Professor Michael Geist on Vista's Fine Print 314
Russell McOrmond writes "With Microsoft's Vista set to hit stores tomorrow, Michael Geist's weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) looks at the legal and technical fine print behind the operating system upgrade. The article notes that in the name of shielding consumers from computer viruses and protecting copyright owners from potential infringement, Vista seemingly wrestles control of the "user experience" from the user. If you are a Canadian and think that the owner of computers should be in control of what they own, rather than some third party (whether virus authors or the manufacturer/maker), then please sign our Petition to protect Information Technology property rights."
Futile petitions aside (Score:5, Insightful)
An internet petition, of all things? (Score:3, Insightful)
Old and busted: Bill Gates New hotness: Steve Jobs (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:That stampede sound you are hearing.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Old and busted: Bill Gates New hotness: Steve J (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Futile petitions aside (Score:5, Insightful)
Where's the buzz? (Score:5, Insightful)
A search on Google News (UK) brings up loads of articles with negative titles "Buying Vista? Get a guarantee", "Windows Vista: Where Is The Wow?", "Windows Vista: the best reason to buy a Mac?", "Windows Vista disappoints, so get a Mac". And that's just in the first half of the results.
It really is quite amazing for a product that Microsoft has spend billions and many years to develop.
Of course the sad thing is that, because of its strangle hold on the market, it will still make billions and will be able to declare the launch a success.
Re:Futile petitions aside (Score:5, Insightful)
But, if Vista pisses off businesses, then MS has a real problem on their hands. Businesses are already reluctant to change. They're definitely going to reject Vista if it makes them less productive. At least I'm hoping that's how it would turn out.
DingDingDingDing! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Futile petitions aside (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Old and busted: Bill Gates New hotness: Steve J (Score:5, Insightful)
Am I the only one who is getting tired of reading all kinds of "Microsoft DRM is evil!" posts, and then seeing a post the very next day talking about how awesome Apple is? One company is buckling to industry pressure and including DRM, the other has a fricking Trusted Platform Module in every new computer it makes. The double standard is infuriating.
So if I buy a mac, how does the DRM affect me? Do I have to worry about my computer becoming unusable if I change hardware? Do I have to worry about re-registering? Do I have to worry about registering in the first place? The answers are, of course, no, no, and no. So is there a chance Apple will delete software off of my computer without my permission as MS's built in security will? No. So what, exactly, is the issue? There is a chip with an encryption key on it in the box? Okay, so why should I care? I'm a pragmatist. If my files were being DRM'd so I could not move to something else or if Apple was restricting me in any way, maybe I'd care. Apple does put DRM on their music files, they sell, but I generally don't buy from them. I did buy a few songs once that I could not find elsewhere, but I legally stripped the DRM off with a freeware program and backed them up as a regular audio CD with no DRM. What's the problem?
I use Windows and OS X and Linux on the desktop. Currently I favor OS X because it gives me the best feature set for general tasks. If Apple starts implementing DRM in such a way as to inconvenience me, I'll migrate to something else. I'm not going to do so, however, unless the DRM does inconvenience me. I'm not being shortsighted either. Any use that prevents me from being able to move platforms would probably tip the balance away from Apple, as I value portability.
The only real restriction I've seen Apple implement with encryption is locking their software to their hardware (any Apple hardware not a specific machine). Since Apple only licenses their software to run on their platform the only people this inconveniences are people who plan to use the software but break the license, and that doesn't leave a lot of room for complaint. Would I prefer it if OS X would run on any hardware? Sure, it would be a great feature. The problem is Apple's main product would directly compete with an abusive monopoly, and that means it would die and we would not get to use it anymore. The traditional strategy for dealing with such a monopoly is to build a separate vertical chain of supply, which Apple has done. Breaking that chain before MS is stopped from their criminal monopoly abuse is not a real option for Apple, so I don't blame them at all for only licensing their OS for their hardware.
Re:Futile petitions aside (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Old and busted: Bill Gates New hotness: Steve J (Score:2, Insightful)
Umm... the whole point of TPM modules is to deny the owner full control. And even if that was not the case, that's the agenda and the intent behind this hardware. If you ignore such factors, then nothing--no artifact whatsoever--is inherently bad or good and your use of the distinction becomes vaccuous.
Re:Yes, do look at FairPlay (Score:1, Insightful)
"And it's from a company who said early on that they weren't a fan of DRM and has refused to license it."
they refuse to licence it because they want to use their market dominance so people who want to use iTunes and not break the DMCA have to have an iPod... God, I'm sure they hate that damn DRM...
The options (Score:5, Insightful)
Those are the options. And they all suck.
This is an opportunity for somebody. Probably somebody in China.
Re:That stampede sound you are hearing.... (Score:3, Insightful)
It surprised me to see Ultimate Vista so high on the charts.
It suggests that the price and the hardware requirements for Vista are not the barriers some geeks believe. It suggests that the discounted pricing on Vista Premium for Vista Ultimate purchasers was dead on target.
It suggests that buyers have nothing in common with the Geek, an entirely different set of values and expectations.
It should be very interesting to see how well Windows Home Server products do in the fall.
Re:Futile petitions aside (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:An internet petition, of all things? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:EULA's and click thru's (Score:2, Insightful)
You'll find the same thing in leases. Landlords will throw everything into a lease that they want to happen, even though much of it may be counter to absolute local tenant's rights, relying on the tenant to assume the terms are binding because it was in the contract and comply.
It's psychology, not law.
KFG
Re:That stampede sound you are hearing.... (Score:2, Insightful)
On Linux:
Every single time you play back a DVD under linux using Open Source software in the United States, you're breaking the law. Why? This software is not licensed, and under the DMCA, it's illegal to decrypt it.
Listen up. This is NOT going to change when it comes to high definition content playback. Yes, maybe you'll eventually be able to play back this content in Linux, but certainly not legally - unless someone finds a way to license this! You'll once again be breaking the law.
Having said that, tell me why it's so terribly bad that Microsoft is giving it's customers the ability to legally play back high definition video from Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs? This requires DRM and HDCP support. This requirement was handed to them from the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD consortium. Customers are going to demand the ability to play back the content, so Microsoft is making sure not to abandon it's customers! BECAUSE THEY DEMAND IT!
On OSX:
OSX rocks, there's no doubt about it. But again, think about this. If you want to legally play back HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content in OSX, it requires the use of DRM and HDCP, or it will be downgraded to a lower resolution! There's no getting around this! Apple, Inc. is going to be damn sure to allow its customers to play back this content legally! And I guarantee they won't take as much flack for this than Microsoft on Slashdot. Ho Hum, nothing new to see here.
So, install linux - you won't be able to use that Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player... and if you do, you'll be breaking the law.
So, install OSX - you'll be able to play it back LEGALLY because apple will see to it you can, provided you have an HDCP compliant monitor.
So, install Vista - you'll be able to play it back LEGALLY because MS will see to it you can, provided you have an HDCP compliant monitor. They might even back port this to XP, so you can LEGALLY play back HD content under XP. Those assholes!
Get it? Linux is not going to save you here. It's going to HINDER legal playback of these formats. Does it suck? Yes! But there's no getting around it - the people higher up the food chain are still going to demand their slice of the pie, anyway you cut it.
Re:That stampede sound you are hearing.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Interesting. That datum made me decide to check something a little more relevant: The status of Apple in Computer hardware sales. Given that Apple doesn't focus on selling its operating system off the shelf, it seem more appropriate to check the GP's assertion that people are 'stampeding' to the Mac by seeing how Apple computers are selling.
Now, this list [amazon.com] is updated hourly, so it's subject to change, but when I checked, Apple had the top 3 positions in the best-seller list, and a total of five entries in the top ten.
So, according to this unscientific metric (albeit chosen by you): The majority of new computer buyers are buying Apple products. Sounds like a stampede to me.
Re:That stampede sound you are hearing.... (Score:3, Insightful)
No, not really. You CAN let it draw the full screen for each program, and run Defender, and run full-drive indexing, and throw open a media share, but you can also just turn all of that off.
All else being equal, go for the Vista machine over the Mac. MS lives and dies by accommodating power users; Mac lives and dies by making an elegant universal interface. Unless you already know Mac, or really love Unix, you'll get a better experience as a windows power user with vista.