Microsoft to Add Black Box to LongHorn

By Ian Bell April 26, 2005

“In a move that could rankle privacy advocates, Microsoft said Monday that it is adding the PC equivalent of a flight data recorder to the next version of Windows, in an effort to better understand and prevent computer crashes.

The tool will build on the existing Watson error-reporting tool in Windows but will provide Microsoft with much deeper information, including what programs were running at the time of the error and even the contents of documents that were being created. Businesses will also choose whether they want their own technology managers to receive such data when an employee’s machine crashes. “

Our guess is that users will be able to turn this feature on or off should they choose to. With privacy being a major concern with most people, Microsoft might have to provide an on/off switch.

Read more at News.com

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