Has LO become subject to a modern variant of AARD code? [closed]
AARD code is a prehistoric reference for many of the folks reading this (17 April 1992). However, consider the following:-
I've been asking & answering questions on ask.lo since May 30 2015. Sometime after the beginning, but recently more & more, I have noticed that a certain kind of question pops up, something like the following:-
"Please help me with <an-unbelievably-stupid-behaviour> that I'm getting with Windows-<xx>"
"Windows-<xx>" = winVista, 7, 8 and especially 10. UAC errors strongly suspected.
Examples of "<an-unbelievably-stupid-behaviour>" include:
- "A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available." (win7, Q200)
- (on a new install of win7, no prior OO/LO install) (paraphrase): "please close LibreOffice 3.4" (Q2333)
- "freezes when I try too use the format menu" (win10)
- "when I double-click the MSI install file it does nothing" (newly reinstalled Vista)
- "application was unable to start correctly" (win10)
- "applications hangs" (win10)
- "Error 1402. Could not open key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE32\SOFTWARE\...|SharedDlls" (win8.1)
- "installer does not have sufficient rights" (win7)
Now also under Mac:
- ""LibreOffice" will damage your computer. You should move it to the Trash." (El Capitan, Q60334)
Possible Tags:-
I've used, supported & programmed Windows since MS-DOS days, including for the major UK computer distributor. I therefore know how bad Windows can get. But I've never seen a range of problems like this before.
At first I blamed the LO developers for being too inept to program UAC Windows. Then I took to describing lo-5 under win10 as "a total dog". Then I remembered that M$ has history in this business. After all, M$-Office is one of (if not the best) money-earner for M$, and LO is probably the greatest threat to M$'s income.
Which brings us back to AARD code & some prime examples of M$'s tendency to use any underhand, technological method that they can find to undermine their competitors. In brief:
In the days of MS-DOS & PC-DOS, and just as Windows-3 was due to be released, DR-DOS was the greatest threat to M$ incomes. Windows was considered to be the future, but DOS was what paid the bills.
DR-DOS was owned by Digital Research (then by Novell, then by Caldera); it was a far better version of DOS than MS or PC-DOS. Crucially, the early Windows required DOS to function. The utter fear for M$ was that folks would use DR-DOS rather than MS/PC-DOS. M$ placed the legendary AARD code into the win-code to prevent that from happening. Further, they then obscured the code to prevent it being found.
PS
The settlement with Caldera paid in November 2009 was $280 million. M$ income in 2009/10 was $19 billion on $62 billion revenue.
So:- has that happened again? Is M$ deliberately causing install/usage errors for LO under modern Windows?
2015-10-17 update:
One mechanism for the infection would be Windows Update (see Q5271, lo-3.6) (a very nice epidemiological ...
I attributed the uptick in complaints to wider adoption of LO on Windows. Add this to
doc
anddocx
format interoperability issues and Outlook non-support of obvious universal internet calendaring protocols. That said, LO 4.x is increasingly rock solid under Windows, LO 5 does run pretty well with some discrete exceptions, and big picture there are many Linux packages that on Windows never get beyond alpha-quality software which demonstrates the challenge of what LO is trying to accomplish.@Alex Kemp: Whats the reason for updating any 2 day this useless tinfoil hat theory -- are you after the
most-clicked-Question-award
??? From me the DownVote for now.postscriptum: I'm definitely no M$-fanboy the last 15 years I'm working close to 100Percent on Linux-OS
The reason, dear blinkered @karolus, is that the latest Mac now says "LibreOffice will damage your computer", which seems worthy of note and--even if not identical--in the same district. FWIW I work 100% under ancient Debian.