Worse still - if you work on any Open Source project, and you look at Microsoft Source code. . . DO NOT COPY IT!!!

We like Linux as it is. Reliable, stable, and fast. Copying Microsoft code in would jeopardize that. . .

This is an attempt to corrupt your ability to write reliable code. It is the software equivalent of a Medusa. Once you've looked at it your mind will be agog to make blue screens. Do not look! For the love of Pete, DO NOT LOOK!!!!!

If you work on any Open Source project, DO NOT LOOK!

This is extremely good advice. I would go even further and say that if you would ever like to work on an open source project, don't look. The presence on a project of a person who had seen the Windows source could put the entire project at risk.

For a very practical example, consider Samba. If a person who had seen the Windows source were to contribute to Samba and it were later to come to light that the contributor had seen the Windows source, in the name of safety every piece of code that person contributed would have to be ripped out and replaced. Worse, to guarantee that there was no trace of taint, it would probably have to be replaced by people who had not only never been exposed to the Windows source, but who had also not seen the contributor's tainted code. In short, it would require the recruitment of people who had never worked on the project before, or even read the source. Finding those people would not be easy, to say nothing of the time and credibility that would be lost.

For that matter, even if you have legally seen the Windows source because Microsoft has provided it to your employer under their shared source program, the same taint would follow you. If your employer has access to Windows source and your job does not require you to see that source, do yourself a favor: don't look.

If you look at the Windows source, you at the least taint yourself WRT working on any project aimed at interoperability with Windows, and quite possibly on a much wider variety of projects than that.


In short, JUST SAY NO.

I think you people are going a little overboard. Windows source code isn't like a virus or something.
Wait a minute....

Viruses are well supported by their authors, their program code is fast, compact and efficient and they tend to become more sophisticated as they mature.

So, Windows is not a virus.

It's 5:15PM. I got home from work 2 hours ago, and had a nap. It is a beautiful day outside, and the Windows source code has been leaked.

And I have 5 Moderator points.
Today -- today, life is good.

From bugcheck.c, the code which makes the screen blue...

if (InbvIsBootDriverInstalled()) {
InbvAcquireDisplayOwnership();
InbvResetDisplay();
InbvSolidColorFill(0,0,639,479,4); // make the screen blue
InbvSetTextColor(15);
InbvInstallDisplayStringFilter((INBV_DISPLAY_STRIN G_FILTER)NULL);
InbvEnableDisplayString(TRUE); // enable display string
InbvSetScrollRegion(0,0,639,479); // set to use entire screen
}

The time has come for Andover to secede from the United States. This will allow a huge expansion in business operations.

Suppressed organizations like Napster will be welcomed with opened arms. "IP Address of Convenience" registry will be available to other companies who feel the weight of the DMCA pressing down upon them.

Absolutely nothing a Scientologist or Microsoft or Metallica lawyer can do will matter in the slightest. It will be sort of like Canada, but not lame.

JonKatz will of course be named minister of propaganda and warm fuzzy feelings. CowboyNeal gets the ministry of statistics. Of course no form of expression will be censored, but people wanting to plaster dotcom advertisements over everything will be politely asked not to.

Good Things like microbrew, quality pizza, convertibles, game developers, mechanical wristwatches, fine clothes, USB, penguins, snowboarding and DVD will be encouraged, and perhaps even subsidised.

If you forget to dial the '1' before a phone number, there will be no annoying voice reminding you - instead the phone system will just know you meant to do that, and connect you anyway.

After the Andover goes the way of most non-US$ currencies, your old savings will be worth so much that there will be no need for a real job, nothing but open source hacking on state-supplied Athlons, punctuated by nerf gun wars and visits to the "mainland" for baseball games. Hooray!