Why MS can`t set old products for free?

It be wonderfully, if microsoft decide make they old products for free. I mean old product without support and without updates like windows 3, 95...

That would mean they would be giving away intellectual property.

DOS and Win 95 can still have value in spaces like embedded systems.

Could affect security through obscurity.

Could enable competitors to have access to technologies which provide MS with a competitive advantage.

Legal action ("you're old software had unpatched vulnerabilities!")

Germs (old software has them you know).

Imagine Toyota or Honda give away old cars for free? Insane...

Yeah, would be great!

Imagine... in 2012, running an unpatched version of Windows 98. Then everybody would blast Microsoft about giving away unsupported software! Blast Microsoft for having such a poor foresight!

It's not a completely horrible idea. More brand recognition. All those old computers that people throw linux on can now be Microsoft powered.

steel300 wrote:

It's not a completely horrible idea. More brand recognition. All those old computers that people throw linux on can now be Microsoft powered.

They probably had Windows 95/98 on before and only have Linux because it performs better or is more up to do than it did previously (no one is writing applications for Windows 95 any more, but they are being written for Linux).

I don't think Microsoft needs more brand recognition - anyone who has even seen a computer has probably seen Windows as well (even if it is only on a TV show).

The retail company I work for (Woolworths\Big W) are running on DOS and Windows NT and I don't think they have any plans on upgrading soon. Much of the banking industry here in Australia also runs on DOS.

If Microsoft gave out their old software for free companies like these would never upgrade when they needed more machines.

DOS is a really stable platform and when you have so much money invested in it and it does its job why upgrade.

i always hear about new OS project base in Linux Kernel... 
2 years ago i heared about some Belorussia(Byelorussia) OS project, they began to create OS instead of Windows, in order to be use it instead of MS Windows. But 1 month ago i hear about they project - they use (promote) Linux Kernel... 
Most important part in OS - Kernel.
Would be wonderful if most of companies - open code they old OS kernel... Like MS: old Dos, Win 9x, etc. 
And be create union for develop combined (public) kernel project for everyone. (i mean create union (alliance) for one global project "Kernel")...

sorry for my english and thoughts... i`m 2 days without sleeeeep.

P.S.: i`m so calm, quiet and cool ...-.. i am not count the sheeps,  they count me...

sbc wrote:


They probably had Windows 95/98 on before and only have Linux because it performs better or is more up to do than it did previously (no one is writing applications for Windows 95 any more, but they are being written for Linux).

I don't think Microsoft needs more brand recognition - anyone who has even seen a computer has probably seen Windows as well (even if it is only on a TV show).

And running linux, they have to run it stripped down. Minimal window manager, minimal browser, text editor, etc.. Why run all minimal when Windows runs just as fast and gives you more in terms of user interface?

steel300 wrote:


And running linux, they have to run it stripped down. Minimal window manager, minimal browser, text editor, etc.. Why run all minimal when Windows runs just as fast and gives you more in terms of user interface?

I don't think there are much need of GUI given you can access it through WebAdmin.

And I think it's good to have a machine that only run want you ask it to run and nothing else.

Microsoft might have licensed things for those products from third parties.  It can't give that away for free.

It's a nice thought, but I very much doubt that it will not happen. This software still has value, and it would not be in the interest of Microsoft to give this software away free of charge.

Angus Higgins