Validate Microsoft

another rant against Microsoft

Published on July 31, 2005 By averjoe In Personal Computing

The latest game Microsoft is playing is using so-called validation software to rummage through your home computer to make sure it is using a legal copy of Microsoft before it allows you to update.

This rummaging and tagging of your computer is suppose to happen only if you want your operating system to get the latest upgrades or tweaks to the Microsoft operating system in order to make it “function” better (is that possible?).

Microsoft said it was not going to force one to go through this procedure and that no matter what that critical security updates would be allowed to be downloaded and installed on all systems using the Windows operating system.

If you try to update your Windows running computer with these critical security updates without having your system rummaged through and tagged you will find it difficult to do. In fact, it is so difficult that I reckon most will decide to take the easy way out and let Microsoft rummage through and tag their system.

Microsoft makes my ass ache with all their validating of software. I mean you already must go through a pain in the ass procedure to “authenticate” your copy of Windows XP Home Edition or Professional in order to use it on the Internet otherwise not only will you not be able to use the Internet after thirty-days but the operating system will become unusable.

I’m happy to say that I use a copy of Windows XP offline, with no attention of ever using Windows XP online that works only because of a crack that some enterprising programmer/ hacker provided online.

Thank goodness for the programmer or computer enthusiast that in his/her leisure time provide cracks for overly protected software where the respective corporations are milking every little bit of profit from the public (is way beyond the cost of development and reasonable return).

I have no problem with Microsoft trying to authenticate that a legal copy of its operating systems is being used, but I do have a problem with it trying to regulate how many machines in one single family residence their software can be used on. I have a problem with them building a time bomb within their software so that unless you register it online it will become inoperable within a certain time period. What if you don’t want to use your copy of Windows XP online?

Now Microsoft wants to rummage through and then tag every machine running Windows in order for one to get non-critical updates (wink, wink). Of course as I said they make it difficult to go to their website to get the critical updates without being able to rummage and tag.

Microsoft should immediately make it possible for one to get the critical updates without going through the rummaging (checking out your machine to make sure it is running a legal copy of their operating system) and tagging (installing a unique key that will indicate that your machine was rummaged through and proven to be using a legal copy of their operating system) process. When I go to their update site I should be presented with the critical updates and the offer to rummage and tag my system in order to get less critical updates to my operating system.

I will be ending this nonsense with Microsoft hopefully soon by using a flavor of Linux most of the time online. Finding drivers that work with wireless technology and a few other things is the only thing really stopping me from using it online most of the time right now.

I still think certain things about Linux will keep the average computer user from migrating to it at this time, but hopefully people are working on making it more average user friendly (like Suse and Mandrake Linux- Mandrake Linux changed its name but I can’t think of it right now).

May I suggest they make the installing and removing of software much easier and try to limit all those various dependencies that a lot of Linux software need. It is always the case that if you install a program A you’ll need a program B for Linux.

Until things get a little easier Linux will remain a system primarily used by the computer programmer, computer enthusiast, or computer geek.

In the meantime something must be done about all the ridiculous hoops that Microsoft is trying to make its customers jump through. Apple anyone?

Comments (Page 7)

Dracil

on Aug 05, 2005

That was a point that I already agreed was a downside when Jafo pointed it out.

But I do have a question. Does the abolishment of copyright necessarily abolish the concept of prior art with it? Copyright, as its name implies, is the right to make copies of a work, but does not say who first made it (case in point: music labels hold the copyrights for a lot of artists' works, but they aren't the ones who made it). It would still be possible to register X work in some global database, kinda like the patent system, but without all the monopoly and licensing stuff out for money rules. Which means you can't prevent people from making a remix of it and not giving you royalties (as royalties wouldn't really exist without copyright). But if you, a popular musician, came along and made a popular remix/cover of my original song, I could actually ride your established fame to my own famedom.

But I like your world even if that's not the case. If we don't even need to eat, and don't really need money because it's handled somehow (robots?), it's kinda close to a utopia.

Sembetu

on Aug 06, 2005

Um, I'm pretty sure selling OEM CDs without the computer is illegal? No wonder that price is so low...

Actually, there is a loophole that allows you to purchase an OEM copy of a MS OS without the actual machine... you have to purchase the copy with "hardware", so you could interpret that to even mean a serial cable or something cheap like that...

UBoB

on Aug 28, 2005

In my case, I'm only concerned with the critical (read security) updates. For this, I just did a one-time download of the Baseline Security Analyzer (which went through the authenication process), and now I run this app. a couple times a week. It updates the critical security fixes I need without all the hassle of authentification every time.

Daiwa

on Aug 30, 2005

case in point: music labels hold the copyrights for a lot of artists' works, but they aren't the ones who made it

That's because the artist agreed to those terms - who gets to be the copyright holder is a matter of negotiation all the time.

Cheers,
Daiwa

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