Windows Genuine Advantage servers have been malfunctioning and marking legitimate copies of XP and Vista as counterfeit.That’s right, the program that Windows PCs are forced to contact on a regular basis to prove their copy is legit decided to mark them as pirated instead. Microsoft is reporting the problem is fixed but offers no apology or explanation because, like the Bush Administration, they never apologize for anything. Feh.
As mentioned here before, my next laptop will be a Mac. Rather than create products people genuinely want, Microsoft loads them down with useless bloatware and anti-piracy schemes that backfire. Clearly, they are in decline. As an example, hardcore geeks and long-time Windows users are reporting serious, ongoing, major problems with Vista. Microsoft is quickly losing the core of their support.
From Jim Louderback, retiring editor of PC Magazine
The upshot is that even after nine months, Vista just ain’t cutting it. I definitely gave Microsoft too much of a free pass on this operating system: I expected it to get the kinks worked out more quickly. Boy, was I fooled! If Microsoft can’t get Vista working, I might just do the unthinkable: I might move to Linux.
Do it! I’m running I’m running Ubuntu Linux on one PC and find it preferable to Windows, it’s faster, easier to use, and doesn’t lock up for no apparent reason.
Noted software developer Joel Spolsky says
I’ve been using Vista on my home laptop since it shipped, and can say with some conviction that nobody should be using it as their primary operating system — it simply has no redeeming merits to overcome the compatibility headaches it causes.
Chris Pirillo on Spolsky’s comments
Now, when one of the world’s leading software developers states this (privately or publicly), you have to wonder why I’ve been taking such a beating for my position on Microsoft’s flagship desktop products. Initially, I didn’t complain about Vista or any Office product without always giving Microsoft suggestions for improvement. I only complain about the things I care about – as should you.
But they stopped listening a long time ago – and the Microsoft MVP program is about as effective in influencing product direction as eating graphite makes you a better swimmer.
Why bother with Windows when better, more secure, vastly more stable and less buggy operating systems exist?
Why indeed? I know for me, I need software that they don’t make for other platforms. (Yeah, Intuit makes Quickbooks for Mac, but it doesn’t measure up, and their tax software only works with the dreaded Windows.) I know there are programs that allow you to run Vista in a wondow on a Mac, but doesn’t that defeat the purpose of switching? Does Vista run any better in a window?
When Intuit and other software makers get serious about Mac, or decide to support Linux, I’m there!
Come to think of it, why aren’t they already? With so much dissatisfaction in the MS world, you’d think the software makers would be racing to offer alternatives. Unless there’s something fishy going on…
The dissatisfaction against Vista is still mainly among the early adopters / techies / geeks and hasn’t spread to the mainstream yet. But when a product starts to lose its core supporters, then the mainstream will follow.
Sure, you might need to run a couple of Windows-only programs on a Mac using Parallels or VMWare but everything else can be Mac-based.
Within a few years I think we will have seen a major shift away from Windows, with lots more formerly Windows-only programs being available on Macs and Linux.