Advantage, Microsoft

10.07.2006
Stuck in a bad relationship? Does it seem that every time you think things have leveled out, that an equilibrium of tolerance has been reached, some new issue crops up?

I seem to have that sort of relationship with Microsoft.

While there's a strong degree of acknowledged and acquiesced co-dependence, there are moments when I feel I am being taken advantage of. Most recently that feeling of dread returned when the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) software popped up in my update announcements.

For those of you who've missed it, WGA is an antipiracy campaign from Microsoft. The intention is for users to download and install a utility which checks your licenses, reports back to Microsoft, then subsequently blocks you from receiving certain types of updates if your software does not satisfy Microsoft's criteria for proper licensing. And if you're judged not-in-compliance it will then pester you with warnings that your licenses are not in order.

So, where does the "advantage" lie?

Cynics will say that Microsoft's title for this thing is an exercise in PR and perception-shaping. It's a "Genuine Advantage": surely this must be good for you, like a yoga class or multi-vitamin, surely benefits will be conferred on users.