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Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Commercial

Microsoft threatens to cripple pirated Vista PCs

VistaMicrosoft says it will be taking a much harsher stance on piracy with the release of Windows Vista. According to the AP, users running a pirated version of the new version of Windows will initially be locked out of some of Vista's most touted features including the eye-candy Aero interface. If they don't pay Microsoft's ransom buy a copy of Vista that Windows Genuine Advantage believes is legit within 30 days, the situation will escalate and users will only be able to browse the web for an hour at a time and will be unable to "directly" open their documents or email. The AP article quotes analyst Roger Kay who says "There will be an XP backlash, which is to say people clinging to XP in order to avoid this," and that though the deterrents won't be very effective against hardcore pirates, they might stop some "lower-level" piracy. ZDNet's Ed Bott has some more valuable details about Microsoft's new "punishment regime," and isn't too happy about it.

[Via Engadget]

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The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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