Windows Uses Cracked Software....

Windows uses pirated software?
Has it ever crossed your mind to use the editor to open a WAV file installed with Windows XP? Nobody will do that - that's what Microsoft probably thought. After all, countless WAV files are stored on a computer, and they are to be heard, not to be watched, right?

No, not exactly. Our colleagues over at Macwelt gave us the idea. We tried it and examined some WAV files that are stored on a drive with a newly installed Windows XP. And we made a stunning discovery. In fact, we didn't even have to search for very long, as coincidence lent us a helping hand. In the Windows system directory, we had our first find, in the directory

"Windows\Help\Tours\WindowsMediaPlayer\Audio\Wav".

Located there are exactly nine WAV files, with a size between 80 and 360 Kilobytes. They serve as background sound during the Windows Media Player Tour. When you open one of these files with the notepad, you at first only see scrambled letters. Of course, you think, it's a sound file, after all.

But things become interesting when you scroll down to the very bottom in notepad. Located there is a type of watermarking, which records the software that the Microsoft musician used to create the WAV files.

We found the following text there:
LISTB INFOICRD 2000-04-06 IENG Deepz0ne ISFT Sound Forge 4.5

At first, that sounds anything but spectacular. It seems as if the Microsoft musician or the freelance musician commissioned by Microsoft used the Sony-made software " Sound Forge " (formerly Sonic) in its 4.5 version. Sound Forge is a tool for professionals and enables users to create WAV, AIFF, MP3 and other music files priced at $400.

On its face, all that's not unusual: Microsoft uses professional software. Who would've thought? But wait a minute, who or what is "DeepzOne"?

Bingo!

DeepzOne is (or at least was) member of the Warez group Radium that had specialized on cracking music software. Along with a person using the alias "Sandor," he was also co-founder of this group, which was established in 1997( see in this interview ). In addition, it was DeepzOne who started circulating the cracked 4.5 version of Sound Forge a few years ago.

A few years back, the group "Radium" caused quite a stir. It cracked the original Fraunhofer MP3 codec in order improve the limited MP3 codec that comes along
with Microsoft. To listen to MP3s, the Windows codec was solid, but it offered only limited encoding functions. The Radium codec, by contrast, boasted an improved encoder (up to 320 Kbit/s). During this Warez release, then, the name DeepzOne" surfaced. But what is the name "DeepzOne" doing in nine WAV files in Windows XP? Nothing more than a coincidence? One has the suspicion that that the files were generated with the cracked version of Sound Forge 4.5. It's difficult to say whether Microsoft itself did that or one of the freelancers. Only the Redmond-based employees in charge of the Windows Media Player will know that for sure. It seems, though, as if someone wanted to get around filling out an investment order to buy a software worth $400.

The topic still raises a moral problem, though, as Microsoft is quick to report every oh-so-minor success in the fight against piracy. In the wake of that move, the company also joined the BSA (Business Software Alliance), which has devoted itself to the "fight against software piracy" and persecutes violaters around the globe. But maybe BSA knows which office door it should knock on

Microsoft has yet to issue a statement. It will be interesting to get the company's position on this issue.

Cj

if you look where to look, some AAA game title also have sound designers that uses cracked version of sound forge...

Im sorry if its was dicussed before, This was the first that i heard about it, and probably many others also. how many Freeking times does the same topic come up in one day. if that was the rules, there would be 10 new post everyday......
Cj

No id did not mean to take credit for that, Everyone knows my writting style. And i probably went alittle overboard, but making fun of someones spelling is like making fun of them because there fat or ugly. Its just wrong. I also having a bad day at work, and im missing the NFL draft. I didnt mean to get angry at you Al
Cj

Hi John :)

Honest_Al came right after Al got banned Al had over 4600 posts when it happened... here and there you can still see some of those if you use the Search page.

Aw that's an old one.

Op have informed me that this was an old topic, I just came across it by accident and copied it for the forum. From the looks of it, it was prbably settledout of court and out of the public eyes. This is the first, ive heard of it and im pretty up to date on current events, but like i said, this was awhile ago.
Cj

ORIGINAL: JV

SONAR.......WE NEED A FRICKIN SPELLCHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...or possibly a better education system?

so give us a break, im tired of this B/S

CJ, you gotta ignore JV. He's pathetic. You do realize that the vast majority of people on this forum don't care one bit about spelling errors if you get your message across, right? I never even see it as an issue until idiots bring it up every once in a while. CJ, just keep on being helpful to and learning from the forum. You DA MAN!!!

JV, please cease to exist immediately. Thank you.
Signed, Everyone on Earth

Man I relly hate it wen somone points out my missppellings, usualy im tring to type fast, and also, like CJ, doing sumthin else @ the same tyme. Maybe I should look fo typos and post, that way I could catch up to CJ :). Ya'll better watch yer spellin, I'm on the prowl.

OK ladies, sorry to interrupt the flame wars but, taking things back on topic... what happened? Well, I've done some digging around and the last mention of this "discovery" is back in July of '06 and it seems Redmond is still mum on the issue.
This is a pretty big deal folks! MS has gotten away with this for seven years and counting! Where is the BSA(Business Software Alliance) on this issue? There is clearly a double standard here. At the time that these files were created and incorporated into the Windows® OS, Sony had not yet bought out Sonic Foundry. The company was going under and it seems that MS just rolled right over them. I have a friend who's an exec. at Sony, I'll ask him next time I see him, about what he knows of the matter.

Open these wav files in your favorite audio editor(Wavelab) and here's what you'll see:
Engineer: DeepzOne
Originator software: Sound Forge 4.5
Creation date: 2000-04=06

More shady bidnez? Since you're on the subject of spelling... DeepzOne spelled backwards = Enoz-peed, the author of the Windows® XP startup sound!

disclaimer- Everything in this post, including the number 4.5 is or may become a trademark of Microsoft, Corp., except for trademarks of their respective owners and are used for product identification purposes only.

Well I am not going to defend Cj

at this you have failed miserably (a good thing!)

DAMNIT

Cj, you just talk too got-damn much.

Hi Cj-

Might as well have everyone arrested while your at it.

I agree, and stop construction on all roads -- just shut 'em all down, I say!

Frustrated commuter-

-Susan