Windows Content Protection (pure evil)

[mr_a500]

Computers used to be fun. Now they're pure evil.
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

Here are a few quotes:

"The result will be a technologically enforced monopoly that makes their current de-facto Windows monopoly seem like a velvet glove in comparison..."

"As a user, there is simply no escape. Whether you use Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 95, Linux, FreeBSD, OS X, Solaris (on x86), or almost any other OS, Windows content protection will make your hardware more expensive, less reliable, more difficult to program for, more difficult to support, more vulnerable to hostile code, and with more compatibility problems."

"...a tiny, easily-hidden piece of malware would be enough to render a machine unusably unstable, while the very nature of Vista's content protection would make it almost impossible to determine why the denial-of-service is occurring."

[mr_a500]

This looks surprisingly similar to my earlier thread on the same matter.

I missed that thread because of the vague title.

It's the same here... most US companies seem to over-charge anyone outside the US or Canada...

The fact that Canada is included doesn't mean the US companies respect Canada. They just look at Canada as if it's part of the US - ignoring the fact that we don't use "US English" and use metric. The only time they ever modify their products for the Canadian market are when there are specific laws forcing them to. Apple is just as evil. They invented something they call "North American English" (which is US English) and you can't buy an Apple Computer or product in Canada with proper English. They won't even let you buy UK versions.

[mr_a500]

@koaftder

You obviously didn't read the linked article. Read it, then tell me that it's "nothing new". :roll:

Point 2 is childishly phobic.

No, I agree with point 2. Anyone who has ever personally seen American missionaries at work outside of the US (like I have) or who has done consulting work for a US corporation knows that this is 100% true. (I quit the job in protest, by the way)

[mr_a500]

DonnyEMU
I prefer to enjoy my Vista Ultimate computer (which runs WinUAE just fine).. Than to waste time on this thread.

It's funny that you say you don't want to waste time on this thread and yet you posted the single longest post so far. (now surpassed by Waccoon)

You should think about what you are saying and how it sounds before posting..

You should take your own advice. Not one of your points is relative to the linked article. Your post is the standard "you guys are just anti-microsoft" clichéd mindless response.

Do you even know what we're talking about here? We're not saying we can do more with Amiga Workbench than with Vista. We're not saying Commodore was a friendly corporation. We're not saying the Vista upgrade is a pain compared to Workbench upgrades. The whole frigging point of this thread is to warn people that Microsoft will use Vista DRM to create an even tighter monopoly than they ever had and there will be no escape no matter what OS you use. "So not only will Microsoft be able to lock out any competitors, but because they will then represent the only available distribution channel they'll be able to dictate terms back to the content providers..."

This is not just anti-Microsoft ranting and Microsoft is not the only evil company. Sony is going overboard with DRM (my Sony videocamera refused to allow me to copy my own recordings to my Sony VCR!). Apple is trying to create a music monopoly. If Commodore was alive today, I'm sure they'd have their share of evil.

Now, maybe you like your OS to check many times per second to make sure you're not stealing anything - using up resources. Maybe you like your OS to actively prevent you from doing things and deciding on its own what you can or can't do. Maybe you like your OS to arbitrarily decide that your hardware doesn't have enough protection and disables it for you or revokes its drivers. That's good for you. I think it's crap and I feel free to tell others about it whether you think it's "horse hockey" or not.

[mr_a500]

I know it's not the end of the world, but the fact that they can't even set the default regional setting properly is really annoying. Ok, I know it's no big deal to change it manually but the fact is that lots of big companies use automatic installation scripts, ghosts, pre-installed copies, or just don't pay any attention during installation and just click "Next" all the time.

Ah, I see you've had problems too. You're right about it being "the tip of the iceberg". Part of the problem is that in Microsoft Word, dictionary is document based - meaning even if you change the many OS and application settings to have Canadian or UK English on your own computer, just about every document you receive from co-workers or other Canadians is in US English and you have to select every word in the docmument (including Header&Footer) and change it. Then of course, settings would occasionally go back to default US English for unknown reasons. It's almost like they made it difficult on purpose to force US spellings, formats and methods on Canada.