Comments on: Disable, uninstall neuter & understand WGA

By: Ziggy

Ziggy — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 09:26:34 +0000

All I have to say is that I’m proudly running DevilsOwn WinXP Pro Corp. Final (more securely then a newly sold system)and have been since about a month before XP’s offial release. Never had any trouble.
I’ve used every version of windows going back to Windows3 with good old DOS. Shortly after Win98 came out I was thinking of buying the 98se upgrade.. then I realised, why would I pay to fix broken software?
Look at the xBox.. sold defective, just like Windows. And yet poeple still pay for Billy’s wonder toys.
Major linux distros need to market themseves somehow… where is that video of 98 crashing on CNN when you need it?!?!

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 20:10:31 +0000

I am yet another microsoft partner that has been censored on the WGA forum at microsoft and cannot get any anwsers on WGA… for shame MS

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 21:09:16 +0000

Licensing is a hot issue to discuss. I know a lot of programers who have never bought licensed versions of anything in their entire lives (only sold:)).

By: Samir Ahad

Samir Ahad — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 18:44:51 +0000

Installed, removed, rebooted and we’re all good. I don’t see what the big deal is, just download and get rid of that junk just like any other spyware. If you were a pirate your box would not allow a login anyhow so whats the complaint?

By: Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:55:08 +0000

I just saw my typo – we don’t “managlement” computers. We try and “Manage” them!

By: Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:52:58 +0000

If you only read one biut of this post – read the last paragraph.

Hmm – and the licensing guys at the WPC2006 in Boston wonderd why I laughed at them when they tried to get us to sell software. Like Vlad – we have ours OEM’d in on Dell boxes.

So far I have seen ONE instance of a box caught by WGA (in a field of about 1200 boxes in our managlement or with our customers) and it was deserved. Clearly an overused Volume Disk. The client who brought me the “broken” box – kind of suspected he had a problem with his “cheap” box. I even know who sold him the box – and I think it is par for the course with that guy.

Now what really sucked was the obtaining of the WGA Pack with a legit Product Key to fix the client who was prepared to pay to get fixed there and then. In a world where eCommenrce sites can validate a card and deliver a serial number in about the time it takes to validate the card – it took MS 48 hours and no amount of phone calls to the WGA Pack team would get a number any faster. So the person who was prepared to get legal couldn’t – for two days.

Now let me share soemthing with you from Kevin Turner’s Keynote at WPC2006. I paraphrase:

“We know we have not always listened to partners – we know we need to do better. If you have an idea or problem and it is not getting listened to through your normal channels – tell me about it”.

Cue slide:

kturner@microsoft.com

On another licensing issue about which I wrote him – I DID get a reply. I’m still waiting to hear about our WGA screw up.

By: Vlad Mazek - Vladville Blog » Blog Archive » WGA & Homicidal Tendancies

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 04:48:05 +0000

[...] So the WGA thing. Great concept. Horrible implementation. And this got personal quick and it hit really close to home for quite a few of you. Click here to read the 17 comments on the post and pay particular attention to the comments made by Ramon. I sincerely hope nobody reading this will ever have that kind of experience. But if you think my visitors are raving lunatics then you need to look at Microsoft's own WGA boards. I have not seen anybody lose it so quickly outside of LUG flamewars. You will find this thread in particular very disappointing and perhaps telling of why this software is still so bad and why it infuriates so many. [...]

By: Aaron Smith

Aaron Smith — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 02:29:38 +0000

Chalk me in the “not affected” list. I was prompted about WGA but after the initial process it has not come back to bug me.

I will say this much – I do not like the phoneback feature. That is spyware, plain and simple. I will be removing WGA and would concurr with the request above to demonstrate how to block Microsoft servers from communicating with my computer. If my copy is legitimate that better be the end of my computers “talk” with Microsoft.

By: Erick

Erick — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 23:15:35 +0000

Wow Ramon now thats a story for sure. For most our clients WGA has been an annoyance and a privacy question mark but you seem to have gotten the worst of that storm.

For what its worth Susan is a good woman I am sorry she sunk your battleship.

By: vlad

vlad — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 21:55:36 +0000

Guys please keep it clean. I know we all disagree on things from time to time but if you have to use curse words please do not direct them at anyone personally.

Ramon, you have my condolences. I had a similar epiphany with Microsoft a few years ago (I was put into far too many situations where I had to compete with the Action Pack) and since that day my company has not sold a single license of Microsoft software. We now either obtain software through the SPLA or it comes on the system directly from Dell. Once your trust and faith seem misplaced it is impossible to get back. I have far more friends at Microsoft today than I ever had before but that has not shifted my perception of just how concerned Microsoft sales side is about my business. Sales is sales I suppose but I did not get that “partner” feeling from Microsoft. I am really sad that it was the actual technology that disappointed you, I cannot say that has happened to me yet.

Regardless, you have my sympathy.

-Vlad