Windows 8 May Fight Piracy Via the Cloud

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Status
Not open for further replies.
Obviously they will have to have some way with Windows Server to download these kernels and distribute them for enterprise solutions. After all, large networks won't want their bandwidth choked with several hundred machines accessing the internet at once. This is why we have solutions like Windows Update Servers - so an enterprise entity can download an update once from the internet and then distribute it freely to hundreds of machines over a high-speed LAN.

The point? If an enterprise entity will be able to do this, then hackers will come up with a way to build their own pirate servers to distribute kernel updates (and potentially other things special gifts to those that use them). If they don't have such a solution, then they are going to alienate volume licensing customers.
 
If MS is concerned with piracy and want to use a cloud based solution - why don't they just pay Steam for the DRM support in Windows 8.

Steam works great and would provide a steady source of income for Valve & Partners to develop for the PC Platform.

I think it'd be a Win/Win.
 
A few kernel files, we're talking kilobytes of info, will not take hours to download. Only reason someone should be scared of "cloud" is security issue or their ability to make you purchase other "necessary" software to use Windows as a result... or a 3rd reason, you are one of the people they're trying to get rid of
 
if indeed windows 8 is cloud based then it would probably come in two parts, a server edition and a client edition, client edition will be dirt cheap (to compete with android, also deter piracy), MS will provide free limited server service, pay more for extended service, buy a win8 server edition to host your own cloud

imagine an adaptable OS that can be tailored for your needs, kernel will update and purge on the fly to adapt to how your using it, if your playing games then directX will patch on the fly to the kernel and remove services from the kernel that are not required like print spooler, just a step away from software as a service whereby you pay for the features you use rather then for everything, imagine it's like the iPhone and except Apps, you got features.......

heck but what do i know
 
[citation][nom]Anomalyx[/nom]YES!Wtf can the cloud do that my computer can't? It might take 0.188356 seconds longer for my computer to do it locally, but I don't really care. Any extremely processor-intensive task that would actually benefit from cloudage would probably be forced to run locally anyways. It's no more than the latest buzzword designed to con people who don't know what they're doing into buying a technology they don't need.[/citation]

Its just a pathetic attempt at rebranding SaaS.
 
[citation][nom]dargon_supreme[/nom]Windows is very popular because it can be easily cracked... You can get it anywhere. No Windows piracy = end of Windows hegemony.[/citation]

Hey retard, if that was true then linux would be the popular one. Guess what.
 
[citation][nom]Silmarunya[/nom]Erm... no. In developing world markets where piracy is rampant, acceptable and unchecked perhaps, but not in the west. How many large enterprises (the main customers of MS) used pirated software? Next to none. Does average Joe know how he should pirate Windows? No. The small number of people that are both geeky, greedy and irresponsible won't end Windows hegemony.On topic: I'm rather opposed to a cloud based OS. Apart from many obvious benefits, there are security issues. And what about those who lack a fast broadband connection?[/citation]

Windows will die if it is not easily piratable... Which will not happen.

In the enterprise this is a non debate.
 
Storing my profile on MS cloud server is ridiculous. And MS trying to sell its OS to individual as a service is even more ridiculous. I think my next computer upgrade would have to be a Linux instead of Win8.
 
I contend that the best way for MS to beat piracy is to embrace open source techniques. Offer a "free" version of windows that maybe lacks some cool but not essential features and would be supported by the open source community in a MS sponsored forum rather then automatic update. The free version cannot be sold by vendors like dell and hp, nor can it be used in corporate environments. MS gets developers who will work for free fixing bugs and errors to post on the open source forum and can transfer a lot of resources from anti-piracy to other areas because the people who pirate will use the free version as long as it isn't too gimped. Very few home users will switch from a MS supported product to a community supported product so the losses would be minimal.
 
This is one OS that I will skip (just like VIsta).

and if by any chance (windows 9?) and beyond prove to go "cloudy" then Windows 7 might be my LAST M$ OS.

 
I work on a ton of computers with pirated windows XP. In almost every case they have a valid product key on the box, they just lost recovery media or someones brother did some work and was tool lazy to properly reload XP. I think the number of machines running XP without a liscense is less than 3%. The percentage running pirated XP with a valid product key is probably between 10-20%.

Vista made it much easier to correctly reload windows. Any Vista DVD could deteremine the appropriate version to install based on the product key. As a result I've only seen one vista machine running a pirated copy of Vista.

Unfortunately they dropped that novel idea from windows 7. I haven't encountered any windows 7 machines with pirated software yet.
 
All I can say is this could based crap that is supposed to be in Windows 8 had better have a way to turn it off. I personally want my personal information stored on my own computer & not someones cloud network. I I do not care if I can login any where with these new features & have access to my files while away from home. If i want that I will either use a USB drive or something like Dropbox either way it is my choice not theirs. So I do hope this is a feature that can be turned off & not forced upon us.
 
Dunno why they bother. Cracked copies will be up on the torrent sites in no time, and in the meantime genuine users will be inconvenienced. Currently my version of Windows 7 is nagging me every 15 minutes about being non-genuine copy because I simply can't be bothered to phone Microsoft and have it validated again for the third time after changing components (once was an upgrade, the other two times were after lightening ruined my motherboard). I should mention it's a full-price retail copy, not an OEM, specifically because I wanted to be able to change components and reinstall it as often as I liked without hassles. I'm not even sure I'll bother in future when the pirate versions end up being more consumer friendly.
 
With the sound of this, the rest of the world will probably not upgrade to Windows 8 until...2020 or so. It's not that they'd have a computer to run it, but with all the people that are still on dial-up, or slower DSL connections, that will be the reason. Really, I don't see this being much of a success until the whole (or most) of the USA is on a fiber optic network, anyway.
 
All of this is pure speculation and I personally doubt MS will create Windows 8 as a Cloud-based OS i.e. require an INTERNET connection to work. It will more than likely have Cloud features and MAY leverage the Cloud to provide additional benefits to roaming users (again more Enterprise focused features) and use the Cloud to verify authenticity of the license. Not really much different from what is happening now. So no need for many of you to get your panties in a bind...at least not yet.
 
Ugh, I've defended MS and windows from Linux fans in the past and do absolutely love Win 7. But if this turns out to be by any means instrusive and non-transparant... lets just say my loyalty has its limits. Having made the switch recently to console gaming, don't really need windows for that anymore. All that the PC ever does these days is browse the web and act as a HTPC... i'm prtty sure by the time win 8 comes around, Linux support of high-def MKV playback will be improved to the point that I'll feel no pain switching over. Or i'll just stick it all on a NAS and stream via the PS3?

I guess we'll have to wait for specific details before making up my mind on this, but if it smells like something...

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."
 
[citation][nom]ryanb213[/nom]Hey retard, if that was true then linux would be the popular one. Guess what.[/citation]

hey idiot if you haven't notice Linux is free unlike windows there no point in hacking Linux
 
Finally a use for all of those Linux-based thin clients, they can just log into the cloud version of Windows. Why would client software even be necessary? All the user programs, data files, everything on a remote server somewhere protected by a password.

What could possibly go wrong?
 
[citation][nom]Silmarunya[/nom]Erm... no. In developing world markets where piracy is rampant, acceptable and unchecked perhaps[/citation]
So the majority of the world then? The problem is if Microsoft were to make Windows completely unpirateable then everywhere outside North America and Europe would gradually switch over to Linux (along with prolonged periods of sticking with existing versions of Windows that can be easily pirated). The amount Microsoft charges is simply impossibly high for "developing" countries to afford, and if Microsoft were to lower the prices to suit then they'd have to do it for the west as well - thus the whole reason for "starter edition" to exist.

[citation]Does average Joe know how he should pirate Windows?[/citation]
Just about, you don't have to be particularly nerdy to be using a torrent client these days. Those that don't know how will almost certainly have a son, brother (sexist, it's usually a male), or friend that does and can set it up for them - there's generally a computer literate type in every family or peer group that ends up acting as an unpaid tech support guy. Pirate Windows is far more common than you might think, like someone else where said it's often the case that there is a legitimate OEM copy sitting around somewhere but the owner lost the code for it, or had to reinstall too many times.

[citation]And what about those who lack a fast broadband connection?[/citation]You don't need a particularly fast connection, as low as 512kbps is tolerable for downloading an install image if you're patient. It's gotten to the point where if you don't have some sort of connection then your PC is borderline useless now, so most people do by now, and if they don't they almost definitely know someone who does, and can burn a pirate copy of Windows to a disc for them.
 
[citation][nom]malphas[/nom]Dunno why they bother. Cracked copies will be up on the torrent sites in no time, and in the meantime genuine users will be inconvenienced. Currently my version of Windows 7 is nagging me every 15 minutes about being non-genuine copy because I simply can't be bothered to phone Microsoft and have it validated again for the third time after changing components (once was an upgrade, the other two times were after lightening ruined my motherboard). I should mention it's a full-price retail copy, not an OEM, specifically because I wanted to be able to change components and reinstall it as often as I liked without hassles. I'm not even sure I'll bother in future when the pirate versions end up being more consumer friendly.[/citation]

LOL I just changed my GTX260 for a GTX470 yesterday, I had nothing to do since I am running a pirate copy of Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (fully patched minus KB971033).
 
[citation][nom]TommySch[/nom]LOL I just changed my GTX260 for a GTX470 yesterday, I had nothing to do since I am running a pirate copy of Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (fully patched minus KB971033).[/citation]
Exactly. I ran pirate versions of XP for years, skipped Vista for obvious reasons, then decided after using the public beta of Windows 7 I'd fork out for it on the initial discounts to save hassles in the long run, but Microsoft seem to have succeeded in making being a legitimate user more difficult and annoying them just downloading a cracked copy.
 
That means all they need to do is to hack into the cloud server and then they can infect every Windows machines. It does save a lot of time...
 
[citation][nom]dargon_supreme[/nom]Windows is very popular because it can be easily cracked... You can get it anywhere. No Windows piracy = end of Windows hegemony.[/citation]
Whereas Linux is free, doesn't need to be cracked and is also available anywhere and can be installed on anything ... but still doesn't occupy more than 3% of the market.

Your arguement doesn't hold water.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom