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Microsoft Withdraws Vista's Kill Switch
l-ascorbic writes "In what they are calling a change of tactics, Microsoft has removed the controversial 'kill switch' from Vista in SP1. This feature is designed to disable pirated copies of the OS, but had led to numerous reports of it disabling legitimate copies. It will be replaced with a notice that repeatedly informs the user that their OS is pirated. '[Microsoft corporate vice president Mike Sievert] added: "It's worth re-emphasizing that our fundamental strategy has not changed. All copies of Windows Vista still require activation and the system will continue to validate from time to time to verify that systems are activated properly." Microsoft said it had pursued legal action against more than 1,000 dealers of counterfeit Microsoft products in the last year and taken down more than 50,000 "illegal and improper" online software auctions.'"
The get yourself a Vista RTM ISO off of BitTorrent and utilize the little app at the very bottom of this page to save your OEM license. I've done it and it works a charm.
Correct, installing a new motherboard is not piracy.
But if you built the original pc with an OEM version of Windows because you could get it cheaper and you then try to upgrade then tough. Though Microsoft should make this point a lot clearer.
Acid House saves Souls
Ehehe, looking at the Vista sale numbers, I guess that Redmordor guys have to thank those unauthorized sellers, 'cause they could be the most part of OS activation requests at the Windows Update site... that boooooooosts the $HUGE_NUMBER of Vista selled copies.
eNjoy
Windows Vista disadvantages over XP
- Lacking application compatibility.
- Lacking driver compatibility that only recently seem to start being resolved.
- Added resource requirements, although some can be mitigated by deactivating Aero Glass.
- Added system services to improve performance over time, that may actually do things works. YMMV here.
- Further tightened antipiracy features that sometimes lead to false positives.
- Slow file operation bugs that affect some users, to be fixed in SP1, and available now as a hotfix.
- Obnoxious User Account Control, although it is debated if it's finally what Windows has needed, and *NIX systems have had for decades in "sudo".
- DRM support, although some debate this is only a support, not a requirement. People are still in charge of their systems and whether to actually play DRM protected files. Pirated HD movies can be streamed fine to a HDTV set in full resolution, for example. Nevertheless, this can be seen as Microsoft supporting anticompetitive and anticonsumer business practices in the media industry.
- Increased battery life when using Aero Glass.
- Widely reported reduced game performance.
- Lacking IE customization controls compared to IE 6.
- Dumbed down backup tool.
- Loss of functionality in the sound recorder tool.
- Controversial Kernel Patch Protection feature that achieves both good and evil.
Etc...
Windows Vista advantages over XP
- Enhanced Explorer through breadcrumb navigation and better visualized meta-data.
- Plugin architecture for thumbnail previews.
- "Abstract" virtual folders that base their contents on custom criteria, not "physical" contents.
- Organize files in "stacks" based on their metadata.
- New API:s to help users discover which application is keeping a file lock.
- Instant search / search as you type.
- Performance diagnostics console with problem history for overviews and problem resolution assistance.
- Non-destructive disk manager.
- Application-specific audio controls.
- Shadow copies for file versioning support.
- Per-user language support for multiuser installations.
- New contact management with extensibility API:s for application integration.
- New calendar application to support the iCalendar format and WebDAV server synchronization.
- Improved search in WMP 11, added integrated format support. (VC-1, AC3, etc)
- New, modularized IIS engine.
- Security feautres: Address space layout randomization, improved outbound firewall, drive encryption, EFS,
- Significantly improved task scheduler application.
- New health monitoring and system diagnostics tools.
- Significant changes to mobile computing.
Etc...
I know you wish to see the world in black & white. Sure, you really do. But the truth is that it has many shades of grey too.
I agree with you that Vista Ultimate is expensive as hell, but most of what I listed doesn't even require it.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
Not CP/M, but FreeDOS is pretty cool. According to wikipedia, CP/M is open source, so perhaps what you seek may exist.
Why is that tough?
What if the motherboard fails? Why should I have to get a new OS if I replace a part? Nope same rules should apply.
Frankly since Microsoft is a convicted monopoly they should be under all sorts of control as far as things like OEM version and such.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Still not piracy, OEM versions are no different from any other versions. In most countries you can even resell them legally. Only thing Microsoft can do is try to encourage their resellers to only sell OEM versions to OEMs.
Remember the magic phrase: EULAs are not valid!
Nero works fine with Vista for me.
Actually in the latest Ubuntu all you need to do is visit a site that uses flash and Firefox tells you you need the flash plugin and offers to automatically download and install it for you at the click of a button (all using apt and the repositories in the background, without the user needing to know how to use apt or the command line). Moments later you have fully functioning flash without any complicated commands or terminals involved.
Funny. All I had to do was run "Add/Remove Software", search for "Flash", click the box next to it, click "Apply", and I had the package installed in about 2 minutes. I had more problems trying to get Flash or Java installed in WindowsXP than I did in Ubuntu.
C Pungent
You missed out (in Ubuntu):
(c) click install when firefox prompts you to install flash
(d) automatic updates for all software on the system, not just the OS.
No having to find those downloads buried somewhere on every manufacturers site, occasionally having to locate the right version of additional runtime DLLs, and keep them all up to date yourself.
Windows isn't quite as easy as Linux, eh? When you can do that in Windows, it'll be ready for novices!
Btw, I have been a DOS / Windows user since forever, and I'm now a very happy Linux user too. Some things are better in Windows, some are better in Linux. Your comments just show that you're not really familiar with anything except Windows.
Uh, no. If you don't run your accounts as local admin, UAC prompts for a password.
No offense, but if you're installing the crap on the CDs for cameras or MP3 players, and your version of Windows is newer than 98, you're somewhere between wasting your time and actively massing up your computer. That stuff is all garbage, in my experience. All you need is the MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) or UMS (USB Mass Storage) protocol, which have been included in Windows since 2000, I believe. No special software or drivers needed.
Granted, the instructions, should you happen to read them, will probably tell you to use the (heavily branded, often slow and buggy, and possible causes of everything from slow booting to data loss) software they include. No, thank you! Plug and play; it Just Bloody Works (even as a non-admin).
Of course, there is some specialized hardware that is new enough XP won't have drivers for it, beyond perhaps basic capabilities of it's a specialized version of standard hardware (note that Linux isn't likely to give you any more than that, either). Vista is much more likely to have the drivers - it's plug-and-play collection is far newer, and part of the install footprint is over 2GB of relatively common drivers - but even if it doesn't, it can automatically find them online via Windows Update. If that fails, you can search the web manually, and even if there aren't any labeled for Vista, XP drivers will almost always work. Compare that to Linux, where most (binary) drivers will break between kernel versions (and yes, this is an advantage of open-source, but it doesn't make it any less annoying to find a driver for kernel 2.6.8 or - heaven forbid - 2.4.33, that won't work on your newer system).
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...