Re: Big Brother is watching... and nagging


JustBoo wrote:
On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:54:58 -0600, "Someone" <Somebody@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

I will NEVER buy software that includes this.

Umm, are you using Windows XP? Because that's what it does. It's a big
giant piece of spyware. I know this because I program against it at
work everyday.

Windows XP only does this if you install Windows Genuine Advantage (the
bull*** marketing euphamism of marketing euphamisms), which until
recently wasn't a requirement. I haven't installed it, but I think
possibly the latest patches require it, which I have not gotten yet. I
guess I will have to break down and install it, which kind of sucks.
I'm sure Vista is going to require something similar, so it's either
quit being a PC gamer or live with it I guess. I'm still debating that
question.

I still use Windows 98SE at home - mostly for games - no kidding. It
does everything I want and need. I could use it forever, but
Micro$haft (i.e.: Balmer ) is demanding software houses stop
developing for it. (NT as well.) Example: Oblivion apparently will not
run on 98 by design. The spyware issue is a big part of why I have not
upgraded.

You're a bit of a tin-foil-hatter if you think that Balmer is
responsible for this. It's the software developers themselves that are
deciding not to support 98. Believe it or not there's a lot of code
differences between XP and 98, and developers have to code for those
differences in their games. By being able to drop support of 98 they
simplify their game code, and more importantly, they simplify their QA
process. Not to mention, hardware vendors don't even support 98 for
their latest drivers features anymore (if at all), so trying to write
games for it means dumbing down your game.

The fact that MS is dropping all support for 98 soon (and has dropped
most support already), is just another sign that more and more software
makers will quit supporting it also. That version of the OS is what,
eight or nine years old now? It's time to be put to the pasture, my
friend. In software years, that's like a an old 88 year old geezer or
something. I challenge you to find another software vendor that still
actively supports an eight year old version of their software. You
won't find many, I can assure you.

I might upgrade to 2000 soon (no built in spyware that I know of) or
if I can buy a version of the Mac OS that runs on Intel processors
I'll do that. If not, then it's going to be Linux all the way.

I believe that MS is dropping support for 2000 soon also, you might
want to check on that before upgrading. You can buy an Intel MacIntosh
if you want, but not a generic Intel PC that can run MacOS, at least,
not yet. An Intel Mac can dual boot to run Windows if you still want to
be able to play the latest PC games. Linux, is quite frankly, not a
real option for PC gaming. If you want to give up the hobby, then sure,
it makes for a decent platform for web surfing, typical home use, etc.

I think Vista is finally going to be Microsoft's "Waterloo." I won't
get into all the details here but it has A LOT of problems that M$ is
not admitting to.

You won't get into details? Why not?

Knight37

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