Well that did not take long did it :p

[517th]LiNKiNYa know I used to laugh at this sort of thing but it just keeps getting more and more serious. Regardless of how everyone feels about Windows and Microsoft, i actually respect Bill and Co.

Agreed, 110%, & they HAVE 'hassled me' before (their attorneys, for using the word "WINDOWS" in some shareware & freeware I authored online... I couldn't believe it, but I did the recompiles anyhow, & put in "for Windows" into their names instead).

Still, I admire & like this company...

[517th]LiNKiNI mean he has put a lot of his OWN money into the company and it has to be tough, no matter how much money you have, to try and develop the best OS in the world, only to have people abuse the system.

Always! This is like trying to stop terrorism (impossible imo), OR occupying a nation after a war (impossible as well - historically, afaik? Occupations ALWAYS FAIL!).

[517th]LiNKiNIf it werent for Windows, Id still be a zombie on a console gaming machine, with limited possiblities and functions.

I'd be stuck on some UNIX or zOS series unit (way back no less, in the 1980's) & would have left computing FAR BEFORE the MAC came out graphical in 1984... I left it for a bit in the tail-end of the 1980's because I couldn't stand slave-terminal sessions & 'greenscreens' etc. (tty sessions in UNIX basically).

[517th]LiNKiNI am not afraid to admit that Linux isnt for me, so without Windows Id be screwed. If Microsoft said F#$K it and quit the OS business, Id prolly say screw it as well.

Ah, Linux isn't that bad, not really... the ONLY reason I am 'so into Windows' myself, is that MOST of the world runs on it, is familiar with it, @ HOME & WORK!

Tough to beat - more versatile/ubiquitous. It amazes me their stuff works as well as it does, on SO much hardware, & their Win32 API is awesome (best I have used to date) & .NET is looking better each time I use it on the job.

Windows = More apps for more purposes, & best support there is of peripherals hardwares too...

That IS an awesome combination, impossible to beat, imo... & UNIX/LINUX + even Os/2 tried it, & still working on it in the case of the UNIX/LINUX derivants, & IBM gave up with Os/2 years ago, @ least 'for the masses'... they were NEVER into that, imo. Not really...

(IBM = "too much" of a "big iron" mentality, & rightfully so - they make monies on this & always have... not 'personal computing' nearly as much, imo!)

APK

J0NPeta? Elf? Becasue they won't dig up corpses and kidnap your children will they.... :p

lol @ E.L.F earth libaration front they will fuck you up...they like bomb logging trucks and shit........imo if you wanna dig up the rain forest your ass deserves it but....

I wouldn't say that Windows Vista is over priced. Considering the price of the rest of your computer, and the fact that everything else you have, only works because of the Operating System. Sure it's expensive, but hey no one said you needed Vista just yet. I know people that still use Windows 98...well one person, and I recently got him to go a step up...he has Windows 2000 now heh.

Still only a week to crack it, thats good time. Most things get cracked before they are even offically released.

Solaris17lol @ E.L.F earth libaration front they will fuck you up...they like bomb logging trucks and shit........imo if you wanna dig up the rain forest your ass deserves it but....

Im all for being green, and not mutilating animals. However I support 'nessicary' (medical) animal testing 100% and im addicted to Steak! ;)

Peta who have heavy Elf links. Between the two are the biggest threat in America. They will never be happy untill Animals are their masters, and the leaders of the earth!

hrm...im feeling conflicted. id gladly pay 50$ for Vista Ultimate but unfortunately that wont happen. currently if i could get my hands on an 8$ copy i would.

hey will they ship worldwide i might go get copy for me :D

Piracy Wins AGAIN!

DMSMac_ConsultI think, though, that there is a certain truth to it -- not that piracy is going to increase suicide bombings in Israel or anything like that nature, but piracy is "terrorism" against the corporate regime,

Yea, the "Eisenhower Military Industrial complex" mostly... lol!

DMSMac_Consultit proves that "free enterprise" as the United States has done business for over two centuries doesn't work anymore in the information age -- if the market believes a product is not worth the money being charged by the vendor and/or the vendor overinflates the price/worth of their product, the market simply pirates it rather than pays. In the past, "free enterprise" has worked under the principal that you can make a product and set any price and people will either take it or leave it -- now, they'll either take it at your price or pirate it.

True, & I agree largely.

DMSMac_ConsultI think piracy/ "financial terrorism" is simply a marketplace revolution which will force companies to think harder when they attach monetary values to their products.... either that, or eventually, systems will ship with pre-loaded embedded operating systems and the only way to get an OS will be to buy a hardware piece with it pre-loaded. (Not that I think that'd be uncrackable either, lol.)

THAT was excellently stated, & dead-on accurate imo too. The ONLY WAY to beat it, is to integrate it into a chip (ever wonder WHY folks are saying that soon, sound DSP's & GPU's will be on the CPU & following YOUR reasoning? Probably the OS too eventually, due to piracy!)

DMSMac_ConsultI actually had an FBI Agent accuse me of being a terrorist once due to internet copyright issues, was a highly amusing conversation.

Agent: "Internet copyright infringement sites such as bittorrent trackers may even contribute to terrorism!"
Me: "Are... you calling me a terrorist?" (I'd previously been accused of piracy beforehand in the interrogation I was being subjected to... so it wasn't a stretch to ask this)

Of course, the agent started waving his hands and backpedalling from that, before he went into a speech about how it didn't matter anyway because he was "charged by the congress of the United States of America to uphold the laws of this land" (he actually said that, LMAO!)

I sort of 'feel for him', because he IS just a 'stooge doing his job'... for "the man" (w/ the money)...

APK

oh good stupid M$ maybe next time you wont make us pay $100-$400 for a OS--bastards

Easy Rhinohrm...im feeling conflicted. id gladly pay 50$ for Vista Ultimate but unfortunately that wont happen. currently if i could get my hands on an 8$ copy i would.

I agree this would be the best way to make people think twice about downloading or buying pirated stuff. I am gladly paying 70 bucks for the academic pricing of home premium. I could easily download it for free but I rather get something legit for a REASONABLE Price. If Vista was Reasonably priced for everyone it would fly off the shelves, you never know what u get with hacked sw, and I rather pay for the piece of mind...guess I feel a little safer knowing that MS is spying on me rather than some hacker from wherever.

All of you with your gas guzzling SUVs shouldnt be pointing at people saying they support terrorism, you should be looking in the mirror for someone to blame.

hotripprI agree this would be the best way to make people think twice about downloading or buying pirated stuff. I am gladly paying 70 bucks for the academic pricing of home premium. I could easily download it for free but I rather get something legit for a REASONABLE Price. If Vista was Reasonably priced for everyone it would fly off the shelves, you never know what u get with hacked sw, and I rather pay for the piece of mind...guess I feel a little safer knowing that MS is spying on me rather than some hacker from wherever.

Hit the nail on the head. And you know that vendors aren't losing money on their educational sales either -- particularly on software. There's no reason why the "educational" version of a software is so much less than the "retail", particularly when there's no noticable functionality difference.

The worst offender, by far, is Adobe Creative Suite 2.3 -- $1199 for "everyone", $369 for "educators and students" -- if manufacturers would just give EVERYONE one fair price, then piracy would go down and sales would go up, and they'd at least break even if not boost your "legal" sales revenue and profit numbers I bet.

my adobe stuff was free need i say more?

LOL something is wrong with the world...

RickDStikWell, I guess its getting a little better ... it did take them a full week this time to crack it, rather than the few hours its taken before.

umm Vista RTM has been cracked and available for way longer than a week.

the only thing new here is these guys actually get it registered and working legit even tho its a modified copy.

personally i prefer to have a real os(untouched by hackers who will put who knows what trojans/shit in it),and run hookey stuff on it.

i dont think it was expensive really(£79).i dont see the point buying retail.

tigger69personally i prefer to have a real os(untouched by hackers who will put who knows what trojans/shit in it),and run hookey stuff on it.

i dont think it was expensive really(£79).i dont see the point buying retail.

I probably wouldnt use a pirated OEM for the above reasons. But when it comes to software such as pro music and movie editing, I simply can't afford the £400 a push!

tigger69personally i prefer to have a real os(untouched by hackers who will put who knows what trojans/shit in it),and run hookey stuff on it.

i dont think it was expensive really(£79).i dont see the point buying retail.

Problem with OEM is that it only works the once, on one system. Dunno about you, but i'm pretty sure those intel people upgrade mobos every 2-3 years to keep up with the new CPU's (AM2 socket at least have a huge lifespan, using AM3 CPU's in them)

Retail here in aus is $699 - WAY too much (I can build a vista basic capable rig for $600)

i have already activated mine twice,and i KNOW oem has unlimited activations.if i change the board i will just say i changed it coz it died and was outside the warranty.if i have to buy it again in 3yrs for £79 i dont care,its cheaper than £200 for retail.

Well,...at least it was a great software/programming country that hacked it.I mean with all the great contributions that Iran has made to our community,...I am sure they will find new great and meaningful things to contribute now with their new "King of the hill" hacking status.
I mean really admit it,...all of us,..how many times a day do you find your self saying, damn thats some mighty fine Iranian software I just installed.
Kudos to Iran for their ingenuity.
Now we need to just hack some famous piece of Iranian software to regain the crown:rockout:
I think they would take it in good spirit.But look out if they don't,...

MusselsProblem with OEM is that it only works the once, on one system. Dunno about you, but i'm pretty sure those intel people upgrade mobos every 2-3 years to keep up with the new CPU's (AM2 socket at least have a huge lifespan, using AM3 CPU's in them)

Works more than a few times or on a few different systems.
www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=352&type=expert&pid=4

tigger69if i change the board i will just say i changed it coz it died and was outside the warranty

They wont ask about mb.

hotrippr: Have you ever had to re-activate a legit MS OS? I've had to do it 5-6 times now, and i have had to spend 20 minutes convincing them it was a system upgrade due to hardware failure every time, they always believe you're trying to run the same OS on two PC's.

After reading that article on PCPER, I'm glad - i had hoped it was like upgrading on XP. Thanks for that news.

OEM FTW,screw paying £200 for retail.

@hotrippr,thx for that,i knew i was better off buying oem.more bang per buck fer shure.

MusselsHave you ever had to re-activate a legit MS OS? I've had to do it 5-6 times now, and i have had to spend 20 minutes convincing them it was a system upgrade due to hardware failure every time, they always believe you're trying to run the same OS on two PC's.

Heh, I haven't had that problem. When XP doesn't pass genuine validation after a reinstall, I give them a call, sure it takes twenty minutes, but they always understand when I tell them my motherboard died/ I switched out the motherboard/ I've had a big mess of hardware trouble/ the hard drive pooped. I mean, sure it takes a while to get routed to the right tech guy, and there's a long string of phone code, but I've always gotten a telephone activation code.