Windows Vista demonstration

[Conquest10]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y_Jp6PxsSQ

[BJ_M]

Vista's legal fine print raises red flags

Jan 29, 2007 04:30 AM
Michael Geist

Vista, the latest version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, makes its long awaited consumer debut tomorrow. The first major upgrade in five years, Vista incorporates a new, sleek look and features a wide array of new functionality, such as better search tools and stronger security.

The early reviews have tended to damn the upgrade with faint praise, however, characterizing it as the best, most secure version of Windows, yet one that contains few, if any, revolutionary features.

While those reviews have focused chiefly on Vista's new functionality, for the past few months the legal and technical communities have dug into Vista's "fine print." Those communities have raised red flags about Vista's legal terms and conditions as well as the technical limitations that have been incorporated into the software at the insistence of the motion picture industry.

The net effect of these concerns may constitute the real Vista revolution as they point to an unprecedented loss of consumer control over their own personal computers. In the name of shielding consumers from computer viruses and protecting copyright owners from potential infringement, Vista seemingly wrestles control of the "user experience" from the user.

Vista's legal fine print includes extensive provisions granting Microsoft the right to regularly check the legitimacy of the software and holds the prospect of deleting certain programs without the user's knowledge. During the installation process, users "activate" Vista by associating it with a particular computer or device and transmitting certain hardware information directly to Microsoft.

Even after installation, the legal agreement grants Microsoft the right to revalidate the software or to require users to reactivate it should they make changes to their computer components. In addition, it sets significant limits on the ability to copy or transfer the software, prohibiting anything more than a single backup copy and setting strict limits on transferring the software to different devices or users.

Vista also incorporates Windows Defender, an anti-virus program that actively scans computers for "spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted software." The agreement does not define any of these terms, leaving it to Microsoft to determine what constitutes unwanted software.

Once operational, the agreement warns that Windows Defender will, by default, automatically remove software rated "high" or "severe," even though that may result in other software ceasing to work or mistakenly result in the removal of software that is not unwanted.

For greater certainty, the terms and conditions remove any doubt about who is in control by providing that "this agreement only gives you some rights to use the software. Microsoft reserves all other rights." For those users frustrated by the software's limitations, Microsoft cautions that "you may not work around any technical limitations in the software."

Those technical limitations have proven to be even more controversial than the legal ones.

Last December, Peter Guttman, a computer scientist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand released a paper called "A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection." The paper pieced together the technical fine print behind Vista, unraveling numerous limitations in the new software seemingly installed at the direct request of Hollywood interests.

Guttman focused primarily on the restrictions associated with the ability to play back high-definition content from the next-generation DVDs such as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (referred to as "premium content").

He noted that Vista intentionally degrades the picture quality of premium content when played on most computer monitors.

Guttman's research suggests that consumers will pay more for less with poorer picture quality yet higher costs since Microsoft needed to obtain licences from third parties in order to access the technology that protects premium content (those licence fees were presumably incorporated into Vista's price).

Moreover, he calculated that the technological controls would require considerable consumption of computing power with the system conducting 30 checks each second to ensure that there are no attacks on the security of the premium content.

Microsoft responded to Guttman's paper earlier this month, maintaining that content owners demanded the premium content restrictions. According to Microsoft, "if the policies [associated with the premium content] required protections that Windows Vista couldn't support, then the content would not be able to play at all on Windows Vista PCs." While that may be true, left unsaid is Microsoft's ability to demand a better deal on behalf of its enormous user base or the prospect that users could opt-out of the technical controls.

When Microsoft introduced Windows 95 more than a decade ago, it adopted the Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" as its theme song. As millions of consumers contemplate the company's latest upgrade, the legal and technological restrictions may leave them singing "You Can't Always Get What You Want."


Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. He can reached at www.michaelgeist.ca.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

Vista's legal fine print raises red flags

Jan 29, 2007 04:30 AM
Michael Geist

Vista, the latest version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, makes its long awaited consumer debut tomorrow. The first major upgrade in five years, Vista incorporates a new, sleek look and features a wide array of new functionality, such as better search tools and stronger security.

The early reviews have tended to damn the upgrade with faint praise, however, characterizing it as the best, most secure version of Windows, yet one that contains few, if any, revolutionary features.

While those reviews have focused chiefly on Vista's new functionality, for the past few months the legal and technical communities have dug into Vista's "fine print." Those communities have raised red flags about Vista's legal terms and conditions as well as the technical limitations that have been incorporated into the software at the insistence of the motion picture industry.

The net effect of these concerns may constitute the real Vista revolution as they point to an unprecedented loss of consumer control over their own personal computers. In the name of shielding consumers from computer viruses and protecting copyright owners from potential infringement, Vista seemingly wrestles control of the "user experience" from the user.

Vista's legal fine print includes extensive provisions granting Microsoft the right to regularly check the legitimacy of the software and holds the prospect of deleting certain programs without the user's knowledge. During the installation process, users "activate" Vista by associating it with a particular computer or device and transmitting certain hardware information directly to Microsoft.

Even after installation, the legal agreement grants Microsoft the right to revalidate the software or to require users to reactivate it should they make changes to their computer components. In addition, it sets significant limits on the ability to copy or transfer the software, prohibiting anything more than a single backup copy and setting strict limits on transferring the software to different devices or users.

Vista also incorporates Windows Defender, an anti-virus program that actively scans computers for "spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted software." The agreement does not define any of these terms, leaving it to Microsoft to determine what constitutes unwanted software.

Once operational, the agreement warns that Windows Defender will, by default, automatically remove software rated "high" or "severe," even though that may result in other software ceasing to work or mistakenly result in the removal of software that is not unwanted.

For greater certainty, the terms and conditions remove any doubt about who is in control by providing that "this agreement only gives you some rights to use the software. Microsoft reserves all other rights." For those users frustrated by the software's limitations, Microsoft cautions that "you may not work around any technical limitations in the software."

Those technical limitations have proven to be even more controversial than the legal ones.

Last December, Peter Guttman, a computer scientist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand released a paper called "A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection." The paper pieced together the technical fine print behind Vista, unraveling numerous limitations in the new software seemingly installed at the direct request of Hollywood interests.

Guttman focused primarily on the restrictions associated with the ability to play back high-definition content from the next-generation DVDs such as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (referred to as "premium content").

He noted that Vista intentionally degrades the picture quality of premium content when played on most computer monitors.

Guttman's research suggests that consumers will pay more for less with poorer picture quality yet higher costs since Microsoft needed to obtain licences from third parties in order to access the technology that protects premium content (those licence fees were presumably incorporated into Vista's price).

Moreover, he calculated that the technological controls would require considerable consumption of computing power with the system conducting 30 checks each second to ensure that there are no attacks on the security of the premium content.

Microsoft responded to Guttman's paper earlier this month, maintaining that content owners demanded the premium content restrictions. According to Microsoft, "if the policies [associated with the premium content] required protections that Windows Vista couldn't support, then the content would not be able to play at all on Windows Vista PCs." While that may be true, left unsaid is Microsoft's ability to demand a better deal on behalf of its enormous user base or the prospect that users could opt-out of the technical controls.

When Microsoft introduced Windows 95 more than a decade ago, it adopted the Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" as its theme song. As millions of consumers contemplate the company's latest upgrade, the legal and technological restrictions may leave them singing "You Can't Always Get What You Want."


Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. He can reached at www.michaelgeist.ca.

Uh... I'll wait until the movie comes out...

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

Now wait a minute.... if this is true then it really sucks!.

I hope that they do something about it in order to fix this.

[zzyzzx]

Now wait a minute.... if this is true then it really sucks!.

I hope that they do something about it in order to fix this.

I would not e suprized if there are already hacks to disable this stuff. Plus I'm also guessing that this is one of the reasons why Vista consumes so much computing power. One of the reasons why I hold off "updating" as long as possible is because of all the bloatware associated with it.

[MackemX]

if you upgrade to Vista from XP then it invalidates your XP key and apparently you can't go back to XP even if you don't like Vista

the thing is you can upgrade Vista with itself with the upgrade version . I think you just install it first but without putting a key in. Once it's installed you have a 30 day grace period but all you do is run the install again via Vista, do a clean upgrade and delete the old Vista install folder afterwards or something like that

I've seen it on some PC's while in shops browsing and I was lost trying to do stuff but it is pretty

[zzyzzx]

The other thing that I was wondering was if you could install and use it without ever connecting to the internet.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

The other thing that I was wondering was if you could install and use it without ever connecting to the internet.

That's a good question. What happens with those people that don't have an internet connection?.

Phone activation?, call in all the time?.

You are working just at the middle of an important project and everything is blocked suddenly:

**POOF** it is your friendly app Microsoft validation tool, please call your local representative right now in order to verify if your copy is still valid.

[zzyzzx]

I would have thought that this whole validation thing would have been dropped due to it's massive unpopularity.

[gll99]

I would have thought that this whole validation thing would have been dropped due to it's massive unpopularity.

I think it's the opposite. What probably delayed Vista before Christmas was making sure that they had all the OS validation routines in place and closing the loopholes found in xp.

Proponents of Linux are missing a great opportunity to gain massive support. All they need is to put together a user friendly easy to install package with the most common tools before people make the switch. The reason I never tried Linux is because I didn't know where to start, which version to choose, how to install software, can it coexist with windows etc.. It's like starting over and with no experience it's an OS many people like me need lots of tlc and help in learning

I'll bet MAC's gain some ground also. Their tv commercials although preying a bit on the naive are really effective.

I'm not planning on moving to Vista unless it severely affects this video hobby but only after I've examined the Linux option.

[mh2360]

Vista also incorporates Windows Defender, an anti-virus program that actively scans computers for "spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted software." The agreement does not define any of these terms, leaving it to Microsoft to determine what constitutes unwanted software.

The net effect of these concerns may constitute the real Vista revolution as they point to an unprecedented loss of consumer control over their own personal computers. In the name of shielding consumers from computer viruses and protecting copyright owners from potential infringement, Vista seemingly wrestles control of the "user experience" from the user.

Vista's legal fine print includes extensive provisions granting Microsoft the right to regularly check the legitimacy of the software and holds the prospect of deleting certain programs without the user's knowledge. During the installation process, users "activate" Vista by associating it with a particular computer or device and transmitting certain hardware information directly to Microsoft.

Last December, Peter Guttman, a computer scientist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand released a paper called "A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection." The paper pieced together the technical fine print behind Vista, unraveling numerous limitations in the new software seemingly installed at the direct request of Hollywood interests.

For greater certainty, the terms and conditions remove any doubt about who is in control by providing that "this agreement only gives you some rights to use the software. Microsoft reserves all other rights." For those users frustrated by the software's limitations, Microsoft cautions that "you may not work around any technical limitations in the software."

So all it would really take is for the MPAA or similar organisations to "request" that Microsoft not allow certain DVD or CD ripping software, or even certain P2P programs to be run on their operating system and before you know it, it's been erased from your hard drive, and there probably isn't much you can do about it.

Those of you who say that you could get around it by using some sort of "crack", look at the last paragraph. This could mean that if some sort of crack IS detected, then you could be violating Microsoft's terms and conditions and potentially have your Vista licence cancelled..

[AlecWest]

Ten years from now, I suspect I'll be back to reading books and getting my entertainment on the radio. When hardware and software were built to serve the user, a home computer became an essential tool. But when hardware and software starts being built to serve the needs of developers (and their cronies), I'll be more than happy to let THEM buy them.

[frankiec]

Ten years from now, I suspect I'll be back to reading books and getting my entertainment on the radio. When hardware and software were built to serve the user, a home computer became an essential tool. But when hardware and software starts being built to serve the needs of developers (and their cronies), I'll be more than happy to let THEM buy them.

Or you could just use a Mac as a tool to get things done instead of being Bill Gates' bitch.

[SquirrelDip]

A Mac can be used as a tool?

[MackemX]

A Mac can be used as a tool?

I always thought that it was a tool who used a Mac

[BJ_M]

a MAC TOOL BOX anyway

[BJ_M]

another use of a mac i guess

[Cobra]

I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate x64 here. It's good. As with any new system, it has bugs, but it was a very smooth migration.

As for invalidating your XP key, that's not actually true. It would happen if you bought an upgrade and let it loose on your system running XP for a non-clean install as per the manual. However, it is easy to perform a clean install with an upgrade - a loophole that Microsoft seem to have deliberately left wide open.

Activation/validation was easy. It will do it automatically, or you can tell it to go away and get it done now. For me, it just happened - simple.

There seem to be plenty of horror stories going around about Vista. Most of them aren't as bad as they're made out. 8)

[cplevel42]

Well, I know that the horror stories are true. Just bought a new system loaded with vista. about a quarter of the apps that I tried loading did not work including photoshop 7 and quickbooks 2006. These and many more programs are verified not to work by Microsoft. We wiped vista, loaded XP and got main board and graphics drivers online. Wow! what a difference. XP runs about 15% faster than vista and we have the afore mentioned apps working like a chram. Vista is a pile of crap my friends and that is just the plain truth.

[BJ_M]

Microsoft OneCare Last in Antivirus Tests


"PC World has a story reporting that Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare came in dead last out of a group of 17 antivirus programs tested against hundreds of thousands of pieces of malware. The report of an Austrian antivirus researcher was released at the AV Comparatives Web site this week. Several free AV products were included in the test as well." While the top dog was able to find 99.5% of the malicious code, OneCare clocked in at 82.4%. Of course, there's no metric for the severity of the malware in the 17% gap.

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_02.php

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129521-c,antivirus/article.html

This is not the first evaluation to give a Microsoft security program a black eye. Last week, for example, Australian security company PC Tools released research that claimed Windows Defender--Microsoft's anti-spyware title--detected just 46 percent to 53 percent of spyware.

"We are looking closely at the methodology and results of the test to ensure that Windows Live OneCare performs better in future tests," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

[Cobra]

I was considering OneCare when looking for AV software about a month ago. Glad I didn't go with it!

[BJ_M]

"Microsoft has launched a marketing campaign that lets any student at an Australian university buy the Ultimate edition of Office 2007, usual price $1,150, for only $75 — a discount of about 93%. But when students go to the promotion site, Microsoft Live OneCare pops up a warning that the site may be a phishing scam. The warning reads: 'Phishing filter has determined this might be a phishing website. We recommend that you do not give any of your information to such websites. Phishing websites impersonate trustworthy websites for the purpose of obtaining your personal or financial information.'"