MS comes down on Kol and his Vista visual style

[Boz]

Well, I'm officially at the point where I will not purchase anything else from Microsoft. It's a sad day when they come down on this community and great visual style creators like Kol. Even Apple allowed skinning community to create skins, they did prevent community from creating functionality modules that worked on PC, but allowed themes. This is how low Microsoft can get. I'm still not sure even though Kol's theme looked like Vista, how exactly it was a breach of any legal document. He did not reverse engineer any of the code nor used existing graphics (made by Microsoft). He made all of the graphics himself, Vista look is publicly available; He did not sell it or made it for any commercial benefit.

He used legally purchased software and created everything from scratch. I am very upset that a corporation sinks down this low and goes against individuals like this even though they themselves as a corporation blatantly copy every single look or good idea out there on the market.

Up to this point I purchased every single piece of software from Microsoft and in one way or the other supported their efforts to improve it, but this is simply ridiculous. Microsoft, why don't you go against Stardock for making a piece of software that is capable of emulating Vista functionality as oppose to going against young individuals that just want to make their desktops prettier by creating their own graphics. This is totally absurd.

I guarantee that as a business owner and as an IT consultant I will make sure that from this day on all of my clients and friends understand that Microsoft products are not worth it. Days or your monopoly are almost over and there is a lot of good alternatives to your software. I will make sure that everyone I know gets this message both in business and private affairs. If you think that I am nothing on the grand scale of things you are seriously mistaken. I alone was giving thousands of dollars to your corporation from MSDN subscriptions to latest versions of software and from now on I'm canceling every single subscription and you can count that I have no interest in buying anything else from Microsoft. I will make sure that my company also does not purchase a single piece of software or service from you which right now probably ranges from $50,000 to $100,000 annually. We will be switching to other methods.

This is not because of just coming down hard on Kol (a young modder), but because this shows me what exactly type of company you really are. What can I expect from you tomorrow for my business? Certainly nothing good. Your support wasn't that good anyways to begin with. Talking to people who can't even speak English properly is not what we are paying big money for.

Just keep at it and you will definitely find yourself scratching yourself on the head and asking what went wrong. That day is coming and you've just stepped closer to it with the gesture you did with one of the members of this community.

Sincerely,

EX-Microsoft user and supporter.

Have a great day.

[NeoXY]

. . . .

way to go MS (Y)

[KeeperOfThePizza]

Well, I'm officially at the point where I will not purchase anything else from Microsoft. It's a sad day when they come down on this community and great visual style creators like Kol. Even Apple allowed skinning community to create skins, they did prevent community from creating functionality modules that worked on PC, but allowed themes. This is how low Microsoft can get. I'm still not sure even though Kol's theme looked like Vista, how exactly it was a breach of any legal document. He did not reverse engineer any of the code nor used existing graphics (made by Microsoft). He made all of the graphics himself, Vista look is publicly available; He did not sell it or made it for any commercial benefit.

He used legally purchased software and created everything from scratch. I am very upset that a corporation sinks down this low and goes against individuals like this even though they themselves as a corporation blatantly copy every single look or good idea out there on the market.

Up to this point I purchased every single piece of software from Microsoft and in one way or the other supported their efforts to improve it, but this is simply ridiculous. Microsoft, why don't you go against Stardock for making a piece of software that is capable of emulating Vista functionality as oppose to going against young individuals that just want to make their desktops prettier by creating their own graphics. This is totally absurd.

I guarantee that as a business owner and as an IT consultant I will make sure that from this day on all of my clients and friends understand that Microsoft products are not worth it. Days or your monopoly are almost over and there is a lot of good alternatives to your software. I will make sure that everyone I know gets this message both in business and private affairs. If you think that I am nothing on the grand scale of things you are seriously mistaken. I alone was giving thousands of dollars to your corporation from MSDN subscriptions to latest versions of software and from now on I'm canceling every single subscription and you can count that I have no interest in buying anything else from Microsoft. I will make sure that my company also does not purchase a single piece of software or service from you which right now probably ranges from $50,000 to $100,000 annually. We will be switching to other methods.

This is not because of just coming down hard on Kol (a young modder), but because this shows me what exactly type of company you really are. What can I expect from you tomorrow for my business? Certainly nothing good. Your support wasn't that good anyways to begin with. Talking to people who can't even speak English properly is not what we are paying big money for.

Just keep at it and you will definitely find yourself scratching yourself on the head and asking what went wrong. That day is coming and you've just stepped closer to it with the gesture you did with one of the members of this community.

Sincerely,

EX-Microsoft user and supporter.

Have a great day.

:angry:

[Jeremy1]

Days or your monopoly are almost over and there is a lot of good alternatives to your software.

Yes, they are going to be seriously damaged by you and your boycott. I don't know how they'll manage. Vista will probably never even see the light of day.

If you think that I am nothing on the grand scale of things you are seriously mistaken.

Yeah, right. :rolleyes: You're delusional.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Microsoft isn't going to miss your business.

[amrinders87]

Days or your monopoly are almost over...

You gota be kidding me ;)

And with statements like those, I am sure you are great IT consultant.

[»X«]

lol quoting the whole text.

[golazo]

well if i went and copied kols skins or any other skins without permission i'd expect them to be ****ed off, why should anyone be able to copy skins off other people.

[Ianmac45]

where was the news about kol being prosecuted ever published? i'd like to either hear it directly from him or read the source thread

[»X«]

Well we have a guy who wants to jail people for posting song lyrics on the net, now MS pulling this. Yes i know its copyright but c'mon.

[shihchiun]

Sincerely,

EX-Microsoft user and supporter.

Have a great day.

Have fun with that. Good luck.

where was the news about kol being prosecuted ever published? i'd like to either hear it directly from him or read the source thread

Yeah.. so would I.

[Randolph]

where was the news about kol being prosecuted ever published? i'd like to either hear it directly from him or read the source thread

Goto the VistaXP thread. He posted they asked him to remove the VS.

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?show...ost&p=586914719

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

that's just wrong

but MS is banking on the new look to sell the OS, because alot fo the new thing's that Vista was suposed to incorperate, isnt in it, and is an addon to XP also when Vista comes out

[shawn]

Anyone care to send me the VS?? Not WB but the MSStyle...

thanks!

[NightmarE D]

KoL wasn't prosecuted. Microsoft e-mailed him and ask him nicely (Kols words) to remove it. So KoL has removed it and won't be updating it and asked everyone to not distribute it anymore. Meanwhile, another person is taking a Vista theme he said KoL helped him on and updating it and plans on releasing it soon. Which I think is bullcrap. This person said Microsoft e-mailed them also to not distribute the 1.0 version. But he says "they didn't say anything about 1.1" It has work done by Kol and he'll call it his own. BULL

[Vannos]

Well, I'm officially at the point where I will not purchase anything else from Microsoft.

Piracy will be much more your thing now, because we all know you will keep using Microsoft products.

Your just an insignificant drop in the bucket and so is $50000-$100000.

[neufuse Veteran]

Oh comon... someone copying a COPYRIGTED work is not allowed... for it to be legal you do have to do a certain amount of changes that distinquish it from the original work to claim artistic freedom to make a copy of something... Apple cracked down on people making OSX theme copies originally... They screamed at Stardock and a bunch of themers back when the pinstripe aqua theme came out... MS should be allowed to protect stuff they put a lot of money into also... if someone copied something you worked hard on and devalued you work, you'd be screaming too if it took money away from you.

[mattmatik]

It's an image thing. KoL, Bant...those guys make Microsoft's theme design team look like freakin pre-schoolers. If I'm Microsoft I don't want somebody showing up my company either.

[Nasapion]

This is bull. Starock emulated the whole goddamn Windows Vista engine (visual). KoL emultated the theme, and just that.

Copyright dont matter as he made the images himself.

[topher1078]

That's a joke. Why don't they prohibit people who make Vista themes for Windowblinds? Or why didn't they go after people when XP themes (before XP was released) surfaced? Is their reasoning that people won't buy Vista if they can replicate the look - how stupid is that.

[batbeef]

Your gonna stop using MS products :p

Good luck man.

[Badtz-Maru]

I'll save about $200 by not buying Windows XP Pro now :D

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Not for nothing this can be seen as a good thing.

The support and name Kol will get for himself out of this can definitely be seen as a positive thing.

Just trying to see another side to it all. This can be spun into something positive IMO.

[golazo]

It's an image thing. KoL, Bant...those guys make Microsoft's theme design team look like freakin pre-schoolers. If I'm Microsoft I don't want somebody showing up my company either.

not really, kol copied the vista theme, if the guy from ms never made the theme then kol would have never come up with it. and im my oppionion the way microsoft has the vista theme looks better than the one kol copied off them.

i'm not bagging out kol, i like his theme, but you can't expect to copy someone with out them getting ****ed off

[Krad]

This is bull. Starock emulated the whole goddamn Windows Vista engine (visual). KoL emultated the theme, and just that.

Copyright dont matter as he made the images himself.

you know that stardock has deals with microsoft.

This thread is pointless. Vista is still in the beta stages and they are not sure yet what the final gui or visual style will look like. It was probably asked to be taken down due to the name. If he didn't label it vista or xp he would probably be in the clear.

honestly, how many people actually hack or use a program to change their visual style?

there are maybe 150-200 visual style makers

maybe 500,000 to 1 million people who actual know what visual styles are and change them.

it is such a smal drop in the bucket. The visual style and wb skin were very cool, but you know kol will break out with something more innovative then vista crap.

[AltecXP]

so...if I host Kols VS on my site will Kol get in trouble or me? If its me and not him I'll gladly host it for people still.