Microsoft backs off (a little) on WGA
Internet Week reports that Microsoft is making WGA somewhat less intrusive.
The Redmond, Wash., company came under fire this month following media reports that WGA communicated with Microsoft each time a PC connected to the Internet. In addition, critics complained that the company mislabeled the software as a “critical update” when it was distributed through the Windows Update feature in XP, and then gave no way to remove it.
Microsoft now offers to ameliorate this behaior
To correct previous mistakes, the WGA upgrade no longer calls to Microsoft servers each time a computer launches on the Web. Instead, the software will validate the copy of Windows when first installed, and only run the check again when a new version of the tool is deployed.
In addition, WGA would be distributed as a “high priority” update, rather than a “critical update,” and a preamble added to the end user license agreement provides a high-level summary of the program, its purpose and functions.
However, the big issue of just what the software company is entitled to do to your computer after you buy Windows still remains and so far I have seen no answer to the question about disabling Windows that was raised by Ed Bott.
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