Microsoft has taken all sorts of steps in the past to deal with piracy, the most recent being making Windows Genuine Advantage mandatory for downloading updates to Windows XP.
With the release of Vista, Microsoft is pulling out a new tool from its antipiracy toolbox. Aero, the new whiz-bang UI for Vista, will only be available to registered users of Windows. That's right--no matter how fast your CPU and graphics card are, if Microsoft determines you are running a pirated version of Vista then it's the toned-down interface for you.
But before Vista will display its showiest side, known as Aero, it will run a check to make sure the software was properly purchased.
Not Limited To Pirates :
But it's not just pirates who will be blocked from Windows' fanciest graphics. The Aero display also won't be available to those who buy Windows Vista Basic, the low-end consumer version of the operating system. And even those with higher-end versions won't be able to see the fancy graphics if they don't have enough memory, lack sufficient graphics horsepower or have a graphics chip that doesn't support a new Vista driver.
Microsoft has not issued the final hardware requirements for Vista itself, which is due to go on sale to consumers in January. However, the company has issued some guidelines for Aero, as part of a draft product guide that was briefly posted on the Internet this week.
Users of illegitimate copies of Vista will be stuck with the same stripped-down UI that owners of Windows Vista Home Basic edition will see. The Windows Vista Basic GUI will look and act similar to the familiar Windows XP interface, but updated with the Vista look and feel. It will also be missing the 3D and translucency effects found in Aero Glass.
Flying Aero :
To get the best out of Vista's graphics, you'll need at least four things, according to tentative Microsoft guidelines.
The system will need a graphics chip with a Vista-specific driver, as well as a varying amount of minimum graphics memory, depending on the size of the monitor. A computer with a single display of 1280-by-1024 pixels or less, for example, must have 64MB of graphics memory. For a larger screen, 256MB may be needed, as well as additional memory for secondary displays.
A PC with shared memory--that is, memory that is used both by the main system and by the graphics chip--can also work with Aero. But it needs to have 1GB of dual-channel memory, with at least 512MB of that memory available to the main system.
PCs shipping later this year will sport "Vista Capable" stickers, which means that they can currently run XP "capably," have 512MB of RAM, and a video card with a DirectX 9 capable GPU. If you want the full Aero Glass experience, you'll likely need support for WDDM and Pixel Shader 2.0, and the appropriate, legal version of Windows Vista. Microsoft is expected to release Vista's official requirements later this year.
Microsoft's challenge, of course, will be distilling all that technical data down into a package that your average consumer wandering the aisles of Best Buy will be able to understand. One way of doing that is with the Windows Performance Rating for Vista , which appeared in the latest Community Technology Preview, and its companion, the XP-friendly Windows Upgrade Advisor.
Of course, no matter how Vista capable your PC is, pirates will be out of luck when it comes to Aero Glass. Making Aero Glass unavailable to pirates won't stamp out piracy, and as with most antipiracy measures, there's a decent chance that someone will develop a workaround for the restriction. However, Microsoft's move demonstrates that it's determined to make life for pirates as difficult as possible, which may be enough to encourage some to walk the straight-and-narrow path.
With the release of Vista, Microsoft is pulling out a new tool from its antipiracy toolbox. Aero, the new whiz-bang UI for Vista, will only be available to registered users of Windows. That's right--no matter how fast your CPU and graphics card are, if Microsoft determines you are running a pirated version of Vista then it's the toned-down interface for you.
But before Vista will display its showiest side, known as Aero, it will run a check to make sure the software was properly purchased.
Not Limited To Pirates :
But it's not just pirates who will be blocked from Windows' fanciest graphics. The Aero display also won't be available to those who buy Windows Vista Basic, the low-end consumer version of the operating system. And even those with higher-end versions won't be able to see the fancy graphics if they don't have enough memory, lack sufficient graphics horsepower or have a graphics chip that doesn't support a new Vista driver.
Microsoft has not issued the final hardware requirements for Vista itself, which is due to go on sale to consumers in January. However, the company has issued some guidelines for Aero, as part of a draft product guide that was briefly posted on the Internet this week.
Users of illegitimate copies of Vista will be stuck with the same stripped-down UI that owners of Windows Vista Home Basic edition will see. The Windows Vista Basic GUI will look and act similar to the familiar Windows XP interface, but updated with the Vista look and feel. It will also be missing the 3D and translucency effects found in Aero Glass.
Flying Aero :
To get the best out of Vista's graphics, you'll need at least four things, according to tentative Microsoft guidelines.
- A legitimate copy of one of Vista's higher-end versions: Home Premium, Business, Enterprise or Ultimate
- A Vista-specific (WDDM) graphics driver
- A minimum of 1,800MB per second of graphics memory bandwidth
- Enough graphics memory (amount needed varies based on monitor size)
The system will need a graphics chip with a Vista-specific driver, as well as a varying amount of minimum graphics memory, depending on the size of the monitor. A computer with a single display of 1280-by-1024 pixels or less, for example, must have 64MB of graphics memory. For a larger screen, 256MB may be needed, as well as additional memory for secondary displays.
A PC with shared memory--that is, memory that is used both by the main system and by the graphics chip--can also work with Aero. But it needs to have 1GB of dual-channel memory, with at least 512MB of that memory available to the main system.
PCs shipping later this year will sport "Vista Capable" stickers, which means that they can currently run XP "capably," have 512MB of RAM, and a video card with a DirectX 9 capable GPU. If you want the full Aero Glass experience, you'll likely need support for WDDM and Pixel Shader 2.0, and the appropriate, legal version of Windows Vista. Microsoft is expected to release Vista's official requirements later this year.
Microsoft's challenge, of course, will be distilling all that technical data down into a package that your average consumer wandering the aisles of Best Buy will be able to understand. One way of doing that is with the Windows Performance Rating for Vista , which appeared in the latest Community Technology Preview, and its companion, the XP-friendly Windows Upgrade Advisor.
Of course, no matter how Vista capable your PC is, pirates will be out of luck when it comes to Aero Glass. Making Aero Glass unavailable to pirates won't stamp out piracy, and as with most antipiracy measures, there's a decent chance that someone will develop a workaround for the restriction. However, Microsoft's move demonstrates that it's determined to make life for pirates as difficult as possible, which may be enough to encourage some to walk the straight-and-narrow path.
