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from theuk.independent
Vista gives a view of a new world
Internet law professor Michael Geist casts an eye over the fine print in Windows Vista and is concerned at what he finds.
Consumers got their hands on Vista in late January
Vista, the latest version of Microsoft Windows has made its long awaited consumer debut. It incorporates a new, sleek look and such novelties as better search tools and stronger security.
Early reviews have tended to damn the upgrade with faint praise, however, characterising it as the best, most secure version of Windows, yet one that contains few, if any, revolutionary features.
While those reviews have focused chiefly on new functions, for the past few months the legal and technical communities have dug into Vista's "fine print".
Those communities have raised red flags about Vista's legal terms and conditions as well as the technical limitations built in to the software at the insistence of the motion picture industry.
Hard look
The net effect of these concerns may constitute the real Vista revolution as they point to an unprecedented loss of consumer control over their own PCs.
In the name of shielding consumers from computer viruses and protecting copyright owners from potential infringement, Vista seemingly wrestles control of the "user experience" from the user.
Vista's legal fine print includes extensive provisions granting Microsoft the right to regularly check the legitimacy of the software and holds the prospect of deleting certain programs without the user's knowledge.
During the installation process, users "activate" Vista by associating it with a particular computer or device and transmitting certain hardware information directly to Microsoft.
Even after installation, the legal agreement grants Microsoft the right to revalidate the software or to require users to reactivate it should they make changes to their computer components.
For those users frustrated by the software's limitations, Microsoft cautions that "you may not work around any technical limitations in the software".
Vista also incorporates Windows Defender, a security program that actively scans computers for "spyware, adware, and other potentially unwanted software". The agreement does not define any of these terms, leaving it to Microsoft to determine what constitutes unwanted software.
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