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5 ways to help the BadVista.org campaign

by John Sullivan posted at 2007-01-02 17:17 last modified 2007-02-21 16:52 Copyright © 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.

Try a Google search for Windows Vista. You'll find us on the first page, only a few notches below the official Microsoft site.

That's a measure of the amount of attention we received after the December launch. But we're not seeking this attention for its own sake. We want the attention so we can make sure the world knows about the new restrictions and problems that lie beneath the Vista eye candy, and about the benefits of the superior free software alternatives.

We spent the holidays catching up on all the feedback and press we received after the launch. One of the most common questions heard was, “How can I get involved? How can I help?” Here's how:

  • Show your support for the campaign by creating an account at fsf.org and subscribing to the BadVista mailing list. If you also enter your geographic information, we'll be able to contact you about campaign actions in your area.
  • Suggest news stories. You can help BadVista.org be the most effective first-stop site on the web for Vista news by letting us know about stories we have missed. Send the links to <info@badvista.org>, or leave them in the comments here.
  • Get artistic. With the name Vista, we want this campaign to have a strong visual element. If you have GIMP/Inkscape skills, draw your own "vistas" (maybe taking the pile of discarded computers at the bottom of this page as an inspiration), or campaign logos and promotional materials. Send us the info on how to get the images from you at <info@badvista.org>. Right now we could especially use some web banners that people can post to advertise the campaign, and some smaller images to go along with the blog categories as they develop.
  • Send us a blog post. We already have plans to publish the work of many others from the free software community here. If you've written something that fits as a blog post with one or both parts of our mission statement, send it to us at <info@badvista.org>.
  • Send us translations of any of the material you see on the site. We have a framework ready to go for making multilingual content available.

The second most common request we received was for a prominent area on the site listing specifically the reasons people choose free software over Vista. The beginnings of our Vista FAQ will appear shortly. And we want to hear what you think about it—what reasons and examples should we be stressing?

Protected Media Path DRM

Posted by bryansee bryansee at 2008-01-29 10:45
The Protected Media Path is used to create a Protected Environment to enforce Digital Restrictions Management protections on content. It does not restrict people to do with their own software, but DRM prevents them from copying DRM content through process isolation and continued monitoring of what kernel-mode software is loaded. If an unverified component is detected, then Vista will stop playing DRM content, rather than risk having the content copied. When a trusted component in the Protected Environment is compromised, it is revoked, thereby turning the computer against its owner. This feature is perhaps an example of Microsoft's draconian adherence to DRM, and it is added to Vista to possibly prevent people from using rightfully owned media with their own. But, this feature only applies to a very small segment of media files, called the premium content. It is to be anticipated that in the near future all commercial media files will be classified as such.

My advice is that: avoid purchasing premium content for use on Vista.

Re:5 ways to help the BadVista.org campaign

Posted by katrina at 2008-03-04 11:30
[...] Vista will stop playing DRM content, rather than risk having the content copied. When a trusted component in the Protected Environment is compromised, it is revoked, thereby turning the computer against its owner [...]
General Discussion - Microsoft will stop selling XP on June 30th
________________________
http://www.veromaxx.com/

Re:5 ways to help the BadVista.org campaign

Posted by bryansee bryansee at 2008-03-05 16:41
Here are the stories that you have missed:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9066658 - Language packs delay Vista Ultimate SP1 - ComputerWorld.com
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/15/1536256&from=rss - Vista SP1 Update Locks Out Some Users

Alan Wake Is Vista Exclusive...On PC, That Is

Posted by bryansee at 2008-03-10 17:20
Yes, Alan Wake, Remedy's upcoming thriller, will not be exclusive to PCs, just exclusively on Windows Vista for PCs, meaning that anyone running XP or below will not be able to play it.

Re:5 ways to help the BadVista.org campaign

Posted by bryansee bryansee at 2008-03-12 11:57

Re:5 ways to help the BadVista.org campaign

Posted by comment at 2008-06-16 13:08
Güzel Sözler

We will waiting your other articles..

Re:5 ways to help the BadVista.org campaign

Posted by Guzel Sozler at 2008-09-02 18:01
need help about windows server 2008 ? which is better 2003 or 2008? thnx

Re:5 ways to help the BadVista.org campaign

Posted by msn adresleri at 2008-09-18 12:16
great article thanks.
About this blog
The BadVista campaign, started in December 2006, advocated for the freedom of computer users, opposing adoption of Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free (as in freedom) software alternatives. It declared victory in January 2009, with supporters moving on to do the same work against Windows 7.

You can support the campaign by joining the FSF.

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