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How to get people who installed a leaked build to stop using that build?

blogs.msdn.microsoft.com

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Re: How to get people who installed a leaked build to stop using that build?

#2

Post by kazinator »

How about: have a really cheesy wallpapers in the pre-release builds which conveys the message (perhaps with explicit text right in the wallpaper image) that this is not a released build. Also, how about making not-released builds simply expire. The build should know that nobody ought to run it past a certain date. (If such operation is needed internally, it can be rigged with an extension mechanism built into the expiry.)

Re: How to get people who installed a leaked build to stop using that build?

#4

Post by failedPatch_002 » 

  Change the wallpaper.
Oh, I thought it was going to be:

  Prevent users from disabling automatic
  updates, and require persistent internet
  connections, and then deploy updates 
  every 7 days, so that users lose 10 or
  maybe 20 hours a week, waiting for failed
  patches to retry, and display ominous
  warning messages like "DO NOT POWER DOWN
  OR UNPLUG YOUR COMPUTER WHILE WE CONSTANTLY 
  WASTE YOUR TIME WITH BULLSHIT."
But I was pleasantly surprised by a different answer! Wow!

Re: How to get people who installed a leaked build to stop using that build?

#5

Post by soylentcola »

kazinator wrote: post #2

How about: have a really cheesy wallpapers in the pre-release builds which conveys the message (perhaps with explicit text right in the wallpaper image) that this is not a released build. Also, how about making not-released builds simply expire. The build should know that nobody ought to run it past a certain date. (If such operation is needed internally, it can be rigged with an extension mechanism built into the ex…

Isn't that the thought behind the watermarks they've had since Win7-ish? I remember messing with beta builds and reading about people using them (again, to avoid paying for it for a bit as mentioned in another comment) and jumping through all sorts of hoops to disable or hide the watermark - aside from buying a license of course.

There's probably a point at which any more effort put into carrots (new features or wallpapers on official builds) and sticks (nag screens, watermarks, expirations, etc on old builds) just becomes more trouble than it's worth.

I like trying out leaked builds of programs or OSes as much as the next bored nerd but I can't imagine ever running something as primary OS on any machine I count on for anything. That stuff is for old computers that aren't being used or VMs.

Re: How to get people who installed a leaked build to stop using that build?

#6

Post by gwbas1c »

Include a remotely-activated kill switch; and kill with plenty of warning.

What do I mean? I no longer use iPhone because I installed a beta iOS. When the official build came out, I kept "checking for updates" but I never got an update. One day, Apple remotely killed my phone.

Manually updating to the production iOS would be fine; but remotely disabling my phone without warning was not acceptable. This is why I refuse to buy an iPhone.

Re: How to get people who installed a leaked build to stop using that build?

#7

Post by radley »

kazinator wrote: post #2

How about: have a really cheesy wallpapers in the pre-release builds which conveys the message (perhaps with explicit text right in the wallpaper image) that this is not a released build. Also, how about making not-released builds simply expire. The build should know that nobody ought to run it past a certain date. (If such operation is needed internally, it can be rigged with an extension mechanism built into the ex…

I think the critical point of their solution is they don't need to negatively affect users to get them to update.

Re: How to get people who installed a leaked build to stop using that build?

#9

Post by jonknee »

gwbas1c wrote: post #6

Include a remotely-activated kill switch; and kill with plenty of warning. What do I mean? I no longer use iPhone because I installed a beta iOS. When the official build came out, I kept "checking for updates" but I never got an update. One day, Apple remotely killed my phone. Manually updating to the production iOS would be fine; but remotely disabling my phone without warning was not acceptable. This is why I refus…

> Manually updating to the production iOS would be fine; but remotely disabling my phone without warning was not acceptable. This is why I refuse to buy an iPhone.

If you're savvy enough to manually upgrade to a beta OS (which comes with tons of warnings) you should be savvy enough to then update to the production release and get all the associated further updates. That's a really bizarre reason to refuse buying an iPhone.

Re: How to get people who installed a leaked build to stop using that build?

#10

Post by tekklloneer »

failedPatch_002 wrote: post #4

Change the wallpaper. Oh, I thought it was going to be: Prevent users from disabling automatic updates, and require persistent internet connections, and then deploy updates every 7 days, so that users lose 10 or maybe 20 hours a week, waiting for failed patches to retry, and display ominous warning messages like "DO NOT POWER DOWN OR UNPLUG YOUR COMPUTER WHILE WE CONSTANTLY WASTE YOUR TIME WITH BULLSHIT." But I was p…

As much as I'm not a fan of the forced automatic update (even on pro), I think your post is extremely mis-representative on multiple levels.
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