Erik Funkenbusch <erik@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 19:44:53 +0100, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
> > __/ [ miroco ] on Tuesday 22 August 2006 18:15 \__
> >
> >> On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:39:41 +0100, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> >>
> >>> | Vista will continue to
> >>> | wipe your master boot record on install. And so begins "The case
> >>> | against installing Windows Vista (volume 658, 943)".
> >>
> >> Why are they such assholes?
> >
> > It's the mantra. They will make it look like it's an innocent mistake. Just
> > as they have been doing with Web standards for so many years.
>
> It's not an innocent mistake, it's very deliberate. And there's a damn
> good reason for it too. Microsoft has no responsibility to maintain the
> proper boot sector for other OS's. Period.
I believe it's illegal in the UK under the Computer Misuse Act although
whether anyone is prepared to risk the funds to test this is debateable.
It's probably illegal elsewhere in the European Community as well.
Doubtless Microsoft consider their market position and/or their bank
balance gives them immunity from prosecution. I wonder what effect a
complaint to the Competition Commissioner of the European Community
would have.
> > Erasing the MBR is the same as erasing a file (purging a pointer to it), The
> > average computer user will never be able to recover it.
>
> Yet you suppose they'll be able to decide to keep their old boot loader,
> and configure it to boot windows as well?
>
> Right.
All they need is a few lines of code to read the existing boot loader
and amend it accordingly.
But perhaps that's beyond the intellectual ability of Microsoft's
coders.
--
Peter
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