No such thing as unhackable, the only question is how much trouble would it be for the average joe to hack it, whether or not they'd have to sacrifice some of the service (upgrade, security center maybe), and ultimately of course, whether it's worth it or not. I must say though, that given these news, I think Microsoft needs to drop the price of vista, significantly - for one, manufacturing only one DVD is cheaper than one for each version, so why not pass those savings to us. Second, it would make the trouble of hacking it seem less worth it if getting it legally is not as prohibitively expansive.

P.S. Apparently "unhackable" is not a proper word according to the google spellchecker - you'd think they'd be more in the 21st century when it comes to words.

for one, manufacturing only one DVD is cheaper than one for each version

The cost of creatign any number of DVD is insignificant. MS could probably buy a million DVD blanks for what it cost me for 500.

To me, if the price of Vista was lower,then maybe more people would be able to afford it,and cut down on possible hacking.

10 different version of what? Just make one edition and price it reasonably, and start selling family packs of licenses.

Nice idea, instead of needing a DVD for each version, a person only needs one DVD. $249 for five years plus is a good deal for an OS that has proven itself to be good with each new version. NT, 2000, XP Pro and soon enough Vista Ultimate.

I can understand some users wanting a family pack and its silly they don't add that into their thought processes. As for the price, its pretty good for an upgrade and since its good for at least 10 years after release, compared to other OSs that charge money...$249 is a good deal. Now I know someone might bring up the point that Apple charges $129 for a single user license, but keep in mind that with OSX it tends to run $129 per year give or take 6 months.

Compare $249 for 5-10 years to $129 semiannually to biannually.

Since everything is on one DVD, it'd be nice if we would be able to buy a lower version, but try out the higher versions for 30 days to make sure it's something we would want to spend all that money on. I don't know if that's possible with an OS though...

Nice going Microsoft. Always manage find a way to dig yourself into a hole.

non-hackable those are challenge words for some people

Nice move from MS. It will tempt some costumers to upgrade to a higher version as they have it already on the same DVD...

You can change every law ... those you can't change you can break

I believe after some time of Vista launch .. MS will start whining about piracy !!!

MS will start whining about piracy !!!

Start????????? They ALWAYS WILL AND ALWAYS HAVE!!!!

Seriously though they are setting themselves up for every hacker in the world to obtain Vista Ultimate.......

I guess some college idiot(s) think(s) they are impenetrable...NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speedy

"Since everything is on one DVD, it'd be nice if we would be able to buy a lower version, but try out the higher versions for 30 days to make sure it's something we would want to spend all that money on. I don't know if that's possible with an OS though..."

It is, Novell already do this with SuSE Enterprise Desktop

From a manufacturing view point (of which I am intimately aquainted), it is much easier to set up the machinery to run one part, than to run a number of parts. A good move on Microsoft's part if you think of millions of that one part being manufactured. They will probably save millions of dollars in manufacturing costs during the full life-cycle of Vista DVD production.

As for whether the OS keys can be hacked easier on one disc - I doubt any method of manufacturing is going to stop the inevitable pirating of the software. I am sure Microsoft is fully aware of this fact due to their being in business for quite a while now. Assuming they have a bunch of unintelligent people working for them is unrealistic.

This would seem to provide some relief from the cost of production vs. the cost of lost revenue due to pirates, as well as providing an easy upgrade to potential customers.

Personally, I could give a rip about pirates. I will purchase the new OS as soon as it becomes available simply because I have tested both my notebook (2005 model) and newly custom built desktop (Sept. 2006) with the RC1 and have found a lot to look forward to. RC1 ran fine on both machines, and assuming the third party hardware/software providers offer updated drivers and software support for Vista, life should be good.

It seems to me that Microsoft has been paying attention to the graphic's part of the customization community (shown in their use of reflections, glass effects, and overall improvement in the graphic quality), and that it will shortly be upon the third party developers to deliver the proper drivers and update patches so that users do not have to purchase all new hardware and software to use the new OS.

Loading all the Vista versions on to one installation disc is a great idea, to cut manufacturing costs and also for greater convenience for the consumer...instead of having to go out and buy a higher version, the license key can be purchased online via MS.

However, given the savings in manufacuring, MS should consider passing on those savings to the consumer and lowering the price to one that is more reasonable/affordable for the average PC user. I've read it in umpteen articles where it has been said that many PC users are somewhat iffy about Vista....well when they see the prices they're gonna be even more iffy and stick with XP.

It has also been said that many who upgrade to Vista will only do so by buying a new system with it pre-installed, rather than purchase the disc, but what I see happening there is price hikes in the hardware accomodating the higher priced OS. Sure, System manufacturers will get Vista for much less than the average consumer, but charging higher prices for the newest technology is the name of the game....get in at twice the price before the novelty wears off.

A wise person once said that it's easier to get a dollar from a million people than it is to get a million dollars from one person, and MS should be considering this thought prior to Vista hitting the shelves. After testing beta 2 and RC1, I quite like Vista and will eventually purchase it, but I've heard plenty of people saying: "Vista, not at those (insert expletive) prices!".....and it is precisely that sentiment that will encourage Vista piracy, mass intallation of illegal copies.

Sure Vista's development has come at huge expense, but if MS doesn't reconsider its high price tag, they're gonna miss the boat on this one...average users who just dabble a bit simply won't fork out for it, and many businesses won't be able to justify the costs involved in upgrading (hardware & software) to accomodate Vista when XP or 2000 adequately serves their needs .

Do not even bother. "vista" is a simple solution to capital gain. Get a legitimate version of Windows XP 64-bit and have some fun!!