(Untitled)

[mmaestro]

So, I have no desire to upgrade to Windows Vista in the near future, especially because I object to the draconian DRM. But I have to admit that, having read a few reviews (there's a good one here), I can't wait to lay my hands on Office 2007. Which probably says something rather sad about me, that this is exciting.

Comments

[mmaestro]

I honestly don't know what DRM restrictions Apple build in, but given HD is in many ways built around DRM restrictions, I doubt they're much better. Heck, Apple backed the Blu-Ray standard rather than HD-DVD, which most computer manufacturers ran from precisely because it's heavier on the DRM restrictions. This is just something we're all going to have to deal with 'til the content providers - record companies and movie producers - realise that content restrictions lose them sales rather than protect them. Heck, there's 3 or 4 albums that I haven't bought because the discs had DRM restrictions on them, but Sony are probably still blaming those lost sales on the fact people are pirating (hint: I just don't have the albums at all).
While Vista seems to be a particularly bad example, I'm hoping that with the next service pack, they'll be able to strip a lot of the DRM stuff out, because it looks like the industry is finally starting to realise these measures lose them sales rather than gaining them.

[palliddreamer]

I love my Mac. Don't know about the DRM restrictions, but I've never had a problem with it. Of course I get irritated that you can't download from your ipod to your machine if your machine crashes, but that's another issue.

But Mac is happy and plays well with others, unlike Microsoft, who runs with scissors.

[wingsrising]

For good or ill, one of the versions of Windows Vista (I'm not sure if it's all of them or only the more expensive business version) has lots of slick new Tablet features. So I think there's a chance I may eventually upgrade for that reason, though not until all the dust settles. (Although it sounds like Microsoft may release another OS already in 2008.)

Bottom line for me is that I want the next Windows XP, not the next Windows ME. I'm not doing anything until I've seen how this pans out. XP is a perfectly fine OS, after all.

Does Vista stop you from burning music to CD's and then ripping it back to strip the DRM?

[mmaestro]

I'd be very surprised if they release another OS in 2008, but 2009 or 2010 might not be out of the question.

Does Vista stop you from burning music to CD's and then ripping it back to strip the DRM?

Not as far as I know, the restrictions mainly centre around HD video, where if you don't have approved, DRM compliant hardware, the OS will downgrade the signal to below HD quality. There are also some concerns that, as Vista continually checks to see whether the hardware installed is compliant and is returning the sorts of signals it expects, there will be a performance hit, and also that it might be easy for malware producers to cause problems with the signals coming from hardware and effectively hobble the entire system. I'd definitely take a wait and see approach to whether that's likely to be a problem or not, although obviously if you don't have any HD compliant hardware it's less of a concern.