Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @05:19AM from the stands-for-excused-user-laceration-activities dept.

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."

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gotta say by DaveJay · 2006-11-21 06:46 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Okay, this is kind of a rant in reverse, but listen:

I run Debian stable on my server at home, and testing on my home and work computers. I can get my corporate email, open microsoft docs, do graphic prep work, and everything else I could do on my Windows box -- and run ssh-agent, authentication keys and a proxy so that I can do work things from home without delays, hiccups or nonsense. The only two things it's not good at out of the box -- Quicken and games -- are available if I feel like paying for the software to support it. I can do everything I need to do, and far more than I can with Windows (which is why I'm running it at work) -- and I can backup to an external drive with rsync. Oh, and I can use flash and watch AVI movies, and install the microsoft core fonts if I want.

There's just no reason to run microsoft machines any more, unless you're ignorant, or buy a system with no OS installed -- and even the debian installer is terrific these days.

(okay, end reverse rant.)