Windows Genuine Advantage
Since sometime last year, many downloads from the Microsoft Download site have requested that I validate my copy of Windows to ensure that it’s “genuine” before granting me the right to download the file. Very soon, in order to to download many files and updates from Microsoft, that validation step will become a requirement, not just a request. I was actually forced to do it a couple weeks ago — it wasn’t an option — to download a stupid Word file documenting differences between Windows XP x64 and Windows XP (x86) Service Pack 2. Why do I need to validate my copy of Windows XP Professional to download a document file dealing with another version of the OS? What happens if I use a Mac or Linux machine as my primary workstation and need to reference such a document as part of my job because I have to support hundreds of Windows machines? Am I out of luck because I’m not downloading it from a PC running Internet Explorer with ActiveX? (For the record, I only use a Mac or *nix when I have to; Windows is my OS of choice.)
BetaNews has an interview with David Lazar, the Director of Genuine Windows at Microsoft. This guy clearly has a background in marketing and public relations. I have no other way to explain the following exchange between him and the interviewer when describing WGA:
BetaNews: Why is WGA needed, is Windows Product Activation not successful?
David Lazar: That’s a great question Dave. So there are a couple of reasons that WGA is helpful. Number 1 is kind of the reminder thing. Sometimes you take things for granted and forget the value of the good things that you have in your life, so Microsoft comes back with a reminder to check and see if you are running genuine software. And then you receive benefits to thank you for continuing to run genuine Windows. You activate once and you are done with it, so this is kind of a lifecycle reminder.
That kind of marketing-speak almost makes me gag a little. I have never — not once — thought to myself, “damn, I’m glad they reminded me of how special it is to run a genuine copy of Windows!” Instead, I think “these people are forcing me to jump through a few hoops to re-enable ActiveX controls in their insecure browser just to get my job done.” Thanks Microsoft! I feel special now.
So to start using Windows in the first place, it must be activated. Then, because people might forget that they paid for a copy of Windows, they have to validate it to download files. This is for our benefit as consumers? Please. Everybody I know who has dealt with this finds it to be an annoyance. Some less PC-savvy friends were even confused by the message on the download page and just closed their browser rather than click through the process to download the file.
“[We] have given people a lot of time to get used to the program.”
Just because I’m used to something doesn’t make it any less irritating. Over the last couple years, I’ve gotten used to paying high gas prices. That doesn’t mean I like it or openly accept it. I roll over and take it because I need gas if I expect to be able to do anything or get somewhere. Likewise, if I want to be able to actually accomplish something on my computers, I have little choice but to put up with product activation and, soon, Windows Genuine Advantage validation.
I run fully legal, licensed copies of Windows on all my PCs, but I will continue to opt out of WGA on principle for as long as I can. While this is an admittedly minor annoyance, I’m sick of companies like Microsoft and Adobe throwing their weight around with these nonsense activation schemes and other anti-piracy measures. All they do is make life difficult for legitimate users because the pirates will always find a way around it. I understand that piracy is a problem and that developers deserve to be paid for their hard work, and I don’t have any better ideas. I wish I did.