IT: Aero To Be Unavailable To Pirates An anonymous reader writes "Users thinking of pirating the next version of Windows may have a surprise in store: no Aero for you. The upcoming Microsoft OS will run a check to ensure the copy was legally purchased. If it comes up short, the shiniest part of the OS will not be available." From the article: "At first an optional program, the piracy check eventually became mandatory for many types of Windows XP downloads, but was not required to run any aspect of the operating system itself. Microsoft has identified reducing piracy as a key way for the company to grow its sales of Windows, which is already used on more than 90 percent of personal computers. But it's not just pirates who will be blocked from Windows' fanciest graphics. The Aero display also won't be available to those who buy Windows Vista Basic, the low-end consumer version of the operating system." Slashdot

The reason people pirate Windows is because it is easy and cheap. Microsoft is making a mistake by breaking their operating system in this way. First off, it is only a first step. MS wants to charge you a monthly fee for the use of their operating system. If you don't pay up, you don't get to view the digital photos of your grandkids.
The computer I'm typing this on is Linux. When I bought the computer it had a copy of Windows on it. I wish Microsoft was charging by the month because I would have not waisted as much money on their product. As it is, I'm looking for a laptop and I refuse to pay anything for Windows on it. Wal-Mart has some great prices on laptops, but all of them come with Windows installed. You cannot get one at Fry's. These folks are betting a lot on Microsoft's plan. People don't care what OS is on their machine, they just want the digital pictures of their grandkids to come up.
I am so glad I don't care about this anymore. I hope MS does decide to charge an arm and a leg for every copy. $900 a seat should do it. What do I care. MWAAA! AAAh-AAAAAh!!