Linux is making strides to get up to speed with gaming. Doom is now on Linux machines, other games are being ported almost daily. Granted, the drivers for the latest video cards will be slower arriving on Linux computers than Windows machines until the OEMs start writing them for all platforms at rollout.
Meanwhile, considering piracy and Windows, my buddy Scot Finnie (online editorial director for ComputerWorld magazine) just had this in his latest newsletter in his review of Vista;
Quote:
I'm talking about aspects like the new upgrade to Microsoft's anti-piracy measures known as Software Protection Platform (which includes a "reduced functionality mode"), the little-detailed digital rights management (DRM) features (if any), and the repetitious frustration of User Account Control (UAC), a security feature that takes an extreme approach to protecting you from potential threats — which probably aren't even there 99.9% of the time.
My assessment of UAC is that it's a good idea that is badly implemented, even after recent refinements. I think it will have the opposite effect on many Vista desktops; it may deaden users to security risks by asking them too frequently whether they're sure an activity is something they really want to allow or do. UAC will protect Microsoft's image as a purveyor of secure software (or, at least, it might do so). But if it adds any real protection, it will do so at the expense of the user experience.
My sentiment about the Software Protection Platform anti-piracy measure is that it only serves one entity: Microsoft. For users, it has no advantage, and for some individuals and enterprises, it could be a ticking time bomb waiting to unleash frustration.
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