I love these stories about legal hacks that show how creative engineers can be in terms of circumvention of certain restrictions. And the one I tell you today is a great art, you will see.
It is not something recent but rather a great tip that dates back to when PC manufacturers How Dell knew how to “transform” the test version into complete software and everything perfectly legally!
This story comes directly from Raymond Chen, a living legend from Microsoft, which works on Windows from & MLDr; Because Windows exists basically. The guy saw so many things that he could write the encyclopedia of the wildest hacks in the field. And exactly, he recently shared a sharp anecdot on his blog that dates back to development Windows 95.
Here’s Topo & Milder; At the age of 90, when you bought a computer, it was often supplied with a lot with a lot The test version of the software. You know these things that allow you to play 30 days before asking you to pull out a credit card. Except that some smart manufacturers have found a way to automatically unlock the full version of this software on their machines. As? Thanks to a series of code hidden in BIOS!
Software publishers wanted to offer exclusive offers to certain manufacturers and programmed their software to check a specific character string in Machine BIOS. For example, if the software is found ”Copyright Fabrikam Computer“In BIOS, HOP, Magic, the test version has turned into a full version!
Until then, nothing mad, it’s just a business between companies. But other manufacturers, such as Dell, Compaq and Company, quickly understood this thing. They said, “Here, and if we also added this channel to our BIOS?»
In addition to not only copying and inserting a “copyright fabrikam Computer” into their BIOS, it would be a flight of mental property. So what did these clever little things do? Added “No Copyright Fabrikam Computer”! Ahahaha, too strong boys!
Technically, they did not claim to be a factory. On the contrary, they clearly claimed that they were not a factory. But the software was just looking for the “Copyright Fabrikam Computer” channel somewhere in the BIOS!
This is called and legal hack competition. Manufacturers could say in good faith: ‘In the end, however, we clearly wrote that we are not a factory!“And during this time, their customers used the full version of the software that should be charged. In short, it was legal and software publishers were deceived by their own simplifying verification system.
This practice was particularly widespread during the transitional period on Windows 95, when specification Plug and play They were still in development. Microsoft tried to identify different types of existing computers and manufacturers used artistic blur to slide their small tips in the BIOS. Raymond Chen says that when Microsoft’s teams discovered a pink pot, they were amazed and disappointed.
On the one hand, it was still necessary to greet the ingenuity of the matter, and on the other, it showed how far some manufacturers are ready to go & milder;
But why did this practice stop?
Well, several reasons. First, software publishers quickly understood the mistake and explained their verification systems. No more simple search strings search, location on license keys quantified and activation by phone. Then the arrival of the Internet changed the situation. There is no need to supply CD-ROMS with test versions, people could directly download what they wanted.
Above all, the economic model has evolved. Manufacturers preferred to have a real partnership with publishers rather than playing cat and mouse. It was easier, more transparent, and avoiding potential legal confusion. Because even though the tip was technically legal, it remained a bit ethical.
I love this story because it is an archetype of the golden era of personal computer science when everything was still a bit wild and engineers could afford this kind of hand. With systems today DRMCloud activation and all trailes, this kind of tip has become impossible. On the one hand, it is safer on the other side & mildew; We lost a little of this magic of creative hacking.
It was another era, but what was fun!
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(Tagstotranslate) PC manufacturers