Windows Vista has been long in the making - the question is, why? Not why make it but why bother?
Expectant users have been eagerly anticipating its release, certain that Vista is a major step forwards. It is - but only in DRM copy protection and degraded performance!
To be perfectly blunt, I would say you would have to be dumb to install Windows Vista unless you had a gun to your head - and even then I’m not sure it would be worth it.
Once a weakness is found in a particular driver or device, that driver will have its signature revoked by Microsoft, which means that it will cease to function ..[]. This means that a report of a compromise of a particular driver or device will cause all support for that device worldwide to be turned off until a fix can be found. Again, details are sketchy, but if it’s a device problem then presumably the device turns into a paperweight once it’s revoked. If it’s an older device for which the vendor isn’t interested in rewriting their drivers (and in the fast-moving hardware market most devices enter “legacy” status within a year of two of their replacement models becoming available), all devices of that type worldwide become permanently unusable.
Devices turned off without user permission if a ’security flaw’ is discovered? Regardless of whether the user wants this or not.
Not only that but soundcards, graphics cards, monitors and all manner of other components that Vista will refuse to operate if it is ‘premium content’ (ditch your cd collection then) simply because it does not use the (often) lesser quality Windows version. Forget about all that high end hardware you bought in order to run Vista. Chances are it won’t work with ‘premium content,’ anyway.
For the techies, this is a superbly revealing analysis of Vista - A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection. For the non-techies - better not to bother with Vista - buy a copy of Windows XP and use that instead.
This isn’t an enhancement for users - it’s piracy of the user by the manufacturer! A better name would be Windows Captain Jack Sparrow edition.
Pass me the gun … ghastly la Vista, baby!
January 31st, 2007
Tesco’s are charging me premium prices for being Scottish!
Shopping in my local Tesco’s the other day I noticed a disturbing detail in the chicken aisle - Scottish chicken is being served up at premium prices - much more expensive than German and Dutch poultry.
I wouldn’t mind except for the fact that I am a Scot, living in Scotland!
German and Dutch chicken breasts were being sold for £2.72 per pound whilst Scottish chicken breast was being sold at £3.42 (ish). That’s 70p per pound more expensive!
Why? Is Scottish produce that much better quality than German and Dutch chicken? If it is, get the Dutch and German stuff off the shelves. If it is of comparable quality, why is Scottish chicken being sold at a much higher price than its European counterpart?
The argument could be put forth that poultry reared in Scotland is more expensive to produce. That argument could be made, I guess - except the Scottish poultry industry competes in a world market and ships to Europe by the lorryload, so it would be nonsense.
When faced with the option to buy British produce given similar or identical products, my preferred choice is to opt for the UK version because I want to support UK industry, particularly farming which has been hit by a devastating series of disasters over the last fifteen years but I refuse to pay inflated prices for poultry reared in my own country.
To rub salt into these gastronomic wounds, this ‘Scottish chicken’ may well have been reared on one of the local farms that dot this area of the country - some only a stone’s throw from my house and processed in the poultry processing plant (one of the country’s largest) just five miles away.
Now tell me what part of this makes any sense?
Poultry from Germany or Holland can be sold at £2.72 per pound in Scotland yet chicken quite possibly reared and processed within five miles of Tesco’s store costs £3.42 per pound.
The only reason I can think of is that Tesco’s are using the word, ‘Scottish,’ to inflate the price of chicken in much the same way as other products, such as bottled water, bearing the word ‘Scottish,’ can have their prices hiked thanks to the location of production.
Which really ticks me off because it would mean I am effectively being penalised for my nationality.
January 30th, 2007
