Will Microsoft kill XDA?

[Euroman28]

I had been used to then making roms for my Windows Mobile phone to download the language packs for the rom. But found that a socalled MS Internet Investigator had threatend the poster of these packages to remove them.

I wonder do you thinks that Microsoft will kill this site one day?

[OneSman7]

Well, certainly, the site will live as there is a lot of free (copyrighted ;)) software here, developed by XDA members. It is not only about WM6.5.

As for it, you still have China :). ROMBeta for example. Or probably the takedown was a hoax.

IMHO MS just used us :(. They read the thread to get to know about bugs of their recent builds. All we were their free testers. And now, as WM6.5 is officially out, it is a copyrighted product, and we don't have permission to do smth unless we buy it.

I do not like when I am used in such a rude manner, so I will continue using my Diamond, and when it breaks, make sure to buy an Android phone from HTC :).
Of course all these words are rubbish, if it was a hoax and we will continue experiencing WM6.5 ;).

[orb3000]

Quote taken from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1104604&postcount=1

"However with increased popularity comes an increased amount of legal complaints when sensitive material is found on our servers. Which is the reason why we have been more careful lately. Recently some sensitive material has shown up on the servers and we received legal complaints from companies who have the copyrights for this material, although we all feel this is very interesting and valuable material we cannot risk the future of xda-developers by ignoring the legal requests we receive, therefore this material has been taken offline."

[cerjam]

yeah, they care more about keeping their cashcrop site up than the actual users. there aint no reason they couldnt rapidshare them files and post the new links in the thread, see the entire blueangel/wallaby sections. its all ftp links that are dead.

i'm sure i'll catch heat for my pro-user point of view here, but the fact remains they make more than enough money on this site to buy a decent server that doesnt take 30seconds to load, and maybe not removing the only link to a file leaving people completely SOL.

ms won't do anything to xda. xda sells more WM phones than ms could ever do alone, i know this because its 90% of the reason why i own as many HTCs as i do.

i love xda, but the management irks me. and the disorganization of it.

[egzthunder1]

Not this garbage again!!

Are we sure that this "internet investigator" is real now? The last time it was some punk saying that they represented M$ and because of him, a bunch of roms ended up being taken down (even if they were not hosted in the xda servers.
I am so tired of this crap it isn't even funny...

@OneSman,

M$ isn't really using you since they are not offering you anything for free. You just happen to see it and use it. If you happen to report bugs, it is for the Chefs and not for M$ (however, they get to read your comments/reports as well). Don't expect any developer to give you any freebies simply because you are beta testing something. I still have to see the dev who does that.

@cerjam,

The management of XDA irks you? Why? If you are sent a letter from a company that has enough lawyers to sue you till the middle of next week, you will take corrective action. End of story... I think XDA's management is superb considering the amount of flow of information and users in this site.

Please lets not make another epic thread(s) for this "investigator" until we know it is a real M$ as$h0l3.

[cerjam]

i own a few shady sites. i don't bend over for dmca or supposed emails from maybe some idiot from some company.


there is no reason they have to piss on the userbase like they do.

sure, i can see a problem hosting the shit in the xda-dev ftp. but it is irresponsible to the community to not have backups and to not make the files obtainable elsewhere.

point is they put ms and other pricks over their users. the people who make them money, who keep their site alive. there is no legal reason for them to bend over and just go OK /DELETE. specially without warning.

[egzthunder1]

i own a few shady sites. i don't bend over for dmca or supposed emails from maybe some idiot from some company.


there is no reason they have to piss on the userbase like they do.

sure, i can see a problem hosting the shit in the xda-dev ftp. but it is irresponsible to the community to not have backups and to not make the files obtainable elsewhere.

point is they put ms and other pricks over their users. the people who make them money, who keep their site alive. there is no legal reason for them to bend over and just go OK /DELETE. specially without warning.

Don't get me wrong, I hate them as much as I can (and then some), but the site admins have to play it safe... because they have such a large user base, they have to ensure that the site will keep on going and that it won't be taken down. I do agree about the back ups though...

[cerjam]

playing it safe is fine. im just pissed off to no goddamn end, i buy any phone older than 2years? WELP SORRY MAN OUT OF LUCK BECAUSE MS EMAILED US =D

which is very very irksome, you have a blueangel you should understand lmfao

[HopelesRomantc91]

yeah, they care more about keeping their cashcrop site up than the actual users. there aint no reason they couldnt rapidshare them files and post the new links in the thread, see the entire blueangel/wallaby sections. its all ftp links that are dead.

i'm sure i'll catch heat for my pro-user point of view here, but the fact remains they make more than enough money on this site to buy a decent server that doesnt take 30seconds to load, and maybe not removing the only link to a file leaving people completely SOL.

ms won't do anything to xda. xda sells more WM phones than ms could ever do alone, i know this because its 90% of the reason why i own as many HTCs as i do.

i love xda, but the management irks me. and the disorganization of it.

Yeah, I suppose they could use RapidShare or something, but if they upload all their files all at once to RapidShare, that could lead a suspicious trail, and what are they gonna say? "MS E-mailed us, so we put all of our illegal files on RapidShare." Lighten up a bit. It's FAR better to have a website with all the tools to learn how to mod your own device and to try and find the files yourself (which I'm sure are out there), than to have the files for at most a few months or a year or so and then have this site, probably the best WM site in existence, completely go under. Besides, if people have to work to find the files, it'll make the end product feel that much nicer.

[Euroman28]

I don't know American Law (XDA is an American Site?)

But lets say it was in Denmark. But anyway. Here Microsoft would have to go to court and get a courtorder to make a website remove links that MS or any other feelt threatened their business.

Is the law different in the US?

/Fred

p.s. How does one become a payed Internet Investigator? :D I would love to have such a job insteed my current one :(

[orb3000]

I don't know American Law (XDA is an American Site?)



Thanks no!
I think XDA is Neederlands:)

[sleurhut]

It is possible that Windows Mobile 6.5 is the last and final Windows Mobile release from Microsoft.

[orb3000]

In what you base for saying that?
WM7.................

[schiwa]

It is possible that Windows Mobile 6.5 is the last and final Windows Mobile release from Microsoft.

Well, Many rumors are milling around for a WM7 and then WM7.1, I don't know the authenticity of this rumors, but couple of years back I heard a rumor that WM 6.5 is coming out.... so let's hope we get more upgrades, unless MS decided not to cash on WM mobiles. Will they?!

Shiv

[kaptix]

It is possible that Windows Mobile 6.5 is the last and final Windows Mobile release from Microsoft.

Im pretty sure Steve Ballmer talked about windows mobile 7 in an interview so its kinda official just no time for release or anything yet

[schiwa]

Im pretty sure Steve Ballmer talked about windows mobile 7 in an interview so its kinda official just no time for release or anything yet

There he is.

[cerjam]

..i closed the tab without posting. damnit.

a) wm7s been confirmed. it's going to be ms's version of the iphones OS, the last decent WM was 5 before ms went all change-happy.

and b) ms couldnt prove anything. xda couldve setup a good data-hosting service that couldnt be traced. i imagine they make enough money off this site that they could do alot of things to make this site better.

and on that note, does anyone have any idea as to why whoever owns xda is too damn cheap to buy a decent server for xda. it's constantly slow and dead, i know damnwell they make massive money off donations and adcash. a decent server is maybe 1k a month, you're telling me theseguys are so broke they cant even put alittle of the community cash back into it?

[orb3000]

It is possible that Windows Mobile 6.5 is the last and final Windows Mobile release from Microsoft.


Microsoft confirms multi-touch, designates WM7 to high-end, while keeping WM 6.5 for mass market

http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/08/03/microsoft-confirms-multi-touch-designates-wm7-to-high-end-while-keeping-wm-6-5-for-mass-market/

[Mr. Megiddo]

i imagine they make enough money off this site that they could do alot of things to make this site better.

and on that note, does anyone have any idea as to why whoever owns xda is too damn cheap to buy a decent server for xda. it's constantly slow and dead, i know damnwell they make massive money off donations and adcash. a decent server is maybe 1k a month, you're telling me theseguys are so broke they cant even put alittle of the community cash back into it?

How much money do you think the owners make off of a site that runs on donations?

Most of the money is going to the developers on the site and not the owners I'm sure.

[cerjam]

they have ads. with thousands of people per day. they make massive cash, i don't care what anyone says. at least enough to pay for a decent server.

[fantom3x]

Man you sound so jaded dude, it's almost surprising why you still use the site. Whatever the reasons, you can't possibly help the community with such a negative attitude, XDA = Community = Userbase, regardless of who owns the site, it's the community that runs it, what you say about XDA you say about the community.

Just let it go and be thankful that the hosts provide a place where we can meet and share our (and I don't really mean our because I'm functionally illiterate when it comes to programming) expertise and wares. Honestly XDA is far better than alot of places I can think of.

[Janis]

Google actually issued a Cease And Desist letter to a ROM developer (Cyanogen) for distributing part of their "Google Experience," namely Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube apps. On that front, I'm really waffling about Windows Mobile/Phone and Android. Android, however, is much cheaper to mess around with. Apps are US$2 vs. US$10, and flashing a ROM doesn't involve reinstalling all apps and resetting everything, or buying an app that'll do that for you. The switch for Open Source, or for the principle of the thing isn't what it would crack up to be.

Legally, in the US, most of the time, all it takes is a threat to sue. If you have the money to fight it, then you can, if you don't, you comply. It costs so much to do anything "legal" here in the US. The govt actually intervenes very little. What we don't pay in taxes goes out of our pockets, or our power base, in bigger ways, IMHO. Our middle class is shrinking, including mid-sized businesses, because no matter how you slice it, our "minimalist" (yet inordinately expensive) govt subscribes to the golden rule in more than just simple ways - he who has the gold makes the rules. (That's not to say I have a better idea about who should be making the rules. Maybe we test people for their ethical standards, knowledge of all that matters in that arena, and the ability to think creatively, and decide on test results. Hm...).

Will M$ crush XDA? No. Will an imbalance of Internet Equality crush XDA? Maybe. Right now Google has the gold, and the lawyers, but they seem to want to make the world a better place, in some respects, too. In any case, we've got several years to go before anything too drastic happens.

@orb3000 I liked the unwired link. So it will be expensive to be hip. And when you have the new stuff, you get to decide what the user demand is, and decide the direction of tech development. Makes sense. (I sound broke and angry, but I have two WinMo devices and a G1. I guess I'm not. I just can't figure out a more egalitarian, more grown-up way to do things.)