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BadVista.org: FSF launches campaign against Microsoft Vista

badvista.fsf.org — The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today launched BadVista.org, a campaign with a twofold mission of exposing the harms inflicted on computer users by the new Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free software alternatives that respect users' security and privacy rights.

Who dugg this? Made popular Dec 15, 2006

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  • flag564, on 10/12/2007, -17/+45Will there be a BadOSX.org too?
  • bigtomrodney, on 10/12/2007, -24/+51As a long term Linux user, it really makes me angry to see FSF getting involved with this kind of FUD. This makes them no better than those they oppose. Why aren't we 'selling' Free software based on its merits? Why do we need to scaremonger? Every time the FSF launches another press release I want to distance myself more from them.
  • Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27Considering the state of music I sincerely hope they stop producing.
  • cmister, on 10/12/2007, -13/+34Dan Lyons, Forbes.com - "FSF announces that their GNU IP has found its way into Microsoft's new Vista operating system, and they are promising legal action and a happy pay day for shareholders in the free software movement. When I contacted Steve Ballmer at Redmond, he declared "its just FUD put out by the FSF". He also claims that it was the FSF behind SCO all the time."
  • bigtomrodney, on 10/12/2007, -10/+30No, but what I would say is the purpose of the FSF is to promote and nurture Free Software. If their job is propaganda - whether it is factual or not - they I want nothing to do with it. The likes of Linux can stand on its own merits without this kind of tit-for-tat behaviour.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+24"Vista is like being charged $400 to put on a slave collar and be sold at auctions to the highest bidder."

    I wasn't aware i was being charged for Vista, i kinda thought i was paying for it voluntarily.
  • chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -8/+26"Apple doesn't have product activation, CD-Keys, a Genuine "Advantage" program, or require you to use DRM with their hardware (it IS optional)."

    maybe because OS X only works on Apple hardware. That's even worse.
  • consonance, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22@luciferin
    You realizes that it all arises from Microsoft trying to curtail the use of pirated versions of Vista? It all stems from Vista's ability to be installed on ANY computer, leading to a high market share for Vista. With computers becoming cheaper every day, Microsoft is not taking piracy lightly.

    And then there's Apple. Apple makes sure that their OS will only run on certified Mac hardware. Apple also sells their computers at a premium, both factors leading to a smaller marketshare. Take note: Searching isoHunt.com for "Windows XP" returns a few thousand seeders, with over 10,000-20,000 downloads of complete XP distributions; searching isoHunt for "OSX" produces not even a hundred seeders, with perhaps not even a hundred downloads. It's safe to say that 200x as many people who download OSX download Windows XP.

    So if you have the blow that will be the be all and the end all, I'd sure love to hear it. But as it stands, Microsoft has the most pirated product in the world, and (ironically) Microsoft is innovating new ways to stop pirates from cracking Vista.

    Of course, I really don't see the problem with entering a CD key. Have you ever bought any professional software at all? Photoshop comes with a CD key. Cakewalk Sonar and Fruity Loops Studio come with a CD key. Hell, Blizzard games all come with CD keys! CD keys are nothing new. And when CD keys can only be used to check for authorized copies, it's hard to argue that CD keys violate your privacy.

    WGA is more questionable, because WGA, from what I know, can send back details about Windows. There is, of course, the possibility for evil use. The WGA is used to check for authenticity before providing updates. Microsoft needs to make money to survive; of course Microsoft wants to give users of unauthorized versions an incentive to go legal.

    Now, DRM is downright wrong; I will be the first to tell you. I have never bought from iTunes, Yahoo!, Rhapsody, etc. But it's not like Vista will examine your files and tell Santa if you're naughty or if you're nice. I haven't read any reports about Vista's DRM preventing any functionality. (And believe me, if that happens, I will categorically cry, Foul!)

    I reiterate: If you ever find that magic solution, I'd love to hear it. Until then, I will count your comment as erroneous.
  • sundancekid503, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17"Support Anti-DRM org's. Download your favorite bands new album, torrent the new blockbuster and share all information you know. Take back what is rightfully ours and one day it will all be Free"

    That's a ridiculous statement. Software development is hard work, why do some people act like it's inherently evil to get paid for it? So if I spent thousands and thousands of hours to develop a cool software product you think it's "rightfully yours?".

    There's nothing wrong with making money, there's nothing wrong with selling a product. There's nothing wrong with free software. There's nothing wrong with trying to make money off software.
  • bigtomrodney, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23"In my opinion, the FSF campaign is more fact than FUD."

    FUD isn't necessarily the opposite of fact. You can spread Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt with fact. My point is that doing this does not help the movement. It just becomes a mirror of what we're fighting.
  • mdman, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17I have been using Vista for quite some time and I like it.. no problems with it at all.
  • backasswards, on 10/12/2007, -9/+22@cmister
    Perhaps you could post a link to that "announcement." I know nothing of any threatened lawsuit from fsf towards Microsoft. Forbes is THE WORST new source for free software. As an example of how terrible of a job they do, read this story.
    http://tinyurl.com/ylg3ut
    There are so many gripes I have with this story it's not worth listing them all.
    So my advice is that, even if that is a story on Forbes, readers should disregard it.
  • mancat, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17"Take back what is rightfully ours and one day it will all be Free"

    No, it won't. Be grateful that there is free software available to you, but don't fool yourself into thinking that the entire software market is going to dissolve. Software has not always been free.
  • Odweaver, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17@backasswards
    That woosh noise is the sound of the joke going over your head.
  • Poco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I am as much against DRM as the next guy. But what I want is to be able to buy music with no DRM, not free (as in beer) music. Until then I will get DRM-free music however I can (either buy buying CDs or downloading it free. What we need to get across is that DRM actually makes me less likely to buy their music. DRM just makes me want to pirate music.
  • danakin, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17I'm all for open source, and have made the switch to as many FOSS alternatives as I can, but this kinda crap is pretty counterproductive.

    You want open source to catch on? Play the good guys, don't antagonize.
  • h2d2, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16I occasionally use Linux, and usually support the FSF's views... but this is some real FUD by the FSF. I mean what are they thinking? Are they scared that MS has finally got it to right and Vista will keep corporations and users away from migrating to the Linux OS? May be.

    And please don't compare installing OSX to installing Windows, because the later can be done on a gazillion different hardware configurations while OSX would only work on about 3% of the world's computer systems. So obviously Apple has a significantly less risk of piracy and therefore not any real restrictions.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16Great, yet another worthless attack site that wastes time instead of making things better.
  • tylergohl, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12It's available to MS Volume License Subscribers.
  • bias, on 10/12/2007, -18/+27Fanboy's Logic:
    Microsoft uses FUD = EVIL
    Linux Community uses FUD = SAINT
  • Wootery, on 10/12/2007, -7/+16@Flag564

    That would have the fanboys up in arms - it would have to be "BadOS X.org".
  • Ramtech, on 10/12/2007, -8/+17@Reidtheweed01..

    yes i'm loving it too... i've already tweaked the *****.. and i'm thinking about making a release of my own where i'll strip it down...
  • rlombardo, on 11/05/2008, -6/+14@luciferin

    If OSX was worth stealing Apple would need to have product activation also.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+14ok, now the FSF just made me dislike them instead of vista by being a bunch of whiny *****

    i hope this was the intended purpose of 'badvista.org'
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -11/+18Have you even tried vista?
  • spoonyluv, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12This is a huge mistake for the FSF - it should be promoting alternatives for their own merit rather than by demonizing the current market leader.

    Furthermore, one of the biggest 'punching bags' of this campaign - DRM - has little to do with Microsoft. DRM is an industry wide initiative that should be resisted at its source - content producers, not content distributers.

    I'm sure if Microsoft could get the content its user demand without DRM and without isolating itself from major content producers, they would do so in a heartbeat.
  • crazybrit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I wish the site would load so I could see it before passing judgment, but I don't think this is the best idea. Making a site with a domain name like badvista.org makes it seem like someone's desperate for attention.
  • GliTCH82, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9This article buried as lame. I like open source software and I think this is a bad move for its cause.
  • xxdesmus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11ha ha ha ...this is funny.

    Someone sure sounds like a whiny brat...
  • estvir, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8.. and TechNet/MSDN subscribers, Business users and a host of other people.. basically just not consumers.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9"Download your favorite bands new album, torrent the new blockbuster and share all information you know. Take back what is rightfully ours and one day it will all be Free"

    you're a stupendous dumbass, if it was rightfully yours, why arent you making anything?

    i dare you, DARE YOU, to produce one thing that any of us would listen to, watch, give the slightest bit of attention to. I want you to spend your life doing this, it should be your full time job. when you're done and you've put all that work into it, take comfort in knowing that you won't see a single cent for anything you just did, because we're all just going to torrent it

    people here in the 'real world' don't work for free, we get paid money, money that comes from sales. when someone doesn't pay for our products, we obviously don't get paid. Sure hollywood is still raking in millions, but using that as an excuse is like going to a dinner party and not bringing anything because 'everyone else was already bringing something'
  • Cougaboy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Ratteler -

    You do realize that the quote you're using at the end of your posts goes "I'd rather rule in hell than serve in heaven," right?

    So by substituting Vista at the end, you're saying Vista is heaven...I just thought you'd like to know.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7it's spelled "Borrowing".

    but it's also called "Stealing". a thief is a thief is a thief.
  • robche, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10you think with all the energy they put into this, they could try actually make a linux OS thats user friendly. (And no ubuntu doesnt count, if I ever have to drop to console for anything basic, its not user friendly). Theres no point of bagging the competition when sadly, theres no decent replacement for PC's.
  • venom8599, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@backasswards

    Will you please get over the Linux vs. GNU\Linux crap too. Call it whatever you want, nobody really cares, especially if you want keep bitching like RMS himself.
  • Sp1k3d, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Many of you are confused and yet people still digg you up, it's free as in freedom, not free as in no money!
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9"If we pirate everything they will stop producing. "

    Given how popular piracy is (dare I say at an all time high) I haven't really seen any productions hindered.
  • culbeda, on 10/12/2007, -9/+13"DRM is bad"

    That's like saying "Fire is bad".

    It's all about the application. Should you be able to play music you download on anything you own? Sure. Should you have free license to rip a digital copy of a movie that you've PPV'd, rented, etc. Not really.

    DRM is what allows things like VoD, PPV, etc. to even exist right now. The studios don't relish the idea of giving their content away for free, so they demand that DRM be included to protect their copyrights.

    And no, I don't work for a studio, RIAA, MPAA, etc. I think they're overly restrictive like everyone else. But I have worked in the cable industry and I know what we'd be missing if there was no DRM. And believe me... it's a hell of a lot.
  • svicente, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Oh well... so they are telling people to use free software by saying that "Vista is Bad". So they are copying typical US politicals campaigns where they tend to focus on the opponent demerits rather than rise for their own merit.

    I use Gentoo, I like it. But I also use Windows and think that it is best for fun purposes or even for some other stuff like photo editing (GIMP is really strange, PSP, PSD are far better, but then again they are paid and GIMP is not, I'll give you that...).
    I don't think this strategy is the best to get more people to use free software and free operating systems.

    BTW, Windows Vista Business is also available through MS Academic Alliance, I've got mine but haven't installed it yet, waiting to buy a new notebook.


    P.S.: No is is obliged to use Vista... it's not compulsory, therefore anyone uses it at their own risk (given that all their costumer rights are preserved)and if the agree to the EULA.
  • KWhat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"If we pirate everything they will stop producing."

    They will stop producing, however, producing will not stop. We (as in humans) have had music from the dawn of time, every culture has it regardless of world standing and technological sophistication. I think its a bit presumptuous to think that I can put an end to music by downloading it.
  • dkm201, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"There's nothing wrong with making money, there's nothing wrong with selling a product. There's nothing wrong with free software. There's nothing wrong with trying to make money off software."

    Or music, or movies, or TV!
  • Xilon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If only companies stopped using proprietary graphics libraries and started using cross-platform friendly graphics libraries like OpenGL or SDL.

    Thank you ID Software!
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9I wonder what the engineers will be eating *if* everyone begins working for free and Microsoft fails to exist?

    For all the *opensource* fanboys out there, do you even have jobs..and if so... do you go to work for free everyday?
    Microsoft MUST charge because people have families to feed and expect renumeration. There is nothing criminal about it, nothing diabolical... it's called "Life".

    All you rebels without a clue really need to get a grip.
  • neko, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7@bigtomrodney: I totally agree. I love Linux, but this sort of crap gives us a bad name. I mean really, going after Vista? Yes, it panders to the RIAA and MPAA's increasingly unreasonable demands, but I'd much prefer the FSF concentrated their efforts on more important things like software patents.

    Vista is going to be deployed en masse no matter what, it's up to the users to figure out that it's restricting what they can and can't do. People have to want to escape the matrix, you can't just unplug them.
  • firemillen2, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9why the hell is this even a ***** story that's on the front page of digg?

    rhetorical question of course. these douchebag iFanboys love to spread negative news about anything microsoft. what a bunch of high school asswipe.
  • texnofobix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3i understand your point but programs like gimp, k3b, and Firefox work great for me.

    Open source helps create competition and I welcome it.
  • TheG2, on 10/12/2007, -8/+11Who is this Miss. Understand? Is she single?
  • Tetraca, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I am against Vista, but is it really necessary to make a whole site about it?
  • tokyopimp, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5This is what I don't understand about how some of you think.

    Lets take MS Office 2007 vs Open Office... sure both will get basic things done.But IMO, Office 2007 is a much better Office Suite, and a better user interface. Now If I did a lot of writing and office work, I would have no problem paying for Office 07. Because to me, it's a much better product worth my money that will benefit me in the long run.

    I have rarely encountered a free piece of software that was better than it's paid for counter part. When someone finds me a free = to Nero, PhotoShop, FL Studio, Pro-Tools (no audacity is not even close) I'll jump on your bandwagon.

    Guess what money and competition motivates people to create better products. That's why there is no equal to NERO for free. And don't spout out a bunch of Linux software, I've used the free burners and software like Gimp on Ubuntu and SuSe and Red Hat.

    I'm not saying there aren't a ton of great free open source applications out there, but I've never found anything free that comes close to the software I have paid for and use. From a technical, or support aspect.




  • Poco, on 10/12/2007, -10/+13You miss-understand the meaning of the term "free".
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