Samsung disabling Windows Update? • Hacker News Board

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#41

Post by rtpg » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:09 AM UTC

nivla wrote: post #13

I don't understand, why is Samsung pulling stunts like this all the time? It would make sense if they were trying to get up the ladder but they are already there, they hold an unquestionably large market share of Android. Things like these won't do any good in the long run but only prompt consumers to actively avoid the brand. Some of the things that really surprises me: [1] http://gizmodo.com/samsung-rigged-the-s4-t…

The simplest explanation is that Samsung has mostly shoddy engineers and designers.

The voice recognition thing is that they outsourced the voice recognition, so are just piping all conversation to them.

The gamepad thing is "oh we need a gamepad, the 360 is popular right"?

the benchmark thing is "our manager wants us to beat these specific benchmarks, let's just overclock for the benchmarks the manager mentioned"

I mean, it doesn't excuse them of course, but I imagine this is mainly a consequence of a lot of people whose job it is to meet their manager's checklist of features, and not caring about the products themselves.

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#42

Post by electic » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:10 AM UTC

crdoconnor wrote: post #29

UnoriginalGuy wrote: post #3

If this is true (and frankly I know for a fact it is, as I just downloaded the linked file containing Disable_Windowsupdate.exe, which is signed by Samsung Electronics CO and downloaded from Samsung's own servers) then Microsoft should pick up the phone and threaten the heck out of Samsung, Microsoft while somewhat neutered by anti-trust still has a great deal of power over OEMs and stuff like this is a perfect time…

Honestly, as a Linux user this kind of makes me chuckle. Microsoft has spent so much time abusing their market dominance, trying to cripple linux on the desktop that it's kind of funny for once to see a company which they can't strong-arm doing the same thing back to them.

Let the past be the past. The new MS is making some good moves. However, this is not MS's fault. When you operate in an OEM type environment, you will run into situations like this.

For example, if OSX was an OEM offering, companies would disable services and make unsavory modifications.

The reality, is like Lenovo, we have a bad vendor here and probably think twice before buying PCs from Samsung.

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#43

Post by darkmighty » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:11 AM UTC

ars wrote: post #35

darkmighty wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the most simple explanation is that they can get away with it without substantial backlash.

Still doesn't explain why. Are you suggesting they are doing it just for fun?

Well the ultimate 'why' is obviously aiming for monetary gain since they are a company, I was referring to a shallower 'why'.

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#44

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:11 AM UTC

ars wrote: post #35

darkmighty wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the most simple explanation is that they can get away with it without substantial backlash.

Still doesn't explain why. Are you suggesting they are doing it just for fun?

[deleted]

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#45

Post by nailer » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:12 AM UTC

ars wrote: post #35

darkmighty wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the most simple explanation is that they can get away with it without substantial backlash.

Still doesn't explain why. Are you suggesting they are doing it just for fun?

They're doing it for money.

They game benchmarks for sales.

They disable windows updates because they can't make USB 3 work with the drivers you get from windows update.

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#46

Post by taspeotis » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:14 AM UTC

imrehg wrote: post #33

firloop wrote: post #5

Meta: I submitted this post with the article's title but it seems the mods have changed the title to something less loaded.

That's weird. I don't think I like that the mods can tone down an article title, when submitters are expected to use the original. If the article title makes a wrong claim, the comments and the voting mechanism will take care of that, does not seem to be the call mods should be making....

> when submitters are expected to use the original

Except for all the cases that they are not expected to use the original [1].

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#47

Post by crdoconnor » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:14 AM UTC

electic wrote: post #42

crdoconnor wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, as a Linux user this kind of makes me chuckle. Microsoft has spent so much time abusing their market dominance, trying to cripple linux on the desktop that it's kind of funny for once to see a company which they can't strong-arm doing the same thing back to them.

Let the past be the past. The new MS is making some good moves. However, this is not MS's fault. When you operate in an OEM type environment, you will run into situations like this. For example, if OSX was an OEM offering, companies would disable services and make unsavory modifications. The reality, is like Lenovo, we have a bad vendor here and probably think twice before buying PCs from Samsung.

Their new PR line is they've changed and they are sorry, but they have certainly NOT changed and they are NOT sorry:

http://techrights.org/2015/05/29/microsoft-vs-india/

Their recent "good moves" (open sourcing .NET, etc.) are simply an attempt to maintain relevance in the face of declining market share. If it results in regained market-share, they will likely bait and switch, and of course, they might as well get some good PR out of it.

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#48

Post by nitramnitram » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:15 AM UTC

Mikeb85 wrote: post #40

To be fair, Windows generally updates itself at the worst times, rendering your computer inoperable for an absurdly long time (a typical Windows update often takes longer than updating to a completely new version of a typical Linux distro). OEMs should just throw their weight behind one of the commercial Linuxes and be done with the madness. They want to compete with Apple and OSX, that's their chance.

Wait a sec.. Apple has like 8% market share for desktops while Windows has ~80%. And Linux has just a few percents.

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#49

Post by geon » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:19 AM UTC

ninkendo wrote: post #37

pilif wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really hard to find the correct middle-ground. Would you prefer if Windows worked like iOS where there are serious limitations on what apps can do in the background and where every application has to go through a central authority for vetting? Or do you propose a solution that gives both freedom to the user while also not allowing something like this to happen? Yes, there are whitelisting solutions (built into t…

> Would you prefer if Windows worked like iOS where there are serious limitations on what apps can do in the background and where every application has to go through a central authority for vetting? I've thought about this for a while, and honestly, for desktops/notebooks/tablets? Yes. Maybe not just one App Store like iOS, but at least sandbox all possible non-os code similarly to ChromeOS, in a way that's on by def…

I like the way OS X handles it. Unsigned software won't run by default, but the user can override the limitation.

Re: Samsung disabling Windows Update?

#50

Post by vxNsr » Wed, Jun 24, 2015, 5:20 AM UTC

Well this is a truly terrifying turn of events, though the most amazing part is that chat agent was any help at all, I was expecting a recommendation that he call the support line or an outright denial. so samsung can at least be commended for giving their staff at least a little training.