And just like that, a new generation of hackers was born.
Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
71–80 of 139 posts
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#72Yeah, emulators should switch to Linux, and MS should get lost ;)
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
It really takes away from the good will I might have toward the Nintendo brand. My son wanted the new Zelda game for his wii u. He earned it and we got a download code from Amazon. One week later, Grandma bought him a Nintendo Switch. Guess which downloadable game only works on the Wii U? If we want the same game (downloadable too) for the Switch that will be another $60! When I buy a game on my iPhone 6, it works on…
The little facts you are ignoring is that Wii U and Switch aren't the same hardware, nor do they run the same OS.
What does it matter? You bought a licence to play for example Zelda Breath of the Wild. You should be able to play it on any hardware.
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure why the parent is being downvoted. Perhaps people don't like the read the truth, perhaps they are too young to remember a time of more computational freedom and openness. The majority of "computers" people own are already locked down, and it seems clear that things will only get worse -- hardware is increasingly opaque and designed to do things against the interest of the user (or, to say the least, without…
It's getting downvoted because there will always be open source OS'es that can run open-source emulators. Since all computers are also Turing machines. Dystopian reasoning in the 2 parent comments is slippery-slope fallacy.
Do you remember the days when it was hard to get Linux on a machine? When I started using it a majority of modems didn't have Linux drivers, so your average PC user could not get on the internet with Linux unless they very carefully selected a replacement. Then the same issue repeated itself with WiFi drivers in the following decade.
We are at the mercy of hardware vendors to run open source OSes - they can giveth and they can taketh away.
Imagine a future where most hardware you can buy only loads signed kernels and bootloaders. That's not a totally theoretical outcome. It came pretty close to happening during the Windows 8 cycle.
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#75I guess in 10-20 years we will be telling our grandchildren about the old days, where you can do whatever you want on your computer, limited only the abilities of the hardware* . And they won't believe us. *Simplification, of course.
This really only affects distribution through the Windows Store, correct? I don't anything saying the execution of console emulation software is now impossible on Windows 10. While it is possible this is a slippery slope that leads to the case you are referring to. It's still not clear if it will ever reach that state.
I can only imagine from their apparent course that they'll lock out Win32 apps at some point and only allow installation/execution of software from the Windows store (and maybe some "partners", i.e. some companies that are too big to just lock out, like Valve, although they would probably have to pay a "fee" to have access to the Win10 audience).
Blocking of Win32 apps/apps not from the Windows Store already exists today [0], although who knows how long until it is not "voluntary" anymore. The text in the message from the linked article kind of gives one of the future "reasons" Microsoft will probably use in the future for this kind of shit away ("Limiting installations to apps from the Store helps to keep your PC safe and reliable").
This development presents a VERY slippery slope.
[0]: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/02/windo...
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
I doubt they'll attempt to disable execution of web content based on some "this is probably an emulator" heuristic. On the one hand, that'd instantly be circumvented into negligibility; on the other, the backlash would be epic. I also severely doubt they'll attempt to prevent installation of application binaries from sources other than the Windows store. If anyone were going to be dumb enough to attempt such a move,…
Webcontent is not a free platform. It does not even give you sockets which can interact with arbitrary network services without centralized control (no, websockets don't work because they can't listen, webrtc does not work because it needs rendezvous servers). And neither can it access your own filesystem. It is quite locked down. In a way you get compute cycles, but you don't get access to the machine's full capabil…
webrtc works fine. Rendezvous servers are a minimal cost, they're not involved beyond the setup, and you can run your own fairly easily.
I'd argue it works better than sockets, especially for gaming, since there's no need to mess around with NAT.
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#77I guess in 10-20 years we will be telling our grandchildren about the old days, where you can do whatever you want on your computer, limited only the abilities of the hardware* . And they won't believe us. *Simplification, of course.
I don't follow. There's a store now that sells a subset of software. All other methods still exist. You can still do as you please, including installing another OS. Am I missing the part where they're taking away anything that was possible before?
>All other methods still exist.
Still is the operative word.
When people complained about UEFI preventing people from running their OS of choice, Microsoft mandated that x86 OEMs make it possible for users to unlock their systems.
Fast forward to today, microsoft no longer mandates user control on x86-based systems.
It's a slippery slope I'd rather not ride.
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
The little facts you are ignoring is that Wii U and Switch aren't the same hardware, nor do they run the same OS.
What does it matter? You bought a licence to play for example Zelda Breath of the Wild. You should be able to play it on any hardware.
How do you expect to achieve that, given the technical differences?
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, I've misplaced my receipt for The Legend of Zelda that I bought 30 years ago. Ideally they'd have had an infrastructure in 1986 to manage my ownership of the product in perpetuity across media and distribution channels. But they didn't, so I can either hold on to my feeling of entitlement that Nintendo owes me the virtual console version for free or I can pay $5 to play it on there.
Or you can download an emulator and a rar with all 721 SNES games for free.
I could also sneak into movie theaters to see all my movies for free. It's not stealing, right? I haven't deprived them of a physical product? There's no marginal cost to them to show the movie to one extra person, right? They lose no revenue because I wasn't going to pay to see the movie anyway, right? And movies are terrible right now, aren't they? Everything's a sequel or reboot, there are no more original ideas, right? And the way they show ads before movies now, they have no right to do that after I've already paid for a ticket, do they? And people are always talking in theaters and they never do anything about it, right? And they turn up the air conditioning too high...
I'd really have to be a sucker to pay for movie tickets given all those reasons not to, right? I think I'll still do it, though.
Re: Microsoft formally bans emulators on Xbox, Windows 10 download shops
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
I doubt they'll attempt to disable execution of web content based on some "this is probably an emulator" heuristic. On the one hand, that'd instantly be circumvented into negligibility; on the other, the backlash would be epic. I also severely doubt they'll attempt to prevent installation of application binaries from sources other than the Windows store. If anyone were going to be dumb enough to attempt such a move,…
If people are willing to accept restrictions on what can be obtained or sold on the store (falsely in that name of "safety"), what makes you think they wont accept restrictions on what websites they are allowed to load, or more likely, what website owners are allowed to host?
I don't know. Nuance?