ML

Come on guys! Everybody just buy OEM versions as

1) enthusiasts qualify as system builders
2) Every John Doe on the street can legally buy and use an OEM version of
XP (hope that doesn't change for Vista) with every piece of "qualified"
hardware (ie, motherboard, hard disks, CPU).

And guess what, OEM version can be less than half the cost of retails.

This route is more expensive than the current XP RFPP licensing but hey, you
didn't have to shell out as much initially either........

"Robert Robinson" <robbiex@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:%23vi0MVw9GHA.4708@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> We make a point of trying to keep up with new technology and have
> installed and tested all of the MSDN available beta releases of Vista
> including #5744. Vista currently runs reliably, but I have yet to see that
> it has any advantages over XP/Windows 2003 Server.
> There are many obvious disadvantages:
> 1. It is a large and inefficient operating system that requires high
> performance computer hardware.
> 2. The "security features" are a major blunder. Their only purpose appears
> to be the creation of a maximum amount of user annoyance.
> 3. Microsoft has made still another change in driver software
> specifications. It may be a long time, if ever, that compatible drivers
> are available for many devices. This is especially true for some of the
> more exotic, professional level devices; for example, high quality sound
> converters.
> 4. Vista contains a significant amount of what qualifies as spyware. I
> strongly object to any software that "calls home". Regardless of the
> claims of Microsoft and other software vendors that their eavesdropping is
> harmless, this process always has the potential for considerable abuse.
> 5. Automated updating, especially if it is forced on a consumer, is not
> wise because of the well known problem that "software fixes" frequently
> cause unintended problems.
> 6. Microsoft appears to have gone overboard in meeting the desires of the
> MPAA and RIAA as opposed to supporting flexible, state of the art, user
> friendly technology.
> 7. The End User License Agreement places burdensome and unnecessary
> restrictions on the consumer.
>
>