OS WARS MEGA THREAD (Now debating proprietary vs. open-source!)

[kamaz]

Got a bit carried away when I found out that it is possible to start multiple vmWare Player instances.

Amateur. The real fun begins when you find out that you can virtualize the virtualization platform.

If you have followed my previous article about How to Enable Support for Nested 64bit & Hyper-V VMs in vSphere 5 you may recall a diagram about the levels of "Inception" that can be performed with nested ESXi. That is, the number of times you could nest ESXi and still have it be in a "functional" state. With vSphere 5.0, the limit that I was able to push was 2 levels of nested ESXi. With latest release of vSphere 5.1, I have been able to push that limit now to an extraordinary 3 levels of inception!

You might ask why would someone want to do this ... well I don't have a good answer other than ... because I can? �� VHV is one of the coolest "unsupported" feature in my books and I'm glad it is working beyond what it was designed for.

 

[Enjo]

Why not all of them?
Got a bit carried away when I found out that it is possible to start multiple vmWare Player instances.

Created during the happier days of my life:

 

[Urwumpe]

MDDClone!

Damn that had been years since I last played it. Damocles was one of my favorites on the Atari ST. Why is there no modern remake of the game?

 

[Enjo]

Damocles was one of my favorites on the Atari ST. Why is there no modern remake of the game?

Because life got in the way, hehe.
Also the reason why there's no commercial remake of the game is pretty much legal: The rights holders aren't really interested in having such a remake. I could find some articles for you which tell this story... but don't worry, you can still play titles such as Battlefield 10: "Taxing old ladies", or FIFA 42: "Same , different cutscenes".

 

[Urwumpe]

but don't worry, you can still play titles such as Battlefield 10: "Taxing old ladies", or FIFA 42: "Same , different cutscenes".

Sorry. I only play Sims MCXI "Nine to Five". Its really good, very realistic. Every Monday starts with the same mail with the same subject about some software bug in your Inbox, just like the real thing.

 

[TMac3000]

Created during the happier days of my life:

Is that Karmic Koala you're running there?

---------- Post added at 08:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:59 AM ----------

The problem is that you need your updates for the various communication subsystems ASAP, so not using automatic updates is either stupid or a lot of effort. The RF solution works well for a computer that is physically not connected to any network. Even if you just have an internal network without internet gateway, you still have a few possible ways to get a really bad virus into your network, which you need to handle as well.

Remember: Any anti-virus software can only detect known threats or unknown threats based on a known recipe. Most zero-day exploits are invisible for them.

My workplace has a small network that has been running Win 7 for about three years just fine. I'm curious how they are managing to prevent the forced update to Win 10...

 

[birdmanmike]

As many in Win 7 have done, both enterprise and home.

1. Switch off automatic updates
2. (search the net) remove the updates which keep setting you to download/carry out the W10 "upgrade". ( Check the likes of Wilders Security sites)
3. (Still) Do regular check for updates - then hide anything that "advises' or "checks compatibilty" or other BS. MS has stopped putting the W10 upgrade stuff in "important" now only "optional". Normally updates come through around the 18th of month.
4. Select or deselect what you want and update those. Few minutes a month is all it needs

Simples. No problems since August 2015. With Win 7 you can still just stop updates and bin them for good. Despite earlier answer, Win 10, even enterprise edition, only allows you to defer them. Was good too - some updates like GFX drivers were BSODing my complicated setup and Win 10 forces them

(I stopped using 3rd party antivirus years back. Only Security Essentials and Malwarebytes. Using Safe Sex- sorry - Surfing! (and email careful), never had virus and only once or twice malware - trapped by both at that).

I reckon at least 5 years updates more on Win 7 - after all, if Ripley and others still on XP! . . . Maybe Orbiter will be on OSX by then? (If I'm still around)

 

[orb]

As many in Win 7 have done, both enterprise and home.

Actually Windows 10 "free" update isn't offered for Enterprise edition of Windows 7 (or 8/8.1), so it should be rather "ultimate, professional and home".

 

[Lucy]

Despite earlier answer, Win 10, even enterprise edition, only allows you to defer them. Was good too - some updates like GFX drivers were BSODing my complicated setup and Win 10 forces them

This is just horrible. Who owns my computer? Me. I decide what software runs on it, not the people who wrote the software. Smeg off!

 

[Urwumpe]

This is just horrible. Who owns my computer? Me. I decide what software runs on it, not the people who wrote the software. Smeg off!

I sense profit.

I'll install Window 10 and sue microsoft for hacking my computer and messing into my configuration management. :rofl:

 

[Lucy]

I sense profit.

I'll install Window 10 and sue microsoft for hacking my computer and messing into my configuration management. :rofl:

Sorry, you agree to this behaviour when you accept the massive EULA they show you before you install the thing. Use of the software means you've accepted all the ways it can screw you over that may be detailed in the text there (I dunno, I never bothered to read it).

[minirant]
I feel like this is dangerous. This is what we have with mobile phones now. Sure, they're fancy and cool and we can do wonderful things with them. But they're not ours. Shipping devices without root access and trying to prevent users obtaining exemplifies that. If it's my device, why can't I have full access to it? "Oh, you might damage it" well so what? It's MINE, if I want to break it then I damn well will, either with the superuser account or with a suitably large hammer!
[/minirant]

 

[Urwumpe]

Sorry, you agree to this behaviour when you accept the massive EULA they show you before you install the thing. Use of the software means you've accepted all the ways it can screw you over that may be detailed in the text there (I dunno, I never bothered to read it).

Any EULA is invalid in Germany. You must be able to read it BEFORE you get into any legal relationship with microsoft. Also the EULA of microsoft traditionally violates minimum standards for text size and color.

Is an important detail here. Quite many software companies already collided with the fact that German legal tradition is different to anglo-saxon standards. The EULA has no effect, the general terms and conditions on the other hand could be binding if presented before any business.

So, like always, Microsoft would default to German standard law, which is rather customer friendly about what is allowed, and very business friendly about how hard the punishment is.

In the USA it is different: You need to really screw up badly to get punished, and if you get punished, the punishment is astronomic.

EDIT: And about the mini-rant: Ever thought about updating the software of your car?

 

[Loru]

EDIT: And about the mini-rant: Ever thought about updating the software of your car?

 

[Enjo]

Is that Karmic Koala you're running there?

I'm not sure what animal it was. Now I call her simply... "Jessie"

 

[TMac3000]

I'm not sure what animal it was. Now I call her simply... "Jessie"

Jaunty Jackelope?

 

[Linguofreak]

Jaunty Jackelope?

No, I think he's saying that he's one of the people that is of the opinion that "Ubuntu" is Swahili for "can't configure Debian".

 

[Lucy]

Any EULA is invalid in Germany. You must be able to read it BEFORE you get into any legal relationship with microsoft. Also the EULA of microsoft traditionally violates minimum standards for text size and color.

I'm sure the EULA for Windows is available before you agree to it. Your argument for that doesn't seem to make any sense.

EDIT: And about the mini-rant: Ever thought about updating the software of your car?

Nah, not really. The software in my car is probably as old as my car, which is 18 years old and not very modern (but I love it). I take your point, though; this is true of many embedded systems, and the same thought applies - if it's mine, why am I locked out of it?

 

[Urwumpe]

I'm sure the EULA for Windows is available before you agree to it. Your argument for that doesn't seem to make any sense.

Well, lets explain it differently.

1. If you can't read the EULA before Windows is downloaded on your computer - invalid, thats called "Culpa in contrahendo".
2. If you can't read the EULA before Windows is installed on your computer - invalid (does not apply this time)
3. If you can read the EULA before installation, it is not a EULA in the US sense of "you sell your soul to this company" but a "AGB", general terms and conditions, which are strictly regulated by the German code civil (§307pp BGB - it is a long listing of terms that you may and may not include in your AGB). Even if a company carefully translates its EULA into German language, it is not automatically valid. About 99% of the terms you can find in a US EULA are violating German laws.

Important when checking AGBs for validity is that you need to apply the laws in reverse ... first §309, then §308, and then finally §307. Lawyers need their jobs, after all. Also, this validity check is called a "blue-pencil-check", which means: When a term is not valid, it does not get limited to the legal limits, but stays in effect, but is completely removed from the contract.

 

[TMac3000]

If you can't read the EULA before Windows is downloaded on your computer - invalid, thats called "Culpa in contrahendo".
If you can't read the EULA before Windows is installed on your computer - invalid (does not apply this time)

I think the U.S. legal terms is "contract of adhesion" (you can't read it until you sign it).

And I completely agree with Xyon--that's one of the reasons I became a Linux user.

 

[Enjo]

And I completely agree with Xyon--that's one of the reasons I became a Linux user.

Of course! Every libertarian uses Linux.