14 DAY TRIAL // A few Windows Vista critics have attempted to sour the celebration synonymous with the commercial availability of the operating system in New York. This is an example that just goes to show that not everybody is ready to share Microsoft's Wow.
Members of the Defective by Design group have protested in Hazmat suits outside Windows Vista's launch parties in New York. The protesters are referring to themselves as technology activists and have called for a consumer boycott of Microsoft's latest operating system.
"Greeting lunch guests at the swank Cipriani's in midtown Manhattan, and later at the nearby Nokia Theater launch party, protesters wearing Hazmat suits and carrying banners calling for Vista to be dumped helped provide an alternative vista for Microsoft's celebrity attendees," revealed Defective by Design in a press release following the events.
Defective by Design protest was directed at the DRM technology made an integer part of Windows Vista. "As computer users grow more frustrated over Digital Restriction Management (DRM), Microsoft is launching an operating system that is built as a platform for DRM. It's been designed to meet the demands of Big Media companies. Vista will usher in a new era of restrictions placed on citizens' rights to control their music, movies and computers. We are calling on users, companies and institutional purchasers to stop widespread adoption of Vista because of the impact on our society's freedoms and rights," commented, Peter Brown Executive Director of the Free Software Foundation that backs the DefectiveByDesign and BadVista campaigns.
Despite their presence on the scenes of Microsoft's launch for Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System, the protesters had little impact, past getting their voices heard.
