China bans Windows 8 from Government Computers - Polidicks

[quote]The Chinese government has officially banned Windows 8 from use on all government computers, reports out of the country claim. The Xinhua news agency, one of the government's media mouthpieces, reported that the move was designed to improve security on government computers. Neither the government nor Xinhua explained how the ban would ensure security, Reuters noted. The news comes at a time when animosity between China and the US is high. On Monday, the US charged several Chinese government officials with allegedly hacking networks in the US. China quickly responded by saying that the US has engaged in cyberespionage and cried foul on the charges. The decision to nix Microsoft's operating system on government computers was made last week, Reuters reports, so it didn't relate to Monday's charges. For Microsoft, the ban is just the latest in a long line of issues the company has faced in China. Microsoft has long accused China of being a center of Windows piracy. In July 2012, Microsoft accused nine Chinese computer resellers of running unlicensed software ahead of the launch of Windows 8. The company has also tried working with the government to ease the effect of illegal copying, but those efforts have yet to bear fruit.[/quote] [url=http://www.cnet.com/news/china-bans-windows-8-from-government-computers/]CNET[/url]

its okay china you could just say its shit.

If I ran a country I would also ban Winblows H8 from all government computers, but it would be for a different reason. [B]Edit:[/B] Well temporarily until the next big update comes out that supposedly brings the start menu back and puts the app crap in windowed boxes where it belongs.

[quote]nix Microsoft's operating system[/quote] I can't tell if that's a very subtle joke or not.

I was told Window 8 was a very secure OS (more secure than 7) despite it receiving a lot of hate for having harder to reach advanced security settings.

It's ok, they didn't ban 8.1.

[QUOTE=Duplolas;44860897]I was told Window 8 was a very secure OS (more secure than 7) despite it receiving a lot of hate for having harder to reach advanced security settings.[/QUOTE] the thing is, in light of prism, other countries cannot trust american software. microsoft is legally required to put backdoors in their software, and im guessing china is near the top on the list of countries america wants to spy on.

-okay we're not doing this-

lets not start with the whole windows 8 start bollocks, it gets boring very fucking quickly. please.

[QUOTE=Nasal_Spray;44860876]If I ran a country I would also ban Winblows H8 from all government computers, but it would be for a different reason.[/QUOTE] LOL Micro$oft!!! I've been using Windows 8 for about a month now and I like it more than Windows 7.

[QUOTE=supersnail11;44861361]LOL Micro$oft!!! I've been using Windows 8 for about a month now and I like it more than Windows 7.[/QUOTE] Doesn't stop Microsoft being, overall, a shit company

[QUOTE=djjkxbox360;44861431]Doesn't stop Microsoft being, overall, a shit company[/QUOTE] well eventually linux will take over because of steam pushing it on developers to support it. Honestly at the rate it's going I could see linux being the next big operating system in less than 5 years.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox360;44861431]Doesn't stop Microsoft being, overall, a shit company[/QUOTE] Compared to tons of other huge companies, they're relatively good these days.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox360;44861431]Doesn't stop Microsoft being, overall, a shit company[/QUOTE] yeah dude can't wait for linux to rise up and dominate the market!!! open source!

good, we should do the same. i know the fbi uses redhat but but windows has to many issues like 0days etc to worry about.

[QUOTE=endorphinsam;44861451]well eventually linux will take over because of steam pushing it on developers to support it. Honestly at the rate it's going I could see linux being the next big operating system in less than 5 years.[/QUOTE] very optimistic [editline]20th May 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Johnny Guitar;44861561]yeah dude can't wait for linux to rise up and dominate the market!!! open source![/QUOTE] [img]http://facepunch.com/fp/browser/osx.png[/img]

[QUOTE=Nasal_Spray;44860876]If I ran a country I would also ban Winblows H8 from all government computers, but it would be for a different reason. [B]Edit:[/B] Well temporarily until the next big update comes out that supposedly brings the start menu back and puts the app crap in windowed boxes where it belongs.[/QUOTE] Facepunch doesn't find the "windows 8 sucks" bandwagon cool anymore, you're a bit late. The popular opinion that gives you agree ratings is a different one now.

[QUOTE=.Lain;44861653][img]http://facepunch.com/fp/browser/osx.png[/img][/QUOTE] If you (not you specifically) are an open-source fan, Apple does play along in a good deal, for those questioning why .Lain responded with that. While not still completely open-source, Apple is pretty active in open-source projects. [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_kernel]The kernel OS X and iOS resides on, Darwin[/url], is an example. [url=http://cups.org/]Printing software too[/url]. And arguably one of the most popular web rendering engines, [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebKit]WebKit[/url] (based on KDE's KHTML). [url=https://www.apple.com/opensource/]And of course, a list of assorted projects used by Apple for their works[/url]. [editline]t[/editline] tl;dr [del]Flubbernugget[/del] Lain's right.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox360;44861431]Doesn't stop Microsoft being, overall, a shit company[/QUOTE] Compared to other multi billion companies? I'd say microsoft is actually one of the better overall. As that tier has mining, banks, oil industry and many other industries which are known for being fairly nasty. As to comparing it within the big 3 software giants. Both apple and google compare pretty much equally compared to MS. [QUOTE=Stonecycle;44861868]If you (not you specifically) are an open-source fan, Apple does play along in a good deal, for those questioning why .Lain responded with that. While not still completely open-source, Apple is pretty active in open-source projects. [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_kernel]The kernel OS X and iOS resides on, Darwin[/url], is an example. [url=http://cups.org/]Printing software too[/url]. And arguably one of the most popular web rendering engines, [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebKit]WebKit[/url] (based on KDE's KHTML). [url=https://www.apple.com/opensource/]And of course, a list of assorted projects used by Apple for their works[/url]. [editline]t[/editline] tl;dr [del]Flubbernugget[/del] Lain's right.[/QUOTE] You are aware of the fact that MS is one of the larger contributors to open source as well right? Plus open source by nature in itself isn't good and closed source isn't by nature evil. It's how you use your position.

[QUOTE=wraithcat;44861911] You are aware of the fact that MS is one of the larger contributors to open source as well right? Plus open source by nature in itself isn't good and closed source isn't by nature evil. It's how you use your position.[/QUOTE] where? they don't seem to advertise that fact too well. apple openly contributes to and promotes open source devlopment and i wouldn't say they're using that position in a bad manner; microsoft from what i've seen doesn't typically contribute to projects so much as opening some of their own things [editline]20th May 2014[/editline] also i was mostly referring to the fact that djjkxbox360 was running OS X and johnny guitar made a crack about linux but you're still correct. people that say OS X is like a prison are terribly incorrect seeing as you can tinker with it as you please as with any other BSD based system [URL]http://opensource.apple.com/[/URL]

[QUOTE=.Lain;44861942]where? they don't seem to advertise that fact too well[/QUOTE] They were among the top 15 or so corporate contributors to the linux kernel in 2012, probably hasn't changed much. Not to mention they contribute a lot to samba and a lot of other, one could say, core open source projects as well. Keep in mind that MS is a huge company and the consumer side of their business isn't the biggest one. They want to be certain that stuff like virtualisation, servers and a bunch of other things works as well as possible because it helps their corporate partners. Hence their marketing is generally completely different depending on to who they advertise. They see no reason to push open source on the consumer side, but even so do release a lot of Open source stuff there as well. you also need to consider the fact that a lot of the windows code base is given to unis to use and while not open source, does hold a certain open spirit. Hell they make a lot of fairly open licensing to stuff like the open XML format. As to some MS open source advertising. [url]http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/openness/default.aspx#home[/url]

[URL]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/16/linux_foundation_kernel_report_2013/[/URL] it's great that microsoft are being less and less isolationist since ballmer left. i'm seeing them slowly embrace cross-platform development more but they're still not where i wish they were. i can't foresee microsoft being as successful with their mostly closed platform due to increasing demand from society as a whole, but it's great to see they're beginning to embrace it now more than they ever have in the past

[QUOTE=wraithcat;44861911]Plus open source by nature in itself isn't good and closed source isn't by nature evil. It's how you use your position.[/QUOTE] Closed source software is a security hazard, open source software at least allows you to audit it.

Windows 8 isn't even that bad. Its just people hating on change.

I don't have anything against Windows 8, I just don't like Microsoft's business practices in general, I've used Windows and Microsoft products/software for a long time, it's my opinion I guess, other people have had better experiences. I just find Microsoft seem to rush things and not really listen to their customers

I believe strongly in the philosophy "anything you cant hack, you dont own"; at least with open source I can change it, I can verify the developers claims, I can audit it for backdoors and other nasties, I can learn from it, and more. Security through obscurity is not security at all (closed source) and its a dangerous belief. I'm a huge fan of open source software and hardware for the simple fact that im in control of it and not anyone else.

Ever made an OS so bad that a superpower banned it?

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;44860959]Richard Stallman has great points about Windows 8, it reports more to Microsoft than it's predecessors, including everything you download with IE and a bunch of other things[/QUOTE] Do you have a source on that? Sounds like a very interesting read.

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;44860959]Richard Stallman has great points about Windows 8, it reports more to Microsoft than it's predecessors, including everything you download with IE and a bunch of other things[/QUOTE] I assume you're talking about [url=http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/windows-8-a-certifiable-flop]this[/url], from a very biased organization? That makes huge generalizations (one security flaw that only a local admin can exploit = no security at all, or sending the executable name & hash for anti-virus purposes = spying on you)? Or ignoring that the "kill switch" that lets Microsoft delete applications [i]only applies to applications downloaded from the Windows Store (which is a feature in most app stores, too)?[/i] Yes, great points.

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;44860959]Richard Stallman has great points about Windows 8, it reports more to Microsoft than it's predecessors, including everything you download with IE and a bunch of other things[/QUOTE] Aye, windows 8 started to take md5 sums of downloaded files (namely executable) in order to analyze them against known malicious software. That, and a lot of the other stuff is no different from anything that Google does with android (primarily syncing of settings, browser history and things like that)