there is a fine line between agile and fragile
Microsoft has re-released the previously revoked Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. This time around, it's GPL licensed with source-code.
The tool has previously been released and subsequently revoked again after Microsoft was made aware that the tool, developed by a third party, included GPL licensed code in the compiled binary.
Personally I'm happy that the tool is available again, and that Microsoft "did the right thing ®" and released it with the proper license.
Yesteday I had to reinstall my home computer due to a botched BIOS flash (don't ask, long story...), and decided that it was time I installed Windows 7 on that computer as well.
Remembering the Microsoft's Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, I went looking for the download only to be met by a 404 (page not found) error when I tried to download it. The whole information/documentation section was still available on the Microsoft Store site, but the downloadable file was missing. No information was given, so I assumed it was a glitch on Microsofts behalf and located an alternative download site (CNet) that still had it available.
The tool did it's job, and I got Windows 7 Enterprise installed from a USB pendrive without any problems at all, just as expected.
Today, however, all information regarding the tool has been removed. All you get now is a "Sorry, the page you are looking for cannot be found." 404 error when you try to access it's previous location and no explanation is given.
Turns out, Microsoft has indeed pulled the tool from the site. According to Rafael Rivera Jr. this is because he discovered that the Microsoft tool was using code from "CodePlex-hosted (yikes) GPLv2-licensed ImageMaster"
Clearly a breach of the GPL as the Microsoft tool wasn't GPL'ed itself.
Read all the details in Rafael's post "Microsoft lifts GPL code, uses in Microsoft Store tool". I guess that means we are back to using Novicorp WinToFlash again. For more details on WinToFlash, check out my post called "Installing Windows from a USB Stick".
How did this ever slip through Microsofts QA?
On November 13th Microsoft confirmed that their own internal code review of the tool had uncovered that Rafael Riviera Jr. was indeed right. The tool does contain GPL code. The tool was develped for Microsoft by a third party, but still, this could, and should, have been avoided if Microsoft had conducted a proper code review before releasing the tool into the wild.
So, Microsoft now what? Well, it seems like they indend to do the only thing they can do, release the whole tool as GPL licensed:
As a result, we will be making the source code as well as binaries for this tool available next week under the terms of the General Public License v2 as described here, and are also taking measures to apply what we have learned from this experience for future code reviews we perform.
Read the whole statement from Microsoft: Update on the Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool
I must say that even if this shouldn't have happened, Microsoft did the right thing here. Admitting what happened and took the natural consequences. Well played.
A little while a go I mentioned a great little tool called Novicorp WinToFlash.
Seems like Microsoft figured out that was a great little idea, and in conjunction with todays official Windows 7 release, they've also made the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool available.
Since you can buy Windows 7 and then download the ISO directly from the new online Microsoft Store (Can anyone say Apple?!) it makes sense that they have created their own little tool that enables you to install Windows 7 from an USB stick. The tool makes it easy to copy the ISO to a USB stick, and then use that to boot your computer and install from it. Nothing more, nothing less.
I love utilities like these, you know the ones that do one task and do it well?