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Microsoft: WGA meltdown due to human error | |
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| Time: 10:23 EST/15:23 GMT | News Source: ZDNet | Posted By: Robert Stein | ||
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Microsoft has published yet more details about the glitch in its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) system that affected an estimated 12,000 users over the August 24-25 weekend. Microsoft is attributing the WGA problems to “human error,” according to a new August 28 blog posting by WGA Senior Product Manager Alex Kochis. | ||
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| #1 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 8/30/2007 12:39:25 PM |
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Thoughts on WGA:
It is and will always be flawed and its flaws have and will continue to impact users of all skill levels. WGA, regardless of how it is implemented is a ticking time-bomb and it is only a matter of enough time and enough systems before any "one" person, or organization is going to get bitten by its flaws. WGA, its flaws, its benefits [stop giggling in the back - one does get access to features, updates, etc...] and its impact has to be evaluated in not just the largest of context, but at the same time, in the smallest of contexts - the individual at the end of the buggy whip of a ride it represents - where MS is on the big end where it all seems wonderful in relative terms, and individuals who are on the small end where the speed and changes in direction are violent, filled with uncertainty and often very painful. Ok, so that is the technical side and that is bad enough, but what of the human element... WGA really does treat people as criminals - WGA insults and deeply so. WGA humiliates people up front. It's worse than the Hitler Youth and Brown Shirts that check one's see-through bag and receipt at the door of a big bix store - no matter how many times a customer has come through and/or how familiar one's face is to the storm troopers manning the gates - only WGA is worse, because the brown shirted goons follow people home and they moves in - and they don't leave. Even the most technically capable people in the "Biz' have been hit by WGA's flaws and as a case moves through escalation the repeated explanations of what one's media looks like and what one "did" or didn't do, is insulting at best and hurtful at its worst. *In my case all I did was install the latest version of Digital Imaging Suite Signature Edition - which used an older and conflicting version of WGA - dutifully approving it as was required, resulted in a more than busted Vista Ultimate instance. Three days and dozens of insulting calls later and a new key was issued - but a bit too late - I simply applied another key and another small pile of cash [buying an OS twice for the same machine and RMA'ing the Digital Imaging Suite that was cancelled unceremoniously two days later by Microsoft (adding to the feeling of injury and anger already on a high boil)]. The human impact continues and at least to some degree I do now wonder "when" it will happen again and I won't forget the plastic sounding questions either - "what does your DVD look like here - what is on the edge, do you see the microscopic picture of MS' lawyers sharpening their knives?" WPA, ok, fine. It's activated and we're cool. But WGA? No. It is flawed and always will be and it is hurting the wrong people and so far, I can't see its benefits. Microsoft has a real opportunity here - they can demonstrate some greatness and announce that their intentions were good - that WGA was designed to help legit people, but that they failed and that as a result of that failure, they are dumping WGA forever. They can still succeed however - they can use their partners to help them ensure a WGA-less WGA effect and they need to incent the channel with real money. Reward the channel with real money and challenge that channel to make their products work and run at their best. In other words, choose and pursue a positive goal rather than the negative goal of treating people like criminals before they are even considered suspects. Right now what they are doing is hand-cuffing people and delaring that locks are no longer needed, because the people's hands can't open the doors to begin with [that is their lawyers' perspective and it is a very negative one]. Turn it around and dump WGA! |
| #2 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 8/30/2007 3:54:14 PM |
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#1: Here we agree 1000% with one exception. I do not believe that WGA has anything at all to do with helping or protecting legitimate users. I believe that that rationalization was the sheepskin used to get the wolf in the door. WGA was a way of increasing revenue out of existing marketshare by stopping casual copying and retail "loading". The 'advantage' in WGA was Microsoft's, not the user's.
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| #3 By 2960 (68.100.112.199) at 8/30/2007 5:36:41 PM |
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I agree with both posts so far.
Even WGA would not be that bad if it would just run once, then LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!!! All the constant pestering. All the constant 'updating of critical windows update files' (aka they changed WGA again and want to invade your computer again), is just plan, well, BS. WGA is all about controlling the consumer AFTER they have purchased a legitimate copy. TL |
| #4 By 2960 (68.100.112.199) at 8/30/2007 5:56:03 PM |
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Another strike for online validations:
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/33624/118/ Do you have a Sony downloaded music library? You ain't gonna like this. They should be sued back to the stone age. TL |
| #5 By 23275 (24.179.4.158) at 8/30/2007 6:39:02 PM |
| #2, Perhaps it was subterfuge, but I am not willing to go so far as to call people liars without evidence of such behavior. If we don't at least respect the intent and that it was sincere, then how are we to expect similar respect in return. |
| #6 By 37047 (74.101.157.125) at 8/30/2007 10:13:53 PM |
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#1, #2: I agree completely! WGA is terrible, and a disaster waiting to happen! I'd even go so far as to say that it even borders on being unconstitutional, as it infers that a person is guilty, and must constantly re-affirm their innocence at every step. This goes against both the US and Canadian justice systems, where a person is presumed innocent until their guilt is proven.
This is the sort of attitude that makes folks like Latch and I rally against the Microsoft corporate actions, even while using their products. On the technical side, Microsoft has some great people making great software. Visual Studio is still the IDE that every other is compared to, and SQL Server 2005 has been impressively solid. I have also had good experiences with Windows XP and Server 2003, both original and R2. I have little bad to say about those products. At least, nothing that can't be said of just about any product that has been expanded long enough to get slow and bloated. That is the nature of the beast. The corporate attitude that all users are thieves and must prove their innocence over and over again is frightening. Current WGA implementations are merely the tip of the iceberg. Wait until Microsoft has time to fully bake the technology, and it is deeply ingrained into every product at a deep level. At that point, Microsoft will have the capability to determine what constitutes a "valid" installation, and invalidate it if you so much as install a hated competitors product on your computer. I am not saying that they necessarily would, though their history shows an inclination to such tactics, but that they could is scary enough. |
| #7 By 37047 (74.101.157.125) at 8/30/2007 10:23:23 PM |
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#4: This is one of the reasons I have a problem with DRM schemes. After all, the RIAA made a huge fortune year over year selling us records, cassette tapes, and CDs, all with no DRM on them, and guess what? People like you and I bought them, and continue to do so. In record numbers. So, who is DRM harming? Not them. As your message clearly indicates, by way of the link, the media cartels giveth, and the media cartels taketh away. And that is the level of control they want to have. After all, the recording industry loves it when we bought an album on LP vinyl, bought it again on 8 track, then again on cassette, and once again on CD, and even the DVD-A version. How about a Mini-CD version from Sony? Create an album once, and keep changing formats to keep people buying new versions. DRM moves them into the realm of being able to really license the media to you. Not keeping up with the payments? They'll stop allowing you to listen to your purchased, I mean licensed, songs. Start paying them again, and you can listen again. Constant revenue streams is their new business model. Why sell a song to you once, when DRM allows them to lease it to you for a monthly fee. Much more profitable that way. And as a bonus, they can blame the "pirates" for downswing in sales, rather than blaming their greed, and the lower quality of albums released in the last few years.
Well, that's enough rant about that for now. I've got to stop posting this late at night. I start to ramble too much, and I risk being accused of becoming like lketchum. :-) (Just kidding Lloyd!) |
| #8 By 37047 (74.101.157.125) at 8/30/2007 10:26:47 PM |
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#5: "Perhaps it was subterfuge, but I am not willing to go so far as to call people liars without evidence of such behavior."
Well, one could argue that since Microsoft prefers the guilty until proven innocent approach, then turn around is fair play. But then again, I have long been an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth kind of guy. You make a good point about treating Microsoft as we would like them to treat us. It is a shame that I don't have much faith in them (corporately speaking) having that much respect for us, unless we happen to be a Fortune 500 company purchasing hundreds or even thousands of licenses for OS and application products from them. |
| #9 By 49656 (72.197.174.24) at 8/31/2007 9:40:18 AM |
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MS just spins like any other politition. Remember when it first came out they were saying that their customers were clamoring for a way to tell if their copy was legit. Bullshit! I dont know anyone who got their new system home and then wondered if they and MS had somehow been bamboozled by that computer dealer down the street. MS is and always has been unscrupulous. People need to assume anything they say is an out and out lie unless there is evidence to the contrary.
Ive always believed from the beginning of WGA that they are testing a system for the future. They are gonna want to have an OS that is subscription based and want to be able to turn it off if they see fit. A system like that would require multiple checks constantly. Perhaps even daily, similar to what it was in the beginning. Or maybe it was at every boot? Steve and the others at Apple are idiots for not releasing a PC based Mac OS. If I could buy that, I might find that I actually like it and might concider picking up one of their systems. And even if I didnt, I would still be using their OS that was actually purchased as well as their other software possibly. How many converts would there be if people could do that. That would hurt MS immensely, I would imagine. |
| #10 By 2960 (68.100.112.199) at 9/1/2007 1:26:10 AM |
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#7,
Yeah. The re-buy model. I've had about enough of it too. The 25 year old CD format is, frankly, all I will ever need. I own exactly ONE SACD. Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon", and that's mainly because I can't resist ANYTHING Pink Floyd :) The music industry destroyed SACD by mandating ANALOG connections and not allowing SACD to be passed over the Digital outputs. What the hell were these morons thinking? Just last week I bought all the Pink Floyd CD's I was missing and filled out my library. I have all of them now. They are all safely ripped away onto my server in MP3, and streamed to my XBox 360 in the living room. I've made MP3 CD's to use in the Edge. I've put them on my iPods. What a concept. I'm actually using something I paid for, for my OWN use, the way I want to, with no DRM. I did buy 252 iTunes tracks when iTunes first came out. I used it for those one-off's from Albums that I would not otherwise buy, and it saved me thousands of dollars because I didn't have to buy the entire albums. The DRM issue with those has been, ahem, fixed and I can enjoy those in the car too. I paid for them, I SHOULD be able to use them in my car! I'll do another round of one-off purchases just as soon as I can buy them DRM free. Looks like that time is finally coming. TL |
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