[OT] Stipped down version of Windows XP

[theoremtank]

Sorry this is a bit off topic, but I have been hearing small tid-bits about Lawsuites and Microsoft and the possiblitiy of a stripped down operation system. Is it even remotely possible that we will see a stripped down version of Windows XP any time soon? I am so tired of microsofts resource hogging integrated Messengers and Media Players, and other software which I will never use remaining on my hard drive. I believe it should be up to the user to customize what additional applications he/she wants on his machine; what the hell do I need a Movie Maker for? What is everyone's opinion on this subject?

 

[Saracen]

As far as I know the stripped down version to which you are refering will not be available to the public. It will be for OEM use only. This is so computer manufacturers can bundle the software they want to with their systems rather than the ones that MS has included.

For years MS has argued that they couldn't remove certain applications from Windows becasue they were integral to the functioning of the OS. The apps that they were refering to are ones such as Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.

Basically, if a company like Dell wnats to include Netscape or Opera instead of Internet Explorer they will now be able to.

This also means that companies that were struggling becasue no one was buying their products will have a fighting chance. The argument was, why should anyone buy our competeing product when MS is giving it away for free.

With the version of Windows that MS boxes and sells to the public they can still do whatever they want with it because you're buying the entire package from MS and not a third-party.

 

[Leopold]

stripped down version of XP? Why www.indows.com of course!! for $199 you get MS-compatible OS that is 10X more stable than winderz and a free PC!

 

[kenjib]

From what I understand all of that crap will still be there, they're just going to hide the shortcuts and other access to execute the programs if so requested. It will not only be available to OEM manufacturers though. They are also releasing a service pack for other users. However, the half-a**ed way in which they are removing the apps makes it really not worth bothering except from a political standpoint unless you are an OEM vendor.

http://www.cnet.com/software/0-806340-1204-20039834.html

As far as I know all of the files will still be there and it will still be tied into the operating system. They pretty much just hide the file access and that's it.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Sorry this is a bit off topic, but I have been hearing small tid-bits about Lawsuites and Microsoft and the possiblitiy of a stripped down operation system. Is it even remotely possible that we will see a stripped down version of Windows XP any time soon? I am so tired of microsofts resource hogging integrated Messengers and Media Players, and other software which I will never use remaining on my hard drive. I believe it should be up to the user to customize what additional applications he/she wants on his machine; what the hell do I need a Movie Maker for? What is everyone's opinion on this subject?

Start---->Control Panel---->Add/Remove Programs.


Seriously, nobody's forcing you to use Instant Messenger or Media Player, or even windows for that matter...

And with as cheap as hard drives are, is the 4.5 MB that Media Player takes up really making a difference?

 

[Grazzt]

Re: Re: [OT] Stipped down version of Windows XP

Start---->Control Panel---->Add/Remove Programs.

Except MSN messenger is "hidden" in XP. Rather you can't go that route to delete it. As a matter of fact, there are several hidden components that you can safely delete that MS has "hidden" away. Here (for those that dont know) is the way to "unhide" and kill them.

Microsoft didn't want you to be able to remove programs like Windows Messenger. It's installed by default, and it doesn't appear in the Add/Remove Program applet in control panel.

You can force the issue by editing the SYSOC.INF file, located in C:\Windows [or your Windows Directory]\inf folder. Open it in Notepad.

Under the [Components] heading, you'll see a whole bunch of parameters for various Windows applets. Some off them contain the word "Hide". Those particular programs, which include Windows Messenger (msmsgs), Terminal Server, PinBall, and others, are installed on your XP system, but their entries are hidden from Add/Remove Dialog.

To remove Windows Messenger, edit Hide out of the line that reads:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

So that it looks like this:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,7

Save the file, close it and open Add/Remove Program Applet. Click on Windows Components button and you'll see Windows Messenger listed. Uncheck it and click Next to purge that program from your system.


And in case you kill messenger from your system and happen to use Outlook or Outlook Express as your mail client, this greatly slows down the opening process of said program (for some users). Here is how you fix that:

Users who experience a slow down will find a error in the system error log saying

"The server {FB7199AB-79BF-11D2-8D94-0000F875C541} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout."

The solution this problem. Just Open up regedit (START | RUN | regedit) and do a search in the registry for the string

{FB7199AB-79BF-11D2-8D94-0000F875C541}

Modify the keys InProc32 and LocalServer32 default key to a empty string. After a reboot, Outlook will start up as fast as possible.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Re: Re: Re: [OT] Stipped down version of Windows XP

Except MSN messenger is "hidden" in XP. Rather you can't go that route to delete it. As a matter of fact, there are several hidden components that you can safely delete that MS has "hidden" away. Here (for those that dont know) is the way to "unhide" and kill them.

Okay, I guess you're right on that point...but still, on my XP box Messenger takes up a whopping 1.28 MB of space. I really don't see the problem with that.

 

[Tharkun]

True MS doesn't have a gun to your head but even with having a 40 or 20 GB HD I think some people see the point in the fact of "if I won't use a program why should I have it on my computer?"

Many little programs is the same thing as a big program, besides there are many programs that are much better than Microsofts anyway.

 

[drothgery]

Because of the way Microsoft builds a lot of the apps that can now be 'hidden' (as of Win2K SP3, already released, or WinXP SP1, which should be out very soon), IE, Windows Messenger, Windows Media Player, and the like all 'bring along' a lot of stuff that other programs can use.

So if I want to display HTML in my program, I can just use the IE rendering engine to do it. And I know that you've got IE, because you're running Windows 98 or later. Etc.

So it's not really all that practical to remove these things; that makes for more work for developers.

 

[Grazzt]

Re: Re: Re: Re: [OT] Stipped down version of Windows XP

Okay, I guess you're right on that point...but still, on my XP box Messenger takes up a whopping 1.28 MB of space. I really don't see the problem with that.

Me neither. Hell, I use MSN messenger now. I used to use ICQ all the time (I was one of their first peeps and my ICQ number was really low, like 4 digits)...but after ICQ went to ads and pop ups and just basically became crap (my opinion) I switched to MSN messenger.