"Wow starts now"? It's more like "Ow starts now", as consumers start to learn what they will lose by choosing Vista.

DefectiveByDesign has been campaigning against DRM since last May. In that time, consumer and media awareness of the restitrictive technology has increased and consumers have largely turned against it. Even the music industry is contemplating dropping it. Yet even against the growing anti-drm chorus, Microsoft is launching the Vista Operating System which, aside from some new bells and whistles, and an increase in base hardware requirements, is largely a platform for DRM, designed to serve Big Media companies more than individual computer users. Vista represents a step backwards in users' freedom, it is an "upsell" not an "upgrade". While user's rights will be trammeled by the DRM and Treacherous Computing features of Vista, the collatoral damage will be environment as users are forced to abandon perfectly good hardware to meet the new requirements of Vista, generating tons of e-waste.

In an effort to hide the truth, Microsoft is hiring comedians, sports stars and TV personalities to help everyone forget just what this convicted monopolist plans next. The good news is that users do not need to take the bitter Vista pill. There are plenty of free software alternatives available that are more secure than Vista and respect user's rights and freedom.

DefectiveByDesign.org is organizing actions in New York City to coincide with the launch parties there (Nokia Theater and Cipriani's Signup to let us know you'll be there). We are committed to raising awareness of DRM's threat to consumer and privacy rights through lawful forms of direct action. We urge all software freedom activists to obey all laws and respect private property.