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Windows Genuine Could be a Real Advantage
Microsoft could use its most-hated "feature" to make all our lives
easier
Lincoln Spector
PC World
Saturday, June 6, 2009; 12:19 AM
No reader question, this time. Just a rant.
We all hate Windows Genuine Advantage. Not only is it a hassle that
might accuse you of stealing something you legitimately bought, but
its very name adds insult to annoyance. It's obviously an advantage to
no one but Microsoft.
But with a simple change in policy, the folks in Redmond could use it
to eliminate a far more serious problem: The difficulty in obtaining
an actual copy of Windows to go with your legally-purchased license.
If Windows came with your computer, you probably have no way to
restore it beyond a complete reformat. If you lost the restore discs
that came with your PC, or altered your partition table and thereby
rendered your restore partition unbootable, you can't even do that.
And you almost certainly don't have the options and utilities that
come with a genuine Windows CD or DVD.
And why not? Because Microsoft acts as if giving away Windows discs is
the same as giving away licenses to run Windows. And yet the company
must know that's not true. Otherwise, Microsoft wouldn't make you go
through the activation process, or keep hitting you with Windows
Genuine Annoyances. It's the product key--that long number you have to
enter when you install Windows--that defines and proves your purchase
of the operating system.
So why can't Microsoft simply give the disc away. Make it downloadable
as an .iso file. Charge $5 to mail a physical disc to those who don't
like long downloads. Make it known that anyone can give the disc to
anyone else.
I'm not suggesting that Microsoft give away Windows. You'd still need
a unique product key to activate it, and you would get that project
key either by paying Microsoft or buying a PC with Windows pre-
installed (all such computers already come with a product key
sticker). Or you'd already have the product key, but still need a
product to install.
This could work just fine with XP, Vista, and (when it ships) Windows
7. Microsoft doesn't even have to keep selling XP to freely give away
the discs; I know plenty of people who "own" XP but need a way to
install it.
A great many commercial programs, perhaps a majority of them, are now
sold this way. You download the program, install it, try a limited
version, then pay for a key that will unlock the full version. They
used to call this shareware or demoware. Now its just the way software
is sold.
Microsoft: Are you listening?
More From PCWorld.com » http://www.pcworld.com/?tk=mod_wapo
Microsoft could use its most-hated "feature" to make all our lives
easier
Lincoln Spector
PC World
Saturday, June 6, 2009; 12:19 AM
No reader question, this time. Just a rant.
We all hate Windows Genuine Advantage. Not only is it a hassle that
might accuse you of stealing something you legitimately bought, but
its very name adds insult to annoyance. It's obviously an advantage to
no one but Microsoft.
But with a simple change in policy, the folks in Redmond could use it
to eliminate a far more serious problem: The difficulty in obtaining
an actual copy of Windows to go with your legally-purchased license.
If Windows came with your computer, you probably have no way to
restore it beyond a complete reformat. If you lost the restore discs
that came with your PC, or altered your partition table and thereby
rendered your restore partition unbootable, you can't even do that.
And you almost certainly don't have the options and utilities that
come with a genuine Windows CD or DVD.
And why not? Because Microsoft acts as if giving away Windows discs is
the same as giving away licenses to run Windows. And yet the company
must know that's not true. Otherwise, Microsoft wouldn't make you go
through the activation process, or keep hitting you with Windows
Genuine Annoyances. It's the product key--that long number you have to
enter when you install Windows--that defines and proves your purchase
of the operating system.
So why can't Microsoft simply give the disc away. Make it downloadable
as an .iso file. Charge $5 to mail a physical disc to those who don't
like long downloads. Make it known that anyone can give the disc to
anyone else.
I'm not suggesting that Microsoft give away Windows. You'd still need
a unique product key to activate it, and you would get that project
key either by paying Microsoft or buying a PC with Windows pre-
installed (all such computers already come with a product key
sticker). Or you'd already have the product key, but still need a
product to install.
This could work just fine with XP, Vista, and (when it ships) Windows
7. Microsoft doesn't even have to keep selling XP to freely give away
the discs; I know plenty of people who "own" XP but need a way to
install it.
A great many commercial programs, perhaps a majority of them, are now
sold this way. You download the program, install it, try a limited
version, then pay for a key that will unlock the full version. They
used to call this shareware or demoware. Now its just the way software
is sold.
Microsoft: Are you listening?
More From PCWorld.com » http://www.pcworld.com/?tk=mod_wapo