No Aero Glass for dirty pirates

Mathew Everett 13 Apr, 2006 at 3:49pm ET Article published in Tech

When you make the operating system that runs on the overwhelming majority of the world’s PCs, there are a few things that go along with the massive market share. One of them is people who want to run your OS without paying for it.

With the release of Vista, Microsoft is pulling out a new tool from its antipiracy toolbox. Aero, the new whiz-bang UI for Vista, will only be available to registered users of Windows. That’s right–no matter how fast your CPU and graphics card are, if Microsoft determines you are running a pirated version of Vista then it’s the toned-down interface for you.

Users of illegitimate copies of Vista will be stuck with the same stripped-down UI that owners of Windows Vista Home Basic edition will see. The Windows Vista Basic GUI will look and act similar to the familiar Windows XP interface, but updated with the Vista look and feel. It will also be missing the 3D and translucency effects found in Aero Glass.

Source: ARS Technica

Comments

13 Apr 2006 ~ 4:23pm Thrax I smell a hacked shell controller already.
13 Apr 2006 ~ 6:20pm CB I smell apathy.

Lots and lots of apathy.
13 Apr 2006 ~ 7:01pm Garg Ha! That's kind of funny. I applaud Microsoft for their moxie.

I wonder if they'll let versions they've determined to be pirated to get security updates?
14 Apr 2006 ~ 2:09am Whats that smell, I smell a...I smell a hack

has m$ even put a price tag on this yet. i mean, its not like we havent all heard the "this will revolutionize computing for ever" line before.
14 Apr 2006 ~ 9:55am GooD

Gargoyle wrote:

Ha! That's kind of funny. I applaud Microsoft for their moxie.

I wonder if they'll let versions they've determined to be pirated to get security updates?

In fact i think they will. Cuz 1 infected computer will often try to infect others , so secure every computer, even those with illegal OS, is a good thing for all of us on the net, and i think MS knows that... at least i hope so.
16 Apr 2006 ~ 5:21pm Enverex Erm... I'm confused. If people can circumvent activation and install it in the first place, why does MS think there is going to be any difference with the GUI?
16 Apr 2006 ~ 9:55pm entropy

Enverex wrote:

Erm... I'm confused. If people can circumvent activation and install it in the first place, why does MS think there is going to be any difference with the GUI?

Ding ding ding!

I give it 5 hours after they implement the "anti-piracy" move for it to be hacked. Or less.
17 Apr 2006 ~ 2:31am andyru a cheap, download only license would be good.
17 Apr 2006 ~ 2:32am Garg Aren't they denying certain updates to people with known pirated keys aleady with Windows XP?
18 Apr 2006 ~ 4:01pm GHoosdum Certain updates, yes, but they are not denying critical security patches.
18 Apr 2006 ~ 4:22pm Sledgehammer70

Gargoyle wrote:

Aren't they denying certain updates to people with known pirated keys aleady with Windows XP?

I saw work arounds for that the day they established that security update ...
18 Apr 2006 ~ 4:25pm CB That's all that I care about.

Aren't they worried that some users might not want to have a resource hogging 'new' interface...

This move might encourage some people who might not have pirated before, to do so because they don't care about getting spiffy new buttons.

This will be the thought process involved:
"Personally, I still use the 'classic windows' graphics set in XP. I don't like the XP buttons, why would I like Vista's buttons. If I don't like Vista's buttons why would I pay for them?"...
18 Apr 2006 ~ 4:26pm GHoosdum Because you're not paying just for the buttons - that would be like saying "I can pirate Oblivion, because I don't care for the new UI"
18 Apr 2006 ~ 4:35pm CB Sure, but Bathesda doesn't tell people that 'Pirates will have to use the old UI'

Saying that would be an invitation to people to just use the old UI. It wont feel like pirating, because they esentially just gave you permission to use it for free in a limited maner... Like a shareware version...
18 Apr 2006 ~ 9:43pm V-P

GooD wrote:

In fact i think they will. Cuz 1 infected computer will often try to infect others , so secure every computer, even those with illegal OS, is a good thing for all of us on the net, and i think MS knows that... at least i hope so.

Sure they know it... But the real question is.. DO they care?
18 Apr 2006 ~ 11:54pm RWB Hell yes they care...
21 Apr 2006 ~ 9:39am Jengo im a clean pirate, so does that mean i get aero glass?

I bath frequently!!

I Promise!