Wow — Microsoft Eases Stance on WGA?
Posted on October 4, 2007
5 Comments
The IEBlog has an interesting article up today for an Internet Explorer 7 Update. Check out this quote:
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.
[bolding mine]
Ok yeah, it seems all noble and heroic, but really — I never would’ve thought they’d relax on the WGA stance. Kinda cool, actually.
What do you think? Market-share ploy? If so, is it so bad? Think the folks “borrowing” XP will take advantage of this?
Confession Time: I’ve been using IE7 almost full time for over a month now. I still bust out Firefox when developing (I loves me my Firebug!) but for day to day use, I’ve actually been happier with IE7.
Tags: FireBug, firefox, IE7, microsoft, WGA
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5 Responses to “Wow — Microsoft Eases Stance on WGA?”
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really?
ive been looking for free download websites for ie7 but cant seem to find one.
i like ie7 more than mozilla cause for me it loads faster than mozilla. problem is… mozilla is free.
Well, here you go: download site for ie7
A visit to Windows Update would turn it up as well.
IE7 is free too. Granted, you theoretically pay for XP or Vista, but that’d doesn’t change if you’re running mozilla on the same OS
You know my penchant for open-source stuff, but I am thinking that people with hacked IE systems will most likely NOT take advantage of this for several reasons.
1. Most are probably Firefox users, and those who use Firefox know it to be a superior browser for a number of reasons, which I will not enumerate here.
2. The WGA idea was stupid it the first place, and I think people are really tired of it which is the only reason Windows is relaxing on this. Not because they want to be people friendly, I think they are more than likely seeing their ‘market-share’ drop considerably.
3. Another note on the WGA thing, I actually bought my copy of XP Pro, it cost me $400 several years ago, and I failed the WGA almost every time. Not only that, but I have had to install it a couple of times and each time I had to call their support line to activate it. Spending 30 minutes with some low level support agent in India wasn’t my idea of a good time.
I know this turned into more of a rant than a valid comment, but hey, frustration with Windows is what I LIVE for! lol
Lastly, I have been a Firefox user for about 5 years now, and the customization is way to great. I love being able to go into the back end and making Firefox look exactly the way I want. Maximum screen real-estate, dumping dumb tool bars, and the installation of modules is just way to great. My Firefox now reflects ME, not some corporate entity. That is something that even Safari users can’t brag about, even if Safari IS able to translate CMYK images. That should be next on Firefox’s agenda.
So tell me Rob, how do you really feel?
I don’t have a lot to quibble with, but regarding your point 1: I bet I’m not the only one having a love/hate relationship with Firefox.
I love the flexibility. I hate the memory issues. Etc.
Ya, sorry I hit ‘Submit Comment’ before parsing for harshness.
Memory issues do need to be dealt with though, you are right about that.
Sorry to hear about your recent ‘Comcast’ email. It’s amazing how fast and loose some of these people play. BTW, starting using Google Analytics and found it fascinating enough to download AIR, and the new Flex 3 beta. Started toying with creating my first application. Very interesting to say the least.
I have had a love/hate relationship with Adobe as well. Absolutely LOVE the product, but at those prices????? OUCH!