find itself. That section isthe part that tells Windows what the layout of the machine is. When this happens windows tries again. It is a never-ending loop. Booting to the BIOS and using backup on memory stick, the same error occurs. This turned this powerful gaming machine into a boat anchor."

Welcome to the world of Microsoft -- a world which Microsoft is trying to impose on everybody. And those who reject Windows get sued for patent infringement. ⬆