Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Dodges Class Action In WGA Lawsuit
An anonymous reader writes "A lawsuit that accused Microsoft of misleading consumers to download and install an update for Windows Genuine Advantage under the guise that it was critical security update will go forward, but not as a class action. A federal judge has refused to certify the lawsuit as a class action, which would have meant that anyone who owned a Windows XP PC in mid-2006 could join the case without having to hire an attorney. As Windows XP was easily the most popular operating system at the time, the ruling means Redmond has managed to avoid hundreds of millions in potential damages."
>> Why would pirates have free access to updates too?
To minimize the pool of botnet-ready machines connected to our internet? Thing that may or may not help you directly but is a good thing anyway. It does cost the same for MS to deliver 10 or 10000 patches.
WGA as any DRM it's broken by design, removing it was easy. Unlike Win 7 wich requires a bit more of struggle and is not 100% a sure shoot. In fact, I'd like to buy the copy of Win 7 just for the sake of not messing around with BIOS mods and the like, IF ONLY Win7 delivers something to improve my workflow.. but it is not, I'm more likely to switch to Linux and emulate Win and spend the money in buying compatible hardware. In the meanwhile my OEM XP license is not going anywhere. YMMV