The second thing that turned me away from piracy was Windows Genuine Advantage, which is a fancy name for "Way Better Copy Protection." I'll be the first to say I think Windows XP, and edition, is overpriced. I'm also one of the few geeks that will give Microsoft credit where it's due. Windows XP is the most user friendly operating system available on the planet for PC's (Mac's OS is a different topic for another day). On that note, users of Windows XP should grudgingly pay for it. Windows Genuine Advantage is actually a good thing. It ensures you paid for your software and that you have access to all the updates and novelty features Microsoft has available. The disadvantage is that it's a pain for unsuspecting users that don't know they have an illegal version of Windows XP, and that happens more often than it should.
This particular home built PC came to the shop, and in this case the customer knew that at one time he has an illegal copy of Windows. Wanting to do the right thing he contacted Microsoft, paid them a discounted rate for a real version (nice of them to make him pay twice huh?), then sent him a Windows Genuine Advantage Kit for Windows XP Professional. I'm not posting this in my blog to complain. In fact I'm actually posting because I had very little trouble and found it interesting.
All of that happened well before the customer came to me. When he came to me he came with a dead hard drive, and his Genuine Advantage Kit. I came to find out the kit is nothing more than a Windows XP Pro CD with a different holographic on it, but the catch was it didn't come with the 25 digit product key needed to reinstall Windows on the customers new hard drive.

I guess, all in all, I really don't have a problem with copy protection as long as they keep it simple and don't lock out people willing to pay for software. I would like to see Microsoft keep reasonable prices on software, but from what I've seen of Vista they're headed in the wrong direction. On thing is for sure, with all the open source alternatives out there, I'll only be paying for Windows and games.
1 comment:
"Piracy vs Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) presents a clear contrast between unauthorized software use and Microsoft's effort to ensure legal, secure, and up-to-date Windows experiences. Piracy undermines system stability and security, while WGA promotes genuine, licensed versions, offering better support and access to updates, ensuring safer computing overall."Thank you for sharing your expertise! Keep up the excellent work! Continue to share. Please feel free to look at my website.
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