Vista to be Downloadable (Legally)

ubermiester writes "InfoWorld reports that Windows Vista will be available for legal download as of January 30th — the same day it will be available in retail stores. MS-NBC Online notes that, 'a relatively low number of computer users are likely to get Vista by downloading it from the Internet, but the mere availability indicates that Microsoft is fiddling with distribution methods for the extremely profitable franchise at the core of its business.' It will be available via the MS Marketplace site in conjunction with a Circuit City offering. Additionally, users who decide to 'upgrade' to a more expensive version of the OS can simply activate the features they want by unlocking them via online activation."

Comments

Get the facts first!

[Anonymous Coward]

Give this a read before buying Fista:

http://seclists.org/isn/2006/Dec/0107.html

Re:Get the facts first!

[VertigoAce]

First of all, as far as I can tell, that article only applies to HD-DVD and Blu-Ray content. For example, "since S/PDIF doesn't provide any content protection, Vista requires that it be
disabled when playing protected content." I tried this with DRM protected audio (streaming from Zune Marketplace) and sure enough it played on my surround sound system with no problems. Similarly, I played a DVD with DTS audio perfectly fine over the optical cable (Vista actually made this easier since it ships with a DVD decoder, unlike XP which requires you to purchase a 3rd party decoder). In other words there is no loss in functionality with respect to existing DRM-protected media (i.e. if it worked on XP it'll work the same on Vista).

So if these problems only apply to HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, I don't see them as a criticism of Microsoft and Vista, but rather to the content producers who demand these changes. As far as I know, Apple has not announced the details of commericial HD playback, but I'd be surprised if they produce something with significantly fewer restrictions. And obviously Linux won't be supporting these discs legally any time soon. It seems to me that the best option is to just continue ignoring the existence of these new discs and you won't be affected by any of this.

Re:Just a few?

[asills]

If they release the same version that got released via MSDN/Technet (one disc image with all versions on it), then it's 2.5GB for the x86 and 3.5GB for the x64.

Vista already legally downloadble

[assassinator42]

Through MSDN. You download the ISO and they give you a product key. Will the new download service work the same way?
The bigger news is that Microsoft is also selling Office this way. I know I can't download Word/PowerPoint/Excel through MSDNAA, and I also believe that you can't download it from regular MSDN.

Re:A few problems

[NSIM]

Microsoft has been doing download distribution of VISTA along with license keys throughout the beta program, I would imagine that the system they will be similar. The activation key is created by a server at Microsoft and it's basically the same thing you'd get on the outside of shrink wrapped box. If I forgot the key I can go back to my Microsoft account and retrieve it, or I can keep a copy on a burned CD or whatever.

As for corrupted downloads, in the process of the Vista beta I downloaded probably 10-15 different copies of the DVD ISO as I progressed through various builds and never had a single corrupted ISO, so I don't see that being a problem. If it had been corrupt I would simply have gone back and re-downloaded. I don't see any reason why the new system would not work the same way since there is no danger from a user downloading multiple copies of the ISO.