Windows Vista has new, anti piracy anti copyright features, do you know what they are and does it mean?

Question

Vista should be avoided?

Answer 1

The anti piracy features don't bother me. What does is the copyright/DRM features. These mean if you are accesing protedced media it disables or cripples systes that do not support proected data. As this involve pretty much everything in a current PC I have no idea how it woud work.

Think I'll stick with XP at least till I see just how bad vista turns out.

Answer 2

From a website:

In a nutshell, unless you have a display device that is equipped with specific technology intended to foil recording, the operating system will degrade the image quality so bit for bit copies cannot be made. Sounds good, right? Well, considering that almost NO monitors are currently shipping with this technology, it means that if you want to view a movie off a HD-DVD as it is encoded, or stream HD content from a Blue-Ray disk to a display, the operating system will kill the video outputs and give you nothing. If you are lucky enough, like me, to have a projector that can handle RGB signals or DVI inputs, you can get a signal but it will be run through a downscaler then an upscaler to reduce the quality.

Wow. If I am running a projector or a TV off video outputs I'll see nothing? If I am lucky enough to have a set that will allow for RGB or DVI I can pay for the privilege of having my 720p or 1080i signal degraded to DVD quality or less? Where do I sign? Paid a premium for a graphics card with component output to reap the rewards of that Hi-Def set? Too bad. Isn't technology wonderful?

Because of the nature of the technology, it is very unlikely that some widget or gizmo will be made to make the system compliant outside of buying a new monitor. Outside of cracking the OS (which is bound to happen) to turn off this 'feature', the end user is going to end up on the short end of the stick.

The irony is that most content ripping software doesn't rely on video outputs and they strip the protections on the fly. After that point the content should no longer be viewed as 'premium', and the protection becomes useless.

In the white paper on the Microsoft link above, the folk talk about the problems of open systems (a PC) versus a closed system (discrete DVD player) and how the end user can't upgrade or change the closed system. This seems to be the end goal - create an operating system that will create a closed system.

The fact is that this 'feature' serves to hurt the consumer that Microsoft has targeted with its Media Center OS. Upgrading to the Vista flavour will render that 'Hi-Def' experience in 'Low-Def' detail, and more and more people will choose alternate operating systems. In fact, if I knew that I would be getting lower quality output on anything (there is a section on audio in there) I would be reluctant to install the OS on any machine, work or otherwise. W2k and XP are perfectly adequate, and I prefer to be able to enjoy the movies as they were meant to be seen - at full resolution.

Answer 3

i have been using vista ultimate(beta build 5600) and as soon as i installed it,which is twice as quick as xp,i had to activate it within 10 days,as it was a beta i can activate it as many times as i need but the actual activation was easy and quick
the main difference with vista is everything to do with the system and running of it can only be changed by the administrator,vista is not for the pc user who likes things easy,you are by defualt only able to install games and software using administrator rights
with reference to the anti-piracy,i presume you mean the illegal copying of the vista operating system,well all i can say is i ran 10 copys of the vista i burned from the iso file i downloaded and i encountered no problems,but this was a beta copy so i cant say what the final version will be like
when xp was first released it was said to be impossible to copy but like all new technology,there will allways be some one who will find a way round the anti-piracy locks
with regards to the actual operating system "vista" i would stay well clear for at least 12 months before you buy a copy ,this will give you enough time for microsoft to fix any issues that are sure to happen,cause lets be honest,people are still finding bugs in xp and this has been around for over 4 years,
one tip i will give you is ,use mozzila firefox for browsing in vista,its 100% compatible and much quicker and safer than internet explorer 7
good luck and happy new year!

Answer 4

For years now I truly have been swearing by utilising AVG. I set up it on each laptop I run, and that i decide directly to advise it to all of my clientele on the save. additionally set up homestead windows Defender. between the two, i've got despatched out hundreds of platforms that as much as now have had no issues and have not lower back. make certain you placed AVG to replace on an familiar basis, besides as Defender, and set the two to do finished nightly scans. Vista's geared up-in firewall, as with homestead windows firewall provided that XP, has been freaking surprising. no longer something greater truly desires to be put in except you're an uber administration freak finding for issues.

Answer 5

Basically Microsoft is claiming that in order to use Vista you must have a liscensed copy. So no copied discs or downloading from a peer to peer network. But in the end people will find a way around it. They always do. Especially when companies say it cannot be done.

Answer 6

I guess microsoft is procecting it's self and I don't know if vista should be avoided or not

Answer 7

Stay out of VISTA; or your computer will no longer belong to you!

Scan the internet for "trusted computing" - vista relies heavily on it.

Answer 8

it makes me think twice