Windows Advantage Validation Process On Firefox 283
GraemeDonaldson writes "According to this IE Blog entry, Microsoft seems to be serious about supporting non-IE browsers. Mention is made of a Windows Media Player plugin for Firefox. The Windows Genuine Advantage validation process now works in Firefox too. From the article: 'Basically, customers said "We want to make sure our PCs are running genuine Windows and have access to all the content on the Microsoft Download Center; the experience when we're running a Mozilla browser is not great. Do something about it." Brad's team did. I think that's a good thing for customers.'"
But... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:But... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:But... (Score:2, Funny)
-Peter
Re:But... (Score:2)
AC, the BSA is on its way now. Prepare for your cavity search.
Re:But... (Score:3, Funny)
Dude, torrents are here [mozilla.org]!
Re:But... (Score:5, Funny)
o ---- this is your head
Re:But... (Score:3, Insightful)
This is one of those situations where you really hope the grandparent will develop humor sense some day...
(Note to grammar nazis: I'm not a native english speaker and I'm not sure about the 'will' conjugation in the above sentence. What's wrong?)
The end of the world is coming.... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:The end of the world is coming.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The end of the world is coming.... (Score:5, Funny)
Brrrrrrrrr, cold here (Score:3, Interesting)
Just kidding, I am glad that this is the first positive sign that MS is taking Mozilla seriously.
Although they could have a trick up their sleeve.
First impression of this is positive though
Second impression is that they might break Firefox stuff on purpose to bring people back to IE, but that's the cynic in me.
Re:Brrrrrrrrr, cold here (Score:2)
I think there have been other first positive signs that MS is taking Mozilla seriously...like you know, when MS did research reports to see if FF is a credible threat.
Re:Brrrrrrrrr, cold here (Score:2, Insightful)
Other Options beside windows update (Score:5, Informative)
They've been around for a while now and aren't shady.
You use it just like the regular windows update site.
Supports Mozilla, Opera, AOL & K-Meleon (?)
AutoPatcher XP: http://www.autopatcher.com/ [autopatcher.com]
They provide windows updates every month packaged in
one big executable (Full and Lite versions available)
Available through http, ftp, & bittorrent
Alternatively, you can disrespect MS by using a cracked LegitCheckControl.DLL
Re:Brrrrrrrrr, cold here (Score:3, Insightful)
Before, when IE was the only browser that could be used to update, they didn't really know how many people were using Firefox. Well, I guess they did with microsoft.com and the other sites, so I take that back.
Anywho, my point is this: now they don't have to worry about relying on other surveys to determine how many people are using Firefox. They can work it out themselves and from there, determine the actual threat to their browser base.
Having said al
Re:Brrrrrrrrr, cold here (Score:2)
I was wondering how the update 'update' process would work from within Firefox, then realised that we were all talking about the 'Windows Genuine Advantage' code.
Still, I think my point still stands: the more their sites support other browsers, the more they will begin to see exactly what their market share is like.
Re:Brrrrrrrrr, cold here (Score:2)
We know that Microsoft wants to get into the content distribution [audiogogo.com] business for some time now, to compete with iTunes and Tivo [microsoft.com]. Their current transport of choice is the "Windows Media Video" (WMV) format, which is optimized for streaming (RealVideo competition) while providing built-in copy protection (Apple M4P competition).
So, you have an untapped market out in Linux world, running their crazy independent browsers, and because of that, you can't guara
Windows Updates? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Windows Updates? (Score:2)
Re:Windows Updates? (Score:2)
I've seen the above on several systems with Outlook 2000-2003, regardless of what version of Windows you're running.
Re:Windows Updates? (Score:2, Insightful)
My gf has to have her homepage set to MSN, and any time I see something interesting and scroll-wheel click to send it to a new tab, it loads that page in the current tab as well. I know that it's hard to provide support for everything, but MS is trying a little too hard to
Re:Windows Updates? (Score:5, Insightful)
The slow link response seems to be because IE is generally memory-resident (and smaller) and takes less time to open than Firefox in general (certainly I notice no difference in times between opening a link from Outlook and opening from XChat or whatever), so I'm not convinced this is really an issue of their bias.
The updates use controls that wouldn't go on Firefox because they'd be deemed unsafe (I believe there's a plugin to make them work, I wouldn't recommend it though). The best way for Microsoft to get around this would be to stop relying on a browser at all for Windows Updates, which is basically what they've done by "forcing" Automatic Updates (which isn't browser-based) on in XP SP2.
Yeah but... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Yeah but... (Score:2, Interesting)
Just out of curiosity you understand..
Attention all passengers... (Score:3, Funny)
Good news (Score:3, Interesting)
This can only be good news. Just last night, lack of ability to get downloads easily from Microsoft cost someone else (a small games publisher needing a recent DirectX version) money, as my other half and I gave up on the hassle of downloading from MS, and therefore didn't pay to download the puzzle game in question either. We both have 100% legal installations of Windows on our machines, and she was willing to pay the small asking price for a simple puzzle game she found enjoyable. Everyone lost.
Re:Good news (Score:2)
The windows site wouldn't let me at it, even after pasting the genuine code into their validation box.
Soooo..
1. I went to google
2. Ended up at http://www.softpedia.com/ [softpedia.com]
3. Recieved me a direct link to the file from download.microsoft.com
I don't really see the point for MS to make people jump through hoops just to get a file that is widely mirrored across the intarweb.
long live billware (Score:3, Funny)
Re:long live billware (Score:2)
Very usefull (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Very usefull (Score:2)
Still a way to go before MS's addiction to IE is gone . . .
P
Re:Very usefull (Score:2)
Spyware without IE (Score:2)
I suspect it's the "free" downloads which have the spyware built in. There's a fair amount of them out there from MP3 ripping software to DVD playing. Many of them have achieved a high Google Pagerank for searches for things like "free dvd playing software" so people download them and don't carefully read the EULA for the notice of spyware^K^Kadvertising information collection software.
If they really wanted to improve our experience... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:If they really wanted to improve our experience (Score:3, Insightful)
It's called bargaining. "Oh, they support firefox, so they must not be THAT bad".
Re:If they really wanted to improve our experience (Score:3, Insightful)
"Oh, they support firefox, so they must not be THAT bad".
Not to mention that if no one downloads it they can say "Well, people who don't use open source apps don't want support from Microsoft," and then drop the WMP plugin and use that as an excuse to not support OpenDocument.Re: (Score:2)
Re:If they really wanted to improve our experience (Score:2)
Where? I don't remember seeing this.
Re:If they really wanted to improve our experience (Score:2)
Coming next... (Score:5, Interesting)
I use firefox as much to avoid the heavy-handed control Microsoft and other corporations are trying to exert over how my PC should operate. Just now I'm noticing that macromedia is poping up an icon in my system tray! Hello?, it's a browser plugin. It should only do stuff within the browser!
Re:Coming next... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Coming next... (Score:5, Interesting)
Y'know... (Score:5, Funny)
Nope. I'll bet no-one said anything of the kind. I think it probably went more like this "FFS! f*cking MS doesn't work!" maybe...
Re:Y'know... (Score:4, Funny)
Gawd I hate PR drivel...
Development $ Fine $ (Score:2, Interesting)
OMG OMG The end is near!!! (Score:2, Funny)
Hey! Is that Satan over there ice skating????
j/k Actually, I think this is a really smart move on MSFTs part. They realize that while they have the dominant desktop, many people are beginning to become smarter and make personal choices about what applications they use instead of just accepting whatever MSFT has chosen to provide. If they can make the desktop experience for people who still need Windows, but prefer to use OSS when possible, then great.
I'm not going to care... (Score:3, Interesting)
This machine has 1.25 GiB of RAM. Most of the time when I try to hibernate it -- if I've ever run anything memory-intensive, whether or not it's still open -- I get an "Insufficient resources to complete the API" error, and it doesn't hibernate. (I have about 30 GB of disk free, so that is most certainly not the issue).
There are all sorts of glaring flaws in Windows. Do I really care if I get access to the shit on Windows Update (Ooh, new version of Windows Media Player that probably still won't play oggs without me having to mess with codecs)? Not really. Security updates? Yay, I'll lose my install of Guild Wars, at worse, if someone gets past my firewall and "4dminist4t0r5" (doesn't quite sound like "r00ts", but whatever) it. All my *important* stuff is on the Linux half of this machine, and since Microsoft *still* doesn't have an ext3 filesystem driver, it's safe from the kiddies.
When Windows Update works like emerge, I might consider using it.
Re:I'm not going to care... (Score:3, Insightful)
And I bet it won't play Quicktime files either without having to mess with codecs! Or a bazillion other formats! Your "point" is completely and utterly invalid.
since Microsoft *still* doesn't have an ext3 filesystem driver, it's safe from the kiddies.
That's not MS's job, and there's been an ext2 IFS [fs-driver.org] available for some time now. It's not their fault that you didn't install it.
When Windows Update
Re:I'm not going to care... (Score:3, Insightful)
It isn't Microsoft's responsibility to supply a ext3 file system driver. It's ours (the Linux geeks), and we did. Here it is: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2fsd [sourceforge.net]
If someone can root your box, they can install this driver, so your Linux stuff is not safe from kiddies, never was.
Business as usual (Score:2)
Just your textbook "Embrace and extend"
We really live in interesting times, but I want to be part of it.
I thought I'd be in the front seat by now, but in that damn corporate ladder, I'm still just a step above the guy who sorts the photocopies.
Contact me if you have an offer.
Re:Business as usual (Score:2)
I probably meant Embrace, Extend, Extinguish [wikipedia.org]
And I don't see this action any different that the others.
Critics of Microsoft say the company uses EEE to drive competitors out of business by forcing them to use nonstandard and often purportedly problematic technology that Microsoft controls.
Thanks for the intervention, anonymous straw man.
Don't forget... (Score:2)
This would appear to be the "Embrace" part.
oblig (Score:3, Funny)
Wait a minute, what am I saying?!?
NO NO BAD BAD BAD BAD THOUGHTS!!!!!!
Whee media player! :D (Score:5, Funny)
Boy, I missed those since Netscape 4.
Windows Media Player for Firefox on Linux (Score:2)
Re:Windows Media Player for Firefox on Linux (Score:3, Interesting)
an open source OS. I can't see why it should be an issue porting to linux , after
all , the only difference is in the draw-to-screen API. ANyone know why its
not supported?
Re:Windows Media Player for Firefox on Linux (Score:2)
Probably for the same reason you can't play the 1080p HDTV samples on the WMP site using any other player than WMP10. Or the same reason stand-alone codecs for WMV always lagged WMP releases. Hint: It's not technical. If you want to play a movie, they want you us
Re:Windows Media Player for Firefox on Linux (Score:2)
There isn't a version of Windows Media Player for Linux. The plugin uses the components of the full player (as with most media plugins which aren't restricted to the browser). Basically, since MS haven't made a Windows Media port for Linux, embedding it in a browser is completely impossible. One wonders how hard it would be for them to make one, though (it can't be that far from the OSX version, other than — as you mention — the drawing to screen).
Re:Windows Media Player for Firefox on Linux (Score:2, Funny)
Windows Linux Media Player?
Windows Media Player Linux?
It just doesn't sound good.
Re:Windows Media Player for Firefox on Linux (Score:2)
Either that, or they'd just call it 'Windows Media Player', and put "RedHat/SuSE/Mandrake" version, and distibute it as an RPM only.
If you want to figure out Microsoft branding for alternative OSs, you don't have to go further than the Mac.
From Microsoft.com:
Downloads for Windows Media Player 9 for Mac (OS X):
Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X
Sporting a new brushed steel skin for Apple's newest operating system, this new
Re:Windows Media Player for Firefox on Linux (Score:3, Informative)
Don't want to bother with MPlayer's issues? Xine is available as a package included in most distributions and plays everything that MPlayer does, with the exception of really weird formats. I can't say I've found something that Xine won't play.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
What?? (Score:5, Interesting)
It's about time... (Score:2, Insightful)
Now if both browsers and programmers would adhere to the html standards we might actually get somewhere. I'm tired of testing my website in 3 browsers and seeing three different results :(
gasmonso http://religiousfreaks.com/ [religiousfreaks.com]what about empower? (Score:2)
I installed fake Windows the other day (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, I installed this Windows the other day, had some sort of goofy foot for a start menu, Office didn't install, and I couldn't get any of my games to work. I'm glad now there is a way I can see if I actually have genuine Windows, and not that fake Windows going around.
Zis Windows is not Genuine! (Score:3, Funny)
Customer: 'Ello, I wish to register a complaint.
Owner: We're closin' for lunch.
C: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this Windows what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very store.
O: Oh yes, the, uh, the Redmondian Blue Screen... What's, uh... What's wrong with it?
C: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. It's not Genuine, that's what's wrong with it!
O: No, no. It's, uh... it's a different window manager!
C: Look, matey, I know a non-Genuine Windows when I see one, an
Google pays a dollar for Firefox switchers (Score:5, Interesting)
I have read here [explorerdestroyer.com] that Google is paying a dollar for everyone you can get to switch from IE to Firefox. Is this true? Any Slashdotters acually made any money from this?
I'll be interested to see what Microsoft is going to do in Vista to try to spoil things for Firefox. My guess is even further integration of IE into Windows, and lots of stuff that doesn't even feel like you're using IE will actually be through their browser. Also, they're going to try to get more lock-in on the corporate intranet rather than the public web.
Re:Google pays a dollar for Firefox switchers (Score:4, Interesting)
No signs so far of further IE integration in Vista so far, at least in the most recent public October build. The November one is supposed to be out tomorrow btw. However, beta 2 (due ~January 06) will be much more interesting as it's supposed to take a leap in features. But I still don't believe there's much to fear in this specific area as they have both the DOJ and EU's knife on their throat here since quite a while ago. And they have acted before, not only by forcing them to provide an accessible UI for default browser switching, but also on the Media Player bundle.
Re:Google pays a dollar for Firefox switchers (Score:3, Interesting)
You're not going to get rich quick :)
Re:Google pays a dollar for Firefox switchers (Score:3, Interesting)
If you are already running FireFox it will prompt you to install the Google toolbar into your current install. If you are running anything else, it will prompt you to download a version of FireFox 1.0.7 with the Google toolbar enabled. You make the money after the person has run Firefox with the google toolbar installed.
Amazing... (Score:2)
Mozilla Site Rendering (Score:3, Interesting)
I loaded it on both IE6 [nyud.net] & Firefox(1.0.2) [nyud.net]
Strangely, it renders very differently on the 2 browsers.
It renders much better on IE.
What's the story?
Re:Mozilla Site Rendering (Score:2)
How do I enable it?
When will WGA support Mac OS X? (Score:4, Funny)
LMFAO. I haven't even installed it... (Score:2, Interesting)
Try installing Firefox/Mozilla/Whatever Mozilla-compatible browser you use in a non-standard installation folder (i.e. NOT [root]:\[Program files folder]\Mozilla [Firefox]) and try installing the plugin; it won't even ask you to look for the damn correct directory and blow up in mid-installation. XD
This is why I love Microsoft: Unsurpassable jokes every now and then. =p
Live Services (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft is afraid of people trying others services so they will want to make sure that they build code that is interoperable with other browsers especially now that Firefox has anywhere from 10-25% of the market share.
They can't afford to ignore other browsers now.
Technical details (Score:2)
Re:Technical details (Score:2)
Good thing for the customer (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Good thing for the customer (Score:3, Insightful)
Validation Smalidation... (Score:3, Informative)
We already know validation can be turned off in IE as follows: Go to IE>Tools>Manage Add-ons, find Windows Genuine Validation listed there, and select disable. No more check required, and you can get all your updates.
So how do we turn it off for Firefox? Ironic that I found it easier to turn off in IE, and I haven't yet found how to do it in firefox...
Of course! (Score:2)
Get off your Anti-MS High horses! (Score:5, Insightful)
IEBlog... (Score:3, Interesting)
*ahem* Anyway, remember it's the IE7 team doing the Firefox WMP plugins and such. Yes, the same ones that fixed those nasty guillotine bugs that made web programmers' lifes become a nightmare.
So, yes, I support their cross-browser compatibility effort. Now the only thing that worries me is that windows media DRM that can run remote code on your machine.
Next step (Score:2)
There "download this, then hit refresh" method is a bit wonkey.
So... (Score:3, Insightful)
Genuine Disadvantage (Score:2)
Re:Genuine Disadvantage (Score:3, Informative)
On Linux? (Score:2, Informative)
It is always possible.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Outlook Web Access? (Score:3, Insightful)
The user experience running Word on Linux... (Score:4, Insightful)
I think Microsoft is suffering from terminal Big Company Disease, the situation in which a company loses focus on serving the customer and starts to obey the Three Laws of Necrotics:
1) First Law: hurt the competition. This is more important than anything else.
2) Second Law: don't cannibalize any of your own products, so long as this does not conflict with the First Law.
3) Third Law: Serve the customer, so long as this does not conflict with the First or Second law, and can be done in any spare time left over after dealing with more important priorities
Sigh (Score:3, Funny)
I mean common, there's got to be some hidden motive behind this move, right? M$ is trying to shove its software onto OSS platforms now. OMFG! [/sarcasm]
Re:Holy crap (Score:2)
Steps one and two in place. (Score:5, Insightful)
1) Embrace
2) Extend
3) Extinguish
Steps 1 and 2 are now in place. In this case it's Mozilla/Firefox that gets embraced and extended, but what gets extinguished is open-source media formats.
By making a Mozilla plugin for their media product they reduce the pressure on content providers to supply content in other formats.
Meanwhile, any bets on whether / when use of the plugin starts "accidentally" introducing vulnerabilities into Mozilla that are exploitable during ordinary browsing? (Something like the backdoor {BARNdoor} you install in IE when you APPLY to obtain the full removal tool for Sony's rootkit?) And there goes security, the main driver of migration from IE to Mozilla.
Re:Holy crap (Score:3, Insightful)
I claim BS in this statement. If Microsoft were really interested in a system being patched why are they using the patch system to check for "authenticity"? Microsoft will always be a menace to networking as long as this stance is held. I can see checking authenticity for upgrades or newer products discounts but for critic
Re:3 nasty words.. + one (Score:3, Insightful)
Bingo! (Score:3, Interesting)
Just a moment ago I posted a reply elsewhere in this item. I suggested that installing Microsoft's media player plugin might open a backdoor {BARNdoor} in Mozilla/Firefox (like the one that APPLYING for Sony's rootkit uninstaller opens in IE). This would eliminate the big driver of migration from IE to Mozilla/Firefox: improved security.
I do believe you've
tagline: Mosaic? (Score:4, Informative)