Vista's legal fine print raises red flags

Toronto Star ^ | Jan 29, 2007 | Michael Geist

[Old_Mil]

There are a lot of good reasons to switch to a Macintosh - it's a clearly superior product at the same price; This article does a good job of outlining another.

[Clara Lou]

Thanks, but no Macintosh. I've gone Linux. It's great. It's free.

[fr_freak]

Microsoft seems pretty intent on driving users away from its products. That said, I'm sure the registry hacks to shut off all of these "features" will be available on the Net shortly.

[Melinda in TN]

That's why I went backwards to Windows2000 Professional.

[Domangart]

C;ear;y no one needs this now. It will be installed in the new systems. Gloat ware will have in in the next installment.

[xjcsa]

There are a lot of good reasons to switch to a Macintosh - it's a clearly superior product at the same price...

There are a couple of problems with that statement: First, Macintoshes sell for a significantly higher price than equivalent PC's. Second, if it were a "clearly superior" product, I think they would have more than a ten percent market share. Third, what's so #&$@ing hard about building a mouse with more than one button and a scroll wheel?

[Severa]

Thanks, but no Macintosh. I've gone Linux. It's great. It's free.

Hear, hear. Wiped Windows off my comp last month and having a blast with the Linux distro known as Ubuntu. Hell, even if I still had Windows, I wouldn't jump to Vista just yet. Let them fix out the kinks first before taking the plunge.

[IronJack]

to damn ... with faint praise
the best, most secure version of Windows

That's like being the best cellist in Missoula.

[RS]

I wonder what Microsoft would do if thousands of buyers were to purchase a copy, tear open the package, then return it to the store saying they would not agree to the terms ?

[steve-b]

According to Microsoft, "if the policies [associated with the premium content] required protections that Windows Vista couldn't support, then the content would not be able to play at all on Windows Vista PCs."

BS. Windows is still the 800-pound gorilla -- refusing to release content in a form compatible with it is suicide. Microsoft surrendered to somebody doing a Blazing Saddles self-hostage-taking.

[Cementjungle]

There are a lot of good reasons to switch to a Macintosh - it's a clearly superior product at the same price

It's fine for some things, but it can't do others (like offer a Windows development platform for Windows programmers like myself). Besides, Macs are expensive and Apple is a monopoly within the Mac market.

[Waco]

The fine print says: "Don't buy me! Run like hell."

[Arcy]

I'll be sticking with xp. I could care less to spend any more money on a new os.

[Clara Lou]

I'm doing Kubuntu. It can't be beat. I'm resisting the urge, so far, to delete my XP drive, but I can feel my resistance weakening. I even got my older brother hooked on it. He's sold on it, and also considering wiping his XP.

[Clara Lou]

I'm doing Kubuntu. It can't be beat. I'm resisting the urge, so far, to delete my XP drive, but I can feel my resistance weakening. I even got my older brother hooked on it. He's sold on it, and also considering wiping his XP.

Wild horses couldn't drag me to Vista.

[fr_freak]

I wonder what Microsoft would do if thousands of buyers were to purchase a copy, tear open the package, then return it to the store saying they would not agree to the terms ?

The fine print on the receipt of sale probably says "NO REFUNDS".

[miliantnutcase]

I'm happy with XP. I'll sit this one out at least until the first service pack.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

I'm running XP right now and everything works very well.

I never upgrade to a new OS till at least SP1 is released.

[Dutch Boy]

Great, another thing to deal with....

My current computer is dying the death of a 1000 cuts. I have lost the on board modem due to an electrical strike. A year later the on board network card MAC address is all zeros. Today about half of my USB ports quit working. I found a laptop replacement. I'm just holding out as long as I can to get the most bang for my buck.

Do I buy a more powerful but cheaper laptop with Vista or the less powerful more expensive XP model????? Maybe the more powerful Vista machine and downgrade it to XP...