IP: Re: Be-ing in a Microsoft-dominated world

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: "Brian David Hungerford" <bhungerf () umich edu>
> To: "David Farber \(by way of Bernard A. Galler\)" <dave () farber net>
>
> The boot license doesn't actually say that you can't install a second OS.
>
> What is says is:
>
> 1. You can't deliver a preinstalled machine in which Microsoft's code
> bootstraps someone else's OS.  It is technical possible to do this with
> NT/2000/XP/etc., because the NT bootloader is specifically designed to
> respect the preexistence of another OS and incorporate that into the boot
> sequence; any MCSE knows this.  It's how NT systems allow you to preserve
> your previous boot option when you upgrade from DOS, OS/2, or Windows 9x/ME.
> However ...
>
> 2. OEM's must use Microsoft's preinstallation tools to deploy the OS on the
> machine.  Since those tools (usually) start by blasting away the contents of
> the disk and laying down Windows in a fresh partition, any preexisting OS
> would be destroyed in the process.
>
> Hence the trap: deploy the other OS first, and the OEM tools wipe it away;
> deploy it after Windows, and you've used Microsoft's boot code to launch a
> different OS.
>
> It is trivially easy for end users and VAR's to set up dual-boot systems.
> But - as the article points out - this would require some interest on the
> part of customers for post-purchase installation, and there is none.



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