Steep 8

I'm hoping that Windows 8 + Ivy Bridge CPU + next-gen SSD will be lightning fast. Of course, something has to suck:

OEM BIOS activation is nothing new. OA was first seen in Windows XP, and OA 2.0 with Windows Vista and Windows 7. Both of these mechanisms are now easily bypassed by pirates looking to install/sell unlicenced copies of Windows.

However, now rather than shipping PCs with a COA, keys will be incorporated in the system’s UEFI firmware, and this will increase production costs for ODMs because each machine will require individual attention to squirt the key into the UFI firmware.

Link via Code Monkey Ramblings.