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Machines ordered without Windows won't necessarily end up running Linux. Many of them could end up running pirated Windows.
by maltalex 5y ago
Machines ordered without Windows won't necessarily end up running Linux. Many of them could end up running pirated Windows.
- judge2020 5y agoHackintoshing is also getting easier (save for amazing battery life) with OpenCore, perhaps a small subset end up doing that.
- thereddaikon 5y agoIt will get easier right up until x86 MacOS is no longer updated and then will immediately become a thing of the past.
- judge2020 5y agoMonterey supports the 2013 Mac Pro and 2014 Mac Mini, so if we can expect only 8 years of actual OS support, we'll probably see 8 more years of OS updates for stuff like the 2020 Intel iMac and Intel Macbook Air & Pro. That's a long while before this becomes a possibility. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212551 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212551
- jagger27 5y agoAs a particularly relevant counter example, the last PowerPC Macs were sold until August 2006. Mac OS X Leopard came out a year later in October 2007 and received its last patch (10.5.8) in August 2009. That's a lot less than 8 years. This is why when the first M1 Macs were announced I immediately sold my 16" i9 MacBook Pro and bought an M1 Air for much less than I sold the Intel machine for.
- GekkePrutser 5y agoYeah while Leopard remained supported with some security updates, you could forget about all the OS update goodness which was still significant back then. I had a PowerBook and it was disappointing how quickly it aged because of this.
- prophesi 5y agoMicrosoft actually offers Windows 10 for free, with some cosmetic restrictions until you pay for the license.
- neogodless 5y agoRestrictions: https://windowsreport.com/windows-10-used-without-activation/ https://windowsreport.com/windows-10-used-without-activation...
- vasili111 5y agoCould you please provide information we're I can get that free of Windows?
- beanjuiceII 5y agoyou can download it for free from microsoft, install it and use it no problem. like he said it has limitations until you pay, but you can use it forever without paying
- unethical_ban 5y agoI swapped motherboards recently. Despite /specifically/ getting a Microsoft account, thinking that it would link my account to my licenses and allow for seamless transfer, it seems I need to call into microsoft for them to re-activate my install. So first off, fuck you Microsoft. To the question: I have a watermark in the corner of my screen saying I need to activate, and I am unable to change my desktop background and some other things. Besides that, the OS is functioning normally.
- julianlam 5y agoI haven't used Windows in over a decade now, and this behaviour boggles my mind... Imagine losing access to parts of your OS because you switched hardware around. It's odd because a decade ago I would've probably been fine with it, too.
- pkulak 5y ago
- ksec 5y agoThat is a very good point. Especially when the cost of Windows is priced out explicitly starting at $139. I think the one thing we have ( or should have ) learned. Is the paradox of computing. Bill Gate said all hardware will be free. Because the cost is driven down so quickly. And it will be software that rules the world. That was late 90s and early 00s. And it make sense. Because software development is getting more expensive. It turns out no consumer is willing to paid for software. The vast majority of consumer market wants software to be free. And they are only paying for the product ( both software and hardware ). Most developers were surprised at their iOS copies sold compared to their macOS software. Where iOS had 10x the market size, but only sold less than half of what they did on macOS. That is a 20x difference.
- Tuna-Fish 5y agoThere is no need to pirate windows anymore, there are tons of entirely legit windows 10 pro licenses for sale at <3€.
- maltalex 5y agoThose are the exact pirated copies I was referring to. Or do you really believe that a copy that costs 3 euro can be legit?
- aunty_helen 5y agoIt’s ‘possible’ maybe unlikely at 3€ However there is a license recycling market that buy up unused or reassignable licenses from say software shops that have gone under and still have 100 visual studio licenses etc
- NikolaeVarius 5y agoYes, i want to go legit by paying pirates for, checks notes, buying grey market license keys that could be disabled at any moment
- aunty_helen 5y agoThese aren't pirates, they buy the licenses from defunct business in the same way you would buy an office chair. Checks notes to be arogant And it says here they're entitled to do so.
- novok 5y agoMicrosoft never bothers, and at 3 euro the risk you have that "activate windows" might have a low chance of popping up again is well worth it. Just make sure its not a volume license key and your pretty much good to go. Is it really pirating when all you get is a key and a legal inactivated copy of windows from MSFT's servers says it's legit? I bought an OEM pro key for $15-20, and it works great. Research it a bit more and if you call MSFT support, they go into a loop about how if you typed it in and windows says it's good, it's a legit key from their perspective.
- skinkestek 5y agoYou can get a fully working Windows key for well under $50. I know, I had to get one for my kids. So maybe some are just buying a legal copy at a price that Framework aren't allowed tonsell at. That said, if one isn't stuck in a very Microsoft-centric organization or isn't playing certain Windows-only games, which developer honestly want Windows now that even power management (suspend/resume) seems to work better under Linux?
- anotherhue 5y agoMany laptops come with two. One on either side of the space key.
- skinkestek 5y agoMy wife is out and kids upstairs so I'm reading HN alone in the living room and actually laughed out loud (after first thinking you had replied to the wrong comment).
- stratosgear 5y agoSorry, I still don't get the joke! Can you enlighten me, please?
- OJFord 5y ago'Windows key' 'Key' being alternately the licence key, or found on the keyboard.
- post_from_work 5y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_key https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_key easily confused with the conversation's "Windows key" aka "software license".
- Mikeb85 5y agoDoubt it. First of all, computers with Windows aren't any more expensive than the same model with no OS or Linux. The Framework is niche hardware and honestly, it's doubtful non-developers would ever hear about it. Odds are it's something Linux users are seeking out.
- dagw 5y agoFirst of all, computers with Windows aren't any more expensive than the same model with no OS or Linux. That's not true in this case. Framework charge you the full $140 for Windows Home and $200 if you want Windows Pro.
- Rebelgecko 5y ago>First of all, computers with Windows aren't any more expensive than the same model with no OS or Linux. That's not what Framework's website is telling me. It looks like getting it with Windows costs up to $199 more
- Mikeb85 5y agoStrange considering other OEMs bundle it for the same cost as Linux. Framework's loss or they just don't consider it important?
- unethical_ban 5y agoOr OEMs rip you off by including the Windows price in the no-OS cost.
- pentium166 5y agoI would guess it's a combination of Framework not having the same deal the big OEMs are getting, OEM grift, and based on the price, Framework appears to be selling retail Windows licenses rather than OEM licenses.
- pydry 5y agoOr Microsoft puts subtle, legally deniable pressure on the OEMs. I've never managed to buy the laptop i want without a windows license. Often it's been a PITA to take it off, too, to add insult to extra cost. In the 90s they threw their hands up and said it was nothing to do with them that this kept on happening and it was all a hare brained conspiracy. Until that memo came out and proved otherwise, of course. I can't imagine framework getting the decent OEM bulk windows license deals being as avowedly pro linux as they are.