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Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries
applejax writes "SecurityFocus is running an article regarding some concerns about Vista's activation terms. Do you have the right to use properly purchased but not validated software? What happens if Microsoft deactivates your OS that was legally purchased? The article goes into some detail about Vista's validation and concerns." From the article: "The terms of the Vista EULA, like the current EULA related to the 'Windows Genuine Advantage,' allows Microsoft to unilaterally decide that you have breached the terms of the agreement, and they can essentially disable the software, and possibly deny you access to critical files on your computer without benefit of proof, hearing, testimony or judicial intervention. In fact, if Microsoft is wrong, and your software is, in fact, properly licensed, you probably will be forced to buy a license to another copy of the operating system from Microsoft just to be able to get access to your files, and then you can sue Microsoft for the original license fee."
I'd be willing to bet that it would never get this far and MS would just take care of it. They wouldn't be afraid of someone suing them over a license. That's petty to them. Maybe if a company sued because their software was legal and got a false positive on being illegal and it caused down time, now that's something to sue about. It's a shame that Microsoft doesn't care about their customers enough to make sure things like this wouldn't happen.
That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
Troll! err... Wait. No, it's true. I've never seen a pirated copy of XP get snubbed by WGA but I've sure seen what happens when it goes wrong in a corporate environment, where I know all they keys are avlid becasue the stickers are still on the machines (though the keys have been maticulously cut out of them).
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
I wonder about the software functions which are there to enforce these bits of the EULA. How secureare they? How easy do you suppose it will eventually become for anyone to point a script at a Vista box owned by someone they don't like, and send instructions for the box to shut down with extreme prejudice and turn the user's data into chunky salsa?
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
I have learned some valuable lessons regarding my data. I keep all my stuff on my external drives. Hope it will not be affected in case I decide to use Vista.
and then you can sue Microsoft for the original license fee.
I thought the new vogue in EULAs nowaways was a clause stating that by using the software, you give up the right to any litigation?
Same here. Does anyone want to start an official boycott or anything? No Vista or Office 2007 until Microsoft gets rid of some of these anti-consumer "features"?
I see having two (three) computers going forward.
1) A linux box that I use for important data - tax records, personal documents, any think like mp3's, etc.
2) A windows box that I use for entertainment (certain games) and at large companies. Since computers have been powerful enough for home use since about 2000, I can't see paying more than $499 for this and then $200 for a video card. The hardware would cost me $400 to scratch build (and $200 for the card) so I guess the OEM is splitting the $99 with Microsoft. Going forward, i'm less and less likely to use Windows computers for anything important. I'm too concerned about snooping, losing access to my own data, etc.
3) And a console for pure gaming on my big screen TV.
---
To reach this point, I've converted about 99% of my software to java, open-source applications.
Openoffice
Audacity
Gimp
Azureus
Firefox
and a few other minor programs.
I have two documents that I have to use Word for. I'm considering splitting them down into smaller documents.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
This is exactly why I bought a Mac. Because I understand the underlying nature of the operating system. I know what is and isn't on the thing. I know what DRM is installed on the thing. And I know that by purchasing the hardware I am granted a license to run the Operating System. And I don't need to worry about apple disabling my computer down the road. I'm sure someone will point me at the tyrannical and cyncial nature of OS X's Eula as well (And yes I know about the broad ranging data sharing) but the fact is, these agreements have so far crossed the line that I doubt any of it will remain enforcable in a court of law. I'd install Linux on the thing, except Microsoft has its hooks into that as well, at least according to its lawyers.
What happens when somebody in the Redmond Bunker mistypes something and deactivates Sally Jones instead of Wally Jones? Or what if some enterprising young hothead cracks his way into the validation servers and starts deactivating people at random? What if they go out of business? What happens to my data then?
I won't allow some company in some foreign country to control whether I have access to my data or not.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Add in the fact that Microsoft is selling an antivirus to fix software you've already purchased, as well as changing formats every so often to force users to upgrade, and it seems like they're getting dangerously close to racketeering.
Except that if it stems unlic'd installs, it might make MS *less* profitable since the people who were previously using pirated copies will just move to something more free and less obtrusive. Thus lowering MS's market penetration.
-b.
Wrong, this is the first step in "renting" software. Soon when Service Packs come out there will be an upgrade fee etc etc Just another way for Microshaft to screw the average consumer and leverage their product. Once I buy software I expect to be able to use it on any machine at anytime with no further input from the manufacture or developer. Until they start doing that I won't pay for any M$ products...period. I can run my hacked copy of XP until I die. Or until a nice hacked copy of Vista arrives. And people thought M$ wasn't a monopoly....
when in doubt press enter and we'll figure it out later..
so tell us all the advantages to being forced into overpriced hardware that dies just as fast as any compusa crap in a lot of instances? why is it a good thing to not be able to use any hardware?
Of course you're not locked in to OS X. You're quite to welcome to move to another OS and take your data with you. Where are you imagining this DRM?
And don't start whinging about not being able to reinstall your copy of OS X on new hardware, you can't do that with an OEM copy of Windows either.
Worried about all that activation crap? Unplug your Windows box from the net! I did, and you can too.
Here's whatcha do.
Doesn't really work for online gaming yet, but it will just as soon as the guys at VMWare fully support DX9.
Enjoy!
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
And moreso, being a pirate gives you several advantages:
1. Get rid of all the annoyances that cripple the software (there are REALLY GOOD WinXP distributions out there in torrent sites which come patched to fix the WGA problem).
2. Get the software FAST (torrent distribution technology is really fast)
3. Get a better value distribution (Have you seen those WinXP distros that provide common applications like nero burning rom and lots os bundled drivers for scsi and the like?, oh and the Service Packs) and eliminate software you dont need (like Windows Messenger).
4. It is free. Well, actually you are breaking the law [IN SOME COUNTRIES!!!!] if you download or upload them, but if you are of the ones that dont passing the red light and paying the ticket then I guess you wont have problem doing this (they are both law violations...).
I would of course suggest anyone pissed of with windows to try Linspire, Mandriva, Xandros or even Ubuntu distributions for a month. I removed WinXP from my laptop one month ago and I am very happy using Xubuntu (Ubuntu and Kubuntu where VERY unstable, crashing all the time and the sound was buggy).
I have realized that there is nothing I *really need* which I can do in Linux... the only issue (and I am sure it is the same issue for a lot of people) is the lazyness to learn.
But I got really pissed of Windows when it told me that my copy of XP was pirated... when it came PREINSTALLED in my HP Pavillion ZV5000 machine... which has a Microsoft Windows XP Proffessional 1-2CPU sticker under it. Oh, And it wont allow getting into my computer "windows can not verify the genuinity of this software"... FUCK YOU!!.
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
The inactivation of most software won't render the computer almost totally unusable. OS's should be held to a higher standard. At least there should be an option that copies all data in the C:\Users (the replacement for Docs & Settings) folder to an external drive given an admin. password if Windows gets deactivated.
-b.
Uh, that would be incorrect...I can install windows on only one computer at a time, but if that computer fails for some reason, and I purchase a new one, I can install the same copy of windows on the new computer, provided I contact their activation service and provide them with the reason I am doing it. Take that you OS X Hoe :o)
"My immediate reaction is "WTF? What kind of moron doesn't make things 64-bit safe to begin with?" Linus
While I'm currently using XP MCE (because I can't figure out how to get MythTV to record)...the one thing in this whole discussion I haven't heard anything at all about is what's going to happen to those still running XP 5 or 10 years from now??? When Microsoft decides that they will not support it any longer...does that mean trying to do XP activation is going to leave you SOL???
Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia. - Charles M. Schulz
Not sure about newer versions, but I once recovered files from an iBook with a gentoo livecd. You have to point the mount in the right direction but from there on it was an easy ride.
Than this for years. The problem with licensing software is that eventually the customer will under the license they areee to have no rights at all. Most online games already have the right to take your money and give you nothing in return. Many online games already do that "take your money and good-bye" on a whim. See the latest rounds of bannings from World of Warcraft as an example. I'm sure some of those people were innocent and had just forked over $175 for a six month subscription. "No refunds and no software because we can." - the future of software licensing.
Thanks to eating disorders most chicks are reasonably good looking these days.
Exactly. I manage ~50 specialty stand-alone PC's spread out across several US military bases. None of them are ever going to be connected to the internet. Consequently, none of them are ever going to run Vista.
Obviously, I'll never move to Vista, and I'll never allow my organization to move to Vista. It's time for me to move on anyhow, so if there's some organizational/executive push to move, I'll take the opportunity to upgrade myself right out the door.
That said, the first time BigExec or Mr.Senator gets his product accidentally deactivated, well, it probably actually won't change anything, but it'll make headlines and hopefully reduce the number of people moving to Vista. I wonder how long Dell will allow people to choose XP instead of Vista as an OS on new computers?
"Windows Vista is out! Time to upgrade to Linux!
Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
If you're worried about that, choose UFS instead of HFS+ when initially installing the OS. UFS is readable by a lot of BSD and Linux boxes. If you ask me, Apple has bent over backwards to make things compatible - they could have just locked everyone into their proprietary HFS+ system. But not only will OS X read UFS volumes, it will even boot from them.
-b.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.
Squirrel!
The *only* way MS will change their ways is if they see a hit to "the bottom line". Unfortunatly I fear that, just as with Wal*Mart
Heck, Walmart now sales PCs with Linux preinstalled now.
Right now Linux and MacOS are not options for much of the computer-owning/using population. Why? Games. Virtually none of the games most commonly played right now function in *either* platform.
I know I don't, and I know of noone else who buys and plays games much. Many of those who are game players have playstations or another game console, and those who have computers use them to get things done, check email, and surf the net. At the same tyme you're saying Macs don't have games I hear others say they wouldn't get a Mac because all they are good for is playing plays.
if Apple finally got their head out of their ass and offered their OS to the x86 using population
Apple isn't a software company, or a hardware company. Apple IS a Systems Company with both hardware and software that just work together. Apple has previously licensed Mac OS to clone makers but found out that the clone makers were draining Apple's sales. They lost more in declining hardware sales than they made in licensing Mac OS. So when they brought him back, Steve Jobs stopped the bleeding by stopping licensing Mac OS. However even if Apple were to make it work there's one big problem with licensing OSX, the 800lb gorilla that is Microsoft. Apple would be entering into direct competition with MS, and we all know how MS deals with competitors, Balmer throws his chairs around screaming he'll kill them.
FalconShould there be a Law?
I've recently upgraded from Microsoft-distributed drivers to Vendor-distributed drivers on a box, and IT TRIGGERED ACTIVATION. Spent twenty fucking minutes on the phone, got disconnected, called back, got disconnected, so called Microsoft support services and asked them to put me in touch with a human and not the fucking queue. Got it reactivated, and then I had to install the vendor-supplied NIC driver because the Microsoft-supplied wireless driver's WEP didn't work right. Guess what it did? Yep, triggered Activation. I had to call their fucking support department again.
DRIVER UPGRADES CAN TRIGGER ACTIVATION.
Stop drinking Microsoft kool-aid and introduce yourself to the real, legal product rather than a pirated corporate edition, and you might run into it sometime.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50