Green Party warns Vista will cause hardware obsolescence

The UK Green Party has slammed the hardware restrictions of Windows Vista. The Greens said the operating system will cause increased landfill waste as perfectly good IT kit is thrown away as it can’t run Vista.

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Computer hardware, such as monitors and sound cards, will have to "obey Microsoft's rules for encrypting content in order for consumers to use Vista to play 'premium' content, such as Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs", the Green Party said.

Siân Berry, Green Party female principal speaker, said, “There will be thousands of tonnes of dumped monitors, video cards and whole computers that are perfectly capable of running Vista - except for the fact they lack the paranoid lock down mechanisms Vista forces you to use. That is an offensive cost to the environment.

"Future archaeologists will be able to identify a 'Vista Upgrade Layer' when they go through our landfill sites," said Berry.

Derek Wall, Green Party male principal speaker, said Vista will also be power hungry, as it requires more processing time to encrypt and decrypt "premium" content, checks  the computer every few milliseconds to check that nothing is trying to distribute de-coded "premium" video or sound.

Wall said, "Vista will further exclude the poor from the latest technology, and impose burdensome costs on small and medium businesses which will be forced to enter another expensive upgrade cycle."

Related article: Microsoft caves to pressure over Vista security

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