RE: [Off Topic] Windows Genuine Advantage

["Phil White" pdwhite@xxxxxxxx]

This is just paranoia.

The only interest in checking or verifying at all is to make sure that a
licensed version is not illegally duplicated.

The computer software market is not that desperate that they would ever
force anyone to upgrade against their will.

If you own a legit copy and choose to keep it running long after active
support is discontinued, that is your privilege.

I understand that there are still crazies out there who insist in keeping
their old PET and Commodore computers and software up and running.

In addition, there are people who insist on running old copies of editing
software when the company that created it originally is long gone. -- Go
figure...

	Phil White


Philip D. White,
Senior Information Architect
University of Houston, CASA Testing Center

Phone: (713) 743-4135
Fax: (713) 743-8630
Email: pdwhite@xxxxxxxx


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-xywrite@xxxxxxxx
[mailto:owner-xywrite@xxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Patricia M. Godfrey
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 12:12
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Off Topic] Windows Genuine Advantage

Harry Binswanger wrote:
> . . . turn it around: what
> value, proper or improper, could MS get from having pointless
> revalidations of the software license--hundreds of millions of them?!
> But does anybody really believe MS is going to sell info to
advertisers
> or something like that? That would be business suicide.

What has a lot of people worried is that there are
persistent rumors (which I don't think M$ has
unequivocally denied) that they may someday use such a
hook to deactivate an older opsys when they, in their
infinite wisdom, have decided that everybody must
upgrade to their latest and [supposedly] greatest. One
day you boot up a 9x or W2K box and up pops a message:

"Microsoft has discontinued this version and it is no
longer operative. Please upgrade to Windows Ultra" (or
whatever).

Also that they may prevent you from using applications
that they "don't like" (published by a competetor that
they're trying to buy out or put out of business).

Or suppose I were more vocal in my dislike, and was
working on a book denouncing M$. If it looked like
hitting home, and they found the text on my hard drive,
you think they wouldn't do something?

--
Patricia M. Godfrey
PriscaMG@xxxxxxxx