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Vista to Allow "One Significant" Hardware Upgrade
fiorenza writes "Ars Technica spoke with Microsoft concerning the controversial changes in Windows Vista's licensing, and they have learned that Vista will permit one 'significant' hardware change before requiring users to either appeal to Microsoft support or purchase another license. Automatic re-activation online will fail after one use. Microsoft is using a new algorithm to monitor hardware changes and enforce licensing compliance, and the company says that it is more forgiving now than it was with Windows XP."
Windows has detected a new non-microsoft mouse and now your computer will self destruct in 5,4,3,2,1...
MS is looking to hurt the pc enthusiasts who for all intensive purposes helped them create such a vast "empire"?
aside from the various "grey" hacks and cracks that *WILL* come out of this - this is a very poor choice for MS imo.
When, oh when, will we be able to use what we paid for for what we want, within the limits of the law, without asking permission. Sheesh.
that all depends on how they choose to define 'significant'. Gamers who regularly upgrade their box are going to be unhappy at any rate; if a video card is considered 'significant', I can see storm clouds blowing. Of course, Microsoft won't care - they've got their money, and with the example of Halo 2, they can count on those purchases of Vista as given for the hardcore.
And tomorrow the stock exchange will be the human race
Anybody hear about the new cars? You buy them and you can only add one new component. After that, you've got to buy another one. Also, have you heard about the houses you can buy? You can only renovate them or add on to them one time. What?!? Doesn't make sense? That's because when you buy something you should be able to do what you want with it. The license is yours. When I buy a new car, I transfer my license the the new car. The license is mine.
So now the only reasonable option for the OS you purchased after you do something common like toss in a new video card, is to go out and get a pirate version? Well whatever, if MS wants to drive more people towards using superior pirated products, so be it. This seems to be part of a larger industry trend of artificially limiting products when there are uncrippled products out there if people look around, which just makes people want to look around. These sorts of tactics are going to bloat the pirate population, pass the rum me-hearty, y'aarrrrrrr.
So does this mean I can't buy a 5 gig stick of ram now & another one later instead of a single 10 gig stick ?
Man, it sucks being poor.
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
This is really funny but not really news knowing MS.
_ vista_eula_analysis/
5 6/5625
See this: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/29/microsoft
and this: http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2006/10/24/04
and this: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=158
MS is doing their best to kill Vista when/where they can. I wonder if they have OS/2'itis.
God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board -- Mark Twain Look for http://Thebar.steelbeachca
I purchased one copy of Windows XP Professional a long time ago, and since then I have installed it on at least 5 machines of mine or family.
I did upgrade my computer at one point, and the activation failed, so I called Windows support. I was quickly connected to some outsourced support technician who asked me the CD key of my XP CD, as well as the serial number and release (I think?) number. After giving him this info, he gave me a new CD key, which I assumed to be one shot only, like the previous one I had.
I have since learned that this is apparently a get-out-of-jail-free CD key, because I am able to install the same CD onto any machine with any hardware configuration and always pass Windows activation. And if Vista will be more lenient than XP was, then heck, I'm more than happy!
"... the company says that it is more forgiving now than it was with Windows XP."
It's uncomfortable to be in the situation that when I want to upgrade my computer, I need to be "forgiven".
--
The best of the Bush comedy videos
...if it wasn't for the fact that WINDOWS MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO INSTALL NEW HARDWARE IN ONE TRY.
The biggest benefit of a PC over buying something like a Mac was specifically upgrades. The ability to purchase a new video card for a relatively low price when games start requiring more than you can handle, etc. So effectively, this makes the PC lose its greatest benefit. That's absolutely ridiculous.
Fuck you, Microsoft. Some of the other stuff that was new in their license kinda bothered me a bit, but it didn't really affect me much. But I'm a casual gamer, and this makes it impossible.
This is nail number 128 in the coffin lid of the Universal Computing Device. Welcome to the machine.
...Um. Scratch that.
We will tell you when and where you may apply your licensed software. Do not try to trick us, because we will know. This hurts us more than it hurts you. It's for your own good. This is the only way we can protect our ability to deliver robust, secure software on-time and on-demand.
Thank you Linus. I mean, seriously. Thank you. Whose chaps would we be sucking if it weren't for you?
These stories are free but worth money.
...pray I don't alter it any further.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
When, oh when, will we be able to use what we paid for for what we want, within the limits of the law, without asking permission.
the phrase "0-day" doesn't exist for nothing.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
yeah, they thought of that too...
as it says in the EULA, you cant use the Home or Premium versions with virtualization. only the $400 Ultimate version. but, apparently, there's no technical restrictions keeping you from doing it, just legal.
If it's true that you need to purchase a new license after one significant upgrade, I suspect that for many, something like this will be their
second upgrade.
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
I didnt read the article, but the little bits above says that the algorythm is more forgiving than XP. in XP you can change almost everything and it doesn't notice... You think changing your videocard will trigger anything in Vista?
It's not off topic, just think about it for a moment.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
requiring all benchmarking to follow Microsoft's rules. And not allowing virtualization for it's home versions.
Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, which is why engineers sometimes smell really bad.
Here's an example of how it worked in XP:
"User swaps the motherboard and CPU chip for an upgraded one, swaps the video adapter, adds a second hard drive for additional storage, doubles the amount of RAM, and swaps the CD ROM drive for a faster one.
Result: Reactivation is NOT required."
And here is another example of how it worked (or rather, didn't work) in XP:
Upgraded from a direct connected single hard drive to a RAID card and 2 drive mirrored array.
Result: had to waste time on the phone with Microsoft getting a new key to install again. The previous key had only ever been used 1 time.
Windows activation is a joke anyway. You can keep using the same cdkey, you just have to call their 800 number. It's been awhile since I've done it, but they ask you a stupid question like "is this copy of windows installed on any other computers". I think once they asked me why I was reinstalling and I stated "reformat because of a virus". Let them argue that. If they complain you've called too much complain that their OS is too virus prone and keeps making you reformat. I don't know which is easier to do, get the anti-activation crack or call the 800 number.
----
Squirrel
It looks like forced activation and DRM is the wave of the future. MS gained their monopoly by creating an operating system (DOS and Windows up and including 2000) that can be ran on any old PC. MS used to not care about charging you for another license of Windows when you upgraded your PC multiple times; they figured that it was great that you were using Windows instead of OS/2, NEXTSTEP, DR-DOS, or the other alternatives at the time. Since they gained 95% market share, they repay you by implementing restrictive activation schemes that get worse with each release of Windows.
I say, no thanks. Me and thousands of other people will still hold on to our Windows 2000 disks. Even though I don't use Windows anymore (too bad Boot Camp for Mac doesn't support Windows 2000), I know plenty of people who haven't gone to XP because of this. Activation negatively inconviences (and sometimes even locks out) those who legally buy their software (no activation scheme is perfect); those who illegally obtain their software can just download a cracked version or a corporate version of it. I don't want treated as a pirate as a customer. But that is how MS wants to treat us. Oh well. I'm not buying any new versions of Windows or Office for this Mac; I'm sticking to Windows 2000 and Office 2000.
Viva Windows 2000!
Before Microsoft has spent more money supporting a licenced customer than thay gained from the sale?
FRA: STFU GTFO
Microsoft's new algorithm:
if ($windows_version = 'vista')
{
$pirated = true;
} else
{
$pirated = true;
}
"City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
You can say it was a mac-mac scenario ;-)
Of course, Microsoft is pushing hard. Soon, they will push too hard, and mass migration away from them wills start to occur (I know, I know, this has been said since 1992...).
Palm trees and 8
I think i've re-activated my copy of XP about 5 times already - mostly because of new hardware. You call a free-phone number and they just ask you "how many computers have you installed it on?". If you're dumb enough to not say anything over 3, they'll give you a new key.
It's not like the big Billy G has tapped into the line with a lie detector ready to call in a SWAT team or anything. Well, if he was, it was very convincing - anything's possible I suppose.
throw new NoSignatureException();
How does switching to a mac help in this scenario? When was the last time you put together a Mac from parts and bought an OEM copy of OS X to install on it?
If you do the virtualization correctly, it should be impossible for the host OS to know that it is running inside a VM. As far as Windows is concerned, it is running directly on top of hardware. The fact that the hardware in question does not actually exist in meatspace is merely a conceptual distinction, not a functional one.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
I used to be an avid gamer but I got fed up of the constant upgrade cycle to play new games. I got tired of new games looking or playing like shit on otherwise perfectly good hardware. I either couldn't afford or couldn't justify a high end games rig. I suppose getting older and getting into a steady relationship also helped wean me off of PC games.
Now if I want to play games I go for consoles. I can play in my living room and it's a more relaxed and social environment to play in than the home office. My girlfriend will play console games but not PC games for this reason. It leaves me free to choose to use a Mac and Linux. I'm not tied to Windows just for games any more.
Unfortunately that won't work for everyone and there will always be PC only games or games that work better with a keyboard and mouse. I was one of the lucky ones.
Andy.
...your telephone guy left you stranded, so the least you can do is *return the favor*. Go over to his house, stop down the block and check it out. If he is up on the roof, quick drive over and steal the ladder, then drive off laughing maniacally.
Now imagine that DRMed OS gets laughed into obscurity and nonexistence.
If you get a Mac Pro, you can continue to upgrade the hardware inside like you would a PC. The only thing that needs to be Apple in a Mac is the logic board (motherboard).
'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
Allowing one significant change for anyone is in fact more lenient than they were previously, as long as they continue to allow unlimited hardware changes for corporate users. For them to do otherwise would be crazy.
"The change of a single component multiple times (e.g. from video adapter A to video adapter B to video adapter C) is treated as a single change." - Microsoft
As long as the above still holds true, you could update your video card multiple times and it would still only register as that one significant change. If however, you also upgraded your soundcard it would register as a second change and would require reactivation.
"Approximately 2 percent of activation requests are due to hardware changes or other reactivations." - Microsoft
I'd wager that most people who are the kind of folks to upgrade their hardware also have corporate licensed editions of windows or are smart enough to know how to reload XP Pro or at least smart enough to pick up a phone and call Microsoft.
If you actually read the relevant portion of the Vista license instead of listening to all of the anti-Microsoft rhetoric, you'll find that the wording is such that you can run Vista in virtualization--as long as you aren't using the same copy of Vista as both host and guest. This is a departure from XPs license, which did not differentiate, and thus allowed you to run the same copy of XP on as many VMs as you wanted, so long as they were all on the same physical machine (lots of people considered this to be a loophole--looks like Microsoft did, too).
If I read the EULA correctly, I only have the ability to install Vista twice? According to MS, any significant change would require activation? Significant meaning a new video or a new hard drive. Screw that. I've had at least 4 or 5 hardware failures in my machine since I installed XP. 2 HD failures (requiring full reinstalls), 2 MB failures, 1 video card failure. And that's not counting the number of times I had to reinstall XP just because it got bloated (I'm not the only user on my machine). Is it me or does it seem like MS wants me to "rent" their software?
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Anyone else notice the tags that are on this story?
.... Oh Slashdot, I <3 you.
assholes, vista, microsoft, windows, drm (tagging beta)
Its not what it is, its something else.
The process to do this is intentionally difficult, and should be even more difficult than what it is. Microsoft has put the pricing of Small Business Server at a point where a small business can actually afford to own a server. By having others take advantage of lowered pricing for all their server needs really defeats the purpose, and cheats the little guy out of software that he couldn't otherwise afford.
But your post is +5 funny in my books none the less.
"I am altering the deal...pray I don't alter it any further."
Hmmm, that got mod'ed mostly as "Funny", yet when I read it, chills ran up and down my spine.
I think there's rather more truth than not in the parent post. Remember, Microsoft owns that "copy of Windows" on that CD; you do not. Microsoft just lets you use it, for a fee. That's the deal, and they reserve the right to alter the deal at any point. That's what the EULA says, and the congress and the courts have largely agreed with them (or been paid to do so; it amounts to the same thing).
Beware the Dark Side. Once you turn down that path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
dragonhawk@iname.microsoft.com
I do not like Microsoft. Remove them from my email address.
The problem is the corporations, and the government that allows these things to go on.
.000001% of the problem, it's your turn. Is it too inconvenient to not use Microsoft products? Then quit bitching. It is called capitalism, and you vote with your dollars. If you "elect" Microsoft, live with it.
Sorry, gotta lay the blame squarely on myself for this one. I bought Microsoft products for many years. It won't happen again, I promise. Now that I have taken care of
It is NOT the government's responsibility to insure I don't buy products from companies that have bad policies. It is mine. I don't need, nor want, the government to get involved whatsoever. Most governments tend to fuck up anything they get involved in.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
This Slashdot headline caught my eye because it perfectly epitomizes why I've grown disgusted with Microsoft: "Vista to Allow 'One Significant' Hardware Upgrade" Now I'm not a Microsoft hater. I don't think Bill Gates is the Antichrist, and I don't think Linus Torvalds is the second coming of Ada Lovelace. But ever since Windows introduced their WPA in Windows XP, I have lost a lot of respect for the Redmond juggernaut. Recently I switched to Linux as my primary operating system, and except for the occassional old game on a DOS partition I'll be doing everything I need to do in Linux from now on. Heck, DOSBox runs just dandy on my distro. I've lost respect for Microsoft, but you know what I've gained with Linux? A powerful operating system, sure, but what I'm going for here is control. If I have two PCs, I don't have to feel the slightest twinge of guilt about slapping the same copy of Linux on both machines. I don't have to feel like a criminal by hunting down a WPA crack in the event that the Almighty M$ decides to stop supporting my operating system. I don't have to feel pressured into upgrading to a more expensive OS just because my operating system, which works perfectly fine, is now deemed "obsolete." And I don't have to worry whether that OS I downloaded via Bittorrent has been laced with viruses and trojans by malicious script kiddies. And I don't have to worry about any license except the GPL, nor any copyrights except the copylefts. I'm not gloating, and I'm not giving MS the finger. I'm just happy I jumped ship. I'm also happy to be the one who has the final say about what I can do with my operating system and my software. I can alter it, copy it, give it away, and download it all to my heart's content, with a clear conscience and a fatter wallet. How's that for a significant upgrade?
Professional Dilettante
Under this act of God, beyond my control, M$ would have required me to call and beg for a new key.
No thanks. It was overwhelming enough to purchase a tower, reinstall the OS and the apps, and recover from backups. And that was during a job hunt so the PC was critical to my career during a very stressful period. The last thing I needed is to deal with re-activating the OS.
My upgrade path after W2K will be Mac. I have no desire to jump through activation hoops. Brilliant M$, you've just reduced your monopoly on the PC OS market...!
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
I was more than a little concerned that I would run into a license validation issue recently.
The motherboard in my son's PC went tits up, so he ordered an ASUS barebones box and an Athlon 64 CPU from NewEgg. We took everything else from his old eMachine chassis. (hey, it was a gift from his uncle)
Anyway, we booted from an original XP CD we've owned for years. The PC it was originally installed on has long since been salvaged for parts and is no more. We installed the OS, an SP2 CD I keep handy, then connected to the net to get another 68 updates and such. Windows Update did it's "Genuine Advantage" update and....validated the XP license with no problem.
I was prepared to browbeat an MS employee into realizing the original PC the license was installed on was like the snows of yesteryear, but it a non-event.
The box has been running for 2 weeks with no issues. It's been through at least one Windows Update pass since then with no alarms or MS Gestapo banging on the door, black helicopters circling, etc.
I would think a completely new system build (the eMachine came with a restore CD that only works on an eMachine) would have tripped an alarm for MS but that's apparently not the case.
Hopefully, Vista will be as well designed! LOL.
I am my own gestalt.