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Join the campaign and speak out for your freedom

Please register, so you can join the conversation and receive alerts and updates.

by John Sullivan posted at 2006-12-15 12:06 last modified 2007-02-21 16:56 Copyright © 2006 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.

Welcome to BadVista.org, the Free Software Foundation campaign opposing Microsoft Vista adoption and spotlighting free software alternatives.

The official industry release day for Windows Vista was November 30. Vista will be released on users in January 2007 (or so the story goes).

With your help, we will:

  • Organize supporters into effective actions protesting Microsoft's daylight theft of our freedoms
  • Aggregate news stories cutting through MS Windows Vista marketing propaganda
  • Provide a user-friendly gateway to free software adoption

You can help the campaign and stay up-to-date by signing up for the BadVista mailing list. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to get involved, so there are two ways to do this.

The recommended way is to have an account at fsf.org. If you've already set one of those up, maybe by donating in the past as an associate member, or in order to leave comments on the GPLv3 drafts, then you can just go to your mailing settings and check the new box for the BadVista mailing list.

If you don't have an fsf.org account yet, then it's easy to set one up. We're using a single sign-on for everything we do now, so you'll only have to go through this once. It only takes a minute, and most of the information is optional (please just leave any fields you don't like blank instead of telling us your address is 123 asdf St.).

This is a blog, and we want it to be a conversation and a community—once you're registered, you'll be able to leave comments on posts here, and we hope you will. Test it out with a "Hello" at the bottom of this post if you want.

But if you're a wallflower or none of this appeals to you, or if you are a Microsoft employee and don't want us to know that you're keeping tabs on us, then feel free to use this form.

Welcome!

Re:Join the campaign and speak out for your freedom

Posted by bryansee bryansee at 2008-03-05 16:41
Hello! Salam!

I'd like to join the BadVista campaign and speak out for my precious software freedom, demanding that all Microsoft software (including Windows Vista and its successor) to be released under a license which respects the freedom and privacy of computer users.

Saya nak menyertai kempen BadVista dan mengucap untuk kebebasan perisian saya, semua perisian Microsoft (termasuklah Windows Vista dan penggantinya) mesti dikeluar di bawah lesen yang menghormati kebersendirian dan kebebasan pengguna komputer.

Re:Join the campaign and speak out for your freedom

Posted by search at 2008-04-07 11:23
I completely agree with all that here is told
So you can find the information on it on my search resource

Re:Join the campaign and speak out for your freedom

Posted by olga123 at 2008-09-16 11:58
I completely agree with all that here is told
Freedom Searh

La Free Software Foundation anuncia una campaña contra Microsoft Vista

Posted by meneame.net at 2006-12-15 14:10
Según la FSF la campaña tiene un doble objetivo: en primer lugar, advertir de los peligros que inflige a los usuarios el próximo Microsoft Windows Vista y, en segundo lugar, promover alternativas libres a los derechos de privacidad y seguridad de los usuarios.

La Free Software Foundation anuncia una campaña contra Microsoft Vista

Posted by Fresqui.com at 2006-12-15 15:43
Según la FSF la campaña tiene un doble objetivo: en primer lugar, advertir de los peligros que inflige a los usuarios el próximo Microsoft Windows Vista y, en segundo lugar, promover alternativas libres a los derechos de privacidad y seguridad de los u

BadVista.org: FSF launches campaign against Microsoft Vista

by John Sullivan posted at 2006-12-15 15:51 last modified 2007-02-21 16:54 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.

Boston, MA—December 15, 2006—The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today launched BadVista.org, a campaign with a twofold mission of exposing the harms inflicted on computer users by the new Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free software alternatives that respect users' security and privacy rights.

“Vista is an upsell masquerading as an upgrade. It is an overall regression when you look at the most important aspect of owning and using a computer: your control over what it does. Obviously MS Windows is already proprietary and very restrictive, and well worth rejecting. But the new 'features' in Vista are a Trojan Horse to smuggle in even more restrictions. We'll be focusing attention on detailing how they work, how to resist them, and why people should care”, said FSF program administrator John Sullivan.

The campaign will organize supporters into effective and unusual actions drawing attention to this daylight theft of computer users' rights, aggregate news stories cutting through the Vista marketing propaganda, and provide a user-friendly gateway to the adoption of free software operating systems like gNewSense (http://www.gnewsense.org) and Ututo (http://www.ututo.org).

Peter Brown, executive director of the FSF said, “Whilst Microsoft embarks upon its largest ever product launch, its marketing dollars will be spent in an effort to fool the media and user community about the goals of Vista. Our campaign will ask the important questions. Can you set yourself or your company free? Can you ever be free from Microsoft? As with our campaign against Digital Restrictions Management, we aim to demonstrate that technologists can be social activists, because we know the harm that Vista will cause”.

Among other harms, BadVista.org will focus on the danger posed by Treacherous Computing in Vista. Commonly called Trusted Computing in the industry, it is an attempt to turn computers from machines controlled by their user into machines that monitor their user and refuse to operate in ways that manufacturers don't authorize.

Supporters can sign up to receive more information and participate in the campaign at http://badvista.org.


The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom) software—particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants— and free documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of software. Their Web site, located at www.fsf.org, is an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support their work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org. They are headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.

Press Contact: For more information about this announcement or to schedule an interview, please contact Peter Brown or John Sullivan at +1-617-542-5942 or <pr@fsf.org>.

(This story is on digg.)

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FSF launches campaign against Microsoft Vista

Posted by UNIX-WORLD NEWS at 2006-12-15 17:59
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today launched BadVista.org, a campaign with a twofold mission of exposing the harms inflicted on computer users by the new Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free software alternatives that respect users' security an

BadVista - Kampagne der FSF

Posted by F!XMBR at 2006-12-15 18:06
Boston, MA—December 15, 2006—The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today launched BadVista.org, a campaign with a twofold mission of exposing the harms inflicted on computer users by the new Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free software alterna...

Organización estadounidense declara la guerra a Microsoft Windows Vista

Voy a empezar contando una fábula, la de la mosca y el elefante. Había una mosca volando por todo el

FSF Launches "BadVista" Campaign

Posted by Donna's SecurityFlash at 2006-12-16 22:08
From Slashdot http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/16/2252240 : FrankNFurter writes to note the launch

Bad Vista

Posted by chorse's weblog at 2006-12-17 13:12
The Free Software Foundation has launched a capaign against Vista. You really should have a look. Freedom tastes of reality! ...

Die Badvista Kampagne

Posted by at 2006-12-18 07:53
Die Free Software Foundation hat unter der Domain Badvista.org eine Kampagne gegen Windows Vista gestartet. Die Kampagne verfolgt zwei Ziele: Erstens soll auf die Gefahr hingewiesen werden, die sich Benutzer von Windows Vista aussetzen und zweitens sollen kostenlose Software Alternativen, die die Privatsphaere und die Sicherheit des Benutzers respektieren, gefoerdert werden.

Informationen wie man die Badvista Kampagne unterstuetzen und sich aktiv beteiligen kann, sind ebenfalls auf der Website zu finden.

BadVista.org

Posted by Timmy's Blog at 2006-12-18 11:27
The Free Software Foundation luanched a new site: BadVista.org They want to promote free software alternatives that respect users’ security and privacy rights. To be honest, I don’t know what they are trying to accomplish with this campaign...

BadVista, la seconda Intifada

Posted by casperize at 2006-12-18 22:26
Doveva accadere, era solo questione di tempo. Il Profeta ha parlato, la fatwa contro il nascente demone Windows Vista partorito dall’Impero del Male con sede a Redmond è firmata, i muezzin stanno salendo ai minareti per attaccare la lagna e...

Organización estadounidense declara la guerra a Microsoft Windows Vista

Posted by Bloggers MSDN Latam at 2006-12-19 05:05
Voy a empezar contando una fábula, la de la mosca y el elefante. Había una mosca volando por todo el

BadVista.org, I proud of you?

Posted by Lorgor at 2006-12-19 15:02
John Sullivan, program administrator of The Free Software Foundation (FSF) announced the BadVista.org a campaign against Microsoft (Windows) Vista.  I am interesting on this (I don’t care on what they want to do with Microsoft). “Vista is an...

Vista - it's cool, but

Posted by OffBeatMammal at 2006-12-21 03:26
Because the service pack for SQL 2005 is now available ( for testing ) that lets it run under Vista I

You know Vista is&nbsp;Bad?

Posted by iTechnology at 2007-01-12 09:49
Free Software Foundation has launched a campaign (i.e BadVista) against Microsoft Vista which will be released for public in the next month (i.e January 2007). FSF has launched the campaign against Vista when they know Microsoft was trying to convince ...

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.

What a transition to Windows Vista might look like

by John Sullivan posted at 2007-01-19 16:16 last modified 2007-02-21 16:49 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.
Thanks to all of you who have sent in images for us to use in the campaign. Keep them coming! Here's a great one we received from Samuel Lourenço.
From this to this

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BadVista shirt

by John Sullivan posted at 2007-02-15 15:58 last modified 2007-02-21 16:45 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.

We are working on producing some t-shirts of our own, but in the meantime, an enterprising supporter has independently made a BadVista logo shirt available at cafepress.com.

Note that sales of this shirt do not fund the campaign, but wearing the logo does help.

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New BadVista shirts available!

by John Sullivan posted at 2007-04-05 17:53 last modified 2007-04-05 17:53

BadVista shirts are now available! Purchasing them helps support the campaign and the work of the Free Software Foundation. It's also a great way to get the BadVista message out to people who don't spend quite as much time on the Internets as some of us do.

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Mailing lists available on gmane.org

by John Sullivan posted at 2007-05-07 14:43 last modified 2007-05-07 14:43

You can now keep up with both of the campaign's mailing lists via gmane.org.

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Vista SP1 Preview

by josh posted at 2007-10-09 12:04 last modified 2007-10-12 12:52

Word is out that Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is in Beta mode. Reviewers mention that it is relatively unchanged, i.e., it is still running as a giant piece of proprietary malware, but, that it is running a little bit faster (one report takes a shot at it claiming that it is almost as fast as Windows 98). Unfortunately, Service Pack 1 still leaves Vista designed to restrict what users can do with their software.

So, my advice is: don't wait for Service Pack 1. Despite the free software worlds constant battle to acquire hardware specifications (often reverse engineering them) in order to develop free software drivers, GNU/Linux still supports far more hardware than Vista ever will. One of the reasons for this is because Vista needs certain hardware requirements to implement Digital Restrictions Management schemes and Trusted Computing schemes so that the hardware and the software can restrict how you can use your software, your data, and all of your multi-media content. I'm not sure you can run GNU/Linux on a shoebox, but you certainly don't need a top of the line machine like Vista requires. Most distributions run on anything from your old 12-pound laptop from the early 90s to the latest and greatest super-computer cluster, as well as most everything in between. When you install GNU/Linux, you decide if you want to stay on the cutting edge and be a "beta tester," or you can choose to run a heavily tested and stable version of an application. GNU/Linux is not designed to restrict the user.

In fact, free software carries freedom to the user. Microsoft claims absolute ownership over their software, but, with free software, you have all the same rights as developers do to use, to change, to share (even to sell) the software to whomever, and for whatever purpose you see fit -- and, as long as you continue to pass along those same freedoms to everyone else, it will always be free software. So, don't wait for SP1, install your favorite GNU/Linux distribution today, and be a part of a thriving and respectful community that values your freedom of choice and your freedom to do what you wish with your software, your data, and your multimedia content.


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Re:Vista SP1 Preview

Posted by babbage babbage at 2007-10-09 12:04
The first Vista Service Pack has been announced. Amazingly Microsoft are already warning Vista users how it's Service Pack may stop some programs working: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7205059.stm I thought the idea of a Service Pack was to help make a computer with Vista run better.

Vista problems

Posted by sheraz sheraz at 2007-10-09 12:04
I've never seen an operating system so unstable than vista, perhaps it is far more unstable than windows 98 when it was originally launched! No software seems to work smoothly in vista. If I click on any executable to install any software, it is subjected to window's built-in screeneing process, that sometime takes upto 2 minutes before the instal shield runs actually. It is so irritating and yes it happens on my genuine vista home premium that came with my latest 2Ghz 2GB hp pavillion dv6599...

The sad news is that even internet explorer stops respoding right in the miidle of browising when you opened multiple tabs and are seriously researching online! Nothing is recovered after you restart.

Yahoo messenger has problems, DAP has problem these often stop respeonding and i know its all due to vista.

Windows sidebar is another tension at startup it often hags resulting in delayed startup. And wehn windows is updating, the system is very slow till update is complete and we actually restart the system. REALLY windows vista is designed to 'reduce' and 'restrict' when we can do with our PC!

Re:Vista SP1 Preview

Posted by darolu darolu at 2007-10-09 12:04
they probably added more "prohibited words":

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/9900/dsfdsvj1.jpg

Yeah you can not save a con.jpg no matter where.

Re:Vista SP1 Preview

Posted by k9mike k9mike at 2007-10-09 12:04
Any legal action for a defective product???

It is now the end of Feb 2008 and no SP1. And no date for a fixed product. Just a lot of complaints. For past year a defective product has been sold on new machines.

Re:Vista SP1 Preview

Posted by oyun at 2007-10-09 12:04
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/9900/dsfdsvj1.jpg

not found ?

Re:Vista SP1 Preview

Posted by ksreddy at 2008-01-29 10:44
What Josh said is cent percent correct. Free software carries freedom to the user. So, don't wait for SP1, and try to install your favorite GNU/Linux distribution today.

Re:Vista SP1 Preview

Posted by daan daan at 2008-03-12 12:11
Hi!

Why are you so angry? If you don't like Microsoft and/or Windows and/or Vista, then just ignore the existence. Why isn't that sufficient? If I don't like Sony, because it doesn't play every DVD, then I just buy a Pioneer that does. Why would I make such a fuss about Sony? I read on this site that any linux distro can do everything you'd ever want with a computer. For me, that sounds easy: move to Linux and never think about Windows again. But it isn't that easy, because you guys are really angry. Vista, nor Windows, nor Microsoft have so much power that they force a mayor role in your lives, or can they? And if they can, can you tell me then how they have achieved that and why you guys (or any other person for that matter) can't break loose?

The war against MS has my attention for years now, and I still don't understand the hatred against MS. If I don't like Heineken beer, then I just buy another brand. Everyone agrees. But if I don't like MS, then I use an alternative and never stop complaining about MS. That's the part I don't understand.

Greetings,

Daan
The Netherlands

Re:Vista SP1 Preview

Posted by tl tl at 2008-03-18 10:57
Since working with vista, my down time has been exceptional. I first bought ME to find I had to buy xp, now vista64 to find out I may have to buy xp again. Money and many frustrating hours multiplied by a percenatge of the population. What class action lawsuits are available to the normal customer, and is any willing to sign on.

Re:Vista SP1 Preview

Posted by darolu at 2008-04-11 10:39
Sorry that link doesn't work for you, it still does for me, I uploaded it to another image hosting service site:
http://www.subirimagen.es/08/0410/123301/dsfdsvj1.jpg

Replying to Daan, about "our hatred to M$", is not that we (well at least I and a lot of free software supporters I know) hate M$ and all of his products, is just that we are very concerned about software freedom and freedom in general; M$ supports and encourages techniques that put our freedom in danger, techniques such as DRM and many other policies they have made, support and encourage, I mean... you can't even name a file con.jpg for Pete's sake! not even if you make it out of scratch, does that sound right to you? it may be "just an image" for you, but imagine what they will forbid tomorrow. Their unethical measures and lack of collaborative spirit are just wrong, we in the free software world like to collaborate, share, respect each other's choices and support freedom, you can see the results nowadays with recent distros are just amazing, they all work great and allow you to work the way you want, give you the tools you want and need, and they all give you the freedom to do whatever you want with them; with Windows you can't even uninstall IE! not to mention the little "con.jpg" thing.

Re:con.jpg

Posted by jg216 jg216 at 2008-08-25 17:08
So call it kon.jpg. C'mon it sounds like that filename has some significance to vista's system files. You know in Ubuntu Linux I can't name a file xorg.conf and save it to my /etc/X11/ directory without messing things up pretty bad, but I don't complain about that.

And although IE can't be uninstalled it can be pretty much swept under the rug, I do all my web browsing and downloading with the much superior Firefox, I only have to look at IE for a few minutes a month when some little installation app takes me to its homepage or something like that.

And I've never had any trouble with DRM... I just use media players and devices that don't acknowledge it.

Even my cracked copies of vista have never had trouble with genuine advantage.
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.

Support the FSF
Join the campaign
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Vista News Watch
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Why I'm Skipping Windows Vista: IT Speaks Out - PC World 2008-11-06
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Neowin.net - Vista's Security Rendered Completely Useless by New Exploit 2008-08-08
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