__/ [ Steve de Mena ] on Thursday 28 December 2006 17:14 \__
> KDT wrote:
>> Dan Johnson wrote:
>>> "Tim Smith" <reply_in_group@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>> news:12ooclo82fgl35b@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Peter Gutmann has an interesting analysis of Vista content protection
>>>> here:
>>>>
>>>> <http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.txt>
>>>>
>>>> Ouch!
>>> This article seems to be describing the copy-protection
>>> measures that HD-DVD and Blu-ray mandate. They are
>>> quite stupid; strongly suggestedive of an industry that has
>>> come to view its customers as The Enemy.
>>>
>>> But last I heard, Vista was not going to include codecs for
>>> these formats anyway. It was to be left to third-parties,
>>> like DVD playing is in Windows XP.
>>>
>>> Have the plans changed? I doubt it. The article is
>>> full of breathless exageration in other areas; I
>>> expect it's just wrong about this.
>>
>> Vista's content protection is even worse and affects you even if you
>> never use your computer to view high resolution content.
>>
>> "Once a weakness is found in a particular driver or device, that driver
>> will
>> have its signature revoked by Microsoft, which means that it will cease
>> to
>> function (details on this are a bit vague here, presumably some minimum
>> functionality like generic 640x480 VGA support will still be available
>> in
>> order for the system to boot). This means that a report of a
>> compromise of a
>> particular driver or device will cause all support for that device
>> worldwide
>> to be turned off until a fix can be found [Note H]. Again, details are
>> sketchy, but if it's a device problem then presumably the device turns
>> into a
>> paperweight once it's revoked. If it's an older device for which the
>> vendor
>> isn't interested in rewriting their drivers (and in the fast-moving
>> hardware
>> market most devices enter "legacy" status within a year of two of their
>> replacement models becoming available), all devices of that type
>> worldwide
>> become permanently unusable."
>>
>
> Why on earth would Microsoft disable a device
> driver unless it was causing irreparable harm to
> the system?
>
> Note that this is enforceable in 64-bit Vista only.
Devices now being disbled for /these/ reasons? What about zombies and
hijackers? There are new scary Vista realities unveiled every day...
Just imagine that mother who goes to by a PC and the salesman who tries to
sell her the most high-priced PC, running Vista, of coruse (XP is still
available, maybe due to backlash and serious backward compatibility issues).
Then, the mother is forced to use her credit card to upgrade edition (Home
and Basic are literally crippleware and engineer to bring in more cash).
Then, music is all DRM'd, at least behind the scenes, leading to a long-term
always-approaching nightmare. The mother starts surfing the Web, unaware
that Microsoft tracks every move she makes in order to build a profile and
optimise search results, for profit. When she read her E-mail, Microsoft
scans the messages and begins to deliver ads everywhere, as though the
company has just read her mind (and her friends' mind). There are many more
nasties, but this is just a minddump... the PC and vendor use and control
the user. It's essentially just an apparatus for fulfilling one's interests
and milking cash.
I've never watched Minority Report, but it does remind me of a popular Jim
Currey movie that I watched about 10 years ago. Everything is being watched
and a taregetted lifestyle supersede any sanity that's inherent in privacy.
--
~~ Kind greetings and happy holidays!
Roy S. Schestowitz | "In hell, treason is the work of angels"
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