Microsoft: Validation for Windows 7 is coming soon!

pparks1 said:

And how many people pirate software like Anti-virus which is $50 or less. Cost is mostly irrelevant. And why should Windows, your pride and joy OS, cost no more than a single game that you would buy and play on your computer? It runs the whole show, you use it 100% of the time the computer is on.

Why should it cost more? Its no more important then a browser, and those are free. Okay it is important but still.

My point is, the price is and will be for a while, very high. Sure there will be people who pirate it, but with a lower price, there will be less people that pirate, and isn't that the goal? To reduce the amount of people that pirate?

pparks1 said:

Then rather than use Windows....which isn't any more important than a browser...use Linux instead. Cost isn't an options, hacking is not necessary, activation and validation are pointless, and there are tons of distros to pick from.

I use both actually, and OS X Leopard. :)

pparks1 said:

I agree with you... the price probably is a bit high and people would appreciate it lower. And yes, lower prices would likely lead to less piracy...and that clearly is Microsoft's goal.

I just love to debate the topic of piracy and I'm very self sufficient with other OS's and have options. So, when I can, i use the alternatives, and thus avoid the costs and restrictions of commercial software. When I get a need for something which does require Windows...then I evaluate whether I will pay for Windows or forego my other need. And since I like to play games on Windows, when I got my new computer, I opted for a Vista OEM license which can be had for $109 which comes with a free upgrade to 7. $109 is pretty darn reasonable...and $20 cheaper than OSX.

I love debating as well :) and if I'm not mistaken isn't the upgrade for OS X Leopard > Snow Leopard only $29? :S

vista was hacktivated 3 days after release. i remember it. the net was crawling with pira-sites. not that i used such methods, or will do so in any way with 7. (i like it too much)

this validation thing, as i understand, is just a renamed, upgraded WGA check. i saw a press conference a while ago, where they (MS rep) was explaining the up coming piracy counter-measure. they changed the name of it, because WGA is a joke. it was so easily replicated by h4xzors that it became, just something to laugh at while you (no, not you) d/l from WU. as far as what it does different than current WGA, i have no idea (the video was boring). if i can find it, i'll post the link (probably on youtube)

we can only hope for the best. ($200 is worth it.)

pparks1 said:

I'm glad you like to debate...I hate being accused of being on a "high horse".

If I'm not mistaken, isn't Snow Leopard basically a service pack that MAC enthusiasts are more than happy to pay for????? Seriously, when it comes to money and mac's.....it's like a cult with Apple. People just wander around like blind sheep.

Really, the add-ons for Snow Leopard are not much more exciting than the feature/bug fix release notes for Vista SP1.

Yes it is basically a service pack but people said the same about W7 at first. (shame on them!) Personally I'd by a copy of OS X if they made a PC version (depending on the price) but that would just be to have it, lol.

I don't think you are a high-horse person lol, debating is a way of proving your point to the other person.

holo88 said:

vista was hacktivated 3 days after release. i remember it. the net was crawling with pira-sites. not that i used such methods, or will do so in any way with 7. (i like it too much)

this validation thing, as i understand, is just a renamed, upgraded WGA check. i saw a press conference a while ago, where they (MS rep) was explaining the up coming piracy counter-measure. they changed the name of it, because WGA is a joke. it was so easily replicated by h4xzors that it became, just something to laugh at while you (no, not you) d/l from WU. as far as what it does different than current WGA, i have no idea (the video was boring). if i can find it, i'll post the link (probably on youtube)

we can only hope for the best. ($200 is worth it.)

Ahh, WGA was a bit wacky to me. Especially on dial-up (with vista) :S

Wouldn't a required phone verification for even OEM systems (yes it'd clog up the phone lines a bit) make things a bit easier in terms of piracy prevention?

Well since no one else seems to have the guts to admit it and I don't care if I get banned I pirate every single piece of my software, I have not paid for a single program I run. The only time MS gets my money is when I bought my new laptop 2 days ago.

The one thing I find funny about activation and all that is all it does is show that MS is greedy, we should be living where information and the technology should be free or as close to it as possible. I worked for 10 years in cyber crimes and put 5 people in prison for life for crimes committed with a computer. software and OS's are over priced, the certifications I have hanging on my wall are way over priced to get. in the 10 years I worked I made less then 2,000 bucks a month for 24/7 avail. to my boss to fight crime, while doing so I had to become what is now a dirty word, a pirate and I saw first hand that most people don't have bad intentions that pirate software they have a thirst for knowledge and companies like MS stood in the way. Today I stand before the world broken from health problems, sacrificing things I truly need so I could have a computer with more power so I could run the 200 or 600 dollar software that I can't afford, not because I am cheap or I want to not pay but I can't pay after 20+ yrs as a tech. but because of a "system" that's broken and leaves me no choice if I want to put food on the table for my wife. Yes I could train for a new job at 40 but I don't have the money and neither does anyone else today to pay to educate me in a new skill.

We all put a price tag on everything, hell my kidney surgery cost over $600,000 dollars to remove 1cm of tissue with a fancy robot. why can't we go back to when an honest days work got you an honest pay? if we can do that piracy won't be an issue because what you get will be worth what you pay and almost everyone agrees 200+ is to much for an OS even 7.

and just in case NO I have not and will not ever talk about how or where to pirate software on this site as I know its not allowed.

that's my 0 cents on the matter

pparks1 said:

I mean come on, the person who won't pony up $200 isn't likely going to pony up $150, or $125 either.
I don't buy the argument of, "people are saving money, or are too poor to buy the OS". People steal/pirate it because they can. And when they can't....they scour the web endlessly wasting tons of time trying to figure out a way they can.

To me, this is a matter or principal. If you love/cherish/endorse/support or feel that you absolutely "need" to run Windows...then you should have to accept the costs and the restrictions which go along with it. If you are not willing to accept those costs and restrictions...then maybe you should find or work on free alternatives. I find it funny when people say that Linux is crap, and Windows is awesome...but yet they are not willing to pay 1 red cent for it. Very interesting.

Heavy stuff, coming from someone with a free voucher upgrade,
and a reservation for launch day in Detroit to get a free copy with key...
Very interesting.

Ha Microsoft really think it can stop piracy...
I think someone will develop a hack that allows unlimited re-arm pretty soon...free and legal!