Hollywood, Microsoft align on new Windows
C|Net | at | by Mike
Even for me, pro-MS person, this seems taken too far. MS nor Hollywood has no business to determine how I view my media.
As Microsoft readies the next version of its Windows operating system, called Vista, the software giant is building in unprecedented levels of safeguards against video piracy.
Most analog plugs, and some digital connections, don't support this kind of copy protection. Part of Vista's job will be to check to see what kind of devices are linked to the computer, and through what kind of connection, and decide whether the content can be encrypted or otherwise protected over that link.
If the answer is "no," in the case of high-resolution Video Graphics Array (VGA) connections, or some early Digital Video Interface connections, the computer could shut down output of video altogether through those plugs, if the content owners require that.