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Microsoft Demands Removal Of Longhorn Images 540

Posted by timothy from the now-there's-a-marketing-move dept.
bonch writes "After the previously reported release of the Longhorn beta at this year's WinHEC, Neowin and other Windows sites are reporting that Microsoft is going around sending legal letters demanding removal of Longhorn Build 5048 screenshots. Paul Thurrott discusses it on his site, stating that Microsoft never told anyone beforehand not to post screenshots of the publicly available beta, and links to the new galleries he has up now. 'Enjoy it while it lasts.'"
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Microsoft Demands Removal Of Longhorn Images More

Microsoft Demands Removal Of Longhorn Images

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  • First Post People Suck (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:52PM (#12363328)
    Maybe Microsoft is afraid Apple will steal some of its features?[1]
    Or perhaps Microsoft just needs more time to cover up what they stole?[2]

    On slightly different note but on topic, did anyone else notice how the Recycle Bin icon's shadow [winsupersite.com] slants left while the text's shadow slants right?

    [1]hahahahahahaaaaahahahaa
    [2]most likely imho

    • Re:First Post People Suck (Score:5, Funny)

      by RealityMogul ( 663835 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:06PM (#12363561)
      Did anyone else notice the translucent plastic effect the Start button has now. Now that's innovation!

    • Re:First Post People Suck (Score:4, Insightful)

      by st3v ( 805783 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:17PM (#12363731)
      "...did anyone else notice how the Recycle Bin icon's shadow slants left while the text's shadow slants right?"

      Is it just me, or is the recycle bin icon also butt ugly? Actually, I think the whole GUI looks terrible. Windows XP/2000 looks nicer than this crap. All these screenshots look like Windows XP SP3 with an ugly skin.

      I don't see how Microsoft could have progressed so little since the release of Windows XP in 2001.

    • Re:First Post People Suck (Score:5, Funny)

      by CokeBear ( 16811 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:43PM (#12364197) Journal
      did anyone else notice how the Recycle Bin icon's shadow slants left while the text's shadow slants right?

      of course it does. recycling is the domain of left leaning hippies, therefore the left leaning recycling bin. Real Men use a trash can.

    • Re:First Post People Suck (Score:5, Informative)

      by Gubbe ( 705219 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @05:02PM (#12364479)
      Looks like it was #1 that was the correct answer:

      "1:07pm
      OK, Microsoft has provided its explanation. What it boils down to is that there may be certain technologies in the Longhorn Developer Preview build for which Microsoft has not filed patent applications, and the confidentiality provisions protect or mitigate the company's filing rights. One of the focus areas of IP protection has been user interface, hence Microsoft cannot permit screenshots of the UI. I was told that Microsoft had left its Media Center user interface unprotected, and that UI has been stolen and replicated in numerous other places. They don't want that to happen to Longhorn."

      From the Thurrott link.

      • Re:First Post People Suck (Score:5, Insightful)

        by guet ( 525509 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @06:15PM (#12365316)
        One of the focus areas of IP protection

        Yeah, because the UI was really the highlight of the features shown, what with the truncated titles, execrable icons from the 1990s, and dreary grey tinge. Lots of new ideas in there.
        ?

        This is a damage limitation exercise because of all the bad press. When even your fan sites are calling it a 'train wreck' any publicity is bad publicity.

      • Re:First Post People Suck (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        B.S. If they have not filed a patent on a "feature" which would otherwise be patentable, then they have the full one year from publication protection afforded to all inventors who publish before filing. So, it looks like Microsoft's "correct" answer is full of shit. And they fully expect the general public's ignorance of IP law to shield them from being caught for their deception.

        It's plain and simple folks. The reason they don't want the pictures to be seen any more widely is because everyone is in a

    • Re:First Post People Suck (Score:5, Funny)

      by elsilver ( 85140 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @05:54PM (#12365105) Homepage
      Actually, this is a case of Microsoft stealing yet another of Apple's features... "the sue the blogger for posting pictures" feature.

      E.

  • Microsoft is pointing fingers wrong way... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by yagu ( 721525 ) <{yayagu} {at} {gmail.com}> on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:53PM (#12363339) Journal

    To me this pretty much looks like Microsoft ran the screenshots up the metaphoric flagpole and didn't like the salutes. Instead of spinning it as beta (which we in the IT community have come to understand, if not respect) and appropriately rough-edged, Microsoft apparently has decided to take the low road and is going to hold its breath until it turns blue (irony). Too bad, the images do suck, but I think Microsoft in its eagerness to prove "me too" for having a cool new OS stumbled mightily this time. Fortunately, having $50B petty cash makes recovery from these inconveniences convenient.

  • Heh... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Moth7 ( 699815 ) <<mike.brownbill> <at> <gmail.com>> on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:53PM (#12363340) Journal
    This has to be my most appropriate experience of the "Nothing to see here, move along" error =)
    • > This has to be my most appropriate experience of the "Nothing to see here, move along" error =)

      So, umm... If Microsoft is so evil, are supposed to go to the web pages and help them get it Slashdotted off the 'net? Or not? Life's so confusing!

  • I bet (Score:5, Insightful)

    by the_skywise ( 189793 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:53PM (#12363342)
    if the reviewers LIKED it, those screen shots could've stayed up...

    • Re:I bet (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ShaniaTwain ( 197446 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:59PM (#12363442) Homepage
      Yeah, or maybe this is just a way to get people to look at them.

      "Dont look at this! This here! Right here, dont look at it!"

      I know I wouldnt have looked if it werent for this story, and now I'm sorry I did.

      • Apple (Score:4, Funny)

        by gandell ( 827178 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:22PM (#12363815)
        Given that the beta GUI is horrid, I've no doubt that MS will improve it...well, then again...look at XP...

        Nevertheless, I really wonder how many of MS' GUI designers actually consider function over pretty colors. Not to be an Apple fanboy (I don't even own a mac), but OSX's GUI seems to have function as well as slickness. I'm anxious to see if Longworn :D will do the same.

        • Re:Apple (Score:3, Interesting)

          by OglinTatas ( 710589 )
          Not to be an Apple fanboy (I don't even own a mac), but OSX's GUI seems to have function as well as slickness

          I am an apple fanboy, after a fashion. (I hated macs until OS X came out, now I like it so much I don't even bother handing out Knoppix CDs to people, I just tell them to get a mac)

          I recall, however that mac OS 10.0 was panned as far as the GUI "look and feel" goes. Most reviewers had the opinion: "the program dock? WTF?" Now I think most agree with you--slick and functional.

          To be fair, wi

    • a new trend (Score:5, Insightful)

      by John Seminal ( 698722 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:18PM (#12363746) Journal
      if the reviewers LIKED it, those screen shots could've stayed up...

      In some ways this is like when a movie is about to be released, but the studio will not let the critics screen the film. If a studio knows their $70,000,000 film sucks that bad, they know better than to let critics screen it. It is time to get the PR people over to yahoo and amazon to leave 5 star reviews.

      Plus, the screen shots MS gave out, there was nothing special there. Nothing secret. Nothing new. If someone did not tell me it was a new Windows, I would have guessed someone got a new wallpaper for their XP machine.

      • Re:a new trend (Score:3, Insightful)

        by mzwaterski ( 802371 )
        Microsoft showed the software to the critics...

        To use your analogy this is like a movie studio getting mad if a movie critic takes screenshots of the movie without permission and shows them to the public.

  • Microsoft again lacks inovation! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:53PM (#12363350)
    Sheesh. Microsoft can't even be original in this -- Apple was way ahead of them.

    Apple rumors aren't considered confirmed until there's been at least one notice from Apple Legal.

  • Phew (Score:2)

    by Sparr0 ( 451780 )
    Thankfully the USofAmerican systems of copyright and trademark laws, as detestable as they may be otherwise, dont give Microsoft any power over when and where people post screenshots of a public beta.
  • At least now Jobs has something valid to complain about MS copying them.

    or was he just psychic?
    • At least now Jobs has something valid to complain about MS copying them.

      Why?

      At least OS-X looks nice. But Longhorn? They took the Fisher-Price interface from XP and made the colors even uglier. Instead of jolly candy-like blue, now they have murky-organic-sludge greenish. I can hardly wait (...to disable the "themes" service).

      And for those who might call me an Apple Fanboy, check my posting history to see how much karma I've lost over the years in just about everything I post that mentions Apple

  • Maybe its for public safety? (Score:5, Funny)

    by ShaniaTwain ( 197446 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:54PM (#12363369) Homepage
    .. Have people been turning to stone?

  • The EULA says don't do it (Score:5, Insightful)

    by winkydink ( 650484 ) * <sv.dude@gmail.com> on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:54PM (#12363372) Homepage Journal
    So, if you do and they then sic the attack-lawyers on you, why are you surprised? Because they didn't do it previously? Guess what? They can pick and choose.

  • NDA? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Ransak ( 548582 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:54PM (#12363378) Homepage Journal
    Did the people that put up these screenshots sign a NDA? If so, I'd love to see it.

    If not, Microsoft is using it's multimillion dollar legal department to bully people into doing/thinking what they want.

    Hold on a minute while I try to not act suprised.

    • Re:NDA? (Score:3, Funny)

      by UWC ( 664779 )
      Maybe there was a click-through EULA you had to Accept before entering the room.

      Or maybe one in very small print taped to the back side of the door and consent consists entirely of walking through the door.

  • I have a better idea... (Score:5, Funny)

    by nother_nix_hacker ( 596961 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:55PM (#12363386)
    ...give a four year old some marker pens (primary colours) and ask them do draw a UI. There's your screenshots. :)

  • Ticking off one of your most unabashedly positive supporters: that's ALWAYS the ticket to success.

  • Great (Score:2, Troll)

    by geomon ( 78680 )
    First Apple sues to get the names of the people who leaked the Tiger release and now Microsoft is shitting all over people posting screenshots of Longhorn.

    It won't be long until every independant source of information in the US is silenced and/or will only be allowed to publish press releases. Yes, companies have a right to protect their intellectual property and trade secrets, but that right is not universal and must always be weighed against the interests of the public's right to know.

    I can't see how th
    • "It won't be long until every independant source of information in the US is silenced and/or will only be allowed to publish press releases."

      This might be a little more insightful if this battle hasn't been raging on for the better part of a decade.

      I honestly don't know when Microsoft became the standard unit for measure of annihilation of something we like.

    • Re:Great (Score:5, Insightful)

      by antibryce ( 124264 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:23PM (#12363822)

      1.) Comparing a leaked copy of the OS to screenshots is silly.
      2.) Apple didn't sue over the leaked copy of Tiger. They watermarked it and caught the guy through technical means.
      3.) I think you seriously need to rethink your definition of "right to know" as it is nothing like what anyone I know uses. See I have a "right to know" MS is dumping toxic waste in my backyard. I don't have a "right to know" anything I want about their unreleased product.

      As for harming MS, if you can't see how these screenshots do that you haven't been reading the critical reviews of it. It has been widely panned as actually managing to make XP's interface look positively sleek and elegant.

  • It would be a shame if apple copied MIcrosoft's style and UI design, once again.

  • I'm not surpised.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anita Coney ( 648748 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:57PM (#12363414) Homepage
    The screen shots I've seen so far have been UTTERLY unimpressive. Essentially XP with a different color scheme. IE 6, Media Player 10, etc, etc, etc.

    It's hard to hype a product when there is so much evidence showing the opposite.

  • Purchase Music? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by NullProg ( 70833 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:57PM (#12363415) Homepage Journal
    Look at the screen shop showing "My Music".
    Now look at the top left explorer bar and see the link that says "Purchase Music".

    Could this be why? Where does the link go? Isn't that illegal in the settlement with the justice dept/EU.

    Just curious,
    Enjoy
    • Probably is illegal (they'd be abusing their monopoly to directly push a monopoly on digital music, rather than indirectly with their media player at the moment), but this could be screenshots of the "US version" and the "EU version" has it removed.

  • Screenshots? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @03:58PM (#12363429)
    Screenshots? Who the hell needs screenshots when you can get the entire operating system [thepiratebay.org] yourself?

  • EULA again (Score:5, Informative)

    by ajaf ( 672235 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:02PM (#12363492) Homepage

    "Apparently, there is a condition in the EULA preventing people from posting screenshots. Nobody saw anything like that."

    http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?Art icleID=46188 [windowsitpro.com]

    • Re:EULA again (Score:3, Interesting)

      by sp5 ( 867987 )
      "Apparently, there is a condition in the EULA preventing people from posting screenshots. Nobody saw anything like that."

      http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?Art icleID=46188

      Is this enforceable? I seem to recall that journalists where permitted to include works that are copyrighted (including screenshots and things of that nature) for the purpose of a review.

      IANAL, but it seems to me that if Microsoft was so worried about people posting screenshots they should have had everyone sign non-d

  • ...forget about the Longhorn screenshots, check the 'use large icons' in your copy of XP display settings, then apply a charcoal gray colour scheme.

    I'm not intending to Microsoft bash here (I'm even happy to use an 's' in their name rather than a '$' sign ;-) but those screenshots don't look different enough from XP for me to even <i>care</i> that they're up on the web.

  • What is Microsoft trying to hide? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mcwop ( 31034 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:03PM (#12363514) Homepage
    Longhorn, looks pretty much the same as current Windows. Wait I think I answered my own question. Microsoft does not people to see the screens because the screens are boring, and unlikely to generate much excitement

    So in Longhorn, can I drag documents onto a button on the taskbar to open it, rather than holding the mouse down waiting for the app to appear?

    • "Longhorn, looks pretty much the same as current Windows."

      Maybe in screenshot form, but not in video form. Watch Billy G's keynote address, they actually show Longhorn in action*. Nobody will be walking down the aisles of CompUSA and confusing Longhorn for XP. To put it another way: If that were Linux running the demo, you'd all be pitching underwear tents. That's not really a new story around here, though.

      (* This is less exciting if you've ever seen OSX.)

    • Re:What is Microsoft trying to hide? (Score:5, Informative)

      by cpeterso ( 19082 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:32PM (#12363973) Homepage

      This Longhorn beta might looks a lot like Windows XP, but Microsoft is probably saving the cool GUI changes until the last beta or RTM milestone. Betas of earlier Windows version did the same thing.
    • "So in Longhorn, can I drag documents onto a button on the task bar to open it, rather than holding the mouse down waiting for the app to appear?"

      There is a (sorta) good reason why this doesn't work currently.

      Drag and drop facilities are per-control. Currently, when you drag drop on to the task bar, Windows shows reports an error and then simply eats the Win API message.

      Windows could pass the message on to the application, but what does that mean exactly? Some applications could have multiple drop target

  • Now that really is funny... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Eminence ( 225397 ) <akbrandt@gmail.TEAcom minus caffeine> on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:03PM (#12363520) Homepage
    ...before it was just a bunch of pathetic screens of what looked like skinned XP, no earthshaking technology, no innovation, nothing. Now, it's a prized intellectual property. Oh, come on...

    Interesting, BTW, how all those car magazines get away with pictures of pre-production prototytpes snapped during their road-tests. Somehow, car manufacturers don't see a problem there.

    Having said that, if he agreed not to do it he shouldn't. Period.

  • $200 for that? I'll wait.

  • Too many lawyers into IT (Score:3, Insightful)

    by what about ( 730877 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:04PM (#12363539) Homepage

    This is going to be the problem in IT, too much legal messing about, both in forms of submarine patents and EULA with incredible conditions.

    From the Blog

    As I mentioned to him in an email, I am a legitimate member of the trade press and would never have agreed to an expensive trip to Seattle if I knew that Microsoft was, for the first time, mysteriously not letting people post photos of a publicly-released Windows build. This is information that would have been helpful weeks ago, not after the fact.

    Honestly, how many of you read fully the EULA that comes with the SW you download ?

    What if at some point a company tells you that you have violated their EULA and demands money ?

    Sadly, the law, does not obey to "common sense" and "by law" you will be obliged to pay...

    Solutions ?, maybe an EULA that is no longer than 25 lines (80 characters each long) ?

  • Where can I find a list of enhancements that are due in Longhorn?

    How about the same for Linux kernel 2.6.12 or distros using it?

    At first glance, and I haven't seen or heard much, it seems that Linux distros will be offering much more?? (ie. Xen, *maybe* Reiser4, interface and X.org enhancements (some of them toys :-))

    Vip
  • They want their meme back!
  • Did anyone notice that there seems to be a move to have a bit of an apple look and feel? Really weird, and doesn't actually look that good.

    One hopes that they have their legions of UI designers doing cool stuff, this is early enough in the process that this may just be a rough mockup.

  • A couple more days for Apple to cram... (Score:5, Funny)

    by chia_monkey ( 593501 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:06PM (#12363571) Journal
    I guess Microsoft is afraid that Apple would snag that oh-so-yummy Longhorn interface. With a couple days 'til Tiger launches, Apple could put in a serious cram session to update the look. Cram Apple, cram!!!

  • TAKE THEM DOWN! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by keyrat rafa ( 856668 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:11PM (#12363642) Homepage
    Don't let them see we haven't changed anything yet!

  • Its obvious... (Score:3, Funny)

    by JustNiz ( 692889 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:15PM (#12363703)
    Microsoft don't want you to realise how little has Lonhghorn has changed from XP until you've bought and installed it.

  • thurrot (Score:5, Funny)

    by whoisshe ( 878220 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:18PM (#12363748) Journal
    to quote Thurrot [on microsoft longhorn]: 'This has the makings of a train wreck.'

    this is perhaps the only thing thurrot has ever written that i've liked.

  • Ha-ha Microsoft (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Enigma_Man ( 756516 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:23PM (#12363825) Homepage
    I already saw it, too late for you.

    -Jesse

  • From the "Don't worry about it" Department (Score:3, Funny)

    by Alcimedes ( 398213 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @04:32PM (#12363977)
    According to Thurrot, MS was afraid someone might try to steal their UI. What a joke. Who the hell goes to Windows to figure out how to design a UI? Hell, if their competition decided to copy the Windows UI, it would only help MS anyway.

  • NOT A BETA, stripped down for driver dev (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dioscaido ( 541037 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @05:18PM (#12364695)
    Build 5048 is not a beta. It is a stripped down version of Longhorn that contains enough of the system framework for hardware developers to being writing their drivers. This is WinHEC, remember?

    Beta is planned for August. The features I work on, and most of the features I've seen in other group's demos, were not merged into this build.

  • Nice Selective Copying (Score:3, Informative)

    by h2d2 ( 876356 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @05:18PM (#12364702) Homepage
    Nope, I'm not talking about MS copying Apple... I'm talking about the submitter, who carefully left out this important point from Thurrott's post:

    "Apparently, there is a condition in the EULA preventing people from posting screenshots."

    You may continue MS bashing now...

  • Microsoft Copies Apple's Bad Ideas (Score:4, Interesting)

    by russotto ( 537200 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @05:20PM (#12364720) Journal
    OK, is it just me, or has Microsoft taken the Apple idea of barely-distinguishable icons for minimize/maximize/close, and made it even worse by making two of them the same color AND made them butt ugly.

    The Motif/Windows Classic version may be butt ugly, but at least they're easily distinguishable and big enough to click easily.

  • Not so much "gone" as "still there." (Score:5, Informative)

    by chefmonkey ( 140671 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @08:25PM (#12366744)
    Or, more accurately, simply commented out of the HTML.

    Shot 1 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 2 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 3 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 4 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 5 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 6 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 7 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 8 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 9 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 10 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 11 [winsupersite.com]
    Shot 12 [winsupersite.com]

    And here is some random text to attempt to satisfy Slashdot's inane content filters. Apparently, it has to be quite a bit of text. I don't know what the average line length is that it requires, but it looks like it's unreasonably high.

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