It's patented? Who knew.
Why I’m still using 98SE...
United States Patent 7,536,726 -- Restricted software and hardware usage on a computer ***************************EXCERPT*****************************
A client computer runs an operating system that executes additional applications by loading them using an application loader and executes device drivers for peripheral devices by loading the drivers using a device loader. The operating system restricts the functionality of the operating system, such as by making selected portions and functionality of the operating system unavailable to the user or by limiting the user's ability to add software applications or device drivers to the computer. Additionally, various techniques can be used to remove or reduce the functionality limitations of the computer.
| Inventors: | Feinleib; David A. (Kirkland, WA), Gulledge; Carl L. (Redmond, WA), Haroun; Wassef (Seattle, WA), Kempin; Joachim (Bellevue, WA), Kolb; Kurt (Clyde Hill, WA), Moran; Brian K. (Issaquah, WA), Stubbs; Edward L. (Redmond, WA), Swed; Jacob D. (Seattle, WA) |
| Assignee: | Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, WA) |
| Appl. No.: | 11/266,451 |
| Filed: | November 3, 2005 |
It's patented? Who knew.
*sigh* I love my old Mac...
Sounds like the UAC, security made annoying so everybody turns it off in the first five minutes.
Restricting Functionality Of Your PC?
That’s what their browser is for, isn’t it?
Microstift
“Do be evil”
In other words, you steal it and it won’t work? How is this a problem?
It appears that if you buy a Media Center PC, this patent would allow MSFT to limit the applications to little more than recording TV, playing music and storing your DVD’s.
This ‘product class’ would be prohibited from non-Media Center functions, like running AutoCAD, Excel and others.
Now, if MSFT wants to market hamstrung OS’s, at reduced prices; that is their option. However, I fail to see the wisdom in this practice, as it opens the doors for class-action lawsuits.
Gone are the days when DEC published the code of its proprietary operating system VMS, that is still out there, and still beats any other OS by a mile. A sysadmin must have access to everything in the operating system, period!
Not to worry.
Some 12 year old genius will have a torrent crack available within minutes of the release of the new OS.
This is pretty old news. They want a way for OEM’s to build a single hardware platform for efficiency and sell it at various prices for various performance levels. But they’ll be shooting themselves in the foot if they actually do it. I guarantee some nerd in his mom’s basement will figure out the locking algorithm about 2.21 femtoseconds after the sell the first unit and after that everyone will be buying the Yugo computer and flipping a couple software switches and shazam! it’s now a Porche.
Get Root !
Ya sure why not....
Why would it matter that they got a patent for this technology?
They could well have implemented these features without a patent. The patent merely allows them to prevent others from using the same technology. So, good news for Mac users etc.
The patent isn’t the issue here, but rather the threat to make new operating systems that will hamstring the user...like they do with all that DRM crap.