whilst attempting to download directX (to see if i could install it on Wine and crack up B&W on my linux box, i was very bored) i came accross a lil "Windows Genuine Advantage" check before i could download it. being a Linux Zealot, this is the first time ive actually seen it, but ive obviously heard lots about it. so, i think, lets see what microsoft makes of a linux box then..... clicketyclick. copy-paste-code. clicketyclick. a few brief moments later.... (this is me, having just passed the Windows Genuine Advantage check, about to d/l directX) et voila. whaddya know, it turns out that linux, using Wine, is an actual genuine copy of windows, according to the WGA checker exe. its at times like this i fear i may have damaged some internal organs after laughing so hard. its not often us linux folk get to have our day against MS, but i suspect you all know what my new desktop is `Zidane (the one who cant stop laughing)
thats easy...... *waves his magic wand and discreetly turns on automatic updates* tadaaaaa, now you get updates without having to do the WGA.... automagically. see, you can do this stuff when you use linux.... rofl
Which now brings up an interesting possibity involving WINE; if WGA recognises that as a true copy of Windows, whats stopping people from writing software that makes ANY copy of Windows get recognised as genuine?
actually Roto, thats a very good point, ive just been talking about it with a freind (im showing everyone i know that screenie, tis too funny). this linux box doesnt have *any* windows stuff on it, i only installed wine a couple of hours ago to see if it could play a windows game, and the first thing i did was go to grab directx. so, if there is no windows components (aside from the api's that wine emulates), just what, exactly, is the checker exe actually checking? cause it sure as hell wont find windows on my box.
Why has this been submitted to /. Its not news! Wine identifys itself as windows 98 hence why it works with windows programs. You can also get it to id itself as win2k. Nothing to see here.
Well you can turn off validation in IE and you can download all you want even if your copy isn't legit.
It's news, as there is absolutely no Windows code in WINE, yet Microsoft's "Windows Genuine Advantage" tool (That is written by MS to ensure that all copies of Windows that download from Microsoft's site) still reports that WINE is a "REAL" copy of Windows. So, in other words, the "Windows Genuine Advantage" offers no "Advantage" at all, no matter if your copy of windows is genuine or not.
Any chance of you hosting the image somewhere else? I just see an imageshack 'excessive usage' image.
I'm just waiting for Zidane to pop back online and send me the image - we can host it without any bandwidth problems. This story got slashdotted, and nobody thought to grab it before it died. Sorry about that.
Thanks for the offer, PJ, but as soon as Zidane wakes up and gets online, we'll be hosting the pic on bit-tech. Sorry for lack of picture - we'll get you back to our scheduled programming as soon as possible!