No, and I think MicroSoft should actually do this, because I find it funny. People who still use Windows and Apple OS deserve whatever comes their way.
You don’t have to, but if Microsoft or Apple prevents you from opening a pirated movie and you need Windows or MacOS for work, dual booting is a solution.
Because they let themselves to get locked into proprietary bubble.
Have fun with your CNC machine that doesn’t work unless you program it with version 113 build revision 7 of proprietary firmware that cannot be loaded unless you run Windows XP SP 3, because CNC machining software is totally something that needed to be windows based…
Just remember, Therac-25 didn’t need to kill people.
MicroSoft uses Linux. Every single webserver of MicroSoft is powered by Linux, because Windows Server 2022 is just so good.
MicroSoft’s main income is Linux, their own OS makes up just a tiny part. The way they do business today (“intelligent cloud segment” making most of the revenue), couldn’t be posible if Linux didn’t exist.
The only ones who still use Windows is gamers and Offices that are too stuck up to automate their boomer accountant’s job.
I hadn’t heard of Microsoft Pluton, so I looked it up. It sounds like it’s some kind of CPU hardware module that implements security policies directly into the system. Pretty gross, but should be easy enough to avoid by just not buying computers with that processor.
IMO this post is a bit misleading because the image without context makes it seem as though the Windows OS is the thing intervening here, when that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Microsoft has a lot of pull on hardware manufacturers, like all PCs are required to contain a TPM module in order to be compatible with Windows 11. And sadly, most consumers will either want a macOS or Windows-based systems. Unless we see more ARM and/or RISC-V systems becoming mainstream, systems without a TPM module are not going to be very common outside of enthusiasts circles.
should be easy enough to avoid by just not buying computers with that processor
Intel ME / AMD PSP are similar things already on CPUs today, and because pretty much all x86 CPUs have it, it’s very hard to avoid it. They’re basically builtin Intel/AMD spyware and the only way you can get rid of them is by using something like Coreboot, which has very limited availability
This post is misleading (and apparently fake?) for a lot of reasons.
But
Pretty gross, but should be easy enough to avoid by just not buying computers with that processor.
Not really. TPM 2 (?) is already (effectively) a requirement for Windows 11. Yes, you can (probably) still choose to buy a CPU and Mobo that don’t support it but there is zero incentive for manufacturers to make those going forward. Why would Intel or AMD or Gigabyte or whatever make a device that can’t install the OS that the vast majority of their customers will want to use? And Windows 10 will be EOL sooner than later.
Assuming it hasn’t already happened (and it probably has, but I just can’t be bothered to check), there will be no non-TPM 2.0 options in the very near future. And that will extend to whatever hardware Pluton and whatever else require.
Did a quick search on MS Pluton and it seems to be an evolution of TPM and the like to sign OS, Bios, and Software updates. And is largely restricted to the “enterprise” oriented versions of Windows.
Which makes sense. Lock that shit down and charge a premium. Hell, I would wager money that Redhat and Ubuntu will start providing that as an option within the next few years with it being a “requirement” for the core repos before let’s say 2032. It is a genuinely good idea and something you want for any “production” OS. It doesn’t matter for a home user (although, it would be nice) but it is essential when you have sensitive corporate or government data.
But, in terms of media, all I can find are vague “This could happen to you” warnings. Which makes sense.
I can see an argument for passing around the hashes of the most common versions of pirated media (likely putting the burden on the rights holders). That is more or less how google drive and the like detects movies and so forth. But that is easily avoided via repacks/reencodes.
As for scanning the media itself: Very possible and largely what twitch and youtube run on. But that is going to have a computational cost and will pretty much render Windows unusable on laptops or other low power devices.
Not saying it can’t happen, but would be very curious to read some sources. Since it also kind of goes against the MS model of getting private consumers hooked so that corporations have to pay licenses.
And I have no idea how this would detect anything coming from a plex/dlna box. Unless the idea is that ALL videos need to have DRM and signing. At which point, a bunch of parents are going to be mad they can’t watch their kid’s first bowel movement ever again.
Also: At some point you just have to acknowledge you are doing sketchy shit and Windows is not geared toward doing sketchy shit. Maybe you hire a mid-high class escort to come to your Hilton hotel room. You aren’t going to be getting Susie with Meth Mouth to walk through the lobby.
And same here. Ignoring the obvious evangelizing that Linux is finally (mostly) ready to be a desktop OS, it is also incredibly trivial to run a linux server on a pi or an old computer (or even just a container) to handle all this shit. Then just stream via plex or whatever.
As for whether it concerns me? No. I’ve personally reached the point where the only times I will ever be using Windows are for work machines or because the game/software I want does not work in Linux and I REALLY REALLY want it.
Aa for the implications on piracy/“preservation”: I take strong issue with any claims that piracy is about preservation (at best, that is a side effect). But, regardless, the “power pirates” are going to be running a linux box/server/VM anyway. And the average kid today isn’t stockpiling terabytes of mkv files. They are using a streaming service. Or just not bothering because f2p games are just as good (often better) than retail games and youtube/twitch/tiktok/whatever covers entertainment.
Could be, but the rumor of something like this happening had existed since the Vista era.
I don’t think it’s happening mostly because there is no real benefit for Microsoft. IP holders are not hounding Microsoft, and their store market share is inexistent.
I saw that once a while ago on reddit. If you’re pirating you should be hosting it on jellyfin or something then you’ll never even have a chance of Microsoft seeing your data.
I recommend Mint to people. It’s pretty easy to set up and though it’s Ubuntu-based today they’ve got a straight Debian-based edition they’re getting ready to use instead.
Looks like Microsoft Pluton is a newly implemented security chip in some 2022+ processors. Definitely not ideal, but I imagine there are already people working to bypass arising issues.
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