If those system requirements are correct, then most likely noone is going to upgrade to Vista. Leave it alone cheap dell laptops, for example. Anyway, as long as I can game on Win2k and XP I will be happy. And Halo 2 I have already finished a lot of times on the Xbox and it's not even that good of a game (Loved Halo 1 though). I just hope that game companies don't follow MS's path of developing games to Vista (this is for you MS lovers out there: Electronic Arts and Valve, hihi).

From that article:

It's stupid thinking. "Pirated" content will NOT require HDCP. It will prevent playing of LEGITIMATE content, driving people TO "piracy". When they implement HDCP I will quit my 5-to-15 DVD-per-month DVD purchase habit (I have a LOT of DVDs) and will buy ZERO movies, and will instead download unencumbered pirated copies.

As it is I was forced to download the HD version of Terminator 2 because not only is the Extreme T2 content DRM encumbered, but if I bother to install Interactual's crap player, I am limited to only five DAYS worth of viewing. Nowhere on the packaging is Interactual's crap software listed as a REQUIREMENT (it is listed as Recommended) and NOWHERE is a five-day limitation mentioned. They committed out and out fraud, so in accordance with my Fair Use rights, I went and downloaded the content so I could view what I paid for. If they have a problem with it, they can stuff it.

Media producers will be driving themselves into bankruptcy with their DRM stupidity, because our European friends with their unencumbered content will be ripping their high-definition content and posting it on torrent sites (Thanks guys!) for everyone's downloading enjoyment.

This is one of my all-time pet peeves. When (not if) HDCP is implemented, the content providers will expect you to go out and buy another copy of what you already own.

Remember that the U.S. switch to HDTV is coming very soon requiring people to replace their TVs with HDTVs - most of which ARE NOT HDCP compliant. Vista is coming with HDCP implemented. I have yet to find an HDCP capable monitor. People are already buying these devices but won't be able to view protected content or won't be able to view it at full resolution. Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is coming and the DRM that comes with it will be shoved down our throats - whether we like it or not.

My brother-in-law just bought a 75" DLP TV. I don't even want to know what that thing cost, but I estimate it to be about 80% of my annual mortgage payments! I checked over the documentation very carefully and this TV is not HDCP capable. That means that in the future when he gets an HDCP video one of three things will happen (and this is entirely at the whim of the content provider):
1) It will play at full resolution
2) It will play, but at reduced resolution (720x480)
3) It will not play

If the content provider is Sony or Disney, what do you want to bet that it will be Number 3? Guess he's gonna have to replace that thing within the next 3 years.

Have any of you seen the screenshots of vista? Really ridiculous. Of course, you can't change it to your own look very easily.... Also, MS has come up with the "ingenious" idea of organizing the apps in the start menu into categories. I wonder where I've heard that before???

IMHO, linux has always been top dog over MS in the GUI sector....

There's little chance that game development will suddenly turn to be Vista-only. After all, game companies want to keep their wide markets right?

MS is only making Halo 2 Vista-only because it wants to sell the OS rather than have people afraid to get it.

I also doubt that the game will run smoothly on most computers. As discussed in the Vista thread, hardware requirements are too great, and those with even computers they bought today could be at a disadvantage.

Thank goodness for Linux! None of this hanky-panky business has to be worried about. I appreciate the developers' hard work, just to let that be known.

Well, since this thread was resurrected, I'd like to point out that Doom 3 now runs on Win98 as well. There's a little hack flying around the net for it. I don't know about Quake 4 though. Anyway, I highly doubt those new engines would by any chance perform as well in such as old crappy OS. And in either case, both Doom 3 and Quake 4 works great in Linux...

I love the fact that you should want a multi-core processor just to run the OS....

But back to the Halo 2 thing, I've known about that for months. I probably wouldn't even think about buying Vista if it wasn't for Halo 2. That's right. I'm addicted to a game made by what I consider to be one of the most evil companies out there. I even wrote a "declaration of war" against Bill Gates when I heard that; an alternate title being "the nerds vs Redmond". If anyone wants to see that just tell me...

thats nothing to be ashamed of. that game rocks HARD.

screw this, its cheaper to get an xbox than a new system that supports vista.

I can't believe that there are peoples actually considering to upgrade to Vista just to play Halo 2... As much as I enjoyed it, it is now a 2 years old game and graphically, it does not come even close to Doom 3, Quake 4, UT2k4 or even Half-Life 2 (which as you all know, I hate). The campaign is too short, the story line is ratter disappointed and the ending blew, just as HL2 did. Multiplayer wise, it is not bad, but it has been done before many other times and better too. Ut2k4 is way more interesting, for example.

And expect a lot of lag with this game. Halo 1 (PC) had horrible optimizations, thanks for the company porting it. Now, this game will come also for a new OS which is a resource hog by itself.

As slantoflight mention, you are better off getting a Xbox. It is very cheap today and Halo 2 goes for like 10 bucks for a second hand copy. When you get tired of your Xbox, you can mod it and use as a media box (it is awesome), a server with Linux or even as a web-surfing machine with XDebian.

Oh well... you are of course free to do as you wish. I see it as a waste of time, money and resources for a dated game which was not that great to start with...

M$ has always been playing catch-up since Linux got a dev base going. Their fs' are 4th rate (2nd and 3rd are taken up by XFS and other not-quite-tested-enough-and-debuged file systems, which I only list as 2nd and 3rd because I don't know enough about them to list them as 1st rate), their OS is a hack of DOS (I cann't find the post, but there IS proof).

As for Vista, I say let them go on with it. People switch to it (or M$ goes broke. Hopfully the latter), and then suddenly after awhile, we computer users (and I mean this in the old "In soviet russia" style joke. Linux, you use the computer. In soviet russia, Windows uses you) will have high-end hardware for cheap(er).

YAY FOR SHITTY SOFTWARE!!!!

(also, wait to see how long till someone hacks up H2 to run on Linux :-D)

I think its sad that microsoft chooses to force gamers to buy more than just the halo 2 game to be able to enjoy the one and only successful games that they have made. They are losing first by pushing VISTA down our throats, but losing more money because we aint buying Halo 2 due to the fact we have to buy VISTA also. Come on MS, arent you rich enough yet? There are starving people in this world!!!!

Thanks for bringing this thread back. However, my opinions about Microsoft has changed a bit. Microsoft is not really the only one pushing software/hardware on peoples like this. Look at Apple (iPod + iTunes), or the most evil company ever: Sony with PS3 + Blu-Ray. Or Even Valve, requiring Steam to play HL2.

Sure, asking peoples to upgrade their OS to play a really old game is pretty silly, but MS is not the only "evil" company around. For some reason though, it is the most hated, even though Apple is not any better and Sony is by far the worst out of the three. Yet peoples like PS3 and iPod, regardless of what the true intentions behind those companies are...

Sigh, with the return of this thread, it has become clear that my rage will never be allowed to subside...

Really, if I were a buisnessman, I would probably congradulate Microsoft and the like. It really is good, if not a tad dirty, buisness. Personally, if I had a computer that could run Vista, I would go and buy Vista just for Halo 2. I have been waiting for over two years for Halo 2, so just another thing keeping me from getting it is no surprise.

But, alas, I have no system that can even run Vista. My gaming machine (as it was three years ago) needs some major upgrades, and I don't want to shell out the cash just for an OS that I don't like anyway. For now, I'm putting my faith into WINE and cedega, unless I happen to stumble on some cash one day.