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"Vista's legal fine print raises red flags"
BTP
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Here's another one of those "articles I read while eating lunch". I figured there would be some people here interested to read this.
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/175801
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/175801
Vista's legal fine print raises red flags
January 29, 2007
Michael Geist
Vista, the latest version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, makes its long awaited consumer debut tomorrow. The first major upgrade in five years, Vista incorporates a new, sleek look and features a wide array of new functionality, such as better search tools and stronger security.
The early reviews have tended to damn the upgrade with faint praise, however, characterizing it as the best, most secure version of Windows, yet one that contains few, if any, revolutionary features.
While those reviews have focused chiefly on Vista's new functionality, for the past few months the legal and technical communities have dug into Vista's "fine print." Those communities have raised red flags about Vista's legal terms and conditions as well as the technical limitations that have been incorporated into the software at the insistence of the motion picture industry.
The net effect of these concerns may constitute the real Vista revolution as they point to an unprecedented loss of consumer control over their own personal computers. 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.
Vista's legal fine print includes extensive provisions granting Microsoft the right to regularly check the legitimacy of the software and holds the prospect of deleting certain programs without the user's knowledge. During the installation process, users "activate" Vista by associating it with a particular computer or device and transmitting certain hardware information directly to Microsoft.
Even after installation, the legal agreement grants Microsoft the right to revalidate the software or to require users to reactivate it should they make changes to their computer components. In addition, it sets significant limits on the ability to copy or transfer the software, prohibiting anything more than a single backup copy and setting strict limits on transferring the software to different devices or users.
Vista also incorporates Windows Defender, an anti-virus program that actively scans computers for "spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted software." The agreement does not define any of these terms, leaving it to Microsoft to determine what constitutes unwanted software.
Once operational, the agreement warns that Windows Defender will, by default, automatically remove software rated "high" or "severe," even though that may result in other software ceasing to work or mistakenly result in the removal of software that is not unwanted.
For greater certainty, the terms and conditions remove any doubt about who is in control by providing that "this agreement only gives you some rights to use the software. Microsoft reserves all other rights." For those users frustrated by the software's limitations, Microsoft cautions that "you may not work around any technical limitations in the software."
Those technical limitations have proven to be even more controversial than the legal ones.
Last December, Peter Guttman, a computer scientist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand released a paper called "A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection." The paper pieced together the technical fine print behind Vista, unraveling numerous limitations in the new software seemingly installed at the direct request of Hollywood interests.
Guttman focused primarily on the restrictions associated with the ability to play back high-definition content from the next-generation DVDs such as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (referred to as "premium content").
He noted that Vista intentionally degrades the picture quality of premium content when played on most computer monitors.
Guttman's research suggests that consumers will pay more for less with poorer picture quality yet higher costs since Microsoft needed to obtain licences from third parties in order to access the technology that protects premium content (those licence fees were presumably incorporated into Vista's price).
Moreover, he calculated that the technological controls would require considerable consumption of computing power with the system conducting 30 checks each second to ensure that there are no attacks on the security of the premium content.
Microsoft responded to Guttman's paper earlier this month, maintaining that content owners demanded the premium content restrictions. According to Microsoft, "if the policies [associated with the premium content] required protections that Windows Vista couldn't support, then the content would not be able to play at all on Windows Vista PCs." While that may be true, left unsaid is Microsoft's ability to demand a better deal on behalf of its enormous user base or the prospect that users could opt-out of the technical controls.
When Microsoft introduced Windows 95 more than a decade ago, it adopted the Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" as its theme song. As millions of consumers contemplate the company's latest upgrade, the legal and technological restrictions may leave them singing "You Can't Always Get What You Want."
Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. He can reached at mgeist@uottawa.ca or online at www.michaelgeist.ca.
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection & DS High Scores Thread
I WILL NOT BE DOING 3DS FOR NWC THREAD. SOMEONE ELSE WILL HAVE TO TAKE OVER.
Spoiler contains Friend Codes. Won't you be my friend?
I WILL NOT BE DOING 3DS FOR NWC THREAD. SOMEONE ELSE WILL HAVE TO TAKE OVER.
Spoiler contains Friend Codes. Won't you be my friend?
My Friend Codes!
More Friend Codes!
Mario Kart Wii: 3136-6982-0286 Tetris Party: 2364 1569 4310
Guitar Hero: Metallica: 1032 7229 7191
TATSUNOKO VS CAPCOM: 1935-2070-9123
Nintendo DS:
Worms: Open Warfare 2: 1418-7870-1606 Space Bust-a-Move: 017398 403043
Scribblenauts: 1290-7509-5558
More Friend Codes!
Mario Kart Wii: 3136-6982-0286 Tetris Party: 2364 1569 4310
Guitar Hero: Metallica: 1032 7229 7191
TATSUNOKO VS CAPCOM: 1935-2070-9123
Nintendo DS:
Worms: Open Warfare 2: 1418-7870-1606 Space Bust-a-Move: 017398 403043
Scribblenauts: 1290-7509-5558
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And that right there is why Microsoft can get away with it.. people will still give them money for it.
caffron said: "and cat pee is not a laughing matter"
How long before hackers crack every single one of these? :P
Not to mention I can still run it if I absolutely need to.
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I think I bolded the only actually important paragraph and even then it's ambiguous. Honestly, if this is about window's defender default options removing shit like edonkey from people's computer then good. If this is about ICT then everyone is fucked regardless of operating system.
EDIT: I can't spell
Sorry, but Bioshock looks too awesome.
The language in some of those clauses is outrageous.
Dear sir, meet Xbox 360. Xbox 360, meet dear sir.
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And maybe not even then, depending on what those games are.
Ironicly enough this still gives Microsoft monies.
I don't have a problems with companies making money. I have a problem with companys producing a dog like Vista and expecting people to buy it.
Microsoft has made it extremely easy to abandon Windows based gaming.
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If you buy a legitimate copy and dont use pirated software you have no worries at all.
I mean, Microsoft is just protecting their sales and copyrights. Fuck you who complain about this kind of thing.
As someone said before, apparently this is all in XP's EULA, too. The real reason I'm avoiding Vista for the moment is how much more of a system hog it is. If sticking with XP means I'll have a more stable experience and greater framerates, then I'll stick with XP. I'll wait until DX10 becomes required by nearly all new releases.
XP together with an antivirus is exactly the same.
i'm actually looking forwards to these too.
steam steam lol. i actually like what Valve's done with Steam as a concept. too bad this game is coming out for the "Games for Windows" platform, destined to poorly standardize PC games.
you shouldn't do that, that's dumb and horrible for the environment.
however, based on the games you just listed, accept that you are
part of a shrinking demographic that caters to increasingly "hardcore" gamers. PC games have been about RTSes and FPSes and variations of such for years. and now MMORPGs are taking the stage. people are moving away from that to consoles because they're getting bored and can find new and/or better gaming on consoles. or people are just going with consoles because the insane cost of entry (read: hardware) is not there (unless you're on a PS3, olol). you also still have the basic technical problems of PCs with a dizzying array of multiple configurations which developers are sadly not wanting to deal with anymore. they like consoles because they know what hardware they are dealing with.
it is not about you. it is about the overall market, consisting of casual AND hardcore gamers both. why do you think MS is gunning for its "Gaming for Windows" platform? it's an attempt to revitalize a dying PC gaming market.
so to attempt to bring this back to the original topic, Vista is horrible for other reasons, and i will be holding back as much as possible by sticking with XP. ironic. this also means i'm not going to be doing much PC gaming for a long while, save the occasional Starcraft sessions and old skool C&C. oh, and some hardcore Flash game action.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
antivirus programs delete other programs off your system without your knowledge or consent?
WOW. THAT'S NEWS TO ME.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
Well it seems like it is.
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I could understand ignorant masses doing this, but geez, you guys should know better. Mac gaming is almost on par with PC gaming now, vast majority are ported instantly or within six months. Honestly between consoles and an Apple laptop/desktop you should have everything covered.
I am halfway saved up for upgrading my XP to OSX (tiger?). I am gonna wait till I graduate so I dont screw myself over with the university.
I mean, I am not being facetious - I just don't keep up with what comes out on macs because, hey, I don't have one.
Oh boy. This...this is really wrong.
There are lots of Mac native games. But there are WAY more ones that never make it.
Mac as a gaming platform is only viable with Windows virtualization.
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What antivirus programs have this feature, then? I've never heard of anything doing it.
Read my book. (It has a robot in it.)
I give it 3 :roll: :roll: :roll: out of 5 for trying to scare up hits by stirring the pot. Nice attempt, but next time maybe throw in some terms like "DRM" or "anti-trust", those always get the hits a'flowing.
The porting has gotten better you have to admit. But I see your point. Happily bootcamp is a non-vaporware solution that is being perfected for this. While my original statement might have been an overstated, its point remains perfectly valid.
Wait isn't DX10 support only going to be included in Vista?
And the point is, none of it is a big deal at all. I'm running Vista right now, and one of the first things I did was turn off Defender, it isn't some sort of unstoppable monster. You can just turn it off.
The activation thing has been around since XP, that shit hasn't changed at all. And frankly, it's one of the only ways Microsoft can hurt pirates, I think it's fair. If you have a legit copy, you can always just call them, and they will give you an activation key.
And lastly, HDCP will be cracked within 30 days of its release, there's just no way around it. The decision to restrict HDCP content was not really Microsoft's anyways. Blame Sony and HD-DVD makers, as well as the movie industry.
You guys are overreacting way too much. Vista is a perfectly fine OS, I'm really enjoying it. It hasn't tried to kill my children yet, and it doesn't seem to have any objections to my programs.
And for those who say Vista is a resource hog: incorrect. I've been getting the same or better FPS in pretty much all of my games.
Also, going strictly by what people on this very forum have said, isn't the HD-DVD limitation in fact a hardware one? As in, every single component in the chain has to have encryption set up or you're automatically downgraded? DVI isn't encrypted, thus it gets downgraded; it sucks, but unless you expect MS to lobby the people who developed the damned thing it's out of their hands.