After All These Years Windows XP, (Service Pack 3) Still Having Glitches! Or Is It M$?

News Com is telling me that XP Service Pack Is delayed due to incompatibility with it's own software package. So people why wait, Ubuntu is set to take on the windows! Go Get your Ubuntu.
Even if Windows service pack comes, it will be loaded with all the spy tool in the world like WGA, You cannot get even regular upgrades without WGA now!

tag: M$, Ubuntu, XP Service Pack 3, Ubuntu

Microsoft releases Office 2007 Service Pack Early.

Or is it an early Xmas gift to itself?
A service pack is usually to correct bugs, bad code, broken features, exploits, etc, or in MBut M$ service packs have been getting bigger and bigger all the time. I have seen Office 2007 in action as my girlfriend needed it for one of here classes.
But I already told her not to upgrade as there were already complains about the service pack breaking some stuff, like scanning but as I have not tested it I cannot vouch for it.
So go help M$ by downloading and installing the Office 2007 service pack so that M$ can get it all other applications working well with the other M$ suites, like exchange server, sharepoint server and all those new live products!

Tags: exchange server, share point server, spyware, l wga, oga, office 2007, office 2007 service pack 1

M$ To Drop Vista Kill Switch

Apparently M$ is dropping Vista kill switch that is currently hobbling Windows Vista installations that fail the company's validation processes. It will come with microsofts forthcoming Service Pack 1 update for Vista, scheduled for next year.
Looks like Vista is not selling like M$ expected to. Well make it attractive and take out useless restrictive home calls every time a pc boots. Once validates, validate again in six months or a year. I am willing to pay for software I use, but don't ask me to sell my soul.
Information week article

Tags: M$, microsoft vista, vista kill switch, WGA

IE7 is a WGA renegade or/and. M$ eases WGA

I was surprised to find this little gem posted on IEBlog, which is posted below. May be because IE7 adoptation is below that of IE6 and Firefox. I checked one of my blogs just now and IE7 got about 17%.
So going along this logic, M$ might tighten WGA on XP and rlax it on VISTA in order to gain market share or self promotion. M$ just allowed OEM to continue selling XP for another 5 months.
I have tested VISTA but will not use until I write a whole set of rules on my firewall. I don't want Uncle Bill to see what kind of panties I am wearing! ;) Don't worry, I am a developer and I develop for all, I even have a MSDN account. I do not need to crack WGA or use hacked versions of Windows. I just don't like any one doing anything on my computers without my consent. So I have my XP so tight the boldie will break something trying to penetrate!
Here is an excerpt from IEBLOG

Because Microsoft takes its commitment to help protect the entire Windows ecosystem seriously, we’re updating the IE7 installation experience to make it available as broadly as possible to all Windows users. With today’s “Installation and Availability Update,” Internet Explorer 7 installation will no longer require Windows Genuine Advantage validation and will be available to all Windows XP users. If you are not already running IE7, you can get it now from the Internet Explorer home page on Microsoft.com, get a customized version from a third-party site, or, if you haven’t already received it via Automatic Updates, this version will be delivered to you as we described previously. If you are already running IE7, you will not be offered IE7 again by Automatic Updates.

Additionally, we’ve made minor changes to IE7 for Windows XP based on customer feedback:

• The menu bar is now visible by default.
• The Internet Explorer 7 online tour has updated how-to’s. Also, the “first-run” experience includes a new overview.
• We’ve included a new MSI installer that simplifies deployment for IT administrators in enterprises. Learn more about it here.

Tags: M$, Microsoft, Windows Update, IE7,firefox,vista,

WGA runs amok

A problem with Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) over the weekend caused some users to mistakenly have their copies of Windows XP and Vista labeled as fraudulent. We have spoken about this before and it is also the only reason that I would not go Vista way!

Earlier WGA blog reported that they 've been receiving reports on our forum and through customer service starting last night that Windows Vista validations have been failing on genuine systems. It looks now as though the issue has been resolved and validations are being processed successfully. But they did not explain why.

The same article also mentioned that people with validation problems, who received an incorrect validation response can fix their system by revalidating on their site (http://www.microsoft.com/genuine). They encourage anyone who received a validation failure to revalidate and after successfully revalidating any affected system should be rebooted to ensure the genuine-only features are restored.

A newer article explains "The issue with processing validations began Friday afternoon at about 3:30 PM Pacific time and through a combination of posts to our forum and customer support the issue was discovered by evening. By about 11:15 AM Pacific on Saturday morning the issue affecting the validation service had been analyzed and resolved such that validations were again being processed properly. Our data shows that fewer than 12,000 systems were affected worldwide and that many of those have already revalidated and are fixed. This is encouraging news but we want to emphasize that one bad customer experience is one too many and that we're committed to learning from this experience and working to prevent this type of event from occurring again."

Good luck to those whe were foolish enough to follow the path of WGA. May be it is time you tried out like ubuntu! and Open Office and certainly it will not cost $1000 and no worries about WGA konking off!

A company spokesperson told that the problems lasted for 20 hours, stretching from Friday afternoon into late Saturday morning. The company is still determining the exact cause, although marketing general manager Joe Williams attributed the problem to a server failure on a company blog.

During the 20-hour outage, users who attempted to re-validate their copies of Windows were told that their software could not be validated. For Windows Vista Users, failing the validation check puts the system in a reduced functionality mode, disabling the Windows Aero interface, the Ready Boost cache utility, and non-critical security procedures in Windows Defender.

Tags: WGA, M$, ubuntu, Open Office, WGA runs amok

Hasta la Vista! or the WOW factor fading?

I read this interesting post on Vista, The flagship product of M$. I have it but erased the last install when I found out that WGA incident with XP was nothing compared to what Vista does. Looks like M$ is like Russia 25years ago. Only that KGB is out in the open!
Follow the link read how WOW might become meow!
The rest od the articles are fine stuff as well.

Tags: M$, Vista, WOW, WOW factor, WGA, russia, KGB

If you thought WGA was a problem, Vista brings more stuff to harvest your Information!

I have written a countless times about XP and WGA. I was not happy with the way M$ dealing with a lot of issues. So were countless others. But now those worries seems to be simple compared to what Windows Vista brings in.
I read the article at SoftPedia and have not investigated any of the statements but you don't need to as I Softpedia article follows simple logic to explain the facts.
So my hotmail account size might drop as M$ has to store all these data from 60million people it sold Vista so far!
But why worry? Well, it's written in the Vista license agreement. "By using these features, you consent to the transmission of this information. Microsoft does not use the information to identify or contact you."

Tags: M$, WGA, WGA 2.0, Vista, harvest user data

M$ and it's patents, Thank Novel for spreading the cheeks!

I have seen many a posts and news articles about M$ going after it's IP protection scheme. Hope it will be better than it did with SCO!
Perhaps the same legal counselors advised against attacking Lindows, lest it will lose the right to use Windows?
I hope it (M$) come clean and hit all these infringes right on the head. Perhaps that itself will break it's balls, err hands.
After WGA, $3 Vista and all those other deals it is seeing that nothing is working, Zune mangled by iPOD, XBOX man handled by WII and PS3. Now Vista not having a much vista in the OS field. I would love to see those patents spelled out.

After M$'s legal general Brad Smith gave a broad breakdown of the alleged violations during an interview with Fortune magazine, yet has not detailed any specific patents that have been violated. Smith said the Linux kernel violates 42 patents and the operating system's user interface violates 65. The Open Office application suite violates 45 patents and open source e-mail applications infringe on 15. Other open source software applications infringe on 68 patents.
Well one would think M$ invented computing and M$ certainly would like us to think so. I hope it will give us the same entertainment that SCO delivered us.;)

Links;
Groklaw tells it as it is

Tags: M$, Patents, SCO

Geemodo's most viewed article is "Removewga released" for 2006

A lot of people, who knows what they are doing and what M$ is upto, have shown interest in removing WGA. The article received a lot of attention. Now in Vista, it is a part of the OS, and we will have to find out how to block or disable, M$ calling home, each and everyday. I am not sure what information it will send out. I do have a license for it and I will install for tech support issues. But my windows work will be done on XP running on a Mac under Parallels.
My normal work will be done on Linux.



Geemodo: removeWGA released

Tags: removewga, wga, vista, m$, geemodo, parallels

Vista is at your door step but potentially serious flaws are already inside says experts.

Most ridicules statement I read from M$ in a while came out due these experts findings. And when New York Times get in to reporting Vista flaws, wall street might read too. Although I have been writing about Vista for while. I still say go get your happy feet, from penguins. It means Linux if you did not know. Anyway back to the news. The statement is;
“While I know this is a vulnerability that impacts Windows Vista, I still have every confidence that Windows Vista is our most secure platform to date.” said Mike Reavey, operations manager of the Microsoft Security Response Center.
I do not know where to turn with these stupid statements. I thought I could not write but it seems these managers even can't talk. It is like saying "Oh don't worry, buy this car, we have some troubles with the engine but this is the fastest car we ever built! see it even got tires."
I think when M$ means by security, is securing itself. WGA, OGA and Vista EULA is in place and I guess they are working, as far as M$ is concerned. From what I read not the users.
You can read more at the New York Times and my scribbles below.

links;
Vista flaws detected.
Geemodo: Get your Vista Activated In China or M$ moved to China
Geemodo: WGA, OGA, Vista EULA and Happy Feet

Tags: M$, VISTA, WGA, OGA, Vista flaws, happy feet, Linux, penguins

Why M$ Live is dead and other views

After reading Ravenii's post; VOIP IP Telephony: M$ drops Live and adds VOIP to Communication server 2007 and wondering why Microsoft is dropping "LIVE" from products, I set out to look for reasons.
I did not have to go far, the attention blog directed me to New York Times article.
One paragraph from the interview was enough for me and I came back to The attention.

"“I don’t know if Live is the right name,” he said, saying he had not decided what to do about it. But before he gets around to deciding whether to change the brand, he wants to make Microsoft’s search engine itself more appealing to consumers.", This is from Steve Berkowitz who runs microsofts online services unit.

The Attention has put together some of the revelations by M$ online head honcho into understandable sections. I am sure you will understand some of the M$'s problems and hope M$ listen to it's own people. Looks like live is dead.
The best of The Attention got me laughing.
"However, Berkowitz does hit upon the key challenge for Microsoft at the end of the interview.

“You don’t win in the first 90 percent; it just gets you in the game,” [Berkowitz] said. “What matters to people is emotional attachment. And I think that’s the last 10 percent.”"

Only emotion I got about M$ was when crappy windows crash on me when I for get about WGA. So you know what it is.

Links;
My own WGA feelingsGeemodo: WGA, OGA, Vista EULA and Happy Feet

The Attention's Losing customer
New York Times Article

Tags: M$, Microsoft live, Microsoft dead

Get your Vista Activated In China or M$ moved to China

Josh's Window weblog reports that, even though the Business Edition of Vista was just released, a rogue Key Management Service (KMS) has already surfaced on the net, deep within China. Once activated your illegal copy of Windows Vista will be good for 180 days before it needs to talk to the KMS server again.
Key Management Service is aimed to protect Windows Vista and Longhorn Server from piracy through Volume Activation 2.0 scheme. According to Microsoft,

Key Management Service
Your organization can host the Key Management Service (KMS) internally to automatically activate computers running Windows Vista. To use the KMS, you must have a minimum of 25 computers running Windows Vista that are connected together. Computers that have been activated through KMS will be required to reactivate by connecting to your organization's network at least every six months.

Currently the KMS software runs on a local computer running Windows Vista or the Microsoft Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" operating system. In the future, it will run on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system.

Looks like the Chinese outfit is running this service on the internet, which Microsoft does not allow.
Anyway the server or the domain was not available today. Even if it did, do not go there with your Vista copy, they are the same domain that released, Ginwui malware. So you might get more than activation. In any case if you were interested in Vista, you may have got the Beta or pre release version and you can run it till June or July 2007 and will receive all updates etc.
The question is how many other holes are there in Vista and Vista protection Scheme?

The pirate site is not listed because I do not support piracy. I do not like M$ practices, but like software I write, and the rights I have, M$ has it's own rights.
If you don't like M$ go get your happy feet

Links;
Josh's Window weblog
Geemodo: WGA, OGA, Vista EULA and Happy Feet

Tags: vista KMS, Vista piracy, happy feet, longhorn, M$

XandroOS 4.0 out Before Vista

XandrOS running MS Office APPlications.

Linux vendor Xandros Inc. today unveiled its latest Xandros Desktop Professional Version 4 of its enterprise Linux operating system, which debuts two days before Microsoft Corp. launches the enterprise version of Windows Vista.

Xandros Desktop Professional 4, which retails for $99.99 and is available in a boxed version or as a download, includes Bluetooth wireless support, desktop search, ISV support and advanced 3D desktop graphics effects. The new OS maintains what Xandros said is seamless compatibility with Windows, Linux and Unix networks, including Windows domain authentication -- plus support for logon scripts, group policy profiles and Microsoft Exchange.

Xandros CEO Andreas Typaldos said in a statement that Linux continues "to make inroads in the enterprise as Windows replacements," meaning companies must figure out how to manage disparate systems in mixed Windows and Linux networks. "Today, most companies utilize a silo-based approach by managing Windows and various Linux versions separately, each with their own administrators and tool sets."

Some features;
Create, open and edit MS Office files with Openoffice.org. Run important Windows applications including MS Office.
Xandros reinforces the already secure Linux platform with the Xandros Security Suite. The included firewall, anti-virus, file-system protector and Xandros Networks update alert ensures that your Xandros Desktop has the best and most current protection.
Authenticate to Windows PDC and Active Directory Domains. Connect to wired and wireless networks. Use PPTP VPN to connect remotely to the office. Broadband wireless connectivity with 3G, GSM and UMTS support.

So if you are worried about Vista's WGA, OGA, Vista EULA here is one way to have Happy Feet.



Links;
Geemodo: WGA, OGA, Vista EULA and Happy Feet

Source of the article
XandrOS Site

Tags: XandrOS, Active directory, desktop linux, WGA, OGA, Vista EULA

WGA, OGA, Vista EULA and Happy Feet

Follow the Happy Feet, (Photo copy right of Happy Feet Movie)
M$ do something other than Balming FUD, they are coming.


With all the hoopla about WGA, that made a quite a stir, new stuff is on the way to stir up M$ scene. These includes OGA? (whats is this?) Vista EULA and WGA that is well hidden and protected should give much for Web loggers and tech writers to write about.
Sorry they already do. This morning I came across 3 such postings that made me think hard about an article that I am planing to write.
First, What is OGA? Office Genuine Advantage, just like WGA, office 2007 will carry the same disabling capabilities of Vista, rendering any documents created with office 2007. But M$ does not say that out right, just that it has that right to do so. Read about that right later.
ZDNets All about Microsoft states, "Buried in a Knowledge Base article that Microsoft published to the Web on November 14 are details of Microsoft’s plans to combat Office 2007 piracy via new Office Genuine Advantage lockdowns."
"But now Microsoft’s intentions are clear: Just as it is doing with Vista, Microsoft plans to incorporate what basically amounts to a “kill switch” into Office 2007. Office 2007 users who can’t or won’t pass activation muster within a set time period will be moved into “reduced-functionality mode,” according to Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article."
Read more at the link given below.
The other article I would like to bring to your attention is the one from Security Focus. I did not go there looking for vista, I was just checking security stuff when I noticed the article "Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries" by Mark Rasch. It was a really a good writing that I gulped all four pages in one go.The article is full of information and too long to summarize here. But I will add the last paragraph here;
"And what if Microsoft is wrong, and they disable your software erroneously? Well, you can keep buying and activating their software until you are successful. And that means more fees to Redmond. Or, following the movie “Happy Feet,” you can decide to find software with a little penguin on it."

Links;
ZDNets All about Microsoft article Yes, there is an Office 2007 'kill switch'
Security Focus Vista EULA

Tags: WGA, OGA, Vista EULA, Happy Feet, office 2007, kill switch, ballmer fud

WGA = SPP, SPP=Kill Switch, Killed Vista => Linux Desktop!

All the Linux fans and developers of desktop software should rejoice! Today is the day of the beginning of new era for Linux desktops and distros. The server side of Linux is taking care of itself with the likes of Redhat, SUSE, Centos and the likes. But the desktops are in the form of waking up. Some of them are already in the acceptable form of cooperate desktop.
Well today's blogsphere is awash with news about SPP or the new version of WGA that will come with Vista. Knowing the way WGA behaved, SPP will also will lead to false positives. There is a difference right now. Imagine you are a big cooperation with 1000's of machines running M$ vista. Since M$ is focusing on eliminating piracy of Volume licensed keys, (Volume license allows a cooperation to use a single key on multiple machines), guess what is going to happen!
Lone user of XP that was falsely recognized as a pirated copy may spend time on the phone to get his copy validated again. But a cooperation or business with hundreds or thousands of desktops does not have time to do so. Frustration will build up.
These cooperation's and users are bound to windows because of applications they use. These applications are the life blood of their day to day work. If these applications ran on any platform, I don't think these companies care. So why they are not selecting Linux?
Knowledge!! The Linux distributions like Xandros have done a lot on their distribution and Xandros can run most of the business applications. Most of the other proprietary applications (likes of Oracle etc) are slowly moving to web and dependency on OS is slowly veining.
So Linux should plan to bring about a marketing campaign tied to Vista release. Plan to promote Linux aggressively as Vista is released and bring the campaign to it's peek in about six months after Vista is out.
So the people knows when Vista, goes down, that they have another path. Xandros and like distros could offer two license per single license of Vista at a lower price. Before you know, Linux will overtake M$.

SO back to SPP, There are number of places that you can read about and better written than here are, the best aggregation of the best articles are at Computerworld's IT Blog watch. It give you enough ideas and links to other bloggers that write well on the subject.
I specially liked the way he ended the article;
"But the Best Headline award goes to Harpreet Kaur:

Microsoft To Rip Your Head Off If You Pirate Vista"

Tags: WGA, SPP, Linux, Vista, Piracy, geemodo, Geemodo security

Microsoft promotes Firefox! By driving WGA screws!!

WGA is hard to remove! It is getting tighter!! Remember the article Geemodo: removeWGA released, well according to this article forget about tools, WGA is built into Vista and you can not avoid it, so far!!
But I went ahead and read the original article and a little light bulb flashed! May be M$ will promote FIREFOX by doing this WGA thing. According to the article,
"""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."""
Well I never depended on Windows Defender, Media Player! I rarely use it and IExplorer ? I have a IE tab for those sites that depend on IE. Anyway the best part is that when people are pressed to find a solution to problems, they tend to let go the status quo and may be these people will find that FireFox is a better solution.
Now that gridtech: Apple Opens up (kernel) and we see no Worm! and better Linux desktops are mushrooming, only Vista M$ might see is the rear of the users running away!

removeWGA released

Guillaume Kaddouch, a French developer, has released a tool to remove controversial Microsoft call home spyware/ipware installed on windows based computers. I have long ago blocked it using my Zonealarm firewall. But not all who knows how to do it. So may be this is for someone who needs the protection from the benevolent software giant. I have a legit copy of windows and other software from Microsoft. I do not mind M$ checking if my computer software is legit, once! As it did previously. But calling home everyday or every boot is a no no.
So click on the headline or here to get the tool.
I will write another article as how to block using the Zonealarm. But now to information on this removeWGA tool.
RemoveWGA is a response to MicrosoftÂ’s revelation earlier this month that the Windows Genuine Advantage Notification program frequently contacts Microsoft,
"That, along the fact that Microsoft used deceptive ways to make you install this tool ...Makess me call [WGA Notification] spyware, Once the WGA Notification tool has checked your OS and has confirmed you had a legit copy, there is no decent point or reason to check it again and again every boot," according to Kaddouch.
Another feature of removeWGA can also be set to run a periodic check in the background, notifying the user if it finds WGA Notification has been silently installed.
WGA will be embedded within Windows Vista and may be Kaddouch should get a beta 2 of Microsoft Vista and help out users.
Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications is different than Windows Genuine Advantage Validation. RemoveWGA only remove the notification part, phoning home, and does not touch the Validation part.
There is an excellent article/ blog post on ZDNET covering all aspects of the WGA block, removal and autorun disable method.