From: "Robert Comer" 

Yeah, I knew all that stuff, and for awhile now. :(

> I wonder if Microsoft is going to add in those costs for the TCO
> "studies" they fund?

Of course not, they're just cooked numbers anyway.

--
Bob Comer


"/m"  wrote in message
news:gnfii2pm4fl8f9elkkujplukm85j1vcuhg{at}4ax.com...
> On Sun, 8 Oct 2006 13:32:26 -0400, "Robert Comer"
>  wrote:
>
>>Guilty until proven innocent...
>
>
> Even worse, legitimate, paying customers are being told by Microsoft
> that they are the ones who will be paying extra to allow Microsoft to
> track down the pirates.
>
> http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6122462.html?tag=nefd.lede
>
> ===
> Windows Vista will have new antipiracy technology that locks people out
> their PCs if the operating system isn't activated within 30 days after
> installation.
>
> If Vista is not activated with a legitimate product registration key in
> time, the system will run in "reduced functionality mode" until it is
> activated, said Thomas Lindeman, a senior product manager at Microsoft.
> In this mode, people will be able to use a Web browser for up to an
> hour, after which time the system will log them out, he said.
>
> The new technology is part of Microsoft's new "Software Protection
> Platform," which the company plans to announce on Wednesday. It will be
> part of future versions of all Microsoft products, but debuts in Windows
> Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn," said Cori Hartje, director of
> Microsoft's Windows Genuine Software Initiative. Vista, the successor to
> Windows XP, is slated to be broadly available in January.
>
> Microsoft has escalated its battle with software pirates during the past
> two years through the "Genuine Advantage" add-ons for Windows and
> Office, its biggest cash cows. The company is now expanding its push by
> baking antipiracy features into its new products and taking more drastic
> action when it finds that a product was illegitimately acquired.
>
> Many users shouldn't be confronted by Vista's antipiracy technology,
> however. People who buy a PC with Vista installed from companies such as
> Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Gateway, for example, should find the
> operating system activated already.
>
> "Everything is going to be good to go right out of the box," Hartje
> said. "This is more for those who install after the fact."
>
> Those who install Vista themselves, for example on existing PCs, will
> have a 30-day period to activate the operating system and validate with
> Microsoft that they have a legitimate license. "During those 30 days,
> you get warning messages, it counts down. During the last three days
> they get very frequent," Lindeman said.
>
> If ignored, after 30 days Vista will display four options. The first
> will allow the user to activate online, the second is to run in reduced

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