Did yu know that Microsoft's Windows ME can only be installed only so many times before it wont work anymore? This is so you wont use it so many times for your friends in case you all decide to get to gether and go in on a 200$ disk and rip off Bill Gates?

A fellow I know (not a friend) installed it 5 times and that was the kicker for him...Ha Ha Ha... I payed 18$ for SuSE Linux and have played around with it at least 20 times and I dont suspect a mad penguin will ever show up and tell me "Out of bounds!"

Surely since Windows comes on CD(s), the only place that it could possibly store info about how many times it had been installed is the HD? In which case, since your friends HDs won't be the same as yours, how does it know?

If it does store info your HD (which is probably quite likely as Billy Boy does seem to be into all this 'Big Brother' crap), would a low-level (BIOS) format not wipe it?

Couldn't they set it up with the serial number provided only works a certain number of times with the particular packages installed from that CD. Certainly there is a program installed to reject if the serial number is wrong, why couldn't they make it so the serial provided is somehow rejected after the 5th time with that particular CD.

I suppose they could (and appears that they have), but again, surely since the OS is supplied on a CD, they would have no way of writing the data to that CD?

I suppose they could stop you from re-installing so many times, but again what would be the point? A low level fromat of the disk would wipe all info on it, allowing you to re-install from scratch.

Maybe it is an attempt to make microsoft look good by claiming you wont re-install windows again as soon as its installed - cus you cant!

Personal I hate winME, but I have re-installed it on my comp more than a few times.

yeah...i am stupid...i just thought it out even harder and there is no way of possibly limiting the times they could install without a full format or something.
if they could though, its easy to go get another serial number right? how hard can that be.

guys...im just saying...not trying to spread a rumor or anything like that. This guy told me this and I thought the same thing that since there were no cd RW on his system then how in the world could that happen? now...it is a compaq and you know well that the bios is not as low level as many other ones...so...perhaps a flaw could be there?

oh well...

THAT COULD NOT BE TRUE BECAUSE

-Against the law
-impossible to record the number of installs
-the OS is worthless as it is

i dont think that winME has that feature... but here is an article about the next addition to the window$ sh!thole, winXP! this article should help everyone to like micro$oft a litttle less.....

http://www.net-security.org/cgi-bin/.../ns-21343.html

hurrah for mr.gaytes...

That article does link into the topic rather well, and you are right, it will stop me from ever recommending winXP to anyone. The fact that I did buy a copy of winME does not mean that I cannot install it on any other of my computers. Would I really want to pay out around £300 to install to a netwrok of 3 computers?

Just for the record I don't have 3 comps (shame really), and I don't use winME any more because for what I paid for, I have a much better product in Mandrake.

You know, I was sickened to find out that Microsoft would do something like that. But, on a more positive note, it makes linux a far more attractive option for comapnies and home users. How would you like to tweek your processor speed (overclock it) and then find that your brand new windows XP prompts you for a password because it doesnt recognize the new "hardware"? Then, you have to go before the "man" and give a defense as to why microsoft screwed you before they give you a code number...WOW! Big brother!

"By crackey, our windows products are so great and people are just ripping us off...poor us"

is bill on F**KING DRUGS!!!????

what the hell, if i ever spent $200 F**KING dollars on an operating system, i don't think that it is piracy to put it on all of my PRIVATELY OWNED computers damnit!!!

I sure hope i misread that article because that is frickin stupid.

i think bill is on shrooms.

POLL: what type of drug do YOU think he's on?

Personally I don't think he's on shrooms. I think he's got a very valid point. I completely agree with him - ahhhhhhhhhh. Sorry, momentary lapse of reason then!

Let's get this straight:

Presuming you're only using one OS, as this is what MS want.

• You pay a stupid amount of money for a crap OS.
• You upgrade your machine.
• The OS stops working.
• You can't get 'online' in order to apply for a new activation code.
• You therefore must apply by snail.
• MS comes back with 'You naughty boy' and then probably charges you even more!

I can see that there are only a few outcomes:

• People say - 'What the f***?' and refuse to buy Windows XP. They settle for their old faithful 'copy' of 9x.
• People say - 'What the f***?' and refuse to buy Windows XP. Instead they rapidly convert to the superiod Linux (any distro). The whole world is a happier place.
• People say - 'What the f***?' and refuse to buy Windows XP. Stick with their 'old' Windows. MS write code into all their new releases (office?) that make then inopperable withouth XP.

I must admit that I believe the latter is the most likely! It happened with DOS/Win3. MS specifically wrote code in DOS that would give you all sorts of gip should you try to run Lotus software. Likewise, if you were running Dr.Dos, it was near impossible to install Win3!

Just my 10 penneth (=2 cents ).

Oh yeah, I review my comment on his drug of choice. It must be shrooms, he wouldn't dream of actually paying for his drugs - would he? That would lessen his profits!

Hi,
Am I reading this right? yeah, must be shrooms he's on.

Kitty$oft...the OS your cat asks for by name ME...ow


Dallam

Actually i am hearing good things about XP but when i think about it how good can it be? I dont think microsoft will ever be that good to write a good os because they dont have enough people working on it like Linux. Anyways, All I wanna say is Screw Microsoft and dont buy it. Download it from the net and find a serial number for it muhaha.