I've written before of how satisfied I have been with my switch to the Mac platform over a year ago. I've enjoyed stability, ease of use, and zero-configuration computing bliss. I haven't once missed the viruses, crashes, hard-locks, or frequent re-installations needed to keep a Windows machine in top form.
I've kept up to date on the technology though and I have a sneaking suspicion that the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) authentication scheme is going to turn into nothing more than a boarding pass for disaffected Windows users headed for Mac-ville.
There's some speculation now that WGA will in fact become a so-called 'kill-switch' enabling Microsoft to simply turn off your Windows installation if you decide not to use it. Interesting People says:
I installed Windows Live OneCare antivirus on my Windows machine.
OneCare marks a system marks a system as "vulnerable" if you do not
have automatic updates turned on.I called Microsoft support to see if there is a hidden option to say,
"yep, I've got updates turned to manual... it's okay." The rep said,
"No and why wouldn't you want to get the latest updates to Windows."I responded with the issues relating to WGA. He spent some time
telling me that WGA was a good thing, etc. I reiterated that I have
accepted all the updates except WGA and just want to review the
updates before they're installed on my machine.He told me that "in the fall, having the latest WGA will become
mandatory and if its not installed, Windows will give a 30 day
warning and when the 30 days is up and WGA isn't installed, Windows
will stop working, so you might as well install WGA now."
Ed Bott at ZDNet has more:
That can’t be true, can it? I’m always suspicious of any report that comes from a front-line tech support drone, so I sent a note to Microsoft asking for an official confirmation or, better yet, a denial. Instead, I got this terse response from a Microsoft spokesperson:
"As we have mentioned previously, as the WGA Notifications program expands in the future, customers may be required to participate. [emphasis added] Microsoft is gathering feedback in select markets to learn how it can best meet its customers' needs and will keep customers informed of any changes to the program."
So much for you deciding what can and can not be installed on your own computer. Just another in a long line of questionable practices by Microsoft. When your market share is over 90%, is this type of aggressive behavior really necessary? Especially in light of the inevitible false-positives that will have God only knows what consequences?
Microsoft needs to stop worrying so much about WGA and start worrying about how to retain customers who are sick of feeling like criminals.
technorati tags:Microsoft, Windows, WGA, kill+switch, Windows+Genuine+Advantage, Windows+Live+One+Care, XP, Vista
