[CentOS] MHTL + legal <- dual-booting <- Re: installing Cents os server 7.0

[ken]

On 07/03/2015 02:51 AM, Kahlil Hodgson wrote:
> Wow. So many _passionate_ words. Still have no idea what Chris is really
> going on about.

Yeah, it's one of those threads with "more heat than light."

I believe that Chris wants (among many other things) is a CentOS which 
will automatically resize an existing Windows or OSX partition when 
setting up a dual-boot machine.  I suspect that it doesn't (and won't, 
and actually shouldn't) due to legal and PR reasons.  That is, if some 
user clicks on a button which says "Resize [other] partition", someone 
somewhere sometime is going to complain that a Linux install messed up 
her Windows or OSX partition.  This could lead to a legal and/or PR 
nightmare for Linux and Linux devs.  For these reason I'd think it 
better that, if you want to manipulate, say, a Windows partition, we're 
all better off if you do that with Windows software or at least 
separately from a no-brain-required Linux install program.

Just to respond to one objection in advance (because I'm not going to be 
drawn into this thread anymore than I have), years ago, in the early 
days of dual-boot, Windows put a critical and non-moveable file at the 
end of their partition.  This made blithely shrinking that partition 
either impossible or dangerous-- so quite risky.  And to me and everyone 
I knew there seemed to be no reason at all for this file being where and 
how it was, except to make shrinking the partition difficult.  If you 
went into Windows, however, and knew the three or four steps, you could 
move this file and then, outside of Windows, resize the partition, then 
proceed with the dual-boot install.

Now imagine a Linux dual-boot install which automatically resized a 
Windows partition.  Then imagine a Windows software update which 
included some such Gatesenheimer in it.  The above-mentioned nightmare 
would begin and a lot of people would be called in for jury duty over 
something they didn't and wouldn't understand.  Settled out of court, 
there'd begin a fee on Linux to cover damages assessed by the 
settlement.  The Linux devs would probably have to go work for MS at 
minimum wage to cover or comply with their part of that settlement. 
Absurd and paranoid scenario?  Yes.  Possible?  Still yes.


Peace out.