I’ve never been a fan of anti-piracy schemes. I know Microsoft feels strongly that they are losing money through others using their software. But it’s clear that Microsoft actually benefits from piracy.
Anyway, with Windows Vista SP1, Microsoft admits by its action that the “Windows Genuine Advantage” isn’t really an advantage at all – they dropped it from IE7.
Sweet!
Now, I just wish they’d be honest about why they dropped it. They want all users to use their latest software. The WGA is a deployment inhibitor, and after having weighed out the costs and benefits, they decided they’d be better off with a few pirated copies than to have to support a whole legion of legitimate users running their old stuff (not to mention users using the competition!)
Let’s be clear though – I’m delighted that Microsoft dropped it! Please drop it more! By not letting us pirate your software, you are basically begging us to go use Google Docs & Spreadsheets!!!
(BTW – don’t forget that Office will be free.)