As Windows Vista begins rolling out to business customers, the Free Software Foundation has launched a website devoted to taking Microsoft’s latest operating system down a peg.The “Bad Vista” site promises to expose the ways Vista imposes more controls on users via antipiracy measures, content copy protection and other new technologies—aspects that have already raised concerns in the industry.“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,” said FSF Executive Director Peter Brown on the site. “We aim to demonstrate that technologists can be social activists, because we know the harm that Vista will cause.”FSF program administrator John Sullivan called Vista “an upsell masquerading as an upgrade,” because of the degree to which users lose control of their computer. “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,” he said on the site. “We’ll be focusing attention on detailing how they work, how to resist them, and why people should care.”As if to reinforce the FSF’s message, Microsoft has revealed that one of Vista’s new features is an “enhanced reduced-functionality mode”—an upgrade to Windows XP’s “reduced functionality” feature, which is designed to force users to verify their installed OS with Microsoft. The FSF said it plans to focus on Vista’s hard-wired security measures and content copy-protection features, among other areas.At the same time it will encourage users to try open-source alternatives such as gNewSense, the FSF said. The FSF is an advocacy organization created to promote open-source licenses such as the GNU General Public License and the software development activities associated with them, particularly Linux.The group argues that proprietary software, by its nature, infringes on a user’s right to freely control his computer and what runs on it.-Matthew Broersma, Techworld.com (London)Related Link: Microsoft Windows Vista: The OS Has LandedCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by FPT Software Time for New Partnership Paradigms to Be Future-fit By Veronica Lew Dec 06, 2023 5 mins Vendors and Providers brandpost Sponsored by BMC Why CIOs should prioritize AIOps in 2024 AIOps empowers IT to manage services by incorporating AI/ML into operations. By Jeff Miller Dec 06, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership opinion Generative AI in enterprises: LLM orchestration holds the key to success In the dynamic landscape of AI, LLMs represent a pivotal breakthrough. Unlike traditional AI, which demands frequent data updates, LLMs possess the ability to learn and adapt in real-time. This mirrors human learning and positions LLMs as essential f By Shail Khiyara Dec 06, 2023 10 mins Generative AI Artificial Intelligence brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks How gen AI is joining the holiday shopping season One year after the launch of ChatGPT, the retail industry is embracing generative AI to deliver a variety of benefits By Elliot Markowitz Dec 06, 2023 4 mins Generative AI Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe