Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft is Coasting on What it Once Was, Using Things like Internet Explorer for Leverage and BSA Ads on Facebook

Reprinted with permission from Ryan

I was talking about Microsoft using legacy crap in Windows as a “feature” to lock people in who were stupid enough to design things based on it.



“Near the end, Trident’s rendering capabilities weren’t that bad, but Microsoft just kept adding modes that essentially froze the state of the engine and then made a new one on top that behaved differently.



If you don’t specify a doctype, then to Internet Explorer, the DOM is still where it was at in 1999.



This is because Microsoft encouraged abusing it to write Intranet sites and ActiveX crap that will never be fixed.



There are still ways to launch IE and browse with it in Windows 11 although they obscure how to get at it. But you can force it to launch.



The bulk of [Internet Explorer] is never going away though. It would break some thing that some business or government uses internally and they’d go “Well, shit. Since that’s gone, we may as well ditch Windows too because that’s literally the only reason we were paying for it.”.



Windows has a lot of attack surface that most people never think about because people pay to keep it crufty.



The way to deal with applications that old of course could be something like IEs4Linux where you just shove them into WIne, or stick an old copy of Windows 2000 into a virtual machine and only allow it on the Intranet, but if you’re a big company, Microsoft’s BSA will come audit this and find out you’re using “their software” in a way they don’t like.



Microsoft’s BSA is a bunch of lawyers that figure out who suddenly hasn’t paid up in a while and is trying to get away from them and then demands audits and exit taxes and Windows licenses for machines that don’t even run Windows. It served their purposes that you should paint yourself into a corner using the mess that they provided over the years. You know, for “free”, of course.



It’s like trying to get out of California and they figure all you’re good for is to soak one last time, so you get a tax audit.”



So you “get out of California” and life’s good until the California tax people send you a letter in the mail and say “You owe this because reasons.” and you end up paying them something even if you don’t owe them anything because otherwise they’ll take you to one of their tax courts where they always win.



Microsoft’s lawyers are like this.

-Me on a Matrix chatroom


If that’s not bad enough, if you get on Facebook, the BSA is always offering to pay people to narc out large users of their software who are violating the EULA.



Chances are one of your own employees will see that, decide that being a rat pays pretty well, and anonymously turn you in, and then use the money they got to go on vacation and pay their car note off.



People who are not already in a predicament like this should avoid getting caught in Microsoft’s tar pit.



People who are in a predicament like this need to avoid the one time expenses of freeing themselves from their Microsoft dependencies and migrating away vs. total expense of just paying and paying.



The total expense is more than just the licensing fees for Microsoft products, where you’ve already paid for Windows a million times over and here you are paying for it again.



Microsoft products are not secure and are constantly being taken over by ransomware and nation state malware, and even failing that somehow, are of poor technical quality and just have a habit of blowing up on you at the worst possible time due to inferior craftsmanship.



Recent Techrights' Posts

(Live-)Stream of Richard Stallman's Latest Talk in Europe (No Longer Live)
The latest public talk and Live-Streamed schedule were announced early on for the public to know about
Richard Stallman is Already in India, Giving Talks About Microsoft Chaffbots and More
he's already giving some talks in India
Drunk on Chatbots, LinuxSecurity.com Spews Out More LLM Slop About "Wine"
They just keep googlebombing "Linux" and "Security" using slop
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: The "Hey Hi" Hype Continues Fading, Tesla/X/Twitter/SpaceX Associate With Nazism
Links for the day
Robbery at the European Patent Office (EPO), Office Staff as 'Prisoners'
publication from the Central Staff Committee, dated yesterday
Techrights in 0.036 Seconds
Combining Gemini and HTTP/S, yesterday we served an impressive number of requests
BetaNews Run by Plagiarism Bots That Googlebomb (for SEO) "Linux"
Google rewards and thus encourages plagiarism
IBM Titles Considered Worthless and Many IBM 'Fellows' Are Vanishing (Also: IBM Staff Inside Linux Attacks the Rights of Computer Users for Recognition or Rewards Like "Distinguished Engineer")
James Bottomley is still "a Distinguished Engineer at IBM"
 
Rumour of IBM 'Bloodbath' in Clown Computing
Performance Improvement Plans mean one step ahead or before layoffs
Dr. Andy Farnell: "Richard Stallman Chose to Stand For the Rights of People to Use Technology as They Wish. He Chose Freedom Instead of Riches."
Keeping busy in public transport
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: Drehgriffel, Computer Science and Capitalism
Links for the day
Microsoft Lost a Ton of Market Share in Web Servers Last Month (the Last Month of 2024) and Massive Losses Continue in 2025, Shows New Report
Microsoft down sharply
Microsoft (Nick Vidal) and Co-opting "Open Future" With Microsoft-led "Open Source AI Definition" (Openwashing LLM Slop and GPL Violations)
Microsoft is tainting all sorts of groups via the OSI
Microsoft, IBM, and Front Groups That Advance Racism for Profit
IBM has profited a lot from racism and it still does
FOSDEM and 'No Nazis'
the issue isn't wealth but principles
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: "Social" Control Media is Unsatisfying; An Old Call for a Gemini Without TLS
Links for the day
[Meme] Levels of Outrage
Apparently it's hip for criminals to leverage "the law" to silence their exposers
Links 24/01/2025: Earthquake, Landslide, and Official Implicated in Airplane With Landing Gear Issues (Boeing Plane) "Found Dead"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 23, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, January 23, 2025
CDN Giant: Microsoft Bing and Skype Collapsed Since the LLM Hype, Same as Other Metrics Show
No wonder Microsoft managers suffer anxiety and there are several waves of layoffs even on the same month
Gemini Links 23/01/2025: Experience With Outer Wilds and Gifting a Site
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Fake 'Articles' About Linux by Brian Fagioli and by Brittany Day in BetaNews and linuxsecurity.com (LLM Slop Sites That Are Online Leeches or SEO Operations Working Against Free Software Journalism)
Two new examples for today
Links 23/01/2025: More Overt Constitutional Violations and "TikTok Executive Order" (White Flag to CCP)
Links for the day
Status of New Year's Resolutions
3 weeks later
"The AI Bubble is Popping", Now It's Bailout Time
The hype will quietly fizzle, just like "blockchains"
[Meme] When the Government of the Netherlands Participates in Your Crimes It Lacks an Incentive to Hold You Accountable for Crimes
the EPO's corrupt management boasted (on television) that it would ignore rulings against it even if issued by the highest Dutch court
Links 23/01/2025: US Constitution Already Besieged (Impeachable Offences Pile Up), Arrest Warrant for Assad
Links for the day
Microsoft's Head of Business Development Quits (Days After Two Large Waves of Mass Layoffs)
We recently learned that people close to the management are very stressed this month
[Meme] Reliable Sources
Sooner or later LLMs swallow up their own lies (that they generated), which means that over time those things will only deteriorate further, exacerbating an already-large misinformation pandemic
BetaNews Plagiarising Work in the Linux Space
The originals won't even be listed
Gemini Links 23/01/2025: US Politics and DevOps Career
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Links 22/01/2025: Jeju Air Blame-Shifting (Talk to the Wall), Copyright Maximalism Rebounds
Links for the day
[Meme] The 'Garbage in, Garbage Out' Patent Office
"law of the buzzword"
Clueless and Nontechnical EPO Management Uses the 'Great Scam' (Hey Hi Hype) to Justify Automation Where It's Both Detrimental and Illegal
The EPC has been practically set aflame; thus, the EPO has no legitimacy or reason to exist anymore
Links 22/01/2025: Democratising Tech Initiative and "Bye Bye Meta"
Links for the day
The Japanese translation of the term "free software"
by Akira Urushibata
Links 22/01/2025: "The AI Bubble Is Bursting" and Microsoft's Scam Altman is Already Looking for De Facto Bailout From the Insurrectionist
Links for the day
Dr. Andy Farnell's Latest Article About Software Freedom and Richard Stallman
why Dr. Stallman is being picked on
Geminispace (Gemini Protocol) Offers an Escape From Social Control Networks Owned by Oligarchs and Governments
Gemini capsules that promote fascism and retreat to feudalism are rare and scarce
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has Formally Added an Outreach and Communications Coordinator
Maybe the addition happened last year (we mentioned it in passing), but now it's in the "rota"
Electronic Frontier Foundation: Fighting 'for the Poor and Powerless' While Taking Home $336,000 in Annual Salary
nowadays works for or serves not the interests of the masses
Of Note: The Misguided, Infiltrated, Weakened Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Now Operating at a Loss of Over a Million Dollars
Worst since the COVID-19 lockdowns
Free Software Foundation's Miriam Bastian: We Surpassed Our Year-end Goal of $400,000 USD Thanks to You!
Miriam Bastian: We surpassed our year-end goal of $400,000 USD!
[Meme] Omit Microsoft When It's a Scandal or a Breach, Whereupon It Becomes Just an 'IT Company'
Microsoft is like a cult. Members of this cult promote the opposite of security, expecting to be financially rewarded for it.
Calling Out Windows (TCO) is Apparently Impermissible in Some News Sites
The online news sites are failing us (and corporate sponsors play a role)
Richard Stallman's Remarks on His Pain
Published two days ago
Focusing on the Issues
we'll do our best to find the news and not talk about "Mr. T"
Only About 3.6% of Web Users in Pakistan Use Vista 11, According to statCounter
It's not hard to see why so far in 2025 Microsoft has already had several waves of mass layoffs - more than any other company
Rumour: In IBM, Impending "25% Reduction in Finance Roles"
25% to be laid off?
[Meme] Fake Articles From linuxsecurity.com (Just Googlebombing "Linux" With LLM Slop)
Google should really just entirely delist that site
RedHat.com Written by Microsoft Staff, Promoting Microsoft' Proprietary Software That Does Not Even Run on Linux!
This is RedHat.com this week...
Links 22/01/2025: Mass Layoffs at Stripe, Microsoft's Illegal Accounting Practices Under Scrutiny
Links for the day
Fake 'Article' by Brittany Day (Guardian Digital, Inc) About Linux Mint 22.1 'Xia'
Apparently they've convinced themselves that this is OK
Red Hat Dumps "Inclusive Language", Puts "Master" In Official Communications and Headlines
Red Hat: you CANNOT say "master" (because it is racist). Also Red Hat: we put in it our headlines.
Red Hat Offers DRM, TPM, and Backed Doored 'Confidential' Containers (CoCo) for Microsoft (Proprietary Spyware)
No kidding!
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 21, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, January 21, 2025