You’ve probably already noticed that you can’t find a computer in a retail store these days that doesn’t have Vista installed. Microsoft has written into their OEM licencse agreements that as of 1/1/2008, even Dell and HP won’t be able to ship you a computer with Windows XP installed.

Why should you care? Well, among other reasons not to use Vista posted in previous blogs, Microsoft has designed Vista to collect enough personal information about its users to make even our Warrantless Spymaster in Chief happy. And there is no choice in the matter - the license agreement says if you use the feature you agree to share the data with Microsoft. Want to use Parental Controls on your home computer? Not only will you be able to see every URL your kids went to, but so will Microsoft. Want to browse the web? Don’t use Internet Explorer 7. Play some music? Don’t use Windows Media Player.

More details on the Big Brother features of Vista

Want an alternative for home use? Dell is now offering computers with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled. OpenOffice.org provides a free equivalent to Microsft Office, available for Windows as well as Linux. It can read and write files in Office formats. You could use Linux at work as well, if your Windows apps (such as MAS 90) are set up on a Terminal Server - Ubuntu includes a Terminal Server Client.

It’s Independence Day. What better time to break the monopoly?

By the way, Sage ACCPAC ERP can run on a Linux server. There is even a preconfigured turnkey package of server and software available.

As we mentioned before, none of the versions of Sage Mas90/200 are currently working on Windows Vista. In the next year, running Sage Mas90/200 on Windows Vista will require that the Vista machine be configured to run in Windows XP SP2 mode. Sage’s latest schedule on running Mas90/200 versions on Windows Vista is:
June 2007 - 4.20 service-update will be issued that allows running in Vista (XP SP2 mode)
July 2007 - 4.10 service-update will be issued that allows running in Vista (XP SP2 mode)
2nd Qtr 2008 - 4.30 will be released that allows running in Vista (XP SP2 mode)
3rd party products that interface with Sage Mas90/200 are currently being tested but will rely on each supplier to certify their products.

You know the annoying pop-up message in Windows XP that accompanies every program crash and asks if you want to tell Microsoft about it? It’s gone in Vista. Just the question, not the process. In Vista, Microsoft assumes you always wanted to answer Yes to that pop-up, and sends itself the information without asking your permission or telling you it is doing it.

You can turn off this behavior (save this for the day when the MicroBorg monopoly forces you to use Vista):
Select Start
in the Start Search box, type “problem reports and solutions”
Press Enter
click Change settings•Advanced settings
From here, you can turn reporting off , give other users permission to set this option for themselves, read Microsoft’s privacy statement, and list programs whose errors should not be reported
Click OK several times to get back out

When Microsoft talks about increased security in Vista, it’s not your security they are talking about, it’s theirs.
Spyware included at no extra charge.

For Sage BusinessWorks customers, Sage has announced that version 7 is not yet supported on Vista, but they are working on it. As the announcement specifically mentions version 7, I would assume that earlier versions of BusinessWorks will never be supported on Vista.

In case you have managed to dodge the Microsoft Marketing Machine, the latest version of Windows, known as Vista, has been released. For those of you who only need the highlights:

Do NOT upgrade to Vista. The software you use to run your business will most likely NOT run on Vista.

Details on this for Sage MAS 90, MAS 200 and BusinessWorks either have been posted here or soon will be.

Why is Vista not your friend? Let me count the ways:

(1) It just came out. Let someone else find the bugs. (This applies to any software.) If you must buy a new computer now, be sure to specify you want XP Pro installed on it, not Vista.

(2) The same hardware will run slower with Vista than with XP. Vista’s hardware requirements are significantly higher than Windows XP, especially in the areas of memory (now 1 GB as a minimum for efficient operation) and video cards - built-in motherboard video will not work and video cards need to have a minimum of 256MB of RAM in order to run “Aero”. Aero is Microsoft’s latest ripoff of Apple’s user interface (which Apple had running years ago on computers with 256MB of RAM for the whole system.)

(3) The Vista licensing agreement is even more unconscionably one-sided than previous Windows licenses. Basically, Microsoft reserves the right to make you reactivate Vista at any time, and can refuse to reactivate your legitimately purchased software if an when it suits them.
See http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1641&Itemid=135
for more details. Especially note the information about Windows Defender automatically removing any software it, not you, deems to be unwanted. Spyware prevention as spyware itself.

(4) Besides the processing power needed for Aero, Vista is also both slowed down and made more expensive by built-in DRM (Digital Rights Management), which will only play back your legitimately purchased media on “approved” and “licensed” hardware. Oh, and the DRM has already been hacked ( http://www.alex-ionescu.com/?p=24) so the pirates will not be slowed down at all, just the paying customers. All this comes at a time when even the record companies are seeing that DRM is costing them sales and are ready to start selling music downloads without DRM. If even the RIAA has figured out that treating its customers like criminals is poor policy, why has Bill Gates not picked up on that? Has he been fishing with Sonny?

Let Microsoft know you’re not sold on Vista, and let them know why. Demand Friendly software!