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Is Microsoft the Newest Free Software Advocate?

Posted by khess on · 9 comments
DaniWeb; By Ken Hess 		Mail this story
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What the heck is happening in Redmond? Is Microsoft really giving away antivirus software? Yes, friends, it appears that they are. Come on Microsoft, we really want to hate you. I've carried this Microsoft voodoo doll* around with me for years--stabbing it every time I have to pay money for one of your products on a new laptop or desktop computer. I cringe when I see "Vista Ready." And, I almost hurl penguin when I have to activate my software. So, somebody please pinch me, wake me up, take the needle out of my arm and tell me it's all been a bad trip.

What the heck is happening in Redmond? Is Microsoft really giving away antivirus software? Yes, friends, it appears that they are. Come on Microsoft, we really want to hate you. I've carried this Microsoft voodoo doll* around with me for years--stabbing it every time I have to pay money for one of your products on a new laptop or desktop computer. I cringe when I see "Vista Ready." And, I almost hurl penguin when I have to activate my software. So, somebody please pinch me, wake me up, take the needle out of my arm and tell me it's all been a bad trip.

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Comments (9)

tracyanne ·
Quoting: Is Microsoft the Newest Free Software Advocate?


No. Emphatically No!

To begin with their Anti Virus software isn't Free. It's not even Open Source. And.... any system that depends on Anti Virus for security is broken by definition.

Microsoft's foray into Open Source is also not about Free Software. it's about software that has the Source code available, the software won't be Free as it will have non Free dependencies.
Bob_Robertson ·
What shocks me about MS's anti-virus efforts...

If they know enough about what's being exploited to make anti-virus software, they could, well, FIX THE PROBLEM in Windows.

But NoooOOOOoooo!
flufferbeer ·
@tracyanne and Bob_Robertson, I don't get it; is Ken Hess censoring or filtering out comments like yours at his DaniWeb site, such as tuxchick is claimed to be doing for her Mark-Shuttleworth-is-a-Sexist blog?? Your comments are useful! I'd agree with both of you on Micro$haft's shady anti-virus software and their ignoring or their double-speaking away Winblow$ end-users. 2c
tracyanne ·
@fluffer No, I just can't be bothered registering with DaniWebb, it's too much of a bother, I have to turn of NoScript, and I get all these ads. I just can't be bothered.
Bob_Robertson ·
Fluff,

I've no interest in registering, and there seem to be no comments on the entry anyway.

The more I see of Daniweb, the more it look like Geocities without the cool files.
softwarejanitor ·
Not only no, but HELL NO. Can I say that here? Well, anyway... Microsoft is not only not a free software advocate they are still actively working against it on every level they can, regardless of what they say.
Scott_Ruecker ·
Please keep the curse words to a minimum pretty please. :-)
qcimushroom ·
I would equate Microsoft giving away free Anti Virus software to

a heroin pusher giving away free needles.

They will do almost anything to keep the users hooked!
techiem2 ·
Is this even surprising? They've had anti-spyware pushed through for quite a while now. AntiVirus was just the next logical step.

Of course, this can't make the security vendors much happier...

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