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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."
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
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.
As a small-business owner who spends all day just configuring/fixing/testing/developing/working, I can tell you right now.....This would pound the last nail into the coffin for using MS products for me. MS obviously doesn't care about people that have to make things WORK and have little time to do so. After I have spend a few hundred hours tweaking a mail server that will have to deliver 100,000 messages per day, or a web farm that has to work FLAWLESSLY and serve hundreds of millions of hits per month, this one thing that I would not want to have to deal with, especially when I have to add/change a network interface to accomodate a SAN development or some other change where we don't have time to worry about such nonsensical shit as "Will the OS allow us to do this"
Screw that. My shop will stay Linux anyway, but that is just BS!
- Eric
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
...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.
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.
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
You can say it was a mac-mac scenario ;-)
That isn't as far-fetched as it sounds.
Last week, our phone guy decided to reinstall the OS on our main voice mail server. Since it was running a "lowly" copy of Windows 2000 Pro, he decided that it needed a "server-grade" OS, and bought Microsoft Windows 2003 Server for Small Businesses. He installed in near the end of the week, and then took time off to put a new roof on his house.
Well, this morning, the machine in question shut itself off. I turned it on, it shut itself off again in a couple of hours. I looked in event log, and found that the machine was turning itself off because we violated the EULA by not setting it up as a domain controller.
Yep. Just because we didn't need to authenticate users, the machine keeps shutting itself off. Isn't that user-friendly?
Oh, you're not stuck, you're just unable to let go of the onion rings.
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();
Sorry to disappoint, but the hobbyists are now decades removed from the empire builders. The hobbyists' desires no longer add value to the PC. The true empire builders are now the businesses who order 10,000 Dell PCs and the 10,000 Windows licenses to go with them. If you want to have an impact on the future direction of Windows, go work for one of the Fortune 500 companies and bend the ear of one of the resident Microsoft reps. Like any business, they only listen when it's money talking.
By the way, Microsoft loves the big orders. They make boatloads of money with no expense. The nice thing about business customers is those 10,000 people already have their own support structure, and only a handful of headquarters people are authorized to call MS and bitch about problems. Microsoft can afford to spend a bit of money helping them, (making them look like they have gold-plated service,) and yet doesn't have to answer to the 9,995 idiots who would otherwise be punching the f'ing monkey and installing spyware.
John
...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.
MS has this ridiculous system service called "SBSCore" that exists only to turn off the computer every hour if you aren't running as a DC. Install SysInternals' Process Explorer, suspend/pause sbscrexe, go into the registry to set the service to disabled, then remove all read permissions for every account from the actual file. The file is in \windows\system32\sbscrexe.exe. Then you can terminate the process. Don't delete the file, though, that really got Windows upset when I tried that.
c es\SBCore
Reg key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servi
In regedit, right click, give Administrators permission to the key and all child nodes. Then change the Start DWORD that will appear undernearth that to 4.
MS is looking to hurt the pc enthusiasts who for all intensive purposes helped them create such a vast "empire"?
Clippy:
"It looks like you're fucking up the english language!!11oneoneone
Did you mean:
a) Intents and purposes
b) intensive porpoises
c) insensitive poopy-faces?
Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
well, it's a doggy dog world out there!
Beware of the Leopard.
From now on, everyone who complains that editing Unix config files is too hard will be directed to this post. Thank you.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?