Microsoft to Tighten the Genuine Advantage Screws
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To date, with its Genuine Advantage anti-piracy programs, Microsoft has targeted consumers. Windows and Office users have been required to validate their products as "genuine" before being able to obtain many downloads and add-ons. Come this fall, however, the Redmond software maker is planning to turn up the Genuine Advantage heat in two ways: By baking more Genuine Advantage checks directly into Windows Vista, and by taking aim at PC makers, system builders, Internet cafes and other sources of potentially pirated software. Microsoft officials – whose Genuine Advantage Notification strategy came under fire earlier this summer -- declined to share specifics about its new Genuine Advantage plans. But executives already have been setting the stage for the upcoming changes in recent keynote addresses. "We expect to do more to make Windows more differentiated when it's genuine, and so genuine customers get a truly different experience than non-genuine customers, as well as to make piracy harder, so that our genuine partners can do a better job competing with those that don't play by the rules," Windows Client Marketing Chief Michael Sievert told attendees of Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference in July. Microsoft Platforms and Services Co-President Kevin Johnson was more specific about Microsoft's plans, in his remarks to Wall Street analysts at Microsoft's Financial Analyst Meeting in late July. "We built a set of features and a set of functionality that is only available to genuine Windows customers," Johnson said. "Windows Defender, for example, the anti-spyware for Windows XP and Windows Vista, is available to genuine Windows customers. Windows Media Player 11.0, Internet Explorer 7.0, will be available for download for Windows XP customers who are genuine, and of course those are built into Windows Vista. Future updates to Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player for Windows Vista will require them to be genuine. And certainly there's some premium features built into the Windows Vista operating system that will require genuine validation as well. So we're really trying to amplify the fact that being genuine enables the set of benefits and value to access these types of features and capabilities." Johnson did not single out which premium features in Vista will require validation before use. There are a number of new Vista features which Microsoft is making available only to users of its consumer- and small-business-focused "premium" Vista editions -- Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate. Examples of premium features which Microsoft potentially could lock down under Genuine Advantage include Windows Photo Gallery; Windows Media Center; Windows DVD Maker; and games like Texas Hold 'Em Poker that are part of the downloadable Vista Ultimate Extras products and services. At the same time as it is baking into Vista more Genuine-Advantage-required features, Microsoft is stepping up elements of its Genuine Advantage program aimed at the reseller channel. "We expect to do much more as a Windows business to help our partners to sell products based on Genuine Windows to compete with pirates. This is a major opportunity both for Microsoft and our partners, " Windows Client Marketing Chief Sievert told channel partners in July.
Platforms and Services Co-President Johnson had the same message for financial analysts later that month. "There's a higher level of genuine Windows attached to PC shipments in developed markets than emerging markets, which means, if we want to continue to drive growth of Windows client OEM units faster than PC shipments, we've got to have a great compelling value proposition for the user for genuine Windows software and for the channel," Johnson said. One element of Microsoft's OEM-focused Genuine Advantage strategy could be increasing the number of copies of Microsoft Office that are preloaded on new PCs. Under an internal Microsoft program known as the Unlicensed PC Initiative, the company is working to reduce piracy by curbing the number of new PCs sold without Windows – and, increasingly, Office -- preloaded on them. Microsoft announced on July 11 that it has decided to allow PC makers/system builders to pre-install Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 edition on new PCs. Previously that version of Office was sold only are retail. Microsoft officials at the Worldwide partner Conference also announced they will allow system builders to provide customers with a free 60-day trial of Office on new PCs, allowing them to sell the Office license after the PC purchase via a program called "Office-Ready PC." Outside the U.S., Microsoft has begun distributing stickers to partners selling software to Internet Café operators that read "This Internet Café uses genuine Microsoft software." In order to obtain the stickers, the cafes must validate their software through Genuine Advantage. Roger Kay, president with Endpoint Technologies Associates, said he had no doubts that the channel would be a big Genuine Advantage focus for the Microsoft, going forward. "For the channel, which is in general more complicit than end users, Microsoft will pursue a combination of education, engineering, and enforcement," Kay said. "Education is telling people how to figure out whether they have bogus copies and warn them of the dangers and is aimed at those trying to do right. Engineering covers technologies put into Windows to prevent counterfeiting and alert customers to the fact that they have a bad copy. Enforcement is aimed at the people who know they're wearing black hats and involves working with law enforcement and other measures to bring installations into compliance." |
Comments (8)
I don't have a problem with M$ trying to protect the family jewels. But I *DO* have a problem when they interfere with my ability to easily upgrade my PC. I'm a gamer and a power user and I'm always tweaking. Faster bigger hard drives. A new motherboard. More memory. A better video card, etc. etc. Every time you do that with XP you have to "revalidate." After three trips to the trough, you have to go through a draconian process that literally took me around the world in help desk terms (from the US to India and who know where else.) You end up dictating and receiving two huge keys that are probably more arcane and convoluted than the most complicated access to a Swiss Bank Account (not that I'd know.) Most recently, I simply REMOVED a drive from a machine to use it with another drive to just check out the drive using the machine's BIOS. After that, I replaced the original drive so that the machine was literally as it was before yet SOMETHING triggerd the Windows XP os on the first drive to make it "phone home." You never know when the next upgrade (faster CPU, more memory, additional HD) is going to trip the trigger. I had one machine whose MB got zapped via lightning EMP through the on board ethernet (I now ALWAYS use a cheap card as a "fuse", never the on board port) and went through "help" desk HELL with M$ trying to get a new key because I'd exceeded my three tries on that machine due to upgrades. Think of it. It wouldn't matter that you replaced the hardware and restored your backup. Upon reboot after the restore XP will politely tell you that you have 3 days until your machine will die unless you validate. I can only IMAGINE the hell that Vista will put us through. I've been testing my key productivity apps with Linux and Wine. It's starting to look promising. All the majors work. I ought to be able to upgrade and retire old PC's (which I do several times in the life of an OS purchase) without having to sweat putting the OS I've paid for on my upgraded PC. The old PC's invariably become Linux servers because ANY PC that will run Windows will run blazingly well as a Linux server. I turn 'em into appliances to automate other things. I'm most definitely NOT trying to stretch one OS purchase to more than one PC. I don't mind paying for Windows but I really CHAFE at the idea that on a whim they can render that investment null and void. The life of an OS is MUCH longer than the hardware life. PLEASE give is a way to accomodate that while protecting your intellectual property rights.
Posted by Don Babcock | August 9, 2006 3:45 PM
'nuff said.
Posted by Don Babcock | August 9, 2006 3:46 PM
If all that crap about WGA is true, that means MS will have to leave crumbs on our PCs to verify we're genuine and lock us up with propriety tools like CD/DVD recording, viewing videos and sound bites. None of which will work. As it is now with XP, every time I have to reinstall XP, I have to call home to get a new access code. Imagine jumping through more hoops with Vista.
Posted by Walter Tortorici | August 9, 2006 5:22 PM
". . . the company is working to reduce piracy by curbing the number of new PCs sold without Windows – and, increasingly, Office -- preloaded on them."So unless we build our own, there will be a windows and office tax built into each and every PC purchase. What about my freedom to install a non-windows operating system? What about my freedom to use another office suite? Contrary to Microsoft's limited view, there are many alternatives out there in the real world. I really hope a class action lawsuit is filed. This is beyond anything reasonable.
Posted by ebrke | August 10, 2006 9:30 AM
After much investigation and thought, I've decided to make my next purchase a Mac. I can still load Windows for the couple of programs that I absolutely cannot live without, but it will be OSX that will receive the most of my attention. I am tired of the security weakness of Windows, and the strong arm tactics that Microsoft uses to push its product. I realize they have a right to try and protect their products, but IMHO, they are really just protecting their monopoly. Let's not forget that even though the sentencing was light, they were judged to be a monopoly. Now I just have to decide if I want to start with a Mac Mini, or wait a while longer and go with a notebook. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.....
Posted by Jack Graham | August 10, 2006 1:54 PM
It dosen'nt work as advertised.In fact, it barely works at all!!! (It's a piece of garbage.)For instance, notepad will take 4 seconds to load a ~3 to 4 Megabyte text file, on a RAID striped HD on a computer with 1 Gig of ram that funs at 2.2 GHz, and only Mozilla running in the background. HARDLY a "professional" operating environment. My 68000 running at 7 MHz can do that too! (It's faster, actually!!!!! NOT KIDDING!)Why do I keep using it?It has the most games available on it.Those I buy.
Posted by Thierry Predavec | August 17, 2006 7:49 PM
In fact, if the video game programmers collectively got off their fat ***es and programmed some mini OS that only was needed just to run games on x86's, that's all I'd need. Nothing else useful on xp, I'm afraid.Fifteen SW houses could pool some money and make a mini OS just for games, and anyone else that wanted to join the club would have to cough up some dough, preferably based on the size of their company with some kind of "slower" version available to bedroom coders for free.If the company that joined got bigger, they should inject more money into the mini OS project, accordingly.
Posted by Thierry Predavec | August 17, 2006 7:56 PM
AmigaOne! Amiga OS4!!! Change teh WORLD!!!!! (! * one billion)
Posted by Thierry Prevadec | February 23, 2007 8:00 PM