Another OS include is that Microsoft Bob was hidden in the Windows XP install CD, apparently as part of the copy protection scheme. Wonder if the Bitcoin paper has any function beyond its written content.
> Microsoft Bob was hidden in the Windows XP install CD, apparently as part of the copy protection scheme.
Only insofar as it made the image slightly larger, making it slower to distribute an ISO image of the CD online. I don't think the installer actually checks its presence or anything like that.
I think macOS has tried something like that though with "Don't Steal Mac OS X.kext" back in the day (which actually did contain a human-readable poem), but I don't really get the point of all of these attempts – surely the entire operating system is already copyrighted, even if it doesn't rhyme?
The primary purpose of DSMOSX was a basic form of DRM to ensure that the DMCA provisions against bypassing DRM applied. The poem was a legal hedge against the idea of software being declared not copyrightable or something along those lines.
