Will the addition of a “Black Box” to the next edition of Windows spell a max exodus to Linux, or some other OS?
No.
From the admin/tech support/developer side this could be a really good thing. From the consumer side it’s not going to be a problem as long as you can turn it off.
Slee
As long as I can turn it off I have no problem with it.
I’m a dedicated Windows person, but if there is even the slightest indication that this information could be sent or used without my control or could be used to track copyright violation, I would switch to something else in an instant.
No to sound like a snarky Windows-hater, but I’d be skeptical of them saying that the black box can be easily switched off by the user. Most likely they won’t rigorously test the system with the data collector off, and it will turn out that problems crop up if you aren’t allowing the data to be collected and sent.
Probably won’t convince many Windows users to turn away, though.
Assuming this could be turned off, how would you (as a user) know it’s actually off? I don’t think the non-techie Joe User knows how to run a port sniffer to make sure his PC isn’t secretly sending data back to Redmond…
MS could include Project URL Snooper, with tutorial, in the Longhorn package.
snerk
Reading the article, it seems more like the box will collect data, then if you have an error will specifically request permission to send that data to Redmond. You can also review the data line by line and edit out the parts you don’t want to send. Rather than “turn it off” you just select “no” when it asks to send.
If it works this way, I don’t see a problem at all.
Windows already sends error reports. It asks you if you’d like to send it or not. I don’t see any great problem with this “black box” (which are really orange, and this won’t be either because it’s just software.)
Exactly. This sounds like it’s nothing more than an update of the error reporting software that’s already in Windows XP. If a program crashes, the Error Reporter pops up and requests permission to send an error report to Microsoft. There are buttons marked “Send Error Report” and “Don’t Send Report.” With this new version, I’d set it to not include the contents of any documents, but otherwise I don’t see anything to be concerned about.
I’m far from having any expertise in computer technology ( and I’m not alone as a recent survey on safe surfing for children is concerned) but here we have our Data Protection Act which is meant to safeguard an individual’s rights regarding disclosure of sensitive personal data. Will individuals/businesses/ authorities have the knowledge and technical ability to filter out any personal details held in their databases when sending off data to troubleshoot a problem.
I think there might be a conflict with data protection here. Many businesses are run by one man and a dog but still have to conform to the Act and protect customer’s personal details.
If it causes a mass exodus to Linux, then I’ll eat my hat. Windows is so far ahead in terms of usability and user friendliness that it will take years for the Linux crowd to catch up.
Dunno about that; in terms of actual day-to-day usability (say, editing a text document, browsing the web, sending an email), I can’t see much to recommend Windows over KDE. What is sorely lacking in Linux is ease of application installation and configuration - I know there are supposed to be systems like RPM, YaST etc that ‘do it all for you’, but installing and configuring software on Linux is just a huge pain in the ass.
Most Windows users who try Linux get all the way through installing the OS, fire it up and thnk “Hey, this isn’t half bad!”, then they try to install some additional bit of software, get bogged down in command-line stuff, editing configuration files, setting permissions etc, and it still doesn’t work. Then they format the hard drive and reinstall Windows.
I’m sure Linux could be made every bit as easy as Windows for installing apps and configuring them, but for one thing; the folks doing the developing actually like the command line.
On reflection, maybe that’s what you meant.
That’s exactly the problem with Linux. The people who contribute to the code base exist[ed] in their own little world where nothing else is needed apart from a command line. It’s only recently that Linux’s Window Managers have started to catch up with Windows, and many applications that are commonly used on Linux as an alternative to applications on Windows still look like they’ve been designed by a monkey.
Personally, I’m glad that Microsoft is putting in a black box. I mean, on the day that I finally snap and throw my computer out of a 30-story-high window, well gosh darnit I want to know how fast it’s going when it hits the ground. That’s the kind of lifetime service you get from Microsoft.
what?
Whcih would presumably be red. 
My basic assumption has been that this functionality existed in Windows since '95 at the latest, so this is only new in that they’re publicly announcing it as a feature, rather than hiding it until it gets revealed to the general populace as yet another well-intentioned security flaw. “There’s this neat new feature; only senior programmers should know about it. Oh, and hackers.”
And what if windows decides to turn it back on one day without letting you know? Which is something I would not put past the OS.
Were you in my room for 2 months in 2002? Because that’s exactly what I went through.