A few days' testing of Windows 7 has already disclosed some draconian DRM, some unrelated to media files. A legitimate copy of Photoshop CS4 stopped functioning after we clobberred a nagging registration screen by replacing a .dll with a hacked version. That's not so much a surprise, but what WAS a surprise: Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to stealthily insert themselves in your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS is crippled towards allowing large software vendors to penetrate your machine. Even further, that that crippling is responsible for disabling of a program based on a modified .dll. Remote attestation, anyone? And then finding that the OS even after reboot has locked you out of your own Local Settings folder; has denied you permission to move or delete the modified DLL; and refuses to allow the replacement of the Local Settings folder after it is unlocked with Unlocker to move it to the Desktop for examination (where it also denies you entry to your own folder). Setting permissions to "allow everyone" was disabled!

The days of capturing an audio program on your PC are gone if the program originated on your PC. The inputs of your sound card are severely degraded in software if the card is also playing an audio program (tested here with Grooveshark). Under XP you could select "Stereo Mix" or similar under audio recording inputs and nicely capture any program then playing. Microsoft appears to be pandering to Big Music for its own reasons unrelated to consumer satisfaction. This may be the tip of the iceberg. Something *really nasty* is lurking under the surface of Win7. Being in bed with the RIAA is bad enough, but locking your own files away from you is a device so outrageous it may kill the OS for many persons.

it really isn't worthwhile to progress beyond Windows 2000 SP4 (im not really keen on WinXP sp3 either) using windows.

much better to go from win2k sp4 straight to puppy linux or maybe ubuntu.

the things is, Win7 is bound to have been designed with abode and other big software houses to allow them to have massive copy protection, including cripplign copying of sound and video. The p[rotection will be stealthy and hidden - for example, Adobe Acrobat v8+ under Win2k already does things to your registry and contacts Adobe in really intrusive ways. The result of this is to actually allow hackers
to use Adobe to cripple your machine.

Adboe Acrobat and suite is now the No1 and major backdoor for hackers to enter your system - simply because Adobe is designed to penetrae Windows completely. Hackers just use its intrusive code as a free ride to go straight to the heart of your system.

http://slashdot.org/~TechForensics



So this means if I have a problem with a DRM system on a legit copy of a game and I try to get a noCD patch to play it, the system will lock me out of my own files?



Just gets better and better no doubt.