What is Digg?121 Comments
- ChronoReverse, on 11/26/2007, -4/+62Yeah, I'm no hater of Microsoft (I even like Vista overall!), but WGA really has to go. Pointless piece that causes trouble and hassle for everyone.
- duggtodeath, on 11/26/2007, -11/+61Microsoft can always be trusted to polish a turd.
- latova, on 11/26/2007, -2/+42Yeah, you are wrong. The false positives are true. I had a dell laptop running XP, the version of windows on there was never reinstalled, and it told me it was pirated. The thing is, I bought that DIRECTLY from dell. There is no reason for that.
As for the validation crack not working, it does, very well. Vista and XP have both been cracked. The cd image that you grab off piratebay, other torrent sites, or newgroups will actually have the files patched so you don't even have to worry about it when you install it.
Get your facts in order.
PS. Linux doesn't have anti piracy software because they make free open source software for people and don't treat people who use their software as criminals. - ElbridgeGerry, on 11/26/2007, -4/+32Wasn't that the official motto of the Vista development team?
- Senn, on 11/26/2007, -3/+30Microsoft killing off DRM? I can't see it happening.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/AntiCopying- ...
From TFA: "It's not a silver bullet," he said. "At the same time, technology is increasingly a tool that is customer-friendly, that will reduce levels of piracy ... and make it easier for customers to interact with the product."
*****. DRM technology is getting progressively LESS consumer-friendly, and certainly does not "make it easier for customers to interact with the product".
It'll get worse before it gets better, if ever. - Unlgued, on 11/26/2007, -2/+29I've never had trouble with WGA on a legit copy of Windows, but, then again, I've never had a legit copy of Windows.
...whoop whoop whoop whoop whoop. - inactive, on 11/26/2007, -1/+18Agreed. I'm OK with activation, but the sole purpose of WGA is to treat customers as pirates, while the actual pirates happily dance around it.
- nullx42, on 11/26/2007, -0/+15Recycled from the windows ME team.
- etsa, on 11/26/2007, -10/+24The left brain doesn't know what the right brain is planning.
WGA is too easy to bypass, and transform legit users with WGA bugs into cranky customers.
WGA = Wasted, Gangrened Anus
or Whopping Great Ass
or William Gate's Advantage - ElbridgeGerry, on 11/26/2007, -1/+14"Apple and Linux don't have advanced anti-piracy software bult-in ... yet..."
Man, you say that like restricting the consumer's rights is a GOOD THING. - drachemorder, on 11/26/2007, -0/+12"MS has the right to put anything they want in their OS and just because Apple and Linux don't have advanced anti-piracy software bult-in ... yet... doesn't mean you should expect these things to go away."
Linux doesn't have anti-piracy software because it's open-source. There's nothing to pirate. If there were, developers would just strip out the anti-piracy code. - kymike, on 11/26/2007, -1/+12The thing that pisses me off most about WGA, is that they added it after-the-fact to XP. Activation caused a bit of an uproar by itself. How much of an outcry would have happened if XP had WGA from the start? It probably would have hurt sales, especially small business and home-office types - they would have just stuck with Windows 2000.
Seriously: When I first bought XP, I knew about activation. That was a process that was only supposed to happen one time. But then fast-forward a few years, and Microsoft essentially modifies everyone's copy of XP so that, in effect, it requires "activation" every time the system boots up.
Of course, one could argue that nobody is forcing you to apply any patches to XP - and hence avoid WGA. I.e., Microsoft's spin is that such patches are the "advantage" you get when confirming your copy of Windows is "genuine".
But, again, the problem is that this was added after-the-fact to XP. When you buy a piece of software from a major company like Microsoft, you expect patches. They may not _have_ to provide them, but you can bet they would go out of business if they didn't provide them.
Forcing customers (by holding out important patches) to install WGA - years after their purchase of XP - is just plain extortion in my book.
I don't care about WGA in Vista - at least that is advertised up-front. But adding it to XP after-the-fact really pisses me off.
Before anyone says it: I'm already using Ubuntu 7.10 ;-) But I still have to boot back into XP for some things. - aurrea, on 11/26/2007, -1/+12Weird.... I think I'm in the twilight zone.
I JUST had a problem with this crap not even 2 hours ago! I was trying to download some templates for Office (which I purchased with real money) and now it says my Office program is a fraud. WTF? I've download templates from there many times in the past.... - greenlight2001, on 11/26/2007, -2/+12"Up until WGA you needed only to get the right CD"
Umm.... that hasn't changed. It's called XP Corporate Edition. You can find the 'right' CD on any torrent site. - clickwir, on 11/26/2007, -2/+12WGA is just another attempt by Microsoft to tighten their reign on people. Try as they might, the tighter they squeeze, the more people they force away from their own products. I am one of them. And I am gladly helping anyone move to K/Ubuntu as quickly as possible.
- inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+10How can a free, open-source OS have anti-piracy anyway?
- TheZorch, on 11/26/2007, -0/+10WGA and all forms of DRM are destroying the software and entertainment industries, NOT piracy. The companies that produce this protected content are their own worst enemy, and sadly they refuse to acknowledge reality.
- Matt2k, on 11/26/2007, -1/+10I have no qualms with copyright holders enacting anti-circumvention piracy measures on their products, and conversely I think the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA are absolute rubbish and infringe on fair use. I'd rather see the free market decide these things. That said, WGA is absolute *****.
My experience with WGA is this: I bought an upgrade copy of Vista (Yeah, with actual money). I used it to upgrade my legal copy of XP. I had some computer issues that involved replacing the hard drive which necessitated a reinstall of Vista. It couldn't handle the move from SCSI to SATA for some reason. It seems the upgrade version can't do a fresh install & preserve settings, or some nonesense. You have to actually reinstall XP first, then start the upgrade process ALL OVER AGAIN.
This happened at a most inopportune moment, when I was on a very tight deadline with a big client. I ended up taking the cheat route where you skip entering the key and forcing a fresh installation. Of course after 30 days my ***** copy deactivates itself. I really didn't have time to dick around with it anymore, backing up all my data for a second time and starting the install/upgrade process over again, so I ended up buying a SECOND FULL COPY of Vista to replace my upgrade copy. My upgrade copy is now worthless to me.
I can sort of understand the rationale, but it really left me feeling like an idiot. Hint to companies: Don't make your customers feel like idiots. I don't have the patience to deal with this *****. - duggtodeath, on 11/26/2007, -1/+10Windows CE, ME and NT = CEMENT :)
- Tenoq, on 11/27/2007, -0/+8Microsoft's copy protection measures (activation, WGA, phoning-home, etc) piss me off enough that although I own legit XP licenses for my machines, I install a cracked volume-user version anyway. It's a ***** joke, if you ask me - but I won't have that spyware ***** installed on my machine, ready to disable it at the drop of a hat (or after a driver upgrade).
- cheesecake42, on 11/26/2007, -2/+10people still pay for windows?
- greatromance, on 11/26/2007, -1/+9I agree with the article. WGA has so far only upset a lot of people, including myself. Who wants big brother constantly making sure you are coloring inside the lines? Whether you are doing it on purpose or not!
- GreyICE, on 11/26/2007, -0/+8Normally I dislike digging down people who write long, informative, well-thought out posts, even if I disagree with them. I read yours twice. Its neither informative, or well thought out. Its just long.
Drug Dealers DO have a right to travel without searches. The police need probable cause to search them, the same way they need probable cause to search you or me. The reason they do? To protect your right and my right to travel without searches. Similarly, if the judge finds the drug dealer has been searched without probable cause, he will throw the case out.
Similarly, all traffic has the right to travel on the internet, until it is proven illegal. ISP level filtering of a broad range of P2P applications, with okay filters for the legit ones, sets a dangerous precedent - the end user is presumed guilty (to be abusing the system) until proven innocent. Maybe in communist China, but if that ever happens here, rule of law is dead. - CodedChaos, on 11/26/2007, -0/+8"Apple and Linux don't have advanced anti-piracy software bult-in ... yet... doesn't mean you should expect these things to go away."
Linux... anti-piracy software? God help us all, we are dealing with a true moron. - cvp1, on 11/26/2007, -1/+9Yeah, damn writers! Let's get rid of them all, Microsoft needs to get the right idea here! Ridiculous strike!
- Firehed, on 11/26/2007, -2/+9No, that's true of technology. It just happens that DRM and WGA don't qualify as technology. Those fall under the distinctly different category of evil *****.
- inactive, on 11/26/2007, -0/+7How did WGA prevent piracy? It never seemed particularly hard to find a cracked copy of XP.
- mancat, on 11/26/2007, -2/+9"And no one is saying that Microsoft needs to accept piracy."
I disagree. I'm not saying that piracy is good, but Microsoft should probably consider more emphasis on piracy as an expected loss for every product they sell. I recall reading that Microsoft could currently sell Vista Ultimate for roughly $49 and still make a profit. They sell it for hundreds more than that. They are generating ridiculous profit margins. Instead of pissing off legitimate users, maybe they should just accept that a certain percentage of their product will be pirated no matter what. Stockholders might cringe, but they can afford to lose a few million in exchange for keeping customers pleased.
Here's a good example of the headache that WGA has caused. I'm part of the IT staff for a large container shipping company, and some of the trans-pacific routes will have a ship at sea for as much as a month between ports. Guess what happened? WGA disabled the captain's computer during transit, with no link to the internet, and no way to unlock the product. This was a site-licensed copy with no activation; it shouldn't have happened. A telephone routing issue kept the ship from contacting MS support through satellite phone. Pain in the ass? Yeah, but it also ended up costing the company thousands of dollars, as the captain couldn't send his Notice of Arrival form to the Coast Guard, resulting in a hefty fine.
Nobody was happy with this, and the whole thing could have been avoided if Microsoft were willing to factor in piracy as a cost of doing business in the ever-changing software world. - clickwir, on 11/26/2007, -3/+10I don't like Microsoft. So stop using them, you say? Well good idea. At home, I have 5 pc's that microsoft has lost and linux has gained.
- BuzzFriendly, on 11/27/2007, -0/+6An incredible selection of WGA and Windows removal tools can be found here http://distrowatch.com/
- inactive, on 11/26/2007, -1/+7Setting a tripwire to remotely disable a product through whim or error is not the way to get customers.
- Blah_Blah_Blah, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6and what i don't understand is why they insist on polishing it when hackers and pirates always find ways to walk around it anyway
- speerross, on 11/27/2007, -1/+7I always found the title of this amusing - WGA: Windows Genuine Advantage. Genuine Advantage to who? It's certainly not a genuine advantage to the customer, it's just ***** irritating. Why should I give a ***** if someone has sold me a pirate copy of windows if it works fine anyway? the least Microsoft could do is help me keep it up to date and secure, not leave me open to attack becuase they couldn't do the software right the first time round.
Anyway, the pirate releases of Vista fool Windows 'Genuine Advantage' anyway, just another example of DRM being a useless inconvenience. - inactive, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6I can't believe you paid for the second copy.
- inactive, on 11/26/2007, -1/+7I bought a site license (server + 5 clients) but no software for Win 2K for a fair price ages ago. I used Win 2K reliably for many years and the volume activation keys helped me out in an uncountable number of times when something went wrong (or right such as in place upgrades). As time went by I migrated to XP or XP x64 one machine at a time, as features (USB 2.0) and service packs were released. Once I swap over all the PCs to new OSes, I renew (at a reasonable rate) the site license. But I'm not sure if Microsoft will give me volume keys this time to bypass WGA, and that's the whole point.
I'm precisely the type of home software buyer Microsoft wants: I buy license keys but no software, and require zero support other than the otherwise awesome Microsoft Knowledge base and Mark Russinovich, yet I think WGA is nothing but a half-baked idea that doesn't help their bottom line, nor does it make their product work better for my needs. - DangerCollie, on 11/26/2007, -1/+7I can promise you WGA is not going anywhere. If anything it will get more draconian. MSFT has no room to grow and the only way they can increase revenue quarter over quarter is to charge higher prices (Vista) and squeeze more money out of its user base (that would be you). There's no incentive for them to be fair or accurate. The more inaccurate they are, the more they make. Most of you will have have a passive/aggressive little snit and either pay the tax or buy a Mac.
- piesforyou, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6Yeah, and mine IS pirated yet I can download templates fine. Wahey! Another nice one by Microsoft. They actually encourage people to pirate their software.
- TheFoolyCooly, on 11/26/2007, -2/+8DRM is to piecemeal your "rights" to a product, MS releases several "editions" of windows to divide functionality.
It's all a crock of *****. - DrStephanHeimer, on 11/26/2007, -0/+6You are possibly the most uninformed person on the planet
- andycr512, on 11/27/2007, -0/+5Most versions of Linux have Firefox as the default browser - the spell check feature would undoubtedly be of service.
- Senn, on 11/26/2007, -1/+6Unfortunately it's not that easy for some, as they're forced to use MS products at work, or need to use applications that are only on Windows. These people, who may switch if given the opportunity, have every right to bitch about something that treats them as criminals until proven innocent.
- kinghajj, on 11/26/2007, -0/+5That'd be like bugmenot.com having a compulsory sign-up!
- matdevdug, on 11/27/2007, -1/+6Thanks for the link BuzzFriendly. Seriously though, having worked in IT for awhile, it is a nightmare to be a small computer shop tech and have to put up with Microsoft. We sell copies of Windows Vista or XP with the customers computers they buy from us and lately it seems like every four or five weeks we get a call from someone telling us that now their copy of Windows is reporting that it isn't a legit copy. These are sealed OEM copies of the OS that are never installed anywhere else or almost anywhere else.
We actually broke down and started recommending Ubuntu to people who only use casual programs and only after they borrow our test laptop and try it out. Overall people are really happy. Ubuntu has a growing following in the most unlikely of crowds, the over 40 crowd who just likes to write emails and go to websites with their computer and doesn't understand why their computers sometimes won't let you do that. We did an estimate and our shop thinks that WGA problems or questions have cost us around $15,000 in technician time since we started keeping accurate after-call logs. Ubuntu has cost us almost nothing after the initial install. Linux is moving in Microsoft, better get your crap together. - inactive, on 11/26/2007, -1/+6"See this is what I hate about Digg. People just lie to support their own agenda.
blah blah blah blah blah whinge bitch moan ignorance"
Yes, anyway dont forget to take your soapbox when u leave. - gjscds, on 11/26/2007, -6/+11I've always seen WGA as a bit of a hassle, but I also recognize that it's their legal right to try and stop piracy of their products. So instead of bickering about the hassles involved w/ M$FT, I switched to an Apple. Problem solved.
So stop yer bitching. If you don't like MSFT, then stop using them. It's as simple as that. - neko, on 11/27/2007, -1/+5That's Microsoft for you. Sticking a band-aid on a band-aid on a band-aid.
People are pirating Windows -> Add a CD key
People are using volume CD keys -> Add "Activation", and re-activate if hardware changes
People are still cracking CD keys anyway -> Add phone-home WGA
People are getting pissed that their OS won't work if the WGA servers go down? Get a team of people on call 24 hours to fix it fast -after- it goes down.
Let the virus exploit the buffer overruns, get in the system, then catch it with antivirus. Let the spyware fill up the registry with crap, then clean it out with a registry cleaning tool. It's fine if the file system gets fragmented, schedule a defragmenter to run every day at 3am. IE vulnerabilities? Don't bother finding them and sealing them, chuck the whole browser in a sandbox environment. DLL Hell? Load one copy of the library for each app that needs it... completely negating the benefit of having a shared library in the first place. - init100, on 11/27/2007, -0/+4They may very well be upset, but if you don't know that there are alternatives, you have no option other than to suck it up and use it anyway. Just like people previously thought that daily crashes were a fact of life if you wanted to use a computer, or that viruses is another fact of life in the computer field.
- dsm88, on 11/27/2007, -1/+5It's a propaganda term, similar to DRM. The RIAA/MPAA call it "Digital Rights Management", but Richard Stallman suggests that you use "Digital Restrictions Management" instead. Further info. at: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html
- Waterrat, on 11/27/2007, -1/+5 I'm another one who left MS for linux ...I'm not a pirate,but I resent their big brother tactics.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 120 discussions
Check out the new & improved 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is