Legal Implications of viewing the Windows code.

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  • Grifter
    Goon * Contests & Events
    • Sep 2001
    • 1296

    #1

    Legal Implications of viewing the Windows code.

    I just figured I would raise the point that, with so much discussion about the leaked Windows code. If you are working on or ever plan to work on an open source project in the future. DO NOT LOOK AT THIS CODE!! And if you do, don't talk about it, not even jokingly. You give Microsoft a reason to say you have used their ideas or code itself in your future endeavors, and as we know...this is bad.

    Just my $0.02
    .: Grifter :.
  • singe
    Member
    • Feb 2004
    • 2

    #2
    Originally posted by Grifter
    I just figured I would raise the point that, with so much discussion about the leaked Windows code. If you are working on or ever plan to work on an open source project in the future. DO NOT LOOK AT THIS CODE!! And if you do, don't talk about it, not even jokingly. You give Microsoft a reason to say you have used their ideas or code itself in your future endeavors, and as we know...this is bad.

    Just my $0.02
    This raises an interesting point. While personally I couldn't care less about this chunk of code, I was wondering the same thing about SCO - by poking about in the Linux guts, would you be leaving yourself open to a similar weakness with regards to open source OS development for Unix varients?

    Comment

    • Joey2cool
      Member
      • Jan 2004
      • 7

      #3
      Originally posted by singe
      I was wondering the same thing about SCO - by poking about in the Linux guts, would you be leaving yourself open to a similar weakness with regards to open source OS development for Unix varients?
      First it would have to be decided if their code was used in linux

      Comment

      • singe
        Member
        • Feb 2004
        • 2

        #4
        Originally posted by Joey2cool
        First it would have to be decided if their code was used in linux
        True, but as you've noted it could be decided that their code was used inappropriately, however silly such a judgement may be. And it's only recently that the damning evidence against SCO has come to light in the public domain - in the early days it was something that I thought about, and I'm probably not alone.

        Comment

        • bascule
          omgpwnies!
          • Jul 2003
          • 1946

          #5
          NT object manager

          I was hoping to get a peek into the internals of the Windows NT object manager, which can be utilized to multiplex more than 64 event object handles simultaneously, a rather silly limitation of WaitForMultipleObjects() and by implecation, the entire Win32 event system. Unfortunately this did not appear to be amoung the leaked code...
          45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B0
          45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B1
          [ redacted ]

          Comment

          • highwizard

            #6
            Originally posted by bascule
            I was hoping to get a peek into the internals of the Windows NT object manager, which can be utilized to multiplex more than 64 event object handles simultaneously, a rather silly limitation of WaitForMultipleObjects() and by implecation, the entire Win32 event system. Unfortunately this did not appear to be amoung the leaked code...

            Coincidence? I think not.

            Comment

            • astcell
              Human Rights Issuer
              • Oct 2001
              • 7512

              #7
              Send the code to the MAC folks, they will enjoy a good laugh.

              Comment

              • Gadsden
                Goon
                • Jul 2002
                • 1241

                #8
                Of course, if GNU code is found in the windows code... that could be interesting..
                Happiness is a belt-fed weapon.

                Comment

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