I have been following with some interest the recent hubbub over Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program and the validation checks that have surfaced on Windows XP. For those of you not familiar with the issue, basically Windows XP now "phones home" to see if it is legitimate when you boot, and if not, displays information about genuine Microsoft software. While I can see how some people might find this as an inherent sign of mistrust of computer users worldwide, I can understand why this is really is a good move for Microsoft given the rampant worldwide piracy. What really has people up in arms, however, is that the WGA validator continues to phone home even after you have validated your copy of XP. On a daily basis. Now, I can see a problem.
After much outcry, Microsoft revealed that the WGA tool does this so that it can be told to de-activate in the event that something goes wrong with the program and Microsoft wants to terminate it. That's all well and good, but why wasn't this disclosed up front? Up-front disclosure would have averted a huge public relations problem as people worldwide felt uncertain about why their computer was phoning home daily, and what information was being sent.
Hundreds of millions (or is it billions by now?) of people use Windows. So, here's my question: did Microsoft just assume that nobody would notice that their computer was phoning home, every day? Did they think that no one would question why their computer was doing this? Was this public relations debacle really that hard to predict?
I'm all for companies protecting their software from piracy. But it would be nice if they didn't treat their customers like idiots. Next time, maybe Microsoft will realize that they should tell their users what's going on ahead of time, and avoid needing to wipe egg off their face later.
I guess I'm not holding my breath.
Makes me glad that even though I am a legitimate Windows XP user (albeit I can’t say I’m too proud of that fact in and by itself), I never entered WGA because I have always had a distaste towards it.
What really galls me is that the latest WPA stunt crept in like a trojan horse. When I bought XP, I'm sure there was nothing in the terms of use that stated Windows would phone home and behave in such a manner. (Heh...imagine the outcry about *that!). Now I have friends and relatives that use HP/Compaq computers asking me about a popup announcing an "illigitimate copy of Windows", and I know full well they paid for it.
Ah well, fine with me. There is a little program called "XP-AntiSpy" (google it!) that disables the WGA silliness. :)