Tech Quicke and lies about free Windows

[homeap5]

One more thing - breaking EULA/ToS may be not a criminal offence, but using cracks/activators either. And somehow nobody here says they're legal. And, based on some arguments here (Microsoft not sue anyone for using activators, there are videos on YouTube that shows how to use them and MS apparently doesn't care etc.) we should consider them as legal. No, they are not. I still see no difference between using unactivated copy (you don't pay for software) and activators (the same).

 

Law is more than just criminal. All user-company agreements are also protected by law. Companies do not create their own laws, they create contacts, but people who accept that contact must follow rules.

 

[homeap5]

13 minutes ago, angryx said:

he says that you can grab an iso for free from the ms site but not to get an activated one for free

You can download lot of programs for free (that famous "free download"), but using them is another thing. It's just cheaper that way - no box, no cd/DVD/USB, just file that you may download "for free". While installing any software, you must accept EULA and... here your argument about free Windows ends. They don't must write everywhere that Windows is not free - most of people know that (except those who thinks that they discover secret method to get free meal). They write it on website (I quoted it in first post) and inside Windows installer (you must accept that part if you want to continue installing Windows).

 

It's like "do not step on grass" sign - for some people small sign is enough to follow this rule, others needs high electrical fences.

[mr moose]

1 hour ago, Thaldor said:

 

With the word "illegal" I would be careful here. While by the law it is illegal to breach an agreement, it only becomes illegal when charges are pressed.

You are confusing illegal with criminal.    Charges are not pressed in a civil case, you are summonsed to court to answer a legal proceeding started against you for breaching a contract or breaking some part of civil law (country dependent).  Hence why it is considered illegal to breach a contract, not because it is in any way like a criminal act, but because a contract (more accurately in this case a copyright licensing agreement), is a set of legal obligations.

 

Also breach of contract is illegal from the onset whether legal proceedings are brought against you or not, that is why contracts and copyright licensing agreements are legally binding.  If they weren't then pursuing court action would be largely pointless.

[angryx]

15 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

You can download lot of programs for free (that famous "free download"), but using them is another thing. It's just cheaper that way - no box, no cd/DVD/USB, just file that you may download "for free". While installing any software, you must accept EULA and... here your argument about free Windows ends. They don't must write everywhere that Windows is not free - most of people know that (except those who thinks that they discover secret method to get free meal). They write it on website (I quoted it in first post) and inside Windows installer (you must accept that part if you want to continue installing Windows).

 

It's like "do not step on grass" sign - for some people small sign is enough to follow this rule, others needs high electrical fences.

i didn't say you can use it for free, i say you can only download it for free, isn't that is what he's explaining in that video?

[williamcll]

How often have you seen Microsoft taking down unauthorized distributors of windows? 

[homeap5]

13 minutes ago, angryx said:

i didn't say you can use it for free, i say you can only download it for free, isn't that is what he's explaining in that video?

No, this video is not about free download, it is about "free" Windows.

[homeap5]

1 minute ago, williamcll said:

How often have you seen Microsoft taking down unauthorized distributors of windows? 

The same time as taking down users who use activators. They doesn't care so much. Is that makes activators proper method to use Windows?

[mr moose]

11 minutes ago, williamcll said:

How often have you seen Microsoft taking down unauthorized distributors of windows? 

All the time, they have sued several business for misusing refurbishes licenses, they sued an IP once because it was activating windows without license and they have sued several people for selling copies of OEM restore CD's.

 

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/09/20/microsoft_sues_wisconsin_man_again_for_copyright_infringement_again/

https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-microsoft-restore-disc-20180215-story.html

https://www.geekwire.com/2017/microsoft-just-sued-ip-address-windows-office-piracy-claims/

https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/618031/software-reseller-ordered-pay-microsoft-nearly-1m-copyright-case/

 

MS are just not interested in suing individuals who fail to activate.

[Roswell]

9 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

No, this video is not about free download, it is about "free" Windows.

At any point during this insane thread have you thought about the fact that Microsoft literally programmed in the ability to use Windows unactivated after 30 days? It's intended functionality.

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, Vitamanic said:

At any point during this insane thread have you thought about the fact that Microsoft literally programmed in the ability to use Windows unactivated after 30 days? It's intended functionality.

 

As Satya said:  " The operating system is no longer the most important layer for us"

 

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/3/20896908/microsoft-windows-satya-nadella-importance-apps-services-android

 

They don't seem to care about individuals using it past the 30 days, however they still care about mass markets abusing the system.  Which indicates that there is more to it than what we assume. 

[homeap5]

20 minutes ago, Vitamanic said:

At any point during this insane thread have you thought about the fact that Microsoft literally programmed in the ability to use Windows unactivated after 30 days? It's intended functionality.

Microsoft evil plan to take over the world is not what this topic is about.

I may suspect that Microsoft doesn't care about how people use their operating system unless 95% of them use Windows. I am also not Microsoft employee, so this topic is only about spreading false informations on Tech Quickie. I agree that Microsoft doesn't care so much that people uses unactivated (or even pirated) Windows, but that is not why I started this topic. More and more people believe that Windows is freeware because of that videos and that is just not true.

[rcmaehl]

Linus isn't the only media source that tells you that

1. Windows is Free
2. You don't need to activate it to use it

All versions of Windows since 7 or so have been free. You could download them directly from Microsoft at anytime. You're paying for the OS and the license if you pay for a copy.

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

https://www.windowscentral.com/you-do-not-need-activate-windows-10

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-long-can-you-use-windows-10-without-activation

https://www.intowindows.com/how-long-can-you-use-windows-10-without-activation/

https://windowsreport.com/windows-10-used-without-activation/
https://lifehacker.com/the-best-ways-to-get-windows-10-for-free-1837174464

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-get-windows-10-for-free/
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/get-windows-10-free-or-cheap,5717.html

 

 

 OOOOO SPOOKY. I CAN LEGALLY DOWNLOAD WINDOWS 8.1 FOR FREE RIGHT NOW 

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8ISO


Windows is free. It's been free since as long as they've offered digital downloads of ISO files. The Windows License however is not free. These are two different things. This entire thread is arguing semantics and should be locked. Yes, that video has a more questionable title but it's far from the worst LTT has ever done. It is still technically the truth.

[WkdPaul]

* thread cleaned *

 

Please keep this on-topic and avoid insults.

 

 

 

Also, as an on-topic note ;

 

EULAs are legally enforceable in Canada, but fall under "breach of contract", so a civil matter. Meaning that, while illegal, MS would have to file individual civil cases. I highly doubt it's something they're going to do, but the OP is right, in some jurisdictions (I only am aware of Canadian law on that matter), it IS illegal to have an unactivated copy of Windows 10 since you do have to agree with the EULA before the installation (you not liking that answer doesn't mean it's not true, but as I said, they're not going to chase after individuals).

[homeap5]

25 minutes ago, wkdpaul said:

(...) you not liking that answer doesn't mean it's not true (...)

Very well spoken.

 

@rcmaehl: "free download" doesn't mean "free software". Otherwise Photoshop would be free too. And basically 95% of software these days.

[Blue4130]

6 hours ago, EasonIDontKnowAnything said:

And as an entertainer with a relatively big influence, he has a social responsibility to be factual. It's not a hard concept.

No he doesn't. It's rediculous how people will blindly follow someone just because they are "famous". 

[TetraSky]

14 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

"free download" doesn't mean "free software". Otherwise Photoshop would be free too. And basically 95% of software these days.

Except, can you still use Photoshop without any issues once your 7 days trial period expire? I don't think so. Very few softwares would let you do so.
 

But fact of the matter is, Microsoft still lets you use Windows 10 without any real issues when your trial expires, so long as you're willing to live with the watermark and slightly reduced features.
They could've locked the internet access or whatever to force people into paying, but they aren't. Why?
Because they don't care and their EULA is just legal mumbo jumbo that they are required to have to "protect" their assets/IPs if it comes to that.
Of course they won't have a provision in there to say you can use it free of charge, otherwise pirates who use activators would use that clause as their defense argument when caught/sued.

[EasonIDontKnowAnything]

21 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

No he doesn't. It's rediculous how people will blindly follow someone just because they are "famous". 

Yes, yes he does. Just like how other influencers with millions of followers have the social responsibility to not tell their viewers to go out on the street and murder someone, as an extreme example. This is especially true when that someone is perceived to be a sort of authority figure supposedly educated in electronics and software that publishes videos on a YouTube channel dedicated to making videos related to technology.

[Blue4130]

2 minutes ago, EasonIDontKnowAnything said:

Yes, yes he does. Just like how other influencers with millions of followers have the social responsibility to not tell their viewers to go out on the street and murder someone, as an extreme example. This is especially true when that someone is perceived to be a sort of authority figure supposedly educated in electronics and software that publishes videos on a YouTube channel dedicated to making videos related to technology.

I strongly disagree that any person has more social responsibility than another just because they are on TV (or YouTube), but that's just me. If you feel otherwise, so be it. 

[EasonIDontKnowAnything]

6 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

I strongly disagree that any person has more social responsibility than another just because they are on TV (or YouTube), but that's just me. If you feel otherwise, so be it. 

It's not about whether they are on YouTube. It's the fact that they HAVE a following of a large size and is perceived by that following that the person in the video is an authority figure on the issue, or at least the contents of the video itself is a form of authority. Why would they think so? Because the YouTube channel is literally dedicated to explaining technology.

[homeap5]

I think some of you misunderstand concept of "allowing" or "disallowing" something. It's not that Windows is free because their protection is not as annoying as it should be. Protection is protection, terms of use are terms of use. You can use Photoshop and reset Try period every week (if you know how to do that) - so is it Adobe fault that you find a way to use their software for free? And because you can do it - is it legal and Photoshop is free software? Microsoft displays annoying watermark that is the same as "hey, it's not legal copy of Windows, please activate it!". I think it's just more polite than delete all your data (for example) or block your access to the computer. It's not ransomware after all.

 

Microsoft gives everyone possibility to preinstall Windows on any computer and enter serial key / activate later. It's because more and more people build desktop computers for other people, it's part of their job sometimes and it's up to end user if he want to buy license or just format whole drive and install Linux. Anyway - Windows is already installed, so probably many people may choose buy license if everything works "out of the box" (except activation). I think Microsoft is happy because of that. Microsoft gives you lot of possibilities, but all of them should be legal. No matter what you want to think about "why they do not protect Windows more", you can read answer to your question (while installing Windows) - is Windows free. And answer, according to Microsoft, is - NO, it's not freeware, it's not shareware, it's copyrighted software that you can use only with proper license. And no matter how strongly you disagree (you can even stamp your foot very hard, which suppose to change the subjective feeling into objective truth), fact is that Windows is not your software and you're not the person who decides is it legal or not. Microsoft is.

[Tristerin]

Also me:  I haven't paid for Windows....ever.

 

Also also me:  You can disable the watermark, the CPU hogging Windows task that tries to see if you have a key or not, etc all with a simple "0" in place of a "1"

 

Also also also me:  Show me the proof you have, that I personally clicked the EULA acceptance.

 

But in reality me: This thread lol, the espoused morality by human beings is laughable.  ON NOES.

 

And my final closing thoughts:

 

Discussion of Piracy, Windows 10 keys etc is against forum rules, if you do it wrong.  If you do it right, even Linus will talk about it.  (I have threads discussing this exact thing with Linus, and about HIS keys etc)

 

 

[homeap5]

@Tristerin: try sometimes read a little more before answer. I am not talking if you should or should not using Windows activated / unactivated / pirated. I don't care completely, it's not the reason I start this topic. I was only against lies (that Windows is somehow freeware). That's all. If you using Windows and don't pay for it - good for you! At least you don't try to convince everyone that it's proper way allowed (somehow) by Microsoft.

[Sylvie]

seems like this thread is here for you to just reiterate your opinion every time despite the fact that the video is correct. postulating something is right just because you don't know better and haven't done the research doesn't make you right.

[homeap5]

27 minutes ago, Sylvie said:

seems like this thread is here for you to just reiterate your opinion every time despite the fact that the video is correct. postulating something is right just because you don't know better and haven't done the research doesn't make you right.

So everyone who agree with me here are wrong and everyone who agree with you are right? That's interesting point of view. IMO - you should call Microsoft and explain them that their system is no longer commercial software but just freeware/shareware.

 

@Tristerin I don't even try to understand what you're talking about. But if you understand yourself - good for you.

[Sylvie]

5 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

So everyone who agree with me here are wrong and everyone who agree with you are right? That's interesting point of view. IMO - you should call Microsoft and explain them that their system is no longer commercial software but just freeware/shareware.

alternatively, i can just watch this thread and eat popcorn.