Well said, and a great closing remark. At the end of the day after all the complaining - what is the response to the issue. Surely a world of negatively isn't the way to foster growth :)

I believe the energy spent attacking eachother's lies should be put into developing the best solution

Shill much?

It appears that BadVista is more of a commentary on the rapid decline of our culture than anything else. Hey, I've got an idea, let's all just vent our anger! And put our own little spin on the situation too! Does that thinking remind anyone else of our recent increasing hostile political elections? What are we headed for as a country? Maybe we should study history a little more. -- Just so no one accuses me of bias; I don't think Microsoft is "right" either, but negative tactics like this will only result in anger, which leads to hatred, which lead to ? -- Enough!

I will give "Bad Vista" one thing... they are not comparing Vista to OSX !
Apart from that .. "How dare they !" I have been a happy Windows user since Windows 3.11, now that's a long time (I still have the floppy disks), if I am happy with windows (or with OSX or whatever) why should be talked down by this mob !
I am quite happy with Windows XP and they recon it is "too resrictive"... how it does everything I want to do, so how is that restrictive ??
Whether I intend to upgrade to Vista or not, it is my decision only.
Apart from this I am also very unhappy that "Microsoft Watch" sister website "Linux Watch" is gloating over this new website !
They SHOULD be IMPARTIAL, why aren't eWeek ??

When did MS buy this web site. Every day im treated to another apology and explanation for why MS did this or that. Bring back Mary Jo and get rid of this MS stooge.

>>>Microsoft's sense of self preservation doesn't make the company or Vista evil, as BadVista insinuates.

>>>Gates is a technologist giving away money to help others, which is social activism.

>>>Microsoft adheres to a philosophy of licensing software, as does FSF in its pursuit of the GNU.

>>>Microsoft created Windows as a platform for building on products, not as a platform for making philosophical arguments.

Self-preservation leads Microsoft to do many wrong/unethical things. One only needs look at Microsoft's history.

Gates is a philanthropist and social activist--Microsoft is not. What have Steve Ballmer and the current Microsoft management done for the social good?? Then recount all the harm that has been done to us by Windows...

Windows is a platform for building products, yes, but it's also an instrument for our enslavement, our loss of individual freedoms and rights. Can we spell D-R-M, boys and girls? How about E-U-L-A?

BadVista may not be perfectly objective, but nor is Wilcox. Both sides have an agenda. But whereas BadVista has an honourable agenda--to fight for consumers' freedom--what is Wilcox's (and Microsoft's) agenda? To push Windows (and Windows upgrades) and line Microsoft's coffers!

>>>In the same Friday statement, John Sullivan, FSF's program administrator, called Windows restrictive and new Vista features a "Trojan Horse to smuggle in even more restrictions." Oh? Linux isn't a Trojan Horse for spreading the GNU?

I love the way Wilcox twists words to suit his own agenda. C'mon, Linux isn't a Trojan horse for anything...there's nothing wrong with GNU...you still have the freedom to run commercial software or do anything else you want with your computer. With Vista, OTOH, you are limited by DRM to what you want to do with your software and media content. And you have an insanely draconian EULA.

FSF and GNU are about freedom. Microsoft and Vista are not.

For crying out loud, they are both just operating systems!

Surely there are more important things in the world?

ok.

I don't think a program like Windows vista can be evil, but my computer doesn't have enough power or memory to run it. If Microsoft revokes my Windows XP license, must I buy a Windows Vista and a new PC to run it? That fits with my definition of evil. I don't like being forced to buy another version of Windows or any other software, for that matter. I might be better off with Ubuntu which will run forever on my old machine.

BadVista is just plain childish. As a practical matter, it's just ineffective ranting to the already converted.

>>>Exactly what in the wallowing will help real IT managers make hard decisions about platform deployments?

>>>Complaining is easy. Offering constructive solutions is tough work.

Okay, let's offer some constructive comments...

Don't use Vista, use something else. Like OS X. Or Linux. There are solid reasons for avoiding Vista:

1. Product Activation. This is a PITA, a damn annoying "feature." It does absolutely NOTHING for customers, either enterprise or consumer. (A consumer should have the right to install Vista on more than one home computer.)

2. Immaturity. Vista is a "Version 1.0" product. It has driver quality issues. It has application compatibility issues. It has Version 1.0 bugs and quirks. Constructive comment #2: At least wait for Service Pack 1 before you even consider deploying Vista.

3. Hardware costs. If your current hardware is functioning perfectly, why replace/upgrade it in order to run Vista?? From a business standpoint, this is nuts.

Despite Vista's benefits, the enterprise has to determine whether the upgrade costs are worthwhile. Some enterprises may say yes, most should say no. At least for now...

MS enjoys monopoly power when it comes to OS software and of course it will try to exploit it as far as it can - this is true of any corporation that enjoys a monopoly. After all, corporations are first and foremost profit-maximizers. But critics such as those behind badvista take it too far. An "instrument for our enslavement"? Come-on. Wilcox is right: "Complaining is easy. Offering constructive solutions is tough work."

hi santa claus is real

Been there. Bashed them. No one in the world is Clean. Neither BillG nor BadVista nor Linux. If Vista is version 1.0, their will still be takers for that. Were there not any takers for the earlier versions of Linux?
Does someone think Linux is a perfect product? Guys who code Vista are human. They are bound to make mistakes like you and me. Let's see how these affect you and me.
If you buy a shoe that doesn't fit your feet, you dont blame the shoe. So check your hardware else dont buy Vista. MS is not pushing Vista down your throat today.
You have choice to stay with any OS you have as long as it seves your purpose.
Freedom has other side called Responsibility. When you find a bug in Linux, does it go to the person who coded it? or they hand over the code to you so you fix it yourself? MS atleast comes up with service packs. Which indicates they take ownership. They may or may not be able to fix all the issues but atleast they own it. BadVista is not taking responsibility of anything which itself is bad.

Been there. Bashed them. No one in the world is Clean. Neither BillG nor BadVista nor Linux. If Vista is version 1.0, their will still be takers for that. Were there not any takers for the earlier versions of Linux?
Does someone think Linux is a perfect product? Guys who code Vista are human. They are bound to make mistakes like you and me. Let's see how these affect you and me.
If you buy a shoe that doesn't fit your feet, you dont blame the shoe. So check your hardware else dont buy Vista. MS is not pushing Vista down your throat today.
You have choice to stay with any OS you have as long as it seves your purpose.
Freedom has other side called Responsibility. When you find a bug in Linux, does it go to the person who coded it? or they hand over the code to you so you fix it yourself? MS atleast comes up with service packs. Which indicates they take ownership. They may or may not be able to fix all the issues but atleast they own it. BadVista is not taking responsibility of anything which itself is bad.

After reading the comments here, and on several other sites as well, I'd bet dollars to donuts that the FOSS people know a LOT more about Vista than the M$ people have bothered to learn about Open Source, otherwise the the M$ group would come up with more than nihilism and excuses, (and bad ones, at that).
Sure, the Linux camp is full of smelly long haired geeks, but how is that supposed to convince me that DRM will serve MY best interests? How does the Vista EULA protect MY rights as a user? Will WGA make my computer more stable and easier to use? How do I benefit by having to call M$ for a new activation code because I have to replace my Mother Board or Hard Drive? If M$ products are so superior, will they work with open formats like odf and ogg vorbis? Will it even run my favorite older M$ software and work with my current hardware?

Go ahead, I'm listening...