Silverwolf's Auditorium

Another biased Article Courtesy of CNet :

Microsoft: Vista piracy rate is half that of XP

Posted by Ina Fried | 12 comments 

Microsoft said Monday that it's seeing piracy rates for Windows Vista that are half those of Windows XP.

Now cynical me wanted to write this up as "even pirates prefer XP two to one over Vista," but that wouldn't be fair. In reality, the decline in piracy rates is largely due to the fact that Vista is much tougher to fake than XP.

"Piracy rates are lower because it's harder," Microsoft Vice President Mike Sievert said in an interview Monday.

Bull-spit I say, Piracy rates of Vista are lower because Even the software Pirates want nothing to do with it.  After all, Vista isn't anything but XP with twice the eye-candy and 1/4 the performance.  I used Vista for several months on my computers, but recently I just had enough.  I downgraded them all back to XP, and you know what ?  They all work much better now.

<sarcasm>Thanks for the fantastic upgrade Microsoft!!</sarcasm>  Even if I could pirate this software and get it for free, I wouldn't bother.

From PC World:

Microsoft launched a program to help ensure that PC refurbishers and OEMs reselling used PCs to businesses are installing legitimate copies of Windows on them.

Windows licenses are tied to the computer for which they are acquired. PC refurbishers can reinstall Windows on a rehabbed PC if they have the correct proof-of-purchase documentation -- called a Certificate of Authenticity -- and the original OS image software necessary to return the PC to its original state. However, it's often difficult to have both of these items handy for old PCs, and companies reselling used PCs will sell them without an OS installed. This leaves the PCs open for people who buy them to install Linux or a pirated version of Windows.

These computers were shipped with a copy of windows on them the first time, can anyone explain to me why we need to pay Microsoft twice for the same copy of windows ?  This is clearly another example of Microsoft exploiting it's monopoly powers to pressure people into not only running it's software, but paying twice for the privilege.

They are terrifed that these computers might end up with an OS other than Windows on them.

What a joke......

From Techdirt:

Windows Update Screws Up Again; Pissed Off Users Discover Desktop Search Auto Installed

A month ago, there was a story that made that rounds about Microsoft Windows' auto-update feature automatically installing stuff, even if people had turned off the auto-install option. This pissed off a lot of people, but we didn't write about it at the time, assuming it was a one-off glitch. Apparently not. Now reports are coming out that plenty of folks who had auto-update turned off are discovering that a recent patch automatically installed and began running Windows Desktop Search. Once installed, the app started indexing everything, chewing up resources.

Hmm, well...  This is the second time in recent memory that Microsoft has used the "Auto-update" program to secretly install software on users computers even when it was set to "Disabled" without asking them first.  And I have to tell you I'm not particularly surprised, Microsoft is an Evil, heartless corporation.  This is the same Microsoft that was convicted of being  a predatory monopoly in multiple anti-trust lawsuits a few years ago.