Vista anti piracy

[Tortanick]

Microsoft has some kind of crazy plan where vista checks whats plugged into a video output to see if its a DRM risk, I'll stick to OSs that let me do what ever I want.

http://news.com.com/FAQ+Vistas+strong%2C+new+antipiracy+protections/2100-1025_3-5844071.html

[jcampi]

What ever floats your boat! Me, I'll stay with Windows XP for a while and take the step to Vista when I'm ready. Rock on Microsoft!

[Terry Hanushek]

Tortanick

Microsoft has some kind of crazy plan where vista checks whats plugged into a video output to see if its a DRM risk, I'll stick to OSs that let me do what ever I want.
It seems to me that M$ has gone way to far to protect the rights of record and movie content providers over the rights of their customers who purchase their o/s. Their sense of monopoly seems to have gone to their heads. If Vista were the last operating system on earth, I might consider it, otherwise ....

Terry

[jcampi]

I'm as concerned as anyone about the OS going overboard in checking and verifying the serial, etc. However, I don't blame MS for trying to prevent people from STEALING. Fighting and combating hackers is a constant struggle. If MS gives up they'd end up just being open source like other crap out there. If it bothers some that MS is trying to make an honest profit there are other options like Linux.

[Terry Hanushek]

John

It is one thing when M$ wants to protect its own rights with Windows Genuine Advantage and other anti-piracy measures. This process is a PITA but it is understandable.

However, their efforts to protect third party audio and video content is a bit much. The RIAA and MPAA are big kids and should be able to protect themselves. The way I read the C/Net article, the M$ 'link protection' will interfere with many audio / video operations even though only a small number of them might be involved with any kind of piracy. I don't pirate videos and I don't need another Big Brother.

I don't expect a Vista in my neighborhood any time soon.

Terry

[jcampi]

I hear ya, Terry. However, since MS is the main player they have to work with other software and hardware companies. It's a no win situation for MS. If they designed the OS and antipiracy code in a vacuum people would be saying how arrogant they behave. It's all about property rights. If you don't pirate movies and/or music I don't understand the issue.

[Tortanick]

Well when I orgionally posted this thread it was a philosophical thing, I belive quite strongly that my computer should work for me. And this was Microsoft saying it should work partly for Holywood. I just didn't like that.

Secondly I feel strongly in innocent untill proven guilty, no one should be investigated without a reason, Microsoft is saying that everyone is undersuspision and has to prove their innocent.

Thirdly I don't like the fact customers have to pay Microsoft to develop features they want, If holywood paid themselves I havn't heard anything about it and it would be newsworthy.

However in the time since this thread started I've moved from a purely philosophical point to a more practicle one when it became clear that by protecting content Microsoft:


Will reduce sound and video quality
Will Reduce Hardware Reliablility
Will Increase Hardware Costs
Will endanger Lives (reduced video quality combined with useing vista for viewing medical scans) Actually I think they will just ban doctors from useing Vista but if they dont...
And more


You really should read this thread (http://www.kickenhardware.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5297), its the one with all the details of why its practically bad, not just philosphically bad.

[jcampi]

Tortanick, you are using Linux so why does this bother you so much? I remember the same hysterical behavior when Intel was placing a unique number on their processors years ago. The chip could report its number over the net. Why would I care??? There is so much furor over companies spying on us and our privacy rights. Sometimes I think we have too much time and are overly paranoid.

[Tortanick]

To quote myself




Will Increase Hardware Costs
Will endanger Lives (reduced video quality combined with useing vista for viewing medical scans) Actually I think they will just ban doctors from useing Vista but if they dont...



And just because it dosn't affect me dosn't mean I should turn a blind eye. Imagine a world where people never stood up for whats right unless they were directly affected. *shudders*

Now I'm going to look up that Unique Processor thing, maby I could build a firewall to filter out every outgoing packet containing that number. [edit] intel dropped that privacy violation :)

[jcampi]

I agree with you about being passionate for what is right. I just think we sometimes tend to go overboard about privacy rights. There is a balance between the rights of a company to protect itself from people stealing from it and the rights of the consumer.

[Tortanick]

Actually privacy comes first, if a music company cannot survive without breaching a persons human right to privacy then it deserves to die.

That said I think they could survive without breaching privacy at all, enough people still buy the CDs, maby out of a sense of ethics or maby because they just like shopping. And there is plenty of things a music company makes that can't be stolen: for example the atmosphere at a live concert.

[jcampi]

I won't respond to this thread any more. As you get older and wiser you'll realize people have a right to privacy AND companies have a right not to have their property stolen. If you made something and worked hard making it you wouldn't want someone else to steal it. If you wanted to give it away that's your decision. Companies spend $ making products. They have employees and families that rely on them for a living. I think the right privacy is important, but tend to think some of us are paranoid about it. In this age of terrorism I don't mind my luggage checked and waiting in line for protection. That is a 'privacy' I can adjust to in order to cope the world today. In all of life there is a balance. One must learn to balance privacy with companies ability to earn a profit for their stock holders. After all, most families today earn dividends and profit from stocks. I don't want freeloaders stealing from a company I have invested my hard earned $ in.

[Tortanick]

I won't respond to this thread any more.
Why ever not, you havn't heard my reply? I may have something worth responding too. Besides these debates are fun!


As you get older and wiser you'll realize people have a right to privacy AND companies have a right not to have their property stolen.
Three false implications in that statement:

first it implies you're viewpoint is superour to mine, its the other way around :D

Second: It implies that I don't allready know that both those rights exist, they do but the right to privacy overules the right to theft-prevention. Music firms should stick to fighting in ways that don't require spyware on every computer. E.G. wait for a pirate to publish his IP addres by starting a website or by publishing on a p2p filesharer.

Third it implies that I will change my opinion later.

Nitpick: its not theft, its breach of copyright. Its a world of diffrence to the legal system.

I don't want freeloaders stealing from a company I have invested my hard earned $ in.

Thats microsoft right, they profit from piracy. If substantual amount of windows pirates migrated to, say Linux, then suddnely computer shops will start noticeing a growing amount of queries about Linux compatiblity, they make sure that they know and thus employ someone who dose. A reasonable amount of whom will make a point of recomending Liunx. At the same time hardware that's been compatible with Linux for years realise the advantages of putting "Linux Compatible" on the box. As Linux becomes better known, and most people can get a friend, friend of a friend, or a computer shop worker to say that £0 isn't a badge of disquality. The snowball effect kicks in and Linux grows.

Next two things happens at once:

With knowladge of Linux across the population, And the myth of a steep learning curve firmly killed (its a reasonable curve for system administrators but when you're a user its not noticably diffrent) some of the more Adventurous small buissness owners decide to start useing Linux, its free after all. As a market appears IT support Contraters start supporting Linux.

Secondly As the Linux market grows it becomes harder for hardware & games to focus just on Windows, soon the Achilles heel of Linux is removed. With Barriers to entry falling Linux adoption starts to soar.

Note I may have given the impression thats a few months, I'd say a few years but with Linux better value for money at £0 (weather you belive its technically superour & virus proof or not) Windows is staying on top because its a monopoly and because of good marketing. Word of Mouth will counter the second, and forcing a sizible chunk of the Pirates onto Linux will end the first.