When will the last genuine copy of Windows XP fail to successfully run Microsoft's ever-growing gauntlet of anti-piracy weapons? If you think about, it would seem to be just a matter of time until all copies of XP are deemed counterfeit. The only question is just how long after Windows Vista ships that day will come.
Back when Microsoft first rolled out what was then the "voluntary" Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program, I observed that this was already getting to be an old story with Microsoft. As with product activation, adding yet more anti-piracy locks on Windows would predictably do little to stop the real software pirates but figured to cause problems for some honest customers down the road. Sure enough, the result of forcing WGA on customers who want Windows updates has been a building crescendo of complaints on the Gripe Line -- and elsewhere -- about authentic copies of Microsoft's validation tool identifying authentic copies of XP as non-genuine.
"Tried to use Windows Update today," one reader recently wrote. "Previously, you could opt out of downloading the WGA tool. Now, however, you are forced to download the tool as part of the Microsoft Update program, just to be able to download other updates. I tried the 'Change Settings' link to disable the use of Microsoft Update. So far, so good. Go back to Windows Update site and guess what? Still need to download WGA in order to download other updates. Something is very, very wrong here."
Things get more wrong once WGA registers a false positive when checking for counterfeit copies of Windows. "I bought my PC about three years ago and it had a product key on top to verify that the XP operating system was good," another reader wrote. "I have upgraded over the years with the latest Microsoft fixes. I have done verification several times and tried to follow the rules. I was verified last year when I loaded Microsoft Antispyware program. Last week I received a pop-up to indicate that a new release of Antispyware was available. I replied yes to upload the program, then it indicated that it would validate my system. I replied yes to that message. After that, my system now gets the message that I may be a victim of software counterfeiting. If I want to stop these pop-ups and remove the message, send them $149.00 and they will give me a valid operating system. I looked on their list of invalid systems and I cannot find my number. I sent them a message and the indications are they will not help. If I do not like it, sue. What can a person do? Suing costs more than $149.00."
Just because a customer's version of XP has been validated as genuine in the past doesn't mean it won't be invalid the next time. "How is it that my same version of Windows that Microsoft said was 'genuine' last year is now not genuine?" another reader wondered. "I bought this machine directly from HP, and the HP service center is the only ones who have touched it other than me. Microsoft says the HP techs must have re-installed Windows incorrectly -- HP says no way. The only thing everyone agrees on is that it's my problem. This is just a 'genuine' rip-off!"
Of course, the revelation that the WGA Notifications has been phoning home to Redmond once a day, and Microsoft's rather feeble explanation for it hasn't lightened anyone's mood. "I have read quite a bit on this issue as it has emerged in the media over the past week, trying to understand it, and I really think this crosses the line," one reader wrote. "I do not believe Microsoft needs to be installing software that reports back every 24 hours, passes data re: our computers to Microsoft, and has the potential to allow Microsoft to remotely make changes to our computers based on some programmatic algorithm at their end. Not only that, but insanely enough, this is BETA software. Moreover, Microsoft has publicly admitted in the past few days they started pushing this out without revealing what was happening, without full disclosure, and without final testing. Yes, I know, final testing and Microsoft define oxymoron, but that is another story."
Speaking of untested software, it would also appear that even passing the WGA validation process can kick up bugs that trigger XP's product activation. "Did my Windows Update yesterday which included a new Windows validation thing which must be installed," another reader wrote. "The subsequent updates were applied, the computer rebooted and everything was fine. Today when I turned the PC on - a Dell purchased a year ago with XP preinstalled -- I was greeted with a Windows activation screen that wouldn't go away, and two phone calls to Microsoft support because of that. The first rep hung up after saying my product ID is no good. The second finally gave me a registration number allowing access again to my paid-for computer, after grilling me about where I bought it and the number on the silver tag. The question of why my licensed software insisted on being licensed again, when there had been no hardware changes or re-installs, went unanswered."
Also left unanswered is the question of just when all copies of XP will be invalid. But, between the perennial bugginess of Microsoft software in general and Redmond's desire to move everyone to its latest OS, it would seem like such a day must inevitably dawn. Just how far in the future will depend on just how long it is before Windows Vista actually ships.
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