Replies

"All they would have to do is disable "windows explorer" from being able to access the internet…"

But isn't the plan to have XP phone home on IE regularly in order to know if MS still lets your operating system operate?

But isn't the plan to have XP phone home on IE regularly in order to know if MS still lets your operating system operate?

XP can be installed and "activated" without an internet connection. IE is a separate executable from Explorer. The internet connection is separate from both, being a descendent of NT Remote Access.

I think what Microsoft did was make IE required to install Office components, but these are applications, not part of Windows.

I have two conflicting thoughts -- first that MS is full of BS, and second, I don't think the government has any right under the constitution to tell inventors what they can sell and what they can't.

If Microsoft had developed Windows with government grants, or if there were some shortage of bits and bytes with which to develop code, I'd be sympathetic to the anti-trust thing. But with Apple shoing signs of competence and Linux chugging along, I refuse to accept the monopoly accusation.

But isn't the plan to have XP phone home on IE regularly in order to know if MS still lets your operating system operate?

There is a new version 3.4.1 of a beautiful little free application (26kB to download) called XPAntiSpy3-English.zip designed to disable all the XP-"ET call home" features in one click. The creators of that program list 27(!!!) different ways XP contacts Redmond and they say it takes about a half an hour to walk thru Windows XP to manually turn off all those convenient "automatic" features, provided you know exactly what they are.