Topic: Office Genuine Advantage program

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

If you don't like the mandatory antipiracy checks that Microsoft now enforces for Windows, brace yourself. The Microsoft Office productivity and collaboration suite is about to get a similar program.

The company's Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) program will require mandatory validation of Office software starting October 27, the software vendor quietly disclosed today. After that date, any Office Online templates downloaded from within the Office 2007 Microsoft Office System applications will require validation of legitimacy.

Similarly, starting in January, users of Office Update will have to validate the legitimacy of their Office software before they can use the service, Microsoft added.

Users absolutely hated the first iteration of the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program, and their protests pressured the company into revising it about a year after it launched in July 2005.

Pretty soon your computer will spend all its time calling various companies and asking for permission for you to use the software you bought in the way it is designed to operate.

[E_Look]

I'm under the weather right now.

This story has just made me feel worse.  Thanks, Bill.

[Nemesis]

I'm under the weather right now.

This story has just made me feel worse.  Thanks, Bill.

Just think of the ultimate goal. Monthly subscriptions.  That way Microsoft has the steady income they deserve even if you don't actually buy anything new. 

[Nemesis]

Users Seek Clarification Over Microsoft Vista Licensing

The new licensing has caused confusion, especially for power users who rebuild their computers with new components several times a year, or who plan to upgrade their computers more than once in the lifetime of the OS. Users are demanding clarification from Microsoft about how scenarios like these will play out under the new licensing.

"My question about the one-time transfer is what constitutes a machine?" asked Windows user Roger Halstead. "I have four machines and they are running legal copies of XP Pro. Those four machines are in a constant state of upgrade. I have to reactivate the OS around three or four times a year due to upgrades."

Halstead said that if he is not allowed to continually upgrade his machine without purchasing new licenses, then "Vista will not be a viable operating system for me."

"I can stay on XP Pro, which I probably will as long as I can, but what happens when MS no longer supports XP?" he asked. "If I have to do a reinstall, will I be able to get it to work?"

Unfortunately, Microsoft has so far been unable to answer these kinds of questions from users. Contacted Wednesday morning Eastern Daylight Time to clarify Vista's licensing in such an instance, by Thursday morning Microsoft’s public relations firm still did not have an answer from the vendor.

Along with the ethical reasons of not willingly supporting a company that routinely breaks the law these are reasons why I have stayed on Win2k for my gaming machine and why my other 2 desktops are Linux.

[Skawpya]

Actually Microsoft could solve a lot of their problems with a subscription model. Make the actual cd's free, just make it so that you have a step during boot up where you enter your login name and password, or be unable to use the tcp/ip stack. except to access the microsoft homepage and sub pages. If you do enter it, it then, upon getting access to the internet, checks to ensure the account is payed up. If not the tcp/ip stack is disabled for that session. Given they are charging about $300 for a seven year/84 month  life span product that would be a subscription of about $4 a month. If you have more than one computer, you just add more accounts, hopefully at a slight discount. Piracy ceases to be an issue, instead, they have to keep themselves from getting hacked.

[Nemesis]

Actually Microsoft could solve a lot of their problems with a subscription model.

Yes they could solve a lot of their problems.  The problem is what customer problems does it solve?  It doesn't solve mine, it makes things worse for me.

[Sirgod]

I like that your thinking about the issue Skawpya, but alot of users don't have credit cards for that kind of thing. I look at my sons, well son, and I would in no way hand over one of my numbers to pay for there access.

Stephen

[Nemesis]

I like that your thinking about the issue Skawpya, but alot of users don't have credit cards for that kind of thing. I look at my sons, well son, and I would in no way hand over one of my numbers to pay for there access.

Stephen

I've bought and paid for my own house but I've never applied for nor wanted a credit card.  This type of subscription model would force that on me with no benefit to me, just a permanent drain on my bank account.  I don't run debts where there is a choice and that is what a credit card is - a debt creation system.

$4/month for Windows.  $6/month for Office.  How much for each of your other programs? 

What do you do when they cease to allow the use of a program you want or need to use?

Periodic upgrades to my hardware caused by Microsoft changing Windows without my having any choice in the matter because of mandatory software "upgrades" that are not compatible with my hardware.

What do you do when the system is "cracked" and taken control of by criminal hackers? 

A software monoculture where all systems have the same vulnerabilities and the entire world wide system can be infected in hours.  That is all part of the subscription "vision".

The Microsoft version of the future is a vision for their benefit only not that of their customers.

I say let Microsoft and those who choose that path walk it without me.  Without those who choose not to have MY Computer controlled by and for the benefit of Microsoft or any other 3rd party. 

All these are reasons why I'm moving on towards Linux instead of towards XP and Vista.  My Freedom vs Microsofts control.

[Javora]

Pretty soon your computer will spend all its time calling various companies and asking for permission for you to use the software you bought in the way it is designed to operate.

Day late and a dollar short, this stuff is already happening and not just with software.  My HP printer was reporting back to the mothership about every 10 minutes or so.  Between that and Norton (which I stopped using a while back), I couldn't play a game for more than five minutes without the game crashing to desktop or the game minimizing while whatever program calls home.  It took a couple of trips to PC Pitstop to identify and remove/disable everything from my machine.  It got to the point where I was spending just as much time waiting for the other programs to do what they wanted to do as I was actually using the computer.

Microsoft would love to get everyone onto a subscription model and hold everyone data hostage to monthly fees.  But I really do think that the U.S Government will break Microsoft up before the pay to play racket happens.

[Nemesis]

But I really do think that the U.S Government will break Microsoft up before the pay to play racket happens.

Based on the past I don't see any hope of that. 

DOJ vs Microsoft - Microsoft loses and is ordered broken up.  Appeals
DOJ vs Microsoft - Microsoft loses the appeal and the DOJ decides to accept Microsoft promising never to misbehave again and no actual punishment is handed down.  The actions Microsoft is supposed to take to repair the damage aren't being done, they were recently given 2 more years to do so.  Why was there no punishment for failling to obey the court order given years to obey?  Microsoft seems to be above the U.S. court system.

The European Union waited for the U.S. to finish the anti-trust case before starting their own hoping that it would be made unnecessary.  Years later 2 major fines and Microsoft still has not complied with the EU court ordered remedial action.  They have complained about the integrity of the "judge" of their compliance - even though they nominated him.  They seem to feel as the fines are less than 1 months profits it is nothing to concern themselves with.  Recently the White House attempted to intervene in the E.U. on Microsofts behalf. 

Given the track record I don't see the U.S. slapping down Microsoft.  They have become too adept at playing the political lobbying and contributions game.  (One of the reasons I don't think companies should be allowed to make political donations).

At best the E.U. and the movement towards ODF will weaken Microsoft and allow European companies to be more competitive until corporate pressure in the U.S. pushes Microsoft back into line.  Also of course Microsofts heavy hand trying to control everything and driving many like myself to Linux is hope that they will break themselves trying to control the world. 

[Just plain old Punisher]

From the article it would seem to say that only when you download new templates or updates for the office program, are you required to validate.

There isn't anything wrong with that to be perfectly honest with you.

[Nemesis]

From the article it would seem to say that only when you download new templates or updates for the office program, are you required to validate.

There isn't anything wrong with that to be perfectly honest with you.

If OGA works like WGA it also "validates" your software when you install it and periodically thereafter forever with the possibility that it may decide to turn off or down your systems functionality. 

I still have never seen a reason why this is an "advantage" for me as the customer.  At best it is neutral at worse it can force me to pay again for software I already legitimately purchased.

[Dracho]

Microsoft is 1 Democratic Administration away from an Anti-trust break-up.  I love when they annoy people with stuff like this.

[Nemesis]

Microsoft is 1 Democratic Administration away from an Anti-trust break-up.  I love when they annoy people with stuff like this.

I'd rather see governments choose and use open data formats and then require all data to and from them in those formats.  Then when it comes to bidding on software contracts with the government it wouldn't be the existing closed format data that determines who wins but who has the best bid.  Microsoft would have the choice enable the full use of compliant versions of the chosen format or not be able to do business with the government. 

If Microsoft chose noncompliance they would be cut out of government contracts (by their choice).  Then they would find big customers moving to the same format as the government so they could bid on government contracts.  Smaller customers would move to the format to bid on contracts with the bigger companies and so on.  Non compliance would kill Microsoft.  Embrace and extend would kill Microsoft.  Only by complying with the standards and competing on price/quality/service would they survive.

Of course they could choose to violate anti trust law (again) and change Windows to crash competing products and destroy data but that would destroy them ultimately too.