Windows 10 Ameliorated Ordered to cease operations due to LTT video

[Doobeedoo]

Bound to happen. Also it was a bit scuffed functionality wise too. Really you can do that stuff manually with various tool, for de bloat, turn off, remove and control. 

It's true all that should be there for users, hopefully MS may improve that... 

[Trik'Stari]

1 hour ago, TheCoverUp said:

The page dosen't exist anymore so you can't get it for free

I was not aware they had actually ended that program.

3 hours ago, WereCatf said:

But that's irrelevant. Microsoft owns Windows, they can do whatever they want with it. Someone else offering modified Windows for download is piracy, even if it doesn't functionally make much sense.

True, just thought it was worth pointing out there is an alternative, or rather was one, that you could get directly from M$.

 

Kinda sucks they ended that program.

[RejZoR]

3 hours ago, NumLock21 said:

The real reason is the stripped down version, cannot phone home. Microsoft don’t like that, how else are they going to send you targeted ads when they don’t know your shopping habit.

 

 

 

 

Actually, the telemetry is mostly to track crashes, stability and performance issues with OS builds. You kinda need that when you fire 3/4 of your QA team...

[RejZoR]

1 hour ago, rrubberr said:

That's a funny way to say "spying on users."

No, it's literally a reality when you do fire 3/4 of the QA team... You don't fix things ahead of releases, you fix them after the fact. And that's done through Insiders who are external beta testers and telemetry on end consumers, which are external final version testers. So to speak.

[sof006]

I don't think it was LTT's intention to kill a project like this, I think he just wanted to show enthusiasm for something like this. Its a shame Microsoft killed the project but also at the same time can you blame them? Its their OS and they reserve the rights to do this.

[SolarNova]

Yet another perfect example of why you should always host such sites outside of the jurisdiction the country you are in and avoid leaking any information that my track back to you as the operator of the content on the site.

 

That way morally acceptable but illegal sites can stay up without worry.

 

I have to agree though, LTT was a bit to 'open' about 10 Ameliorated. Perhaps they should have omitted specifics about the site and operators of this version of W10.

 

Its the same with the discussion about testing games before you buy. In principle its fine, but u dont go around linking or telling everyone the name of sites in which u can get said games to test. You discuss such ideas, u can show limited  examples, but u dont show or get specific about the parts that are technically illegal otherwise ull end up ruining it for everyone.

[DrMacintosh]

Good, good.

 

The transition away from Windows entirely is almost complete.

[starry]

Some people are just throwing insults at this project without critically thinking about what its for. If youre confused about why it exists, please read this.

 

Why are people concerned about microsoft harvesting their data?

Conversations about who harvests your data and who doesnt is always really weird, because there is usually little evidence for it, but privacy is not currently a right that most countries give, and the cases that do come up that make it clear that data is being harvested makes people wonder how deep it really goes.

Because everything is so proprietary, we can mostly just assume based on what we know. Microsoft probably harvests your data, and uses it for profit, that is what is most likely. There are so many back doors that come to light being built into the things we use, and the terms of service for these things often give up a very large amount of control to the software maker. Things such as Intel management engine exist, and these shady terms of use exist, so its very reasonable to assume that when you use a lot of proprietary software, your privacy is being forfeited as well.

Whether or not people agree with it in terms of service is besides the point, there is a strange culture around accepting them anyways, and that system really needs to be looked at for how easy it is for a person to brush off. Microsoft will say whatever they need to for good PR, so accounts of internal practices are just as trustworthy as the conspiracy theory people throwing around "microsoft did this, google did that" with no real evidence. The reason people talk about these companies this way, is often not because they absolutely know, its because we have enough information about their other practices to reasonably infer that this is the norm in the industry. I think its healthy for people to be skeptical of them for these reasons, and to encourage other people to be skeptical as well.

 

Who is Windows 10 Ameliorated for?

Its for people who are maybe on older hardware, grew up using windows and maybe dont want to spend all that time learning new systems, whose computer gets broken by windows update frequently, and need to run specific things without the hassle of wine and all that junk. It is not a useless project, it is really neat, and I support it fully for the preservation of old hardware that doesnt respond will to all those extra background processes. Having an option with telemetry stripped out is never a bad thing, it allows people who are accustomed to windows and have concerns about personal privacy to continue using it without as much of a worry for their data. Im not saying we have any evidence, Im saying its reasonable to assume that they are profiting from user data and worrying about it is healthy for us as a society.

Having options is never a bad thing, the author(s) of the project clearly wanted it to exist, that shows that its useful to someone, even if you think its stupid.

 

Why would you want a version of windows with less features that is harder to maintain?

Windows updates are not something that everyone finds important, and in some cases it can cause serious problems for the user. Users that are more tech-oriented are the people who will be using this anyways, so maintaining it is not an issue for them. It may be less secure, but I always say that the best antivirus is common sense and lots of backups. There are people who just dont use all of the missing features but also dislike the headaches they bring to the table.

 

Is it linus' fault that it got taken down?

No, he found it really interesting and cool, and made a video about it because he wanted to share. That is completely within character for him, and I think he was genuinely excited to show his viewers. He did not mean any harm towards the project. Its microsoft's fault, they chose to pursue it, which Im perfectly aware is within their legal rights to do, but they are the ones who decided to have it taken down.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kroon]

20 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

I hope the people behind it are anonymous or they will face jail time.

Think they are based in EU where things like this is legal. 

[Nathanpete]

23 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Good, good.

 

The transition away from Windows entirely is almost complete.

Name checks out. 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

20 hours ago, Kroon said:

Think they are based in EU where things like this is legal. 

Mate I wasn't the one who typed that. Quit framing me. This isn't mainstream media. 

[Kroon]

58 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Mate I wasn't the one who typed that. Quit framing me. This isn't mainstream media. 

 

I'm so sorry, did't realise and no clue how that could happen!  All I can do is admit my wrongdoing and apologise. 

 

Again sorry!!

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

1 hour ago, Kroon said:

 

I'm so sorry, did't realise and no clue how that could happen!  All I can do is admit my wrongdoing and apologise. 

 

Again sorry!!

At least you are willing to apologize. One step up mainstream media.

[ewitte]

On 9/5/2020 at 7:23 PM, emosun said:

They don't care bout a few pirated copies , they care about 500,000 pirated copies

Seems they mostly care about market share and possibly removal of their spyware.  You can still find a windows 7 key off a dead landfill computer and it will let you install windows 10 for free directly from Microsoft...  Even if its been used 100 times.

[Sauron]

On 9/6/2020 at 2:07 AM, emosun said:

None of the links work so there goes that whole project flushed down the toilet.

Considering the DIY guide is still available and they can't shut down the torrents I'd say this is a minor problem

[GoodBytes]

Welp, I expected this.

The moment Linus said that they removed the activation, I said to myself, "they went to far, won't last long"

I strongly believe if they didn't remove it, then Microsoft would have not done anything. We have seen that this version of Windows 10 is extremely inconvenient, and I would just use Linux distro at this point.

 

[StDragon]

MS Windows isn't open source. MS 100% controls that platform. It's in the EULA.

 

What I suspect going forward will be a re-coding of the OS that includes file signing with a checksum for (anti-malware) purposes while at the same time preventing 3rd party apps/support from butchering the OS in a way that MS disavows. In a way, they already do with Windows Secure Boot, but I suspect this will be more enforced.

[GoodBytes]

8 minutes ago, StDragon said:

MS Windows isn't open source. MS 100% controls that platform. It's in the EULA.

 

What I suspect going forward will be a re-coding of the OS that includes file signing with a checksum for (anti-malware) purposes while at the same time preventing 3rd party apps/support from butchering the OS in a way that MS disavows. In a way, they already do with Windows Secure Boot, but I suspect this will be more enforced.

It is isn't "Windows Secure Boot", it is "Secure Boot", part of UEFI specs. Some Linux distro, like Ubuntu, use it to secure it's own boot manager system. 

[WkdPaul]

* Thread cleaned *

 

Please do not post links to the ISO, this falls into the forum's piracy rule (regardless of what is posted on the YT channel) ;

Quote

Any discussion on how to engage in piracy is not allowed, including the discussion of hacking or cracking.

• Discussion of piracy in general is acceptable (e.g. "Game X becomes the most pirated game ever").
• Hackintosh discussion is permitted.
• Redistribution of copyrighted software, including links to third party hosting sites, is not permitted.

 

[SansVarnic]

"hours after the video was posted"

 

Lets use some common sense here and a proper understanding of how the legal process works.

A cease and desist order must be signed off by or approved by a Judge or an Adjutant. This is a multi-stage process that can take days to weeks to get. NOT Hours.

Thusly Microsoft was already in the process of issuing this to those responsible prior to LTT's video.  This was not Linus, LMG or LTT's fault. In order for Linus to be implicated in any of this Microsoft had to have an insight to LTT making and posting this before hand... well before and listing them in the order as a source.

 

If a cease and desist was issue by Microsoft' lawyers without the due process then Microsoft screwed up, big. And I doubt Microsoft is ignorant to the process.

[dalekphalm]

3 minutes ago, SansVarnic said:

"hours after the video was posted"

 

Lets use some common sense here and a proper understanding of how the legal process works.

A cease and desist order must be signed off by or approved by a Judge or an Adjutant. This is a multi-stage process that can take days to weeks to get. NOT Hours.

Thusly Microsoft was already in the process of issuing this to those responsible prior to LTT's video.  This was not Linus, LMG or LTT's fault. In order for Linus to be implicated in any of this Microsoft had to have an insight to LTT making and posting this before hand... well before and listing them in the order as a source.

 

If a cease and desist was issue by Microsoft' lawyers without the due process then Microsoft screwed up, big. And I doubt Microsoft is ignorant to the process.

All true.

 

Aside from that, even if it was "LMG's Fault" (and that's how Microsoft learned about it), so what? They didn't do anything wrong (aside from possible irresponsible statements during the video, I haven't finished it so I cannot confirm that). Even if Microsoft saw the LMG video and went "Hey we should take that ISO down", that's on Microsoft, not LMG.

 

Aside from that, I personally wouldn't touch this kind of modified version of Windows, that breaks important core functionality like Updates.

 

Pausing updates for a few months until people vet them? That's one thing, and a totally reasonable position for people to take. Breaking updates so that they are quite literally impossible to run? That's irresponsible, given how many security exploits are discovered in any OS these days - let alone Windows itself.

 

But, that's each users decision and risk to take. If you were gonna do that, you might as well just run Windows 7.

[emosun]

13 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

I personally wouldn't touch this kind of modified version of Windows, that breaks important core functionality like Updates

And i wouldn't mess with a version of windows that had windows updates as that's far more likely to break core functionality lol

[jagdtigger]

6 minutes ago, emosun said:

And i wouldn't mess with a version of windows that had windows updates as that's far more likely to break core functionality lol

Yep, they forcing updates because ppl wasnt installing them. Now they giving incentive to ppl to simply go and "sc delete wuauserv" in an admin prompt  Because installing updates is like russian roulette. Maybe it wont do any harm, maybe it will only break some functions, or soft brick the machine, or simply wipe data (be it files or partitions).......

[Delicieuxz]

13 hours ago, SansVarnic said:

"hours after the video was posted"

 

Lets use some common sense here and a proper understanding of how the legal process works.

A cease and desist order must be signed off by or approved by a Judge or an Adjutant. This is a multi-stage process that can take days to weeks to get. NOT Hours.

Thusly Microsoft was already in the process of issuing this to those responsible prior to LTT's video.  This was not Linus, LMG or LTT's fault. In order for Linus to be implicated in any of this Microsoft had to have an insight to LTT making and posting this before hand... well before and listing them in the order as a source.

 

If a cease and desist was issue by Microsoft' lawyers without the due process then Microsoft screwed up, big. And I doubt Microsoft is ignorant to the process.

There are C&D orders and C&D letters. Microsoft can write and send-out their own C&D letters without government or court involvement.

 

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cease-and-desist.asp

https://www.upcounsel.com/cease-and-desist

 

Though, the OP doesn't make clear which the Win 10 Ameliorated project received. They could have received a C&C letter and reported they've been ordered to stop distributing their modified Windows image.

[Video Beagle]

On 9/5/2020 at 6:22 PM, TetraSky said:

I'm just surprised it happened so quickly after the video. Surely MS was aware of them before... right?

Lots of times, companies will turn a blind eye to something until it gets too big or they get it rubbed in their face, and then they have to take action.