WGA…Wonderful or Worthless?

Windows Genuine Advantage…Windows Genuine Disadvantage.

Depending on your experience with it, it can be either. I regularly hit and post in the Microsoft Usenet newsgroups, have multiple RSS feeds, and peruse various tech related websites. I have seen both sides of the coin. You have the anti-MS zealots always finding fault with everything Microsoft does. In some instances in this case however, it is true.

Misidentifying legal copies as pirated, server crashes, and lawsuits claiming that it is spyware head the gripe list. I guess in the strictest sense of the word, it is. It does collect information and send it from your computer. The question that must be asked, is where does Microsoft’s right to protect it’s intellectual property come into play? You hear the zealots chanting that it is wrong for Microsoft to collect information. Well is it right to pirate their software? Sorry people you can’t it both ways. In this instance you can’t just arbitrarily decide what is wrong and what is right.

Some people reading this will call me a Microshill, or whatever the current derogatory term is. Truth be told, I am by no means Microsoft’s biggest fan. Never have been. I will and have blasted MS on numerous occasions. Bottom line is if you have a pirated copy of the OS or app, don’t bitch when you get busted. You made the choice to load the software. No one help a gun to your head an forced you to load it. I am guilty of using pirated MS products in my anti-establishment days. Getting older and seeing how the world actually works tends to put things in perspective however…

If you don’t wish to purchase a legal copy, there is always Linux. It is free and works pretty damn well. I have used many different distros, and have had very little problem. Currently, the most popular distro is Ubuntu I think. I myself have always been a big fan of Mandrake/Mandriva. There is a hilarious Linux parody of the WGA called the LGA.

As everyone has probably heard, with the release of SP1 for Vista, Microsoft has eased their stance on the infamous "Vista Kill Switch", and have instead opted to just pop up reminders that the software is not legal. A thought just popped into my mind though. In XP you had to have a legal copy in order to be able to download the service packs. I am assuming this to be true as well in Vista. Just how are the no legal users supposed to get the SP if they can’t download it in the first place? I am sure that someone will make it available, but just strikes me as kind of funny that no one has brought that up.

As always, all opinions are mine alone.