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Mystery of tiny faces on Vista DVDs solved
computerworld.com — 'Conspiracy theorists will be disappointed,' says Microsoft. Three images embedded in the surface of Windows Vista's installation DVDs may be too small to see with the naked eye, but they're no big mystery, according to Microsoft Corp. They're part of the company's anti-piracy efforts.
c4h5n3o- 1783 diggs
- digg it
- satterfield, on 10/11/2007, -1/+97The story reports "Other images on the disc -- Kwisatz said he had found three others, but couldn't make out details -- are art masterpieces in the public domain, added White."
Anyone got pics of the other images. Maybe they put a goatse in there, that would be worth buying the DVD in itself.- mgkwho, on 10/11/2007, -119/+18Nah, apparently there are only tens of dozens of copies of Vista so not too many people would have any! :D
-=|Mgkwho - kamel, on 10/11/2007, -4/+78I still say Microsoft has begun punishing their developers ala Zod, Ursa, and Non (Superman).
- Sornos, on 10/11/2007, -4/+22What I'm wondering is how Kwisatz found these tiny invisible to the naked eye holograms.
Edit: Oh and a direct link to Kwisatz blog. Complete with pictures of the mystery men.
http://inicia.es/de/kwisatz/index.html#2878790462939498204 - lordtyros, on 10/11/2007, -12/+47mgkwho, I want to castrate you.
-=|lordtyros
@Sornos
The Kwisatz Haderach sees all - Namco, on 10/11/2007, -14/+247If there was an hidden image on an OSX disc, everyone would be ***** their pants how cool it is.
- Sornos, on 10/11/2007, -15/+2Damn Digg with it's uneditable comments.
It appears that I can't link to the blog, but you can copy the URL into your bar, and it should work fine. - Jargonaut06, on 10/11/2007, -19/+4The mystery is solved? The question is who are the guys in the picture, which is still unknown!
- EvolvedAnt, on 10/11/2007, -13/+4The guy all the way on the right (from our perspective) looks ALOT like me... kinda freaky.
- Elranzer, on 10/11/2007, -28/+9Buried as inaccurate. No one actually purchased any Vista DVDs.
- trazor, on 10/11/2007, -17/+4Here's one they should have used:
http://www.geckoandfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/gates_mug_shot.jpg - ldkronos, on 10/11/2007, -0/+16@Jargonaut06 "The question is who are the guys in the picture, which is still unknown!"
Can you even read the article?
"The three men in the photo, said White, are members of Microsoft's antipiracy team who worked on the Vista holograms."
Sure, they don't name names, but I don't think thats really that important. Knowing they're part of the antipiracy team is sufficient. - jmaiurano, on 10/11/2007, -1/+35@satterfield: "Maybe they put a goatse in there, that would be worth buying the DVD in itself."
You have a strange set of priorities. - rlutterb, on 10/11/2007, -11/+3digg me down :(
- adidax, on 10/11/2007, -12/+2i knew it was
DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS - ismith, on 10/11/2007, -11/+3@NAMCO: no, everyone would post a thousand stories on digg, "Why the ***** does OS X have this gay barcode ***** all over my pretty OS X disc?!"
- joshua5, on 10/11/2007, -6/+471. Insert Vista DVD into drive a, blank DVD into drive b.
2. Open DVD copy program downloaded on Internet and press Copy.
3. Take out DVD in drive b, write Windows Vista on top with sharpie.
How was that hard? - zybch, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4HUH?!
The article seems to indicate that everybody thought this was an illicit addition to the disk picture rather than an obvious attempt at preventing duplication. Is the author smoking crack or something? OF COURSE its there to make the disk more difficult to copy and look authentic!! What idiots would ever think otherwise? - petedi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11The other images, and a better one of the three guys:
http://sugiero.blogspot.com/2007/06/windows-vista-dvd-who-are-those-people.html - OBKenobi, on 10/11/2007, -10/+4Actually, the entire Vista DVD with it's wavey, flame-like edges is a depiction of the Eye of Sauron.
http://www.whale.to/b/images/sauron.jpg
You have to stand back a bit, and set it on fire to get the full effect. - amercer, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3@satterfield
"Maybe they put a goatse in there, that would be worth buying the DVD in itself."
What?!?! No! Not at all! - nnnet, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0cover up??
- mgkwho, on 10/11/2007, -119/+18Nah, apparently there are only tens of dozens of copies of Vista so not too many people would have any! :D
- virtualball, on 10/11/2007, -32/+13I would have checked my CDs but apparently I didn't buy VIsta :)
- capiCrimm, on 10/11/2007, -10/+1Well it's a step up from the chocolate filled CDs... I'd post a pic of mine, but well, I got hungry.
- mcclelland, on 10/11/2007, -10/+62That doesn't make any sense -- if they're trying to prevent duplication of the disc, what good is it to include holograms no one can see with the naked eye?
Do all consumers check out the disc with a microscope before purchasing ?- rzrshrp, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12Also, I'd imagine that the vast majority of the discs that are pirated are obvious duplicates because the person didn't care about hiding the fact that it was pirated. It is still cool though; obviously inspired by the spider on the dollar bill...and the guy behind the bushes with a gun.
- ThatsUnpossible, on 10/11/2007, -1/+46This wasn't designed to help the regular end-user. The idea is to create a hologram that would be very hard to duplicate, and almost impossible to duplicate completely accurately.
That way if they get a shipment of a bunch of CDs somewhere, they can pull out a high powered magnifying lense and verify if they are legit or not.
It's like the tiny print on money and checks which is very hard to duplicate with consumer printers. - LandStander, on 10/11/2007, -2/+38'Do all consumers check out the disc with a microscope before purchasing ? '
Well atleast one guy does. What the hell was he doing anyway? - himey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+21This isn't meant to be caught by the consumer, I presume. Consumer discs are shrink wrapped or ordered up anyways. This is more for Microsoft & customs being able to detect whether or not that big container coming through the port in Asia is really from Microsoft or not. Just open up one at random & find the holograms.
- airstrike, on 10/11/2007, -7/+2@himey
although customs agents are not particularly known for carrying microscopes in case they needed to open a cargo container and check for nearly invisible misterious faces - swiftheart, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1I've come to the conclusion that there is a culture in the document security field that demands professionals in that field to do things that don't particularly make sense. We've come to the conclusion that this micro hologram could only be used by Microsoft, however, Microsoft probably has other ways of figuring out a fake from the real which are easier. (Or, alternatively, don't bother.)
Some states issue driver's licenses with hidden security features. I consider that a total waste of time--law enforcement in those states can just check in the computer to see if they're real. I figure that ID making companies up-sell hidden security features to state DMVs who just don't know any better.
I have, however, wondered if the purpose is as a litmus test. If the counterfeiters start doing a good job on the security features which are difficult to fake but don't really matter, then the industry knows they have to step up the game. - samk, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Also, since they included a private photo, pirates would be unable to duplicate the hologram without violating copyright! ;)
- Ocelot13, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2um samk, i dont think respecting copyrights are a high priority of people who copy software as their source of income...
- Navicerts, on 10/11/2007, -3/+41"Conspiracy theorists will be disappointed"
I bet they don't even exist, i only hear references to them..... all the time.- Beaver6813, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17Thats what they want you to think, but mark my words they are watching you right this very moment...
- bumblefoot, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12if they were real conspiracy theorists, they'd be denoncing this statement as a coverup to put us off the scent
- OBKenobi, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3No, it's just Microsoft hype that conspiracy theorists (who may or may not exist) give a damn what MS does with Vista.
Microsoft is irrelevant. It is too pathetic and incompetent to be part of any conspiracy other than the everyday business of ripping off consumers. - GawtMilk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I hear Microsoft is sapping our essential bodily fluids.
- bumblefoot, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1dugg for the dr strangelove reference
- cyberghost232, on 10/11/2007, -19/+5"They're part of the company's anti-piracy efforts."
Looks like they need to get fired. - Tobiaswk, on 10/11/2007, -9/+3Well, the way I understand it is... it's mainly targeted to prevent piracy in big companies... were they install large amounts of copies.
- Hemingrubbish, on 10/11/2007, -10/+1*where
- EntangledPhysx, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6What is with all the douche bags around here that correct people on an obvious typo? It's a rushed comment, not something being published in a dictionary. Holy crap people.
- MikeOSX, on 10/11/2007, -2/+62So basically we have found out that they were put there intentionally. No *****?
- shlolz, on 10/11/2007, -16/+3I don't know if I'm the only one, but when I was skimming over the article I read:
"...the photograph showing three men is ***** into one of the holograms on the surface of Vista DVDs." - nanoware, on 10/11/2007, -30/+7let me check my dvd, oh wait its a dvd-r.... onl;y thing i see on the surface is "Is it live or is it Memorex" hehehe
- griz, on 10/11/2007, -10/+2Hey, who's that knocking on your door?
- habbofresh, on 10/11/2007, -11/+1brb it's the party van
- EXreaction, on 10/11/2007, -4/+26Yay, I am cool because I pirate my software and don't support any of the developers who made it!
As a software developer, I can say...I hope someone chops your ***** fingers off. - mporcheron, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5As a part-time developer, I agree software piracy is wrong, it hurts the developer because they lose out. But come on, Microsoft? They aren't exactly cash strapped, the company is blowing money on loss-making projects left, right and centre to try and compete with competitors who thought they'd entered a MS-less market, and the company is still able to report an increase in profits.
- Travelsonic, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3I think anybody who mods up a post that advocates violence as a solution to a crime needs to have his ass kicked... hard.
Ever hear of punishment fitting the crime? - OBKenobi, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1[quote]As a software developer, I can say...I hope someone chops your ***** fingers off.[/quote]
I hope someone nukes Microsoft off the face of the Earth. Along with Halliburton, Exxon, EA, AT&T and... well, I hope a lot of things get nuked off the face of the Earth.
Remember kids, the Jedi never claimed to be pacifists. Evil must be fought. - foolfromhell, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2@travelsonic
Hypocritical much? - Travelsonic, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1not exactly, it is possible to have your ass kicked hard metaphorically, mentally, verbally, etc.
- preshit, on 10/11/2007, -10/+5So what's the use of a including stuff in a hologram if people don't know its there. How the hell am I supposed to know if I don't know what to check ?
Or am I just missing the point ?- griz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13You are missing the point. Anti-counterfit measures are not for the general public to know about, but rather for the company in question to be able to check if a copy is legit. Think of all the any-counterfit measures in US Currency. Most are very hard to see.
- arbulus, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2Kwisatz haderach?
- MavRevMatt, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1So...Pirates need to be egotistical too and stick their picture on it.
- elsJake, on 10/11/2007, -12/+3And i thought they included it to make sure that on the next edition nobody will notice the porn pictures they include to molest your children and rape your wife.
OF COURSE it's a ***** easter egg , have you no sense of humor ?
The hologram is difficult to replicate in the first place , adding an image doesn't make it any more or less safe for the average user ...but then again those that use pirated versions _know_ it's pirated.
Nobody pays 3$ for a version of windows thinking it's legit.
If anybody checks to see if it's legal it's going to be the BSA or such , and they _know_ how to check.
Hell i think they just got bored of all the vista logos and wavy curvy shapes so they just placed an image of themselves.
Does nobody remember the kind of perverted monkey sex ***** was included in Winamp ?- thcobbs, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3"And i thought they included it to make sure that on the next edition nobody will notice the porn pictures they include to molest your children and rape your wife."
So.... you're NOT down with raping your wife? Uh oh........ - elsJake, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Excuse you ?
- thcobbs, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3"And i thought they included it to make sure that on the next edition nobody will notice the porn pictures they include to molest your children and rape your wife."
- StandardsDT, on 10/11/2007, -8/+2I'd like to see an image of the one with Steve Jobs in it.
- SirBriggs, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Well, I wouldn't.
But that's just me.
- SirBriggs, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Well, I wouldn't.
- ChadUSofA, on 10/11/2007, -26/+4Real men use Vista, fags use MAC.
-Chad- gothicx00, on 10/11/2007, -20/+4You've obviously been under a rock.
Vista is crap, and all the "revolutionary features" have been in OS X for years
Also, all this different versions crap, with the cheapest one being like $159? ***** that.
OS X, with all of it's features is $129 all day long. Cheaper if you have a mac with tiger. - Murdats, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7yes, and every year a new version comes out its still that cheap $129
and after checking it out, a decent amount of leopard features are already in vista, and I really cant be bothered pointing out how incredibly selective you are - ChadUSofA, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1$129 for a point upgrade ... as opposed to slightly more for the lifetime of the product. Yeah, really cheaper than Vista.
- EntangledPhysx, on 10/11/2007, -5/+4$159 with a $500 PC, not a required $2500 Mac computer. Shut the hell up you fanboys. BTW Vista brought many new features to the PC. And as seeing that the PC is what, used by 97% of computer users, Vista is pretty darn good. Im happy with it
- khellendros1984, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4It may be a "point upgrade", but each upgrade adds more features, is introduced at a lower price point, and comes up more often. The jump in features from 10.0 to 10.5 is phenomenal, and occurred in the same period of time that Windows went from XP to Vista (roughly). It a fallacy to assume that a jump in major version number must always coincide with a great amount of advancement that a "point upgrade" couldn't do.
- Pfhreak, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7@ gothicx00
"Also, all this different versions crap, with the cheapest one being like $159? ***** that.
"OS X, with all of it's features is $129 all day long. Cheaper if you have a mac with tiger."
$129 for Cheetah (10.0) + $129 for Jaguar (10.2) + $129 for Panther (10.3) + $129 for Tiger (10.4) = $516 in the time since Windows users last paid for an upgrade.
@ entangledphysx
"$159 with a $500 PC, not a required $2500 Mac computer."
Apple has computers available for as low as $600 USD. Assuming Apple's system requirements for Leopard increase as much as previous versions, Leopard will still run well on ~5 year-old machines. A $2500 Mac is not a requirement.
"BTW Vista brought many new features to the PC."
Yes, it did. Each of the for-pay Mac OS X releases brought many new features, as well. If a company is going to charge for new updates, they'd damn well better have many new features.
"And as seeing that the PC is what, used by 97% of computer users, Vista is pretty darn good."
Argumentum ad populum
"Im happy with it"
I'm happy with Mac OS X. To each his own. - GawtMilk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3"Apple has computers available for as low as $600 USD"
A nice well-rounded comment, but Apple just cancelled the Mac Mini.
- gothicx00, on 10/11/2007, -20/+4You've obviously been under a rock.
- rockrapdude, on 10/11/2007, -10/+1Lightscribe anyone?
- gibsonic, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5in addition to all of the people making illegal copies from VLK versions for personal use, M$ is trying harder to deter professional counterfeiters that are selling illegal copies as if they were legal. this is very prevalent outside the US.
- yikiad, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2direct link to the pics...
http://inicia.es/de/kwisatz/index.html#2878790462939498204 - baalzebub, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2Its the Three Stooges ;p
- critch74997, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Don't worry, eventually Sally Sparrow will put all the faces together, and then the Doctor will be rescued.
- Ramble, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1She is hawt.
- chrisc262, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3wow my copy just says "win vista" in black magic marker...
you mean its pirated??
( JK - i wouldnt install vista even if i did get it for free ) - DJPRIME90, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I got them on my vista disc also...
But unless you zoom in like they did, theres no chance in hell you can see anything with the naked eye other than 2 rectangles.- EntangledPhysx, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I checked too... impossible to see with the naked eye. =(
- Futurejunior, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Try putting some pants on your eyes and look again...
- zyl0x, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2Fact: whoever originally found these faces is a loser.
- tuqueu, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0And if you play in backwards, it installs ???
- Kinjiru, on 10/11/2007, -8/+4Since vista is such a total turd it makes it even more ironic how M$ is desperate to keep people from counterfeiting their *****...
Remember: When ***** becomes valuable poor people will be born without assholes...- EntangledPhysx, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3Right... Ever actually used Vista? Yeah I didn't think so. So STFU.
- khellendros1984, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4I've used it for a short period of time (before going back to XP), and my father has used it for several months.
Both of us acquired it legally.
Both of us consider it to be an annoying pile of crap. Maybe it'll be useful after a service pack or two. That being said, if it's good enough for you, good for you. The rest of us will take our OS without the annoyance. - awhiteflame, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Dugg down for use of M$.
Honestly, I didn't even read your post. I saw the $, saw the M preceding it, and that was enough for me to digg you down, hit reply and type this. - Kinjiru, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3@ entangledphysx
Actually I have.. I work in the industry and have for 30 yrs+ now.
Regardless of lame winbloze babies such as yourself being fan boys Vista is a turd.. plain and simple.
Instead of working on truly improving their OS M$ has instead worked for their own interests and taken away from
the end user... that alone makes it a turd.. never mind all the other stupid things they have done.
btw for morons like you Eye candy alone does not constitute an improvement! Try actual GOOD coding instead.
@ awhiteflame
That has to be the dumbest reply ever on digg. You have proved beyond any doubt that you are indeed a Moron. - Bamborzled, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1"btw for morons like you Eye candy alone does not constitute an improvement! "
You're completely right, and I completely agree with you. That's why Windows Vista has a new audio stack, a new 'virgin' network stack, fast indexing-based search, and more. All because they listened to people like you!
I know none of those features are innovative; that's not the point.
- 00Dan, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1*sigh* Digg this down. "Logged in" on the article I wanted, but it put me into the comments of another article.
- tvh2k, on 10/11/2007, -5/+5Anti-piracy? Funny -- all the Vista CDs "my friend" sells are written on with black sharpie!
- psykiv, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2What is it with everyone using black sharpies? Get creative dammit. Colored Sharpies are about the same price.
Go ahead, digg me down, you know its true.
- psykiv, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2What is it with everyone using black sharpies? Get creative dammit. Colored Sharpies are about the same price.
- Michas, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2I wish I had a authentic Windows Vista DVD to see the image but its too expensive and it doesnt worth it's money..
- TexanPsycho, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2How can it be a successful anti-piracy trick if hardly anyone can see it?
- FallenOmen, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1HOW does this stop piracy again ?
If i'm buring Windows VIsta either digitally or clone from the disc itself why do i care what the top look like ? It's the image i want...........
And i'm buying it black market i don't care if it has a pic of Bill Gates himself on there..........just curious how this is a measure of anti-piracy ?
too prevent piracy - Hermmunster, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2Honestly Microsoft doesn't have a piracy problem in the US and anything outside the US is essentially not addressable by IP in the US. Microsoft opened that can of worms earlier this year. As long as the CD is made out of the country and the country has no IP law or no IPs belonging to Microsoft then they aren't pirating. Microsoft screwed AT&T on that one and now it will come back and screw them.
Seriously though these guys spend a great deal of time trying to chase down a rabbit. They are not fast enough to catch it and putting little logo faces on their CD is pointless. If people want to pirate they will. In the US the vast majority of computers are sold with a pre-installed OS and that is windows, be it XP or Vista. So, in the US the piracy rate is very low. In other countries the piracy rate is only as reliable as the law they have about IP. So, if they assemble (make the CD) in another country that has no patent or copyright laws there's no way Microsoft can enforce it.
I don't care about Microsoft's piracy problems. I'm not their police and I don't have their ethical or moral (or the lack thereof as they have so demonstrated over the years) values. It isn't my job to care nor to do anything about it. It is solely up to Microsoft to do all that themselves and to deal with the piracy issues all themselves.
If you want a quality OS and you don't want to pay for it then get Linux. There are some super high quality distributions out there with all the necessary features to do just about anything you want to do with them. Ubuntu is one. This stuff just keeps getting better. Live it up and free yourselves from the convicted criminal monopolist. - christophla, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5For this to take 5 months to get caught really shows how few copies of Vista have been sold.
- mb3581, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5the only marks on my Vista disk was made by a sharpy
- sabach, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Dugg for Dune dude. "For he IS the Kwisatz Haderach"
- kelchm, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Friggen' awesome is all I have to say.
I'm gonna be forced to dig out my microscope. - OBKenobi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1http://www.supermediastore.com/primera-accent-ii-disc-laminator-62611.html
http://www.supermediastore.com/primera-authenticoat-standard-holographic-film-for-accent-62652.html - craftycorner, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Those holograms F' up the disk. My Windows XP disk (that came with my computer) is screwed up. My sharpy copy works great. I wanted Vista upgrade with out the bugs, I turned my PC half Linux half XP (cuz of some old programs I still love and don't work on Linux YET). I can't believe how fast Linux has gotten better!
- wootmacs, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1How the ***** is that anti-piracy?!?!?!?! If you can't even see the picture, then how can you tell it's counter-feit?
- Sil369, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1They should just lobby the government for a 'piracy tax'
- nwa122, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1looking more closely at my porn collection...
- stouffer67, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I think Microsoft should stop wasting their time with stuff like this and spend that time and money on making the OS good.
- ramsinks.com, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1AH.. I guess I will never be able to look for myself..
:(
Maybe if Maxtor put some cool stuff on here.. - WindyT, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1http://bink.nu/photos/news_article_images/picture17590.aspx
THAT was the "vacation photo" I thought I saw with my 30x scope..
And no, I do not buy Microsoft's explanation that they officially knew that these very photos would be on the Vista DVD.
Sure, it'll prevent piracy... er, somehow. Except you can legally buy Vista by download. (already been discussed, but bears repeating)
And I'll bet the next pressing of the Vista DVDs will involve holograms without cute vacation photos. - tmcdigg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Let me know if you see Uranus! ;-)
Seriously, it's anti-counterfeiting not anti-piracy.. because in reality.. would someone really need to copy the actual label of the dvd unless they planned to pass it off as an ORIGINAL?
Unfortunately.. these trade secrets ultimately will fall into the hands of counterfeiters and jig will be up for Microsoft, unless they plan on constantly updating production lines to mark the dvds with a production run date and unique label characteristics for each disc and even then its a toss-up if they can prevent 100% of the bootleg copies that pass off as originals.
- DatuPuti, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1So how can a hologram prevent one from making copies of the DVD? I mean there are already Vista DVDs from China being sold for 5$.
- iamdexter, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I think Microsoft should stop wasting their time with stuff like this and spend that time and money on making the OS good.
Agree with you 100%
http://www.adidas-shoes.org - franky76, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0These trade secrets ultimately will fall into the hands of counterfeiters and jig will be up for Microsoft, unless they plan on constantly updating production lines to mark the dvds with a production run date and unique label characteristics for each disc and even then its a toss-up if they can prevent.
http://www.clarksshoess.com
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