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Windows Genuine Advantage Makes Few Friends
With a reminder to "not get silly here," ocbwilg joins several others in casting doubt on the source of the rumor about a mass turn-off:
"A 'front-line tech-support drone' who gets paid $12 an hour to read the support script is somehow going to know what sort of top-secret plans Microsoft has for the next six months? I highly doubt it. It sounds more like the sort of thing that a help desk drone would say to try to persuade a clueless computer user to do things their way.Then, of course, there's the fact that if you install WGA today on a pirated copy of Windows, all you get is the notification message that pops up. You don't get shut down, and you don't even get cut off from Windows security updates (which are truly the only updates that matter, and even they aren't that good). I find it very difficult to believe that Microsoft is going to go from 'Hey, your copy of Windows doesn't look genuine, but you can still install our security updates' to 'I don't know if your system is pirated or not because you haven't installed WGA, but even if it is a legitimate copy I'm just going to shut you down simply because I have no way of verifying it.' Especially not in the span of 6 months."
Along the same lines, another reader asks "Why are we making all this fuss over what could just be a rumor unwittingly spread by a clueless help desk worker? Since when did help-desk techs become privy to future, unannounced plans for a company, let alone ones as sensitive as this one?"
Besides the dubious source, the sheer scale of such an action convinces reader Willith that it's not going to happen — he promises to eat his hat if it does:"The thing to look it is how this might affect legitimate corporate versions of XP — and by that, I mean VLK versions actually being used in an enterprise setting.The company for which I work has more than 100,000 copies of XP running in offices on six continents, participating in one of the largest Active Directory installations in the world. Every system's load is tightly controlled and managed, and I can tell you that there are no copies of WGA anywhere on any of those desktops (I've seen the SMS reports). Nor will there ever be.
People say to 'vote with your dollars,' but your dollars, and my dollars, don't matter. Large corporate dollars matter — like the kind of dollars that can outfit a company's world-wide IT needs. WGA has no place on a configuration-controlled and managed enterprise desktop, and MS would never risk upsetting their real customers — corporate Windows & Office sales — to emplace something like this."
Working machines matter to smaller users, too, though, and Kremit mentions reports spotted online of "Dell desktops, valid CDs, and other licensed systems having problems with WGA," writing "When these systems stop working, people are going to flip. To them, this will be akin to the computer crashing and taking their data along with it."
Other readers had some specific gripes about the way WGA currently misfires in their own experience; Jnaujok maintains that it hasn't worked well for him:
"What about my two perfectly legitimately licensed machines at home that fail the 'Windows Genuine Advantage' test every time they update WGA? Considering that one of them is my copy of Advanced Server 2003, I won't be exactly happy when it gets killed this fall. (Hey, I just use it for the mail server program because I can't stand sendmail.)And I'm just a little bitty guy with one server running. What happens when this hits some company's server farm and they all shut down? How much liability is Microsoft going to have when that happens?
And every time they 'fix' my copy after the new WGA comes out, I have to make manual registry changes. Can you imagine having to do that on a 500 machine server farm?"
Not everyone objects to the idea of harsher treatment for unlicensed copies of Windows; several readers welcomed the idea of more active license revocation by Microsoft as beneficial to the world of free software; WhiteWolf666 described a turn in that direction on Microsoft's part as a "solution to the Linux pricing problem," writing
"35 percent of PC software is pirated. I'm guessing that Windows XP is highly represented in that group (of pirated software; i.e. at least 30% of worldwide Windows installs are not legal). If even 10% of that user base decides to switch to Linux rather than pay the Windows tax, it'll be a substantial marketshare boost.Reader soren42 lays out what this might mean: "If you suddenly force all the non-legal users off your platform, you're forcing them to use something else. Which means, in turn, more demand for OpenOffice, games on Linux, GAIM, ad infinitum — until there is a more, better, complete Linux end-user software stack to seriously compete with Windows."And the remaining 90%? They might decide that the MSRP cost of Windows is too close to the MSRP of a brand-new dual-core Mac.
I'm thrilled. MS has ridden on piracy marketshare for far too long. I hope they do every thing they possibly can to stamp out software piracy, and I hope they succeed."
Other readers share that sentiment, with a twist: on the basis that remote turn-off really is in the near future of Windows, some, like reader ewhac, say they're through with Microsoft: "I just built a brand new machine, primarily for gaming. Oblivion has been fairly sweet. But it looks like I won't be playing those games anymore — not unless the entire game industry decides to support Linux. ... This is morally and ethically reprehensible, and Microsoft knows it, and apparently doesn't care. Well, I do care. I do not, and shall not, grant consent to Microsoft to remotely snoop on my machine, regardless of their ostensible reasons. If my copy of Windows stops functioning as a result, I will take that as a maliciously incorporated product defect, and respond accordingly."
Most people won't be doing the same, in the eyes of RightSaidFred99, who scoffs "Give me a break, people won't be moving to Linux. They'll find a hack for Windows, they'll buy Windows, or more than likely they'll just buy a new PC that comes with Windows legally bundled. Nobody is moving to Linux because the games aren't there, the thousands of cheesy little Windows applications people love aren't there, it's different (read: scary), and it's a pain in the ass for most joe schmoes to install."
Large corporations running Windows are in a more delicate position. Reader lynx_user_abroad doubts that many corporate users are likely to go seek out either free or illegal alternatives to updated Windows licenses. To the suggestion that many users would do just that, he writes"In a contest between you and them, I'd suspect Microsoft is in the better position to understand the nature of the addiction they have created. And I'd feel safe saying that even if you yourself had succeeded in completely breaking your addiction to Windows, which I suspect you haven't.Most people, most businesses are so hopelessly addicted to Windows that they literally can't even conceptualize their own survival without it. I'm always amused when I read the latest rant about a Windows vulnerability on an IE-only site, or read about some program manager publishing their 'Linux Strategy' document as a PowerPoint chart.
Think of all the hundreds of thousands of Microsoft Office documents the average business has, or the potential millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and business intelligence those documents represent. Now, even if they have the skill and determination to propose leaving Windows behind, think of the complexity of dealing with a customer base which might not be as skilled, or determined."
Several readers say WGA's phone-home capability doesn't affect the users who Microsoft would be expected to target, anyhow. GenericJoe says "Forget that," writing "I am a legitimate user of Windows. I know I am, because I bought a licensed copy from a reputable dealer. Thus, I figure, I don't need the WGA to tell me if I have a legitimate copy. I do have a legitimate copy. ...And Microsoft doesn't get to know anything else about anything I do, or affect me. The idea that I can be held hostage because I don't want to trust software from Microsoft. Well, that's kind of crazy."
Reader riptide_dot offers similar sentiments, asking "What if I did pay for [Windows] and I don't want the WGA software installed? I'm not allowed to use the software I paid for because I don't want to add on to it? That's like selling me a car and telling me that if I refuse to put a spoiler on the back that I won't be allowed to drive it."
As to actually unauthorized users, Akaihiryuu asserts that
Based on the common-sense arguments made above, unless Microsoft manages to not only flatten wrinkles in WGA as it currently operates, but also convince more users that check-ins with Redmond are close enough to their best interest to be worth accepting, mass turn-offs for Windows XP users seem unlikely. Thanks to the readers whose comments helped inform this discussion, especially those quoted above:"[P]eople who knowingly run illegal copies of Windows won't be affected by this in the slightest. These people have been cracking WGA since it came out, first with Javascript, then later with cracked DLLs. I'm sure there will be a crack for this within 24 hours of it being released (there always has been in the past), and these people will able to get it very easily. The only people that this will affect are
- People who think they have a legal copy of Windows but really don't because whoever they bought it from screwed them, and
- People with legal copies who either don't want to run WGA for some reason, or
- People with legal copies who run WGA and it mistakenly identifies their machine as 'not legit.'"
If I've purchased a legitimate copy, and I installed it with a license agreement prior to the release of WGA, by what legal authority can Microsoft disable my operating system?
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
Doesn't this just ring of the "...more you tighten your grip the more will slip through your fingers..." paraphrased quote. The more of a pain in the ass it is to register and keep track and pay and pay and pay will give more and more people the motivation to move to Linux or other free alternative.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
Maybe if Windows Genuine Advantage would get off the phone and go outside once in a while, he would make some friends.
mass turn-offs for Windows XP users seem unlikely
Are you sure? My XP box likes to turn itself off at least once a week?
Sounds like bogus claims to me... Imagine the impact that it would have on the economy?
"Dear Slashdot readers, we made big bags of cash on all of the ad impressions generated from the 800 posts in the WGA article we ran yesterday. Today we're going to re-post some of those posts in the hope that it will work you all into a frenzy again so we can get another 800 posts worth of money out of you. Thank you for your support."
Microsoft doesn't even turn off machines that WGA verifies as being pirated. All it does is inform the user that they're not running a legal copy of windows and prevent them from getting some updates.
Given that Microsoft isn't even turning off copies that it verified as pirated, why would it turn off copies where the users choose not to install WGA? That makes no sense.
Legit question ... Just curious when and how did this backslash stuff begin? It appears it was timothy's creation?
s/([Pp])eople/$1people/g ?
Why, in the last paragraph, does the word people only appear as "ppeople"?
Purple, because ice cream has no bones.
Mod the parent up, this is a truely insightful comment. As a matter of fact, it should be Backslashed!
uh...wtf man? I thought the first one was a typo, and then every single instance of the word in the rest of it was purposely misspelled. Smarten up.
Can anyone blame MS for trying to turn of pirated copies of Windows if they can? It's not like they are hiring lawyers for this either, if the rumor is true, it will be a technological switch, not legal one. Of-course this just gives MS competition more room in the market.
You can't handle the truth.
Is there a market glut of P's?? cuz every instance of the word "people" in the above summary has a surplus P.
Maybe it's a hint... what people should do all over WGA.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
Hey, Zeke... that horse we beat to death yesterday... I think it's still moving. I'll grab an axe, you grab a shovel.
Pee people? Pea people? WTF is with the same typo about 8 times? O_O
Isn't this what windows activation was supposed to be for??
What amazes me the most is that these things go undetected for so long. With all the paranoid geeks out there, especially on this site, I'd have expected lots of them to be constantly monitoring their systems with network protocol analyzers, especially when a software firewall starts wanting to let a new process out. So, how is it that these "secret" spyware programs are able to hide from us for so long? Why is there so much question about whether or not Windows is phoning home?
Even assuming for a moment that Microsoft was able to identify with 100% accuracy any machine that was running an illegal copy of Windows, and with no false-positives, I still don't think that it would be in their best interst to shut down illegal copies of Windows.
Regardless of what your favorite Operating System is, there is no doubt that Windows largest competitive advantage at the moment is it's popularity. Whether or not you think Windows is better or equal to Linux or *BSD or any other OS in any technical way, the biggest reason that people run Windows is because everyone else runs Windows, and the programs they want to use are written for Windows.
They cant compete on price with free while charging for Windows, and they can't compete technologically right now with Linux because when it comes down to it: A: Linux and Windows have their own respective strenghts- but in the hands of a competent user/administrator, neither is vastly superior to the other, and B: Anyone who is computer literate enough to be pursuaded by technical arguments already knows this- or at least will recgonize marketing BS, and anyone who isn't will ignore it anyway because they don't understand it.
If they eliminate the possibility of using Windows for free, then they are going to start losing users to Linux, BSD or Mac. The more users they lose, the less advantage they have because "everyone uses it" which will drive more people into looking at alternatives.
Like many relatively expensive proprietary applications, the success of Windows is based largely on the fact that it can be pirated. Making it impossible or even reasonably difficult to do so will result in people looking at alternatives. For most people, software has no inherent value, so people make a decision based off what is cheapest and what everyone else uses.
Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
Does the submitter have a special stutter that only activates itself when they try to type the word "people"?
Okay, on topic, and beyond what was already in the story text -- what mechanism do people propose Microsoft will use to "turn off" all of those Windows XP systems? Do people think they have some secret code they can send all over the world via multicast, that will tunnel through every firewall in the world to disable copies of Windows XP that they think might not be legit (or which don't have WGA installed)? Does XP "phone home" to see if it should be run every time it is booted up? What about XP machines that aren't even on a network? How will Microsoft disable XP on those systems?
Now I don't put it past Microsoft to want to do something like this, or their desire to force WGA on to every Windows user out there. However, I do question their ability to actually shut down Windows machines that aren't running WGA. I can see them denying them patches and updates. But actually shutting down XP machines? That would require either that:
And even in these two cases, either a simple firewall that blocks access the microsoft.com domains or simply not downloading the update in question would seem to solve the problem rather quickly.
Personally, I'm glad I run OS X and Linux machines and don't have to worry about such threats, but I really don't see how MS can effect such a threat. I am surprised that MS isn't trying to fight the bad press they're getting on this, however perhaps they think that the threat alone will be enough to get people who are using unlicensed copies of Windows to fork out the money for a properly registered copy, as I don't see any good technical way in which they can carry out this threat that even a semi-savvy user could easily work around (or avoid altogether).
Yaz.
Now I am not a hardcore Linux fanboy. I run Windows XP and for the most part enjoy it. I also make my living writing software using MS products. However my home windows installation has decided to say I am not genuine anymore. I quickly figured out how to disable the WGA software/nagware but I am losing critical updates to my box because of WGA being disabled. I know enough leaving unpatched boxes of any OS on the internet is bad. And since I am hooked to a cable modem this concerns me. I've never really been pissed of at MS before. But this is enough for me to tell them to kiss my big hairy american ass. I am seriously considering moving to one of the more user friendly Linux distros like Mandrake or Fedora. My only concern is I will loose my games and .net development tools. I know there are alternatives but I don't know how to use them on Linux. I can't imagine I'm not the only user who feels this way.
Hold up, wait a minute, let me put some pimpin in it
You think slashdot gets $$ per post? I imagine the number of readers is more important than posters, don't you? 800 posts is 800 extra impressions, which is a drop in the fricken' bucket compared to the number of visitors per day. Maybe the editors are actually trying to perform some kind of editorial service?
Pretty much anything the editors do here, some bozo is gonna complain.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Holy cow ... I've never seen the Grammar Nazi hit so hard ...
here, here, here, here, here, here,
While it can be debated whether such an action by Microsoft would spur the mass adoption of non-Windows operating systems, one thing is clear: the number of bots/potential bots will go down, possibly dramataically. I mean, how many computers out there are suspected of running illegitimate copies of Windows? I mean, the low end would say at least 10%, though a more reasonable picture would probably be much higher.
Considering that Windows (particularly XP, but any version, really) is so aggressively attacked by rootkits, trojan horses, and other kinds of malware that are used to create botnets, one could assume that by eliminating, say 35% of the Windows installed base, the number of bots would go down by about the same, provided that the people running pirated copies of Windows are representative of the entire set of Windows users.
This, of course, means that there will, for a time, be 35% less spam, spyware, and other shit being spewed over the Internet, again keeping with the same assumption. Of course, 35% is a number I just pulled out of my ass and could be substituted with any percentage. I honestly don't know about the number of pirated Windows copies that are in circulation. However, I know the number is significant, and the elimination of these computers from the Internet will probably be a good thing.
As for pirated copies of Windows that aren't connected to the Internet, well, they're not going to get shut down, but they're also nut pumping out any of the crap, either.
However, this option assumes that Microsoft is willing to go all nuclear on its user base, which I doubt. It certainly would not be good business sense to drive your current user base to use the competition, even if they're pirating your product. Furthermore, doing so is also bad corperate karma (yeah, companies have karma, too) and terrible PR. No ammount of money can rebuild a reputation for a company if its actions now mean that little Johnny can't do his homework because his computer got nuked by Microsoft's death ray.
Haec merda tauri est. Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
so if this whole WGA spyware-in-a-download thing gets too bothersome, it's sayonara WinXP, hello Linux.
At least I'll get rid of that dumb Exchange icon that pops up all the time.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
so Ubuntu can use this to its advantage. What better time than now to say "hey, we're free and easy! No, really!" People fed up with Microsoft will more motivated to convert at times like this.
Currently theta testing the prototype "Event Horizon" server-scaled desktop box with a 50 Gigameg of Ram.
If I used windows, this'd really concern me. Go Mac OS, go Linux :-)
For everyone else, perhaps looking into the feasibility of switching (to either) is in order?
Care about electronic freedom? Consider donating to the EFF!
Dude ... nobody posted this ... it's a virus
Maybe when Microsoft says "required to participate" they mean something other than "install our spyware or get shut down", but I'm at a loss as to what.
And just because "self-help" (read: "We, owners of the license, have the right to 'help ourselves' enforce our license by remotely shutting down the software on your box") didn't fly under UCITA, doesn't mean it's not permitted as a "technological measure" in the context of DMCA.
What would be funny is if some hacker found a way to trigger WGA into thinking keys were bad and caused alot of valid computers to be disabled. Could you just imagine a worm that goes from PC to PC and triggers WGA into disabling compters. It could do some major damage. All they would have to do is make a worm/virus that changes computers keys to blacklisted/invalid keys and just sit back and watch the meltdown.
This is simply wild speculation based on unconfirmed and unreliable sources. Its absolute nonsense.
This is nothing more than a TROLL on a grand scale, and you are all guilty of feeding it.
Common sense would not allow any intelligent person to believe this even for a second.
I can tell you without a doubt that if Microsoft decided to shut down the software that I paid for and installed, there would be a large, lucrative class action lawsuit filed against them by individuals and many, many lawsuits filed by the corporations that would lose thousands upon thousands of dollars per day as a result of this. I just hope my firm could get a peice of that delicious and expensive pie.
Not only that, but in a market with emerging OS alternatives, why in the world would Microsoft risk a massive exodus from their software.
This is utter nonsense. Shame on you all.
-- "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." Jean Jacques Rousseau
WGA, shizzle yo' nizzle!
And you can quote me on that.
Because the software isn't perfect. There's some fraction of legit users that it detects as being illegitimate. And the more they try to catch every last real pirate, the more innocent people get nailed.
Based on the history of WGA, the people who get falsely detected tend to be ones who change hardware - they replace a motherboard or a hard drive. Well, out of 300 million users, how many do that? Probably, several million. Not all of them get nailed.
But just imagine that 10,000 users get falsely nailed. Now is there harm? Yes, there is.
From the article:
Thanks to the readers whose comments helped inform this discussion, especially those quoted above
"Discussion"? More like, Disgusting, because thats what I feel when I see how Slashdot has fallen for this TROLL.
I can't believe the "news" team is propagating this OBVIOUS troll to this level.
Every time I return to this site I am presented with even stronger signs of Slashdot's growing worthlessness.
To be perfectly honest, the claim is so bogus and unbelievable, and the effects of it on Microsoft trust so strong, I am ready to cry foul play.
-- "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." Jean Jacques Rousseau
Because the rumor probably is wrong. But:
1. It is pretty clear MS COULD implement something with WGA that would remotely disable "unauthorized" Windows software if they chose to deploy it. Once WGA is installed, the Sword of Damocles is hanging over your system, waiting for something to happen (by intention or by error). That possibility alone is enough for me to keep WGA off the system, because it becomes untrustworthy. Hardware, applications, and windows system software is flakey enough with the things that are actually necessary for its operation. Why add a "defect by design" wildcard, even if the result is only nagging messages at this time?
2. I'll hold the rumor as "possible, if very remote" until MS specifically denies it. So, where is the denial? Has there been any news yet? They must have noticed the rumor and the many general complaints about WGA. IF they don't deny the possibility of using WGA as a "kill switch" in the future, perhaps they do wish to keep the option open, even if they have no intention now? And if so, whether the plan is 6 months or 6 years from now, I don't really care: I'll leave WGA off my legitimate system installs.
Roblimo: Hey, lots of people are reading our story about WGA!
...
CmdrTaco: Hey, that's cash, baby. Advertisers pay us for each one. Too bad it has to scroll of the bottom of the list and everyone forgets about it. I wonder how we could milk it for more
Timothy: I have an idea! But it would compromise our journalistic credibility. We could post a story about our story!
CowboyNeal: Our what?
STACK OVERFLOW!
Core Dumped
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
IIRC, Stacker won something like $43M from MS. Their problem came from investing it very unwisely afterwards.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Duh... readers always complain about posts being "duped"... but three days in a row they cannot notice that there is a new section reviewing a story from the day before.
What's the deal with all the double Ps on "people"? In one of the quotes it was even added in brackets!! ("[P]people")
Did I miss something, or am I completely misunderstanding something?
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
No wonder you're experiencing shut down problems! Never use the Shut Down... method. The best way to shut down a Windows PC is to be working on something important and not save. This almost guarantees a poweroff within 5 minutes, or at least a very bad crash. If you're lucky it may even tell you that your work is an illegal operation (regardless of its legality). I'm quite sure I won't be harmed by WGA if they decide to shut down all illegitimate copies of Windows, my Windows box already turns off and on more than my laptop with a low battery. In all seriousness, couldn't you just set up a firewall to drop the packet instructing Windows to shut down? Furthermore, reverse engineer and set up a dummy WGA? I've never reversed engineered software so I don't know how difficult it is, but I know there are some talented programmers out there.
Maybe not per post, but for posts. About the only reason I ever think about subscribing would be to get my entire comment history, instead of my last 24 comments:
Subscribers can view entire comment history for all users
Usurper_ii
Ron Paul
The are offering an amnesty program where you can buy a legal licence from microsoft at a discounted price, if you fail the authentacation. Win XP home is $99, Pro for $150. Now, if they actually offered them for that price to consumers, I think they would have less of a piracy problem. Obviously, with the varied price/feature structure they are going to offer in Vista they need to figure out the optimal prices people are willing to pay for the product in the absence of real competition. I think thats what this whole thing is about: a large scale real world focus group.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
It has been typed on a P-P-Powerbook.
perception is reality
I think I posted this once before but I use microshaft update everyday. My ex has a laptop that has a valid key that will not pass WGA. 3 or 4 times a week I just reload XP on that laptop since it is extra anyhow and then update it only to get the same response. I them call up Microsoft to get it straightened out(I sometimes have to call 5 or 6 times now) and complain about it. Between that and the comp I have at home that gets a fresh install once or twice a day with another XP disk with valid key I am trying to make it too frustrating for Microshaft to keep up it's reign of terror and abandon WGA. Start a club and do this yourself, it's almost as fun as being a 419 eater
I'm sure it's in the "End User License Agreement somewhere." In an rare dialect of the Lushootseed tribe translates to "grease up and bend over."
It's just another one of those commonly ignored or overlooked aspects of software the Fortune 500 companies, who established Microsoft as their standard, don't think is important while executives contemplate which administrative assistant to shag after their three martini lunch and where to float to on their golden parachute after they've finished the other kinds of executive decisions which result in massive losses of unsecured data.
This is probably the primary reason for drug abuse in America, it helps employees get through the day with the knowledge of the kind of leadership they are under.
"Sir, all 2,500 company computers are down, something about unverified copies of Windows running on them. I've tried to contact Microsoft but all of their lines are busy and the one call we got through suggested we visit their customer support page."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
This "leak" was designed by Microsoft in order to test the reaction.
Karl Rowe, Bush's political campaign architect is behind it, who was hired for consulting for Microsoft, at the time when Rowe faced possible legal actions, and his future in Washington became doubtful.
Now that Rowe is cleared of legal prosecution and he is back to work for Bush, Microsoft will return to the traditional Balmer style FUD and chair throwing.
And just in case, if Microsoft really remotely cripples copies of Windows with "uncertain origin", it's a good news for Microsoft opponents. The more Microsoft pisses off custumers, the faster and deeper they dig their own grave.
Its easy.
Just dont install it.
How?
Dont visit the update site of Microsoft.
99% of the people i know, doesnt use a legitime copy of Windows, and will never use.
WGA will not make then to buy a copy. Here, in my country, a copy of Windows can costs more than 2x the wage for 60% of the population...
Thats why whe cant buy a legall copy of Windows. And we will do it.
What's with "ppeople"? You even managed to insert that spelling mistake into comments which were copied and pasted, as "Ppeople" and "[P]people". And not once was it spelled correctly. What gives? Did you not think it was spelled correctly in the first place (Hint: "people")? Did you set your spellchecker to automatically stupidify?
This post will, of course, be subject to Skitt's law.
That it will merely cripple the OS, not kill it?
... even though it's completely wrong--you bought the license directly from Microsoft, they just screwed up and issued it twice. (Don't laugh--there are a few corporate customers who have already been bitten by WGA bugs calling them pirates when they have Volume Licensing Agreements.)
Sure, it'll probably start with annoying popups, but I'm sure they can then disable other things. Want to print? Too bad, you get "PRINTED FROM A PIRATE COPY OF XP, CALL 1-888-GET-LEGAL" all over your printouts. Office stops allowing you to save new documents, you can only open old ones.
Next, Outlook refuses to download new email, and all the email you do send out says "SENT FROM A PIRATE COPY OF XP, CALL 1-888-GET-LEGAL" or something. Oh, and you can't have more than, I dunno, 5 open connections to the internet at one time. Enough for light use, but no P2P for you.
Oh, and IE? It refuses to open any websites except Microsoft's "GET LEGAL" page, which is now your homepage. And maybe other Microsoft-owned domains. The firewall is now wonky, too. Only a few things like IE and Outlook can connect out at all (see above).
So yeah, you can still use it and it hasn't been shut down, exactly, but the thumb screws keep getting tighter and tighter the longer you wait to "GET LEGAL"
While MicroSoft may be the greatest evil unleashed upon computing, they say they won't kill your PC. Now, whether you trust them or not, turning off computers en masse would not be in their best interests.
.. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
You sir may have found the key. Using Microsoft's own beloved firewall you might be able to prevent WGA from connecting to the internet.
Title 17, United States Code, section 117 (and foreign counterparts). Look it up.
Microsoft have a right to enforce their license. If they don`t have that right, then I bet you this is their stand to get EULA and License enforcment cemented into law, and build a stack of presidence.
Microsoft invest a lot of money in windows updates and maintaining copies of windows. It is valid that they should only invest in copies of windows that have valid licenses.
If Microsoft stop updating illegal copies of Windows, then they would be blasted for leaving harmful machines on the internet.
If they do not do anything about illegal copies, then they are not upholding their rights and licenses, and it could be prooven that these rights and licenses are not enforcable.
Microsoft will phase this in...
Month 1 - On the task bar, click this link to purchase a valid copy of Windows.
Month 2 - Internet Explorer stops working, no more web browsing.
Month 3 - Microsoft Applications stop working (Office), you need a valid OS license to run them!
Month 4 - All users downgraded to 'limited account status', Admin account password scrambled.
Month 5 - Windows launches a single application that only allows you to buy a legit copy of windows.
Month 6 - The OS reboots and no longer launches. Backs into DOS and prints
They don`t have to 'shut the machines down' only alter the Operating System so it is no longer useful to those users with illegal copies. For example, it no longer starts. Thats perfectly OK right? Its their software, your should of agreed to their license and they are not damaging your computer, or your data, just reclaiming their rights.
Those users in the gray area (Corporate installs, copied disks etc), or incorrectly identified as illegal, need to talk to Microsoft and face some annoyance. They should already be getting the warning signs and background changes, so they can`t pretend ignorance.
I hope this action removes unmaintained, cracked, dodgy copies of Windows XP off the internet, that might be a good thing!
I have just re-read my EULA for Win 2K Pro (the original EULA on the licensed CD and the one in the system32 folder). There is nothing, anywhere, that authorizes MS to turn it off, modify, etc... the software. Nothing even remotely related. Is the EULA for XP and 2003+ Server different then? Will my workstation be unaffected?
Here in the UK, my friend got the "you may have been a victim of fraud" for a month and then one friday he's locked out.
His shares still work but there's no login screen just a Windows logo.
I couldn't stop laughing.
He's running Knoppix on it now so he can still play his mp3s etc.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Seriously, how would it even be possible to 'turn off' every XP machine that isn't running WGA?
You would either need to have something on the machines that 'calls home' -- which would surely have been noticed by now -- or you would have to somehow connect to every machine.
What if you have an XP machine that has no internet connection and therefore no WGA? What happens to those?
The only way I can see this working is if there is already a 'death clock' ticking away in every XP machine, and if it doesn't receive the command to deactivate from WGA, it disables your OS. If this is the case, I'm sure there's a lot of legal issues that need to be adressed.
Machines without WGA won't be updated, or sill be updated manually by people who likely know a little more about what they are doing than the average John Q. User, so they can't effectively issue an update to add this kill switch functionality. It has to be there already if it exists at all.
=Smidge=
Isn't Vista going to be released early next year? If they shut off someone's copy of XP, and if it's important enough to them, they might go buy a legit copy of XP. If they have to shell out money for XP in September, how likely is it that they'll turn around and buy Vista come January. Seems they should have timed this to perfectly coincide with the Vista release for maximum profitability. If this story is true, then I see this strategy backfiring. Either in less (intially high priced) Vista sales (cause they just bought XP) or in people deciding to try out an alternative while waiting for Vista comes out.
Since I haven't found a good place to whine about this yet (I hadn't noticed yet when the new layout first debuted), I'm going to digress a little further: Why does slashdot break the status bar?
Normally when you hover over a link, the status bar displays the URL, but in the new layout, some magical javascript immediately clears that information. It's nice that they offer the title showing what domain the link is on, but I prefer to know a little more specifically where it is before I click a link posted by one of a million possibly psychopathic nerds on this site. Breaking the status bar almost ranks up there with breaking the back button in my book, and I think it's worse than using marquee or blink elements.
That's my big nitpick for the day.
What's with all the \'s (backslashes in case i goofed, I could never type the one I wanted...) latley?
BTW: I can forsee many reasons why this will lead to the adoption of Mac or Linux machines... Few people know where their OS came from...
"You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm." - S. G. Colette
You should add your sig into http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decatur,_Georgia
If M$ is going through with this, (legit or not) I will make the switch to Unix // Linux or Apple.
Even my mum, a novice pc user (she can work with it, but it is all) says M$ Windows is not good and that they should innovate!!! Go figure.
If M$ will turn off // disable // scramble pc's, they are diggin their own grave...
Imagine, CEO of ACME corp uses a "borrowed" copy of Xp or something, he turn his portable on .... bye bye critical documents, bye bye everything ... They don't have the right to do this! Everyone is innocent till proven guilty, also in Belgium, US of A.
My $0.02
It started with the fact that XP did not ship with this already installed. Lots of companies ship their software with validation capability. XP decided to add theirs on in steps. First in just checking the serial to make sure it wasn't part of the Devil's Own release then with the WGA tool. If Vista ships with this stuff installed right from the bat, then a user can make a choice to be a part of it or not. If Vista ships without it then MS starts adding tools to validate after the fact, that's when people start getting questioning what the hell is going on.
Saving the World: One Drink at a Time
Does somebody have experience with vmware machines and WGA? Having the operating system "call home" everytime a vmware workstation boots up, would be disturbing to me. So, I dont upgrade my windows OS in my vmware machines. I personally have had bad experiences with XP reactivation when upgrading from older vmware workstations to newer ones because XP complained that the "hardware has changed". The reactivation would not go through. I can imagine that WGA could make it more difficult in future to run virtual machines.
well first im gonna admit i dont use a legal copy of windows, but i went on the microsoft website and downloaded WGA with no problems whatsoever so even if microsoft did try to shut down all illegitimate copys of windows it just wouldnt happen, people can crack these things but they dont need to because as were all aware it doesnt work on all legitimate machines, but it does work on my illigal copy
im not afraid to admit what iv done
Windows Genuine Advantage Makes Few Friends
Well, 3 friends is better than none.
If you can't afford it, DON'T USE IT. End of story. There are alternatives. I cannot condone software piracy;
You're just quoting standard corporate dogma that has been brainwashed into you, even the use of inappropriate terminology. Arrr laddy, walk the plank!
Free yourself of the brainwashing. This is how a true free market works.
If a product is too expensive from one supplier but you still want to use it, you find an alternate supplier that offers it cheaper. That includes grey and black market suppliers. (I said true free market, not the restricted one that big business wants you to think is the only valid one.)
If the expensive supplier isn't happy with this reduction in their profits, they should reduce their prices until a sufficient number of those lost customers are attracted back to them. Simple economics.
Trying to increase your profits by labelling software copying "piracy" and using the law to stop it isn't a free market at all, it's protectionism.
I've only had one experience dealing with WGA but I have to admit it was a VERY good one. See, I used to fix my ex-girlfriend's laptop whenever it had a hiccup of some sort (before she became my ex), and last month she IMed me about how WGA wasn't accepting her copy of Windows. So she came over to my apartment and I moved all her files to my server and then started reformatting her comp. I told her it was gonna take a couple hours to finish and asked what she wanted to do to pass the time... and then she unzipped my pants. Needless to say, I decided that the benefit of installing all of the language packs was well worth the extra wait ;).
This is awesome. ANYTHING to force the threshold market to move onto Linux or OSX makes me happy. I know this will be a pain for me since I maintain 100+ machines with windows on them, I cant wait to use Linux or BSD on em. That will depend on the apps available for those OSes, which will depend on how painful it gets to run Microsoft.
I dont care. I'll take SuSE, redhat, slackware, debian,ubuntu, custom uclinux distro, whatever. Bring it on.
But I desperately need a good collaboration suite that looks like outlook+exchange, and lotus, accpac, visual manufacturing, etc to move to Linux. Once that happens I can save my company a good $50,000 a year by using a custom Linux distro, possibly slackware. But for as long as Microsoft allows illegal copies, people will use nothing but Microsoft, and the app developers will only support Microsoft. And I'll suffer.
I hope Microsoft drives a 10 foot long stake into each pirate. I need free beer.
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
I've been frustrated with PCs ever since my first 486. It's never been perfect, and I reminisce about the good old days of the Atari ST and Amiga. I was Windows free for a while, with a custom built linux and at the university I was attending the only annoyance was receiving MS formated documents. Then I slowly got enticed back on to WinXP because of the convenience factors and some hardware driver issues that were resolved by running XP instead of linux.
Right now I don't care if the rumor is true or not. The fact the Microsoft won't deny it is actually very chilling. I don't want to run Vista.
I've been reading Mac sites since yesterday, blogs, forums, articles. I think they are resolving or have resolved the hardware issues with the new Intel Macs. A lot of people bitch about the cost but it looks like equivalently spec'd Dells and IBM/Lenovo systems can be nearly as much and in some cases more expensive. Another odd thing happened, in the Mac forums I noticed there's a lot of hardcore professional users and even a few unix geek sysadmin types to boot.
It seems that spending a few extra dollars for an Apple is the way to go, maybe not right this moment, but I'm thinking I can get a MacBook Pro, or wait for the Intel tower system. I should be able to get into the BSD under-pinnings and compile my own or opensource software if I need too. What it comes with out of the box sounds like is actually a few usable apps, vs the useless crap MS packages. I haven't switched yet but it looks like my next purchase will be a Mac, and I seriouslt doubt I'm going to have a reason to bother trying to dualboot it to XP.
There is a petition against WGA at http://www.petitiononline.com/nowga/petition.html Would be interesting to see how many signatories it gets
I and many others have always suspected Microsoft had some sort of secret backdoor to shutdown any Windows machine. It makes me wonder if Microsoft used this as a threat to the U.S. government to get the anti-trust case dropped (aside from possible bribery). Heck, they could use this same backdoor to bring the E.U. to its knees should they (the E.U.) decide to keep pressing the anti-trust issue....
[End Conspiracy Theory]
DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
based on the say-so of a Windows tech-support provider
i think you mispelled Red Hat.
Ubuntu keeps looking better and better. If I can virtualize XP well enough to play games or get them working somehow else, then that's where I'm headed.
I was just yesterday installing a new MS OS on a very old box using pretty much legitimate coprorate license. Problem was I used some basic XP Pro install disk, but needed SP2 to run some damn application that _requires_ SP2. No big deal - I went to update site and said "give me updates". "Oops" said update site, "there is some error 80080299 in verification program. But no verification - no updates."
u ine-advantage-error-0x80080299/
Mind you: not just security, not just automatic - no updates at all. This leaved my box pretty useless for me. Luckily I was not the first to encounter error 80080299 and there was already a solution to it in Google - just go through a different url. See http://blog.monkeyless.com/2006/05/26/windows-gen
So you do not need a legal grounds to turn someone else's OS. Just a little programming error somewhere...
All it takes for M$ to have the PR-blunder of a lifetime is to have one single worm out there whose perpetrators figured out how to change the Windows XP serial number. Right now it would already be pretty annoying if such code were introduced into the fast-spreading worms (WGA notifications for everybody !), if they do it the day after WGA goes into kill-mode there'd be hell to pay.
(kill mode, incidentally, is the right word. Somebody somewhere is bound to have made a mistake on critical equipment; while far-fetched, just imagine some emergency service's system going down due to this during a catastropic event)
That is, of course, if this has not already happened.
so i dont use windows, and have no desire to, but surely its fair enough to stop people illegaly copying and using your software. Windows isnt open source, nor under any free licesne...the rule is you pay for it, and if you dont then you have no right to use it. ether pay up if your despart to use it, or go get something cheaper... (eg ubuntu, isnt it great btw...) so yea, stop coplaining all you users of ilegal windows...
...um, is it in fact an illegal copy? :)
If a worm wants to kill windows, it doesn't need WGA. It only needs to delete critical files, overwrite MBR or stuff like that.
perception is reality
How exactly might Microsoft go about shutting-down a copy of XP if it *doesn't* have WGA installed, and if it *doesn't* connect with microsoft servers (presumably to allow the "kill code" to be sent remotely)? Are we thinking that the original code for XP contained this "kill date" all this time? Or did some other, earlier, update (e.g. SP2) include instructions to self-disable the installation this fall, barring further instructions from the mothership? Forgive any naïveté, but I don't understand how *not* having a piece of software installed can cause XP to shut itself down, unless it was designed to do so from the start, which seems (to put it lightly) unlikely.
Brian Livingston's Windows Secrets has waded into the WGA mess with a fairly straightforward suggestion: Dump Windows Update.
Brian Livingston's Windows Secrets has waded into the WGA mess with a fairly straightforward suggestion: Dump Windows Update. Along with that, he points to Microsoft's WGA unistall information in the KB article 92914. Note the KB article refers to the "pilot" version of WGA, so Things May Change.
Yeah, right. So if you have 100000 machines running MS software and it gets shutoff, and MS's only repsonse is to install WGA to prove it's all legit, what do you think the PHB who is losing money by the buckets, is going to do? Sure as hell not demand you install sendmail cuz it's free.
WGA might not work this way in this release, but soon. And then I laugh. I'm running Windows 98 fool.
In the late 80's early 90's there was a significant shift from people (IT) buying IBM's solution to people purchasing Microsoft software. IBM's stock went from $80 dollars a share to $54 overnight.
IBM was forcing PC owners (IT) to purchase thier high priced/proprietary options over cheaper (less developed) options from Compaq, 3Com, Novell and Microsoft. It didn't work. People chose the cheaper solution.
Twenty Five years later, Microsoft is now the most expensive solution. You as a consumer don't have a choice when purchasing software. With Microsofts new driver model, you as a consumer/owner do not have the choice of tweaking your computer or even talking directly to any devices on your computer. Its Microsofts computer and you are not allowed to open the hood.
Enjoy,
It's just the normal noises in here.
convinced that i should install WGA that is... I mean, on top of having my OS turned off without it i wont be able to install SP4.
To Microsoft: Get Vista out the door and fix your bugs before you even think of trying to further punish your "customers".
Mike
I heart the RIAA & MPAA, im sure its mutual...
If you stick with the non-MSIE friendly windows update at http://windowsupdate.62nds.com/
ôó
The license, the method of "protection" and the business model itself are anti-social and abusive. The license grants M$ the "right" to inspect your system, delete files and ultimately to turn your machine off. They don't care if they turn off legitimate users, and foolishly think people will put up with it all. That protection is so important to them that they have spent billions of dollars on propaganda and organizations like the BSA. They have stooped so low as to sue public schools to protect their precious binaries. The end result of this wasteful intimidation is a third rate product, which will now turn itself off if it's not connected to the internet offering all your thoughts, plans and hard work to it's owners. The only thing that keeps them from writing into the license that all your ideas belong to them is their ability to take them without the effort.
They want a world in which everyone pays M$. No computer will be sold without money going to them and no computer will work that does not run their software exactly as they say it will run. Those are their goals.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Thats the first step in protecting the web. Turning off all the hackers, that are running bad cd keys. Microsoft has a right to protect there product that they sell for a price. Perfectly legal, and everyone with a "legal copy" would agree. Those without will dissagree. Its open close.
Time to get a clue.
"35 percent of PC software is pirated. I'm guessing that Windows XP is highly represented in that group (of pirated software; i.e. at least 30% of worldwide Windows installs are not legal). If even 10% of that user base decides to switch to Linux rather than pay the Windows tax, it'll be a substantial marketshare boost.
And the remaining 90%? They might decide that the MSRP cost of Windows is too close to the MSRP of a brand-new dual-core Mac.
I'm thrilled. MS has ridden on piracy marketshare for far too long. I hope they do every thing they possibly can to stamp out software piracy, and I hope they succeed."
Do you really think that most of the people who pirate Windows are doing it for the funtionality and security? They're doing it because they want to play games or for compatabilty in general. The vast majority of that disappears when switching to Linux or Mac. While Frozen Bubble is fun, it's not exactly "hardcore".
What's to say MS won't use this to turn off even legitamate copies of XP once Vista ships and XP get to end-of-life. They may feel they have the right since it's their license you h(ave/ad) the right to buy and use, but they're no longer supporting. They may figure you have the right to pay for a shiny new OS (that they make, of course).
"... remember all those guys you knew in high school that got nothing be Cs and Ds? _Now_ I know where they work!"
...but I can totally see that becoming a status symbol.
Who the hell didn't see this coming when WGA first started?
[1 hand tentatively raised]
You! You are too stupid to use a computer! Sell it! Scrap it! Give it away!
If I knew what and where this WGA spyware sends I could write a simulator and just set it going. Is that a DOS? Am I liable to criminal sanction?
They largely don't exist any more because of the actions- their win is a pyhrric victory,
as was Digital Research's.
Unless you can afford the legal battle, you're almost always going to lose against someone
like Microsoft- they can abjectly outspend you in that arena without even hurting their
bottom line. Most people and organizations can't do that or even come a third of the
way there.
That's why I keep telling people that the "there's someone to sue" line is nothing but
folly- even in the case of proprietary software, there's nobody really to sue. So, if
this is the case, why are you spending all that money? A false sense of security?
Someone to blame instead of yourself when you screw things up?
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
no joke lol if mass copys of windows just shutdown this will move alot of people to linux even total noobs. this is turn will bring abought more softwhere written for linux. it wouldent make any sence for m$ to do it. the few copys of windows they would sell wouldent cimpare to the mass drovs of people adapting linux from such a thing happning. guess my t-shirt is correct it says 2006 the year linux kills windows lol and its a 2 year old shirt. i aruldy dule boot for the 1 game cedega should be able to run ff11 they get that down and i would care less abought windows.
This could be a big scam... think about it:
-Make the illegal windows users panic when the times comes close
-Make them buy Windows legally because they will fear that it will shut down by itself
-Make money... lots of it!
-Say that they never said anything like that and it was misinformation
Here you go! You guys are making free advertising to buy Microsoft products... And it seems that it will work prety well... They only needed to start a bogus message like that... And all of you are already on the first step...
In 10 years I've not clicked on a single ad on Slashdot, unless it was by accident.
A-Bomb
In my case, I use my home machine(licenced, legit XP SP2) to provide production support, from home, for my employer; in addition to genrally working from home.
/.-ers do the same thing.
This is a common arraingement, and I'm sure that many
I refuse to install WGA on my machine; for privacy reasons..I don't trust it. It's MY machine and legally I'm not required to install this.
Now, what would happen if MS decided to disable my machine 'over the wire', and I had a critical production support issue to deal with, while away from the office? The longer it takes me..or someone from my team to get on the problem, the greater the financial impact to my firm. I have to wonder if either MS or my employer is prepared for this scenario.
wbs
(my verifiction word is 'baldness'..funny. Some of these are better than Craigslist)
Huh?
Up until last week I was running Windows XP. Now I am running Ubuntu. Genuine Advantage was the last straw. That is all.
I expect to see a huge migration back to Windows 2000 if they actually start shutting down copies of XP.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Go install Linux and forget about all this WGA nonsense. I have never used Windows before (in my life) except at $DAYJOB where its use is compulsory and I must say that I have enjoyed living in a world relatively free of malware, DRM and "eat what you're fed" marketing. Of course I'll confess that there have been times when I have lived in a world where I may not have been able to view a website or make use of some proprietary media; but those incidents are becoming far and few between.
I just wish all of these people dedicating resources and energy into getting the "Microsoft Windows" they want would redirect that energy into discovering an alternate operating system (not even necessarily Linux).
It's true no man is an island, but if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie 'em together, they make a good raft.
This worried me as I've seen enough problems with WGA myself to know that it could be a serious problem if they did a mass shutdown.
However, one thought has been on my mind since I first read this and I have yet to see it properly addressed (perhaps a comment I missed down the many pages of comments to all the articles on the subject?) How would Microsoft possibly proceed to implement this mass-shutdown? They must first determine which systems do not have WGA, and then they must issue some sort of shutdown command. How is this possible? The only conclusion I've been able to reach to support the rumors is that Microsoft would have had to have left a backdoor. To bypass firewalls it must first check out instead of them checking in, but, once the outward connection is made, it would have to be able to execute a list of commands or a given program provided by the outward connection. On the surface, it may sound harmless because such a thing would be hardcoded to connect outward to one location (which would be on Microsoft of course) but, if you look a little deeper you realize that if some virus/trojan designer were to simply override this program, they instantly have absolute access to your system. Not to mention that if such a thing were true MS themselves would have absolute access as well without any virus or trojan (and, quite frankly, I do not trust such a big company where the left had has no idea what the right hand is doing to have perfect procedures in place to ensure that such a thing absolutely could not be abused.)
This, of course, seems highly unlikely though, right? Surely someone would have noted it making it's routine checks for further instructions by now if it were. I would say someone would have designed a trojan or virus by now, but, the truth is that most of the time Windows is so bloated and hard even to program for what is in the SDKs that it typically ends up being after an announcement of a known problem that someone designs a virus to exploit something. They can't have a check in though because it would require a backdoor that is opened and would not be bypassed by simply installing a real firewall. Perhaps I am missing something? Is there any other way it could actually occur? The only thing I can think of that wouldn't require something of a back door is if they had it built in with SP2 or something which would just mean that a virus designer would be limited to only being able to make windows stop booting without actually taking control (I say stop booting because they could rig it so that it not only deactivates but thinks that the 30 days have expired so refuses to work at all.) Considering how much trouble this would cause world-wide and how quickly MS would be denounced for leaving such a gaping security hole with all that big brother mentality, I think surely this must mean those rumors are nothing more than mere rumors?
I take offense to being called a "Bozo."
And it's DUMASS!
Some pPeople!
How about the PC guy is talking to the Mac guy, and the PC suddenly stops to phone home?
Except digital is in fact different. Serial reproduction of a sound recording using digital technology adds O(1) noise (from ADC, codec, and DAC), unlike analog technology which produces O(n) noise for n generations.
We've talked about this before [slashdot.org]. You can stop now. Thanks.
and refers to a silly post that misrepresents what I said, adds nothing substantial and totally misses the point. You can't say Philadelphia and Los Angeles were not sued by the BSA, that such despicable practices are not part of non free software in general or that public school system don't live under the same licensing cloud everyone else using non free software is under. The raft of arrogant demands non free software companies make is infamous and expensive. Not only do users of the worst kind of that software have to keep track of all the stuff they actually buy, they have no way of keeping their users from installing software behind their back. The BSA then goes the extra mile with anonymous phone lines, where disgruntled employees can call and fink on their former employers for the software they installed themselves! This triggers expensive, court ordered audits. Public schools are targets of the same tactics, as a quick Google search shows. My favorite is this one.
That kind of anti-social behavior is what the non free software model leads to. If they don't "protect" their precious binaries there, what becomes of them? Companies like Microsoft have spent millions of dollars trying to convince people that the world should be that way, but it has not worked. People are repulsed by it.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
So while you're in this "let me show you how it is" mood, I've copied the previous request for clarification below, perhaps you would like to address this as well. The first line refers to your "teh M$ sues teh schooles" bullshit as well. Thanks ever so much.
Something both seem to have forgotten was that WordPerfect was dependent on the official APIs which were neither fully functional nor well documented. In contrast, MS Word was able to use various shortcuts to improve how it interacted with system activities like printing.
A lot of company court records from that era were later destroyed, but there's still enough damning evidence left in the government records to show that MS was throwing sand in the gears on an ongoing basis.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
This is so horribly bad for Microsoft that I have trouble believing that they would do this.
Blocking certain downloads or sections of their website makes much more sense--after all, hard to blame them for preventing pirates from using up their bandwidth.
But turning off the OS, especially when there is chance for error is pretty dangerous. Imagine the bad press from accidentally turning off a competitor's OS--even if it is a mistake, people will assume the worse and they'll face lawsuits. Even worse, imagine if they shut off something critical to infrastructure or at a hospital.
IMHO, they will never do this because the results will damage Microsoft possibly beyond repair.