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Windows goes Open Source?!!

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TaoPhoenix:
I want to add the whole new angle that whenever they quit playing games "slicing and packaging", and certify something as the complete OS, that enters the whole other discussion about NSA backdoors and stuff. Because as long as Windows is Mystery Meat, anything could be in there.

But if it's ever "bit certified", then even if the govts have their back doors, it instead becomes an "intelligence test" to see if the govts can *fool us* with the source right here. It can still happen, but we have some pretty good guys on "our side", so with a wry wink and nod to reality shows, if you put together an "emergency task force" of our "50 best", with a great spread of overlapping specialties, vs the agencies, I bet we could find a back door if it was in there.

Jibz:
Apparently all based on Mark Russinovich saying at a conference that “It’s definitely possible”.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/04/05/open-source-microsoft-windows/

wraith808:
Apparently all based on Mark Russinovich saying at a conference that “It’s definitely possible”.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/04/05/open-source-microsoft-windows/
-Jibz (April 06, 2015, 01:36 AM)
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Well, nevermind then.  I hate when I get duped by stuff like that.

f0dder:
One difference.  .NET was documented.  To program Windows using the API without being left behind you had to get "undocumented Windows" programming books.  Some guy had to sit there for months debugging the OS to see what MS did when they wrote their own programs that they didn't tell us.-MilesAhead (April 05, 2015, 03:11 PM)
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Sorry, but that's bullshit.

Yes, you needed reversed engineering if you wanted to do Really Funky Things - but you never (Win95+, anyway) needed it for normal application programming. The "undocumented Windows" was for people who wanted to do nice applications for the tweaker types who thought they knew what they were doing, for some of the antivirus people, and for (some of) the people who removed copy protections for the enjoyment of y'all.

TaoPhoenix:
Apparently all based on Mark Russinovich saying at a conference that “It’s definitely possible”.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/04/05/open-source-microsoft-windows/
-Jibz (April 06, 2015, 01:36 AM)
--- End quote ---

Well, I need to make lists of "intelligent tech news". Mark R. is very bright - I have no problem with his conference remarks. You can remark anything you like.

It's the TechTimes that first visited the Fish Factory.

Then Forbes also visited the Fish Factory, and found a different breed of herring!

"In some ways Russinovich is being modest. ... So what is the sensible answer to making Windows open source?

It’s very simple: What Complete Madness!

Why? The number one reason is security. Being a closed platform, holes in Windows take time to discover. In fact some of the biggest lie unspotted for years which can lead to panic when they are revealed."

Uh... so ... prepare the "Ultimate Windows Cleanup Expedition", and then "once and for all" put the eyes of the world on Windows! Quit championing security through obscurity like it's anything more than a cheap band aid!

>:(

If push really came to shove, you'd need a Snowden Grade Martyr to grab the code and powerslam the net with it a' la' Johnny Mnemonic. Who cares what level offense it is. If you have over a million copies running in the wild, it will be loose forever.

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