[chbot] Heard about the FTDI caper?

[Mark Atherton]

>"to stay clear of M$ boxes in the first place... sorry Mark, your loss. ;-)"

OK, you will have to explain what I have lost, and where I should go 
looking for it...






At 10:01 a.m. 27/10/2014, you wrote:
>Yes. Was in the tech press a few days ago.
>http://www.heise.de/hardware-hacks/meldung/FTDI-Proaktive-Fake-Chip-Abwehr-2430780.html
>
>Here's a quick rundown
>http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/10/windows-update-drivers-bricking-usb-serial-chips-beloved-of-hardware-hackers/
>that finishes with saying "in cooperation with microsoft, ftdi pulled
>the drivers", which I read as M$ told them where to go or else.
>
>I think FTDI is correct in trying to ensure its driver only works with
>their chips. We probably all have the same opinion about counterfeit
>chips, with clones it's a little different but only as long as they were
>marked as clones, which they almost certainly weren't. The Chinese are
>good at that. Make some bucks with the electronics bonanza, the rest is
>not their problem (can't say I blame them too much either, but I'm not
>buying mains voltage parts from them).
>
>It is not OK to deliberately damage other people's equipment though,
>that's sabotage, and that's what FTDI has been doing. Doesn't affect me
>though because my driver does not come from FTDI. I only have a problem
>if I am silly enough to plug my arduinos into someone's M$ box, and then
>I get to fiddle with FTDI's M$-only program to repair the damage. Easier
>to stay clear of M$ boxes in the first place... sorry Mark, your loss. ;-)
>
>Volker
>
>--
>Volker Kuhlmann
>http://volker.top.geek.nz/      Please do not CC list postings to me.
>
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