Comments on: Vista 7 Coverage a Mixed Bag on Release Date

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:23:48 +0000

This is why GNU/Linux should ideally adapt to Free software and never truly depend on Wine.

By: Yuhong Bao

Yuhong Bao — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:05:22 +0000

Not only that, but often Windows viruses do less harm running in Wine, for example NT kernel drivers are incompatible with Linux. Which is good, because for the same reasons most Windows anti-virus software is incompatible with Wine. ReactOS will run more viruses, but more Windows anti-virus software should be able to run in ReactOS to protect it.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:42:35 +0000

Alas, people who open some E-mail attachment won’t run it in Wine and Wine users are less likely to download rogue applications; they use few specialised tools. There are also no admin privileges.

By: Yuhong Bao

Yuhong Bao — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:14:35 +0000

There is a recent article on slashdot saying that many Windows viruses can run under Wine, another proof of this:
http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/10/24/1759213/Now-Linux-Can-Get-Viruses-Via-Wine

By: Yuhong Bao

Yuhong Bao — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:26:34 +0000

“Not much has changed since Vista”
“and a security model that can still be exploited by automated attacks.”
Well, NT’s security model is actually quite good, as mentioned by ReactOS. And while on this topic, I mentioned before that UAC is a clone of sudo. It even is affected by the same MS patent that affect UAC. Yes, there are a few differences. For example, no timer, at least in the Vista version.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:10:20 +0000

Not much has changed since Vista, but the public debate was replaced by marketing.

By: Dennis Murczak

Dennis Murczak — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:09:28 +0000

Ironically, viruses would be a quite good code profiling tool for the Windows API part of ReactOS.

Yes, the ads are misleading in that they overstate their case. I expect at least as much backlash from this than from Vista, because a lot of buyers will be really disappointed, especially in terms of software/driver compatibility and a security model that can still be exploited by automated attacks.

By: Yuhong Bao

Yuhong Bao — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:22:04 +0000

““Don’t you worry that [the advert] might just be misleading a few people into not buying antivirus software?” Ross asked. “Because you’re still going to have to, aren’t you?””
Well, even ReactOS will in theory run many Windows viruses, as long as they do not depend on things like security vulnerablities specific to Windows code, as ReactOS is a independent reimplementation.

By: Yuhong Bao

Yuhong Bao — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:12:51 +0000

Yep, Apple once pointed this out. Remember “Redmond, start your photocopiers”?

By: Dennis Murczak

Dennis Murczak — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:13:30 +0000

Interesting how it differs throughout the world. Germany seems to be especially dominated by diehard fanboyism (regardless of the side), as I can see on the troll infested German-speaking internet and by how quickly you can get into an argument talking to anyone about computers.

As for the selling points, it seems everyone here is at least rudimentarily informed about Windows/Vista 7′s nature as a paid for service pack, but hey it’s new, so everyone has to get it.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:46:11 +0000

I’ve noticed a pattern; the selling points of Vista 7 are none, just perceived ones. In Australia they boast “Security!” even though nothing has changed (and they admit this to the local press which accused them of deception). Here in the UK I see on television no selling points, just fluff and “taskbar”.

By: Dennis Murczak

Dennis Murczak — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:37:12 +0000

Thanks. I have news channels running on the other laptop most of the time, so I can report if necessary about what the media do here.

Besides of the ads, there was a short interview on another channel with a few fanboys that told me nothing new about Windows culture (buy it for the “kicks”, even if it’s just a service pack).

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:39:03 +0000

Do you know how Microsoft develops Windows? We have antitrust material which shows that it photocopies its O/S competitors.

By: Dennis Murczak

Dennis Murczak — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:26:19 +0000

Eww, today was the first time I saw explicit Microsoft advertising in German TV. Now I know what Americans have to suffer through.

First ad is about a “Windows phone” (“carry your Windows around with you”). It’s full of happy-looking people in a park doing uninteresting, unrelated stuff, and a girl on a bench calling someone from her “Windows phone”.

The second ad is about Windows 7 and unintentionally very ridiculous. It’s about a girl on the train with her laptop, talking about how “it” doesn’t crash (a word was used with the primary meaning of “airplane crash”, so I supposed she was very afraid of flying). After I noticed it was rather about her laptop, I got a glance at KDE with two Dolphin windows and an mplayer-ish window showing two romantic baboons at night. And all the talk about how the laptop will never crash again Finally a solid Linux ad I thought, could need slightly better acting though. Suddenly I heard her say something about “Windows 7″, at which point I was honestly surprised. The following (and final) line from her “I’m a PC and created this myself” made me burst into laughter.

End user marketing: botched. Badly.