“Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, unveiled on Thursday plans to launch a computer subscription service that would include anti-virus and security updates for personal computers,” Reuters reports.
“The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said it would initially distribute the service, called ‘Windows OneCare,’ among its employees this week and would offer a trial, or beta, service for PCs running Windows later this year. Users would pay a yearly subscription fee,” Reuters reports.
The Reuters report also contains this gem, “Apple Computer Ltd., which recently launched a major update to its Macintosh computer operating system, has long offered an anti-virus subscription service for its users.”
MacDailyNews Note: First of all, it’s really Apple Computer Incorporated, not Limited. Second of all, Apple used to offer their .Mac subscribers a free Anti-Virus application called Virex 7.5 from a third party, McAfee Security, much like Apple also once offered a free download of the game Marble Blast. One major difference between the two freebees was that Marble Blast actually did something, however trivial, for the user. There is no such offer for Apple current operating system, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. So, obviously, any actual research by Reuters would have revealed that Apple Computer Inc. has never offered an anti-virus subscription service for its users. Mac OS X has never had a virus, by the way.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: There’s a tried and true name for people that will pay Microsoft for Windows and then pay them extra for some promise of protection: “suckers.” Hate to break it to you this way, but if you’re that stupid, you deserve to use Windows, and only Windows, for the rest of your life.
“A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a powerful organization coerces individuals or businesses to pay ‘protection money’ which allegedly serves to purchase the powerful organization’s protection services against various external threats, whereas the actual threat comes from the powerful organization itself. Those who do not buy into the protection plan are targeted by the powerful organization and are harassed to try to force payment of the protection money.” – Wikipedia
[UPDATE: 1:21pm ET: Added “Mafiasoft” to headline. Thanks, “FromSicily.” Added “MDN Note.” Edited “Related articles” below.]
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Create crappy software and then charge a subscription model for protection from it. Love it!!!
do you think microsoft might start writing viruses that only affect non-subscribers?
then it would be a proper protection racket!
Smells like good old maffia-spirit!
You have to pay for protection or…
don.t mean to burst anyone.s bubble, but doesn.t Apple do the same thing with Virex in .Mac? Sure Virex isn.t NEEDED AT ALL, and .Mac offers many other features, but it still always seemed a little shady to me especially because my mom got suckered into buying it for that protection alone (windows switcher)…
Yeah, because Apple would NEVER offer a subscription service…cough (dot Mac) that included virus protection…cough…cough (Virex.)
The gull of MS, just where do they come up with these ideas?
ummmm…Virex is NO LONGER PART OF .Mac..check your facts…
.Mac v.3 doesn’t bundle Virex — since the release of Tiger, it has been discountinued.
Besides, the virus protection was more to protect our Window’s counterparts..not really for the Mac.
And it won’t be long now before we’ll start hearing from the “objective” media outlets that this is a “good thing”…
Let me get this straight…
Microsoft sells it customers its OS with security holes in it – AND THEN is now gonna charge the same customers for security/anti-virus software via monthly subscription to fill in the holes of the OS that Microsoft should have softed out anyway!!!!
WTF!
WHAT BLOODY CHEEK! – Talk about milk the customer for EVERY RED CENT!
IF Microsoft had actually written a decent OS in the fscking first place customers would never need this other software!!!
I pity anyone who uses Windows because you guys are being taken for a ride by the biggest ripoff merchants of the 20th century and are being screwed big time!!
Get the fsck away from using Microsoft products!!!
Windows users ARE TOTAL MUGS!!
MS makes the virus themselves, leaving holes open in their back door so they can charge for this protection services.
edit said: “Besides, the virus protection was more to protect our Window’s counterparts..not really for the Mac.”
Right. And as MDN said let people stupid enough to buy a Windows machine suffer. I’m not cluttering my Mac with unneccessary software just to protect Windows users from the consequences of their own bad choice.
MW: why Why should I protect them?
Mark as you yourself pointed out .Mac is more than Virex, much more. Your mother did not get suckered into anything. Look at all the benfits of .Mac, seriously. Backup is the most important thing in .Mac. Also Homepage. Not even talking about email, addressbook backup/lookup, bookmark backup/lookup. so many things.
Jefre
now, we have an interesting situation. microsoft as the Don. could have seen THAT coming. after all, microsoft is in dire need of money. and this will result in a “Fix the Symtom” and not the problem. delete viruses instead of fixing IE (for example)… mark my words hehe.
WE ARE MICROSOFT, BEND OVER AND PAY.
Add “thugs” to the list of descriptors for Microsoft.
Copycats, pilferers, philanderer, crooks, thieves, etc….you get the picture.
Ironic that my MW is ‘wanted.’ As in, ‘Microsoft is wanted for high-tech crimes. Reward: Bill Gates’ house.”
Typical Microsoft. Let’s blackmail our users in buying protection against there own software which they have not fixed! Let’s make more money on our already crappy insecure operating system on top of what they charge to buy it initially. Way to go Microshaft!
Now is a really good time to switch to a Mac.
I simply CANNOT BELIEVE that MicroShaft would be able to get away with this. Where are the torches? Where are the pitchforks? Where are the villagers storming the monster’s hideout? This is by far the most hideous abuse of monoply power in existance AGAINST THE CONSUMER! In the past, Frankenshaft has wielded its monoply power against other companies, but now it’s against the consumer. THIS IS MONSTROUS!
MDNMW is view – as in: The view from my Mac is clean and clear.
SUCKERS OF THE WORLD: BEND OVER! I DRIVE
Bill Gates – May 2005
Can’t believe Windozers are so friggin idiots. As Seahawk here repeated it many times: they drink PEE and MS tells them it is champaign for it has the bubbles, it is yellowish, and tastes funny. So it *has* to be good enough to be champaign.
Drink your pee Windows suckers!
UAUAUHAUHNAUHUAHANUHUHHUHUAHAHAHHAHAHUHAHUHAUHA
MAFIASOFT
Pay or we unleash the virus on you on the holes we know about, reveal in the public and put a patch when enough damage has been done, so to get more suckers in our nets.
MAFIASOFT
Car company makes cheap cars. They sell a ton. Brakes are faulty. Give out every other day. Somebody else offers to fix brakes every other day. Car company figures, hey we can make money not just fixing the brakes, but making your car honk a lot louder too
Can I set up a Direct Deposit account?
And as long as this is a profitable venture, MS will have no impetus to fix the holes.
Dear lord, this is just plain MEAN. They know HOW to make the OS secure, but instead of doing that, they’ll rent you a plugin to do that? I can’t even defend this one.
Bottom line…Micro$in succeed at taking advantage of stupid people once with their lame OS…why should they not do it yet again with another package. The door is wide open and it will be a moneymaker. That is what it is all about for them anyway, making money. The end user/consumer never has and never will be in the priority mix.
“Mafiasoft?”…Careful what you say there MDN, we don’t want to be assosiated with M$, they deal in viruses.
The nerve!
Sell a license to shit software that exposes people to the world’s sleaziest degenerates for exploitation and then sell them the supposed fix!
That’s it, now I HAVE seen everything.
“We’re designing the service so it will continually update and evolve over time,” Ryan Hamlin, Microsoft’s general manager of the Technology Care and Safety Group said in a statement.
Translation: “Instead of building you a new dam, we’re just gonna hire a little Dutch boy to put his thumb in whatever hole is leaking today. It’ll never actually hold water properly — we’ll just move the Dutch boy from place to place as long as you keep paying us. Thank$ for your cooperation, suckers.”