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Windows XP source code has leaked

gizmodo.com.au

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Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#141

Post by unnouinceput »

segfaultbuserr wrote: post #70
mindfulhack wrote: post #31

My immediate thought is whether researchers or investigative journalists will find cold hard US government backdoors. This is potentially big.

If it really does exist, the backdoor can simply be inserted during the last-minute compile before release. It would be invisible in the code repository, the vast majority of internal developers at Microsoft won't even see anything unusual. Also, I heard anecdotes that Microsoft already allowed governments to audit the source code of Windows under NDA on multiple occasions in the past. But if you cannot guarantee the…

And that's why modern compilers won't have that. It was exactly so the same source, even compiled a second later, it will generate different binary file.

I hate it. It was so easy in DOS era - same source, same binary file, easy peasy.

Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#142

Post by m463 »

pizza234 wrote: post #116
matthewmacleod wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nostalgia is, it seems, a hell of a drug.

I personally tried to use Windows XP (for my Windows systems, which is mostly VMs nowadays) for as long as I could. First, it was the first solid (in relative terms) consumer operating system from MS. Second, it was lightweight (in relative terms) in terms of UX and, somewhat consequently, engineering. With Windows Vista (but in particular, Windows 8), MS started to add complexity on every layer. Nowadays, I'm really…

I think a lot of people have sort of backed their chair away from the table like you.

I remember reading Matt Ridley's The Rational Optimist and it talked about trade. Basically it said with trust, trade is unlimited.

But what's been happening with computers and software is that trust been going downhill so quickly that many people don't install anything ever anymore. Privacy, dark patterns, monetization, form over function, qa by customer, and just a general lack of empathy, respect and common sense.

It's a shame.

Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#143

Post by unnouinceput »

etaioinshrdlu wrote: post #39
wheresmycraisin wrote: post #12

> Would you believe more than 1% of computers worldwide are still using Windows XP? Probably higher -- XP is still popular in China and supported by third party companies there.

What's the demographic that's using XP in China? I find this super interesting...

You'd be surprised how many KIOSK's out there are running XP under the hood. Especially ATM's.

Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#144

Post by memsom »

buran77 wrote: post #106
cblconfederate wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i think the consensus is that windows 95, XP, 7 were the least troublesome versions. I still think 7 > 10

The humorous but not wrong "consensus" was that you always had to skip a version. In this case 95 > not 98 > 98SE > not Me > XP (this was a bit of a departure because it was a successor to both the 9x and the NT lines) > not Vista > Win 7. And both XP and Win 7 were criticized at the beginning because they had to compete with very solid predecessors, and because they came with plenty of teething problems even if they…

Yet, NT4 -> W2K -> XP.... strange how the consumer degraded but the business was a real progression. I was using NT4 at my first job in 98, through till 2000 became more wide spread. Win2000 was a step up, but the driver support (IIRC) could be a bit spotty. But overall it was great. Then XP came a long and added Crayola UI and Zip folder access. It took me a lot longer to move to XP, and when I did I would always go to Control Panel and turn off the dreadful UI and make it go back to using the classic desktop style. But XP stayed relevant right up till 2013 when I changed jobs and no longer needed to use VMs as much... even then there was still one VM I needed to use that was supplied by head office. So XP for me was still in use when they EOL'd it, though only to run a legacy simulation in a VM.

Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#145

Post by unnouinceput »

toyg wrote: post #118
dx034 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always a good advice but I wouldn't worry about MSFT going after downloaders of Windows XP source code. If it was about Windows 10 or even Windows 7 then maybe, but I don't think they care much that this is out in the open.

Downloading it would probably not even be a crime, in the same way a journalist getting hold of confidential IP wouldn't be a crime either. They'll go after you only if parts of the code end up surfacing in competing products, or if you belong to the distribution chain that leaked it in the first place. Microsoft is traditionally pretty skilled at dealing with piracy and leaks in more sophisticated ways than "sue the…

You do realize that technically, while you are torrenting, you also distribute, right? Because that's how torrent protocol works.

Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#146

Post by FractalParadigm »

quacksmack wrote: post #16
enjoyyourlife wrote: post #2

https://twitter.com/RoninDey/status/1309275918943301636 https://anonfiles.com/Ffn8u2Yaoa/Microsoft_leaked_source_cod...

Interesting looks like theres also Xbox source code in there? Is that old or new? I don't really keep up with the reversing scene

Having not looked at any of the files yet, I wonder if it's just the changes that were made to WinXP for Xbox-use. IIRC throughout its' history the Xbox OS has just been a modified version of whatever version of Windows Microsoft is pushing at the time, with the OG Xbox being based around WinXP.

I'm very curious to see more come out as the code is picked apart piece by piece, and whether or not it'll confirm my suspicions. I'm also very interested in that Xbox folder, with any luck it'll be time to dust off my old OG Xbox and do some hacking!

Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#147

Post by moonchild »

cellularmitosis wrote: post #32

I'm actually not familiar with the legality of downloading this torrent. Is this considered legal, or is it like stolen goods, where the mere possession is a crime, even lacking evidence of the actual theft? Also, what would be the legality a group of people "maintaining" this code? (developing security patches, etc)

> patches

People did this for the last version of opera that still used its own engine.

Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#148

Post by unnouinceput »

zamalek wrote: post #6

Is this all of it, or just portions like many of the other leaks?

Get it, try to build it, see if you can make your own installer ISO and test it in a virtual machine. Ain't rocket science, just time and if you have it (which I don't) knock yourself out.

Re: Windows XP source code has leaked

#150

Post by mhh__ »

rblatz wrote: post #77
jononor wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The amount of user data collected in Windows 10 for example. Next to no user benefits, just value extracted for Microsoft. Automatic updates on reboot. For example when someone giving a presentation or class has to restart their computer for some reason (quite common in Windows still, or one just ran out of power). Boot up the computer, people waiting impatiently - and then have to wait for 5-30 minutes for the compu…

I go months without needing to reboot windows, and have for over a decade. Typically if I need to reboot it’s due to an update or software that requires a reboot to install.

The bigger issue, I think, I really having to restart just to update minor things i.e. what linux distro needs to restart just to update (the equivalent of) visual studio
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