Content Protection in Vista, Viruses in E-Cards, Huge iPhone Bills

A computer researcher says content protection features in Windows Vista are preventing users from playing high-definition video, and even affecting system performance. Some of you agreed with the report, while others said that the research is flawed. Let us know what you think--is Microsoft up to no good?

Hey, you know that e-card notification you got today? Well, it could contain a virus. Read the article on this latest scam, and let us know if you've been a victim.

A 300-page iPhone bill? Is AT&T being excessive? Some of you felt that sending a paper bill of any size was irresponsible, and others felt that the bill shouldn't be quite so detailed. Still others sided with AT&T, pointing out how easy it is to switch to paperless bills. What do you think?

E-mail viruses, Wikipedia edits, and overheating batteries are covered in this week's most-recommended stories. To recommend a story, click the "thumbs up" icon at the top or bottom of every PC World article.

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Vista Prevents Users From Playing High-Def Content

Vdog says: The consumer is considered guilty and pays twice--once for the product and once for the lack of features. Hackers get the best of both worlds: no cost and all the features!

Zelwin says: It sounds to me like Microsoft is trying to protect the movie and music industries from competition. If a person has created the content, doesn't he or she own that property? Who is Microsoft to decide that an artist must be signed with a major company in order to make high-quality recordings? I don't think that suppressing developing talent is the way to prevent piracy.

MoonDogg says: Do your research and you will see that Vista only restricts protected content when you don't have the necessary hardware/software requirements. Unprotected or hacked HD plays fine, with no degradation. This article is a joke.

donnyemu says: Degraded performance is the compromise that lets you see content. Blame the industry, not Microsoft. We should be complaining to the industry for supporting copy protection. Like the music industry is finding out, people support and buy DRM-free content first. See Steve Jobs about that.

Read all the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.

Greetings! Someone Has Sent You an E-Card Virus

gundark says: Unfortunately, there are always new users out there who have not heard of these types of attacks before. That's who these guys are preying on.

rega451 says: I wonder if the major e-card companies have a plan to sue these slugs if they can ever catch them.

cyclelogicpress says: My favorite is "You have received an e-card from a worshiper."

mrfixit says: I live in Sweden and have had some 20 examples of this type of e-mail in the last 2 weeks.

Read all the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.

A 300-Page iPhone Bill?

MCKornbred says: I don't get any paper bills in the mail. I figure why wait until you receive something that ridiculous. Get over yourselves; get paperless and get on with your lives. Honestly, this has to be the most pointless article ever.

kataleen2k says: 30,000 messages? That's a message every minute. You should wait for replies in that minute. Maybe you'll notice that message saying "Please, no more, get a life." By the way, get out of the house. You'll see something cool outside. They're called people! You'll like them.

zboner says: A 300-page bill? If I owned a company and someone had a bill that was 300 pages long, I would call that person up and tell then to look the bill up online. It's ridiculous to waste that much paper...but you can always recycle the paper.

edelbrp says: To clarify, the bill details free accesses, too. I'm not much of a phone freak, and [my bill] was 18 pages long. I noticed that the phone does something every 55 minutes (checking e-mail?) and it gets logged in the bill. That generates a lot of pages of items with zero charges. (In fact, I didn't go over any of my minutes or messaging.) BTW, I did log in and opt for paperless billing, which was quite simple. I encourage others to do the same.

Read all the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.

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