p2pnet - rss feed: Microsoft to dump WGA
p2p news / p2pnet: Windows Genuine Advantage will only phone home every two weeks, instead of after each boot-up, say Bill and the Boyz.
And, "By year’s end, the tool will stop pinging Microsoft altogether," says ZDNet News.
"The last thing we want is unhappy customers so we are investigating this - but it is a pilot and this is part of the process," said Michaela Alexander, head of anti-piracy at Microsoft UK, recently.
WGA had been labelled ’spyware,’ an accusation which continues to haunt Sony BMG whose rootkit DRM was found to have been secretly loading DRM applications into the PCs of people who’d bought polluted music CDs.
"No meaningful data is exchanged during the check-in with Microsoft, the software maker said," according to ZDNet. "Unlike the initial validation, which sends system information to Microsoft, the check-in operation is limited to the download of the new settings file, the company said."
Also See:
ZDNet News - Microsoft to ease up on piracy check-ins, June 9, 2006
unhappy customers - Windows Genuine DisAdvantage, June 8, 2006
==================
p2pnet newsfeeds for your site.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss
Mobile - http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
June 12th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
Windows Genuine Advantage? Hmmm. this sounds suspicious.
What advantage and for whom is the advantage?
My answer is that there are no advantages to anyone, including Microsoft. For computer uses maybe he advantage is that this may turn into amn MS reputation black eye for deceiving the customes and MS will have to lower it’s prices to stop a Linux stampede.
The last time I received the benefit of an advantage like the MS one was when a policemen gave me a ticket at a check point, for driving with an expired license, It cost me $500.
June 12th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Are they going to remove the spyware from that [Vista]?
You already have the spyware free version of Vista. To locate it go to your suppy of blank CD-R discs. Take the first one off the stack. That is your spyware free Vista disc…
June 13th, 2006 at 1:11 am
Right, so what are they gonna rename it to? Last time they promised to get rid of something it was the Unrecoverable Application Error, which they simply renamed to General Protection Fault.
June 13th, 2006 at 1:39 am
It won’t install.
June 13th, 2006 at 1:42 am
Don’t assume the advantage was supposed to be the end user’s. =P
June 13th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
your privacy is fully protected then.
June 15th, 2006 at 5:11 am
Year end? Hmmmmmmm - what year would that be?