Today Microsoft released some information regarding their WPA (Windows Product Activation), WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) and WVA (Windows Volume Activation) products / services / securities / locks / hurdles / restrictions (it depends on how you look at it) that will be in their upcoming Windows Vista OS (Operating System). If you remember, it was exactly these annoyances that helped to motivate me to switch to the Macintosh platform. So what exactly will it do (or keep you from doing). Well, to summarize the article a computer that has yet to be activated will:
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1. Not allow you to use the Aero theme.
2. Only allow you to browse the internet for one hour at a time.
3. Not allow you to open/edit Office documents (Word, Excel, etc.).
4. Check in with Microsoft every month or so to see if it needs to be re-activated.
5. And then some…
Sound a bit scary / annoying? It is. I think this is a HUGE mistake Microsoft is making that will inevitably force more and more people to abandon the Windows platform and migrate to competing solutions. What do you think?
Update: It is somewhat ironic, but just moments after posting this I found a thread on the Microsoft forums detailing how Windows XP machines with a VLK (Volume Licensing Key) were failing validation. For those who do not know, VLK’s are used by businesses, schools, labs, and anyone else who purchases a few hundred or so machines at once. Now, just imagine if a few hundred of your employers computers failed validation at one time and would not allow anyone to use their Outlook (email) or open / edit their Word and Excel documents. Because that is what would have happened if they were using Vista. Ssccaarryy.
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