Print - WGA Garners More Attention, All of it Bad

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While Microsoft continues to both defend and roll out its spyware-like Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) service around the world, the company is facing two WGA-related threats. First, security researchers have identified a software worm that disguises itself as WGA. Second, a new class-action lawsuit was filed against Microsoft late last week, alleging that WGA is spyware and that Microsoft is misleading consumers about the technology.

WGA is a downloadable software service that Microsoft makes available via Windows Update and Automatic Updates. The service is divided into two components: WGA Validation, which checks to ensure that your PC isn't running a pirated version of Windows XP, and WGA Notifications, which is the piece that has raised privacy and security concerns. WGA Notifications was designed to display annoying pop-up alerts to users who are running pirated versions of Windows. But the software was also secretly phoning home to Microsoft servers every time an XP system rebooted. And Microsoft had made WGA a critical security update on Windows Update and Automatic Updates, despite the fact that it was until recently in beta. That means millions of users inadvertently downloaded unfinished Microsoft code to their PCs without understanding what they were doing and how the software behaved.

Since owning up to the software's clandestine behavior, Microsoft changed WGA Notifications so that it doesn't phone home on every system reboot. But the company also took WGA out of beta and began rolling out the service, automatically, to Windows users worldwide. Last week, a class-action lawsuit was filed in the state of Washington, alleging that Microsoft was violating California and Washington consumer-protection laws. Unfortunately for Microsoft, that was only the start of its WGA-related problems.

This week, security researchers at Sophos identified a worm called Cuebot-K that disguises itself as WGA and is spreading via AOL's Instant Messenger network. The worm identifies itself as "wgavn" and "Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Notification," and is installed to run each time the system boots. If the user tries to disable the worm, he or she is warned that doing so could result in system instability. Behind the scenes, Cuebot-K disables the Windows firewall and opens a back door from which hackers could remotely control the PC, steal personal information, or launch Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDOS) attacks.

But wait, there's more. A group of companies and individuals has filed a second class-action lawsuit against Microsoft for delivering spyware to consumers in the guise of WGA and deceiving consumers about its intentions. The suit complains that WGA secretly communicates with Microsoft's servers and "gathers data that can easily identify individual PCs," contrary to Microsoft's assertions.

Microsoft says the suit is without merit. "This distorts the real objectives of the [WGA] program and obscures the real issue, which is the harm to consumers posed by software piracy," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "As with all of our programs, we've gotten constructive customer feedback, the program has evolved, and we've made improvements. Microsoft continues its efforts to foster better communications with its customers."

"...the harm to consumers posed by software piracy" I love how the word "consumer" has become a synonym for "Microsoft's Bottom Line" Software piracy has harmed me about as much as a good massage. "As with all of our programs we've gotten constructive customer feedback..." So, being sued is "constructive customer feedback"? Honestly, do PR reps think before they issue statements?

I think it's time that Apple make some important decisions and release their OS for non-apple hardware. If they do it by the time Vista is released, they'll be TRUE competition for Microsoft.

I'm a software developer and believe that all users of pirated software should be dealt with. WGA might not be dealing with the problem in the right way but it is there for a good reason.

Boy am I going to sound like a shill for this, but yes, piracy hurts customers who don't pirate. Why, because it hurts Microsoft's bottom line. In order to pay for the piracy Microsoft has to raise the cost of the software. Now, has Microsoft raised it higher than I'd like... yes. But the point remains. Imagine I have a truckload of peanuts. I paid a certain price for the truckload of peanuts (production/marketing/support costs for Windows). If people start snacking on my peanuts, I have to charge a higher price on the peanuts I can sell. Now if snacking becomes epidemic (as in parts of the world), then I might decide to hire a rent-a-cop (WGA) rather than raise the price of peanuts because if you raise the price enough times, you're going to price yourself out of the market. It's a simplistic example, but follows basic econmic principles. Again, Microsoft still charges more than I like, but still less than other viable competition (*nix isn't viable for me).

I'm starting to believe that Windows is a fantastic operating system, as long as you don't attach it to a network (including the Internet).

The real problem is that pirates will almost always be able to find a way around copy protection, so there's not a whole lot to gain by including anything that alienates paying customers. (and what the hell is going on with the validation images?) On the flip side, WGA doesn't actually affect ordinary everyday users. There aren't millions of people wandering around the web wondering how to remove it because it isn't affecting them. Hell, they probably don't know it's there.

Yeah, it was a *really* bad idea for the notification service to check Microsoft's servers to see if it should shut itself off because it was in beta. I mean it's not like we'd want the program to automaticly disable itself in the event a flaw was discovered, so lets go ahead and disable the phone-home feature so that if a flaw is discovered instead of shutting off on next boot it might be 2 weeks before it can be disabled. Oh and Paul, looks like Apple is in hot water for pretty close to the same thing.

Bonch: Here's a good one for you! Mac OSX phones home regular too! http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=33959

Orion, A problem with your analogy is that peanuts are a physical, limited commodity while software is more similar to intellectual property. It only hurts Microsoft’s bottom line if the person who is pirating would have actually purchased the product which I would argue that normally they would not. For example, I used to run a pirated copy of Windows Server 2003 at home so I could learn and test the OS for my job. However, if I had been unable to obtain a pirated copy I would never have shelled out hundreds of dollars to buy the software. Therefore, I did not steal a peanut that could have been sold to someone else. We had a meeting a few months ago where we were asking our Microsoft rep. why there were so many problems for us obtaining software in the Philippines for one of our markets. He said it was because of piracy problems they were concerned with. We tried to explain that because of their fears and restrictions that our markets were using Linux instead but he did not appear to see the irony. It was the same argument that I had against the recording industry with Napster. I used to download songs from Eminem but never in my life would have spent money purchasing his CD’s, so I was not “costing” the industry any lost revenue. However, I was being unethical with MP3’s and pirated software and because of this decided to no longer download. But the main point is I do not believe the majority of pirated software/music/movies would have been “purchased” otherwise.

"A problem with your analogy is that peanuts are a physical, limited commodity while software is more similar to intellectual property. It only hurts Microsoft’s bottom line if the person who is pirating would have actually purchased the product which I would argue that normally they would not." While I might agree that people wouldn't buy music as there are a lot of options, the relatively small number of options when it comes to operating systems almost assures that a person would buy Windows (either with a new PC or separately). If you have a PC you will get Windows 80-90% of the time as most people need it and Linux won't cut it (OS X isn't free). Also the idea that pirating a copy is ok because you wouldn't have bought it anyways is morally reprehensible to me.

"Also the idea that pirating a copy is ok because you wouldn't have bought it anyways is morally reprehensible to me." No, no, no...please understand that I never said or felt it was "ok" (i.e. acceptable), but simply that it did not always affect the "bottom line" as was implied. A company should not try to determine how many pirated copies have been downloaded or distributed (obviously impossible anyway) and then extrapolate what the revenue stream would have been for each to have been sold at retail value. The majority of pirated software would not have been purchased legitimally anyway. That does not make it ethical or right...simply so.

"But the main point is I do not believe the majority of pirated software/music/movies would have been “purchased” otherwise." Real life begs to differ. Take DirecTV as an example. Several years ago the service had a relatively huge number of hackers. As of 24-36 months ago they completed the roll out of a massively more secure smartcard that remains un-hackable. DISH Network (the competing product) also worked on securing their service. The end result is that a lot of people became legitimate subscribers when prior to the smart-card swap they were hiding behind the "we wouldn't buy it otherwise" argument. This was an obvious load of crap people told themselves so they wouldn't feel they were the moral equivalent of shoplifters. Anyway, in regards to IP -- pirating might not be removing a physical asset from the market (like blatant theft), but nonetheless it is depriving others of a justly deserved income. Microsoft shareholders (which includes pretty much anyone with a large-cap mutual fund) are being hurt by piracy since they are entitled to greater dividends, or the overall financial health of the company would be better (it's already pretty darn spotless), thus leading to a higher share price. I personally say "screw the pirates." I have no problem with WGA because I have nothing to hide. MS's implementation might not be optimal, but I admire the fact they are leading the effort to keep software legitimate. I'd be perfectly happy if the entire Eastern hemisphere was forced to buy their software (or switch to Linux). Software piracy won't become a thing of the past until EFI fully replaces BIOSes and DRM is fully embedded in the most basal functions of a computer system. As I've said before, the only real benefit to EFI is DRM. I'm not looking forward to a world where the MPAA and RIAA controls my hard drive, but I am looking forward to a world where my portfolio isn't devalued by theft.

Orion: The economic principle you put forth is true and solid. They teach it in every basic economic course. Unfortunately, in practical terms, it's a load of crap. The reason is that even if Microsoft eliminates piracy, it's not going to significantly reduce the price of Windows. Especially since Windows is a monopoly - it's a whole different set of economic rules. This means that software piracy isn't really going to hurt consumers any more than it currently does. Microsoft won't cut prices back if piracy goes away, and Microsoft can't really raise prices too much higher without getting into lots of hot water. (Consumers will whine, anti-trust issues will be raised, etc). And, if you're even thinking of replying with: "That's not true, Microsoft would lower the price of Windows if piracy went away" please step back from your keyboard and take a minute or two to rethink. Regarding the Apple article: A) It was posted on MSN. I find it funny that a Microsoft news site tried to divert attention onto Apple. B) The "phoning home" that OS X does is to check for updated software - in this case, dashboard widgets. There is NO information sent to Apple about what you have installed on your computer or the copy of OS X you're running. All the thing does is check for new versions of widgets. AND - it's easy to turn it off. Of course, Windows also checks for updates automatically. MSN fails to point that out in their article. I guess their reporting is about as good as their software. ; )

"And, if you're even thinking of replying with: 'That's not true, Microsoft would lower the price of Windows if piracy went away' please step back from your keyboard and take a minute or two to rethink." Never said they'd lower prices, but it gives them more leeway to not raise prices. It allows them to spend more on R&D though they spend quite a bit (more than most companies are worth). Since there is a market cap and legal cap (as you pointed) out they have to keep pressure on their growth which is very hard to do because of market saturation. So what's left for them but to make people pay for the copies of software that they've pirated. And while the price won't drop, it will increase more slowly. Now Microsoft is having internal problems with getting features out on time, but the current situation doesn't mean the general rule is irrelevant. "Regarding the Apple article:" The apple article appears on C|Net http://news.com.com/Apple+widget+checks+raise+eyebrows/2100-1045_3-6090966.html?tag=nefd.top

Christopher, That very well may be the case in the last few years. Do you have any statistics showing a dramatic increase of subscribers or at least greater than in the previous years? I no longer associate with my unscrupulous friends of that day, but I do remember they actually purchased a programming machine between them for several hundred dollars to reprogram their cards every time they were flashed by the satellite companies. It is an ethical question more than a technology one. After 20 years of “pirating”, I can say it was easier today (a few years ago anyway) than it was in the eighties (300 Baud, BBS’s, phreaking, etc.) despite the increased prevention methods. Where there is a will there will be a way. I work for a large fast food company that I guarantee is in one of your funds. We have estimated several million lost in theft from employees (and dare I say corporate bloat). I have worked on projects using cameras and technology to aid in theft prevention; however, at best these projects, DRM or EFI will only be a deterrent for the amateurs and not for the truly unethical people (which I sadly admit that I was). There will always be thievery be it software, food, cars or Ken Lay.

"No, no, no...please understand that I never said or felt it was "ok" (i.e. acceptable), but simply that it did not always affect the "bottom line" as was implied." My response was probably too strong. I know you don't think it's ok, you said so in your first post (yes I read them). And while I do think it will affect the bottom line and I think a lot of economists will agree with me. While it's tempting to apply "common sense" to real life scenarios, the answer is often much more complex and harder to analyze. I work in financial forecasting and even I can't tell you the exact effect of this or that, but I can tell you it's complicated and can't be answered simply by what seems obvious or reasonable. Reducing life's complexities to cookie cutter logic does everyone a disservice.

The fact is, no one even knew about this behavior of WGA until someone pointed out that it was a spyware. I don't think it really bothered anyone until then. Some people probably felt there was a lot of money to be made out of this and decided to file lawsuits against the company. It seems like Americans don't seem to care much about piracy and don't realize how much it affects them to appreciate measures taken to counter it.

"And while I do think it will affect the bottom line and I think a lot of economists will agree with me." I agree...but not to the same extent. I was just giving my opinion from personal experience and from those I have known. "the answer is often much more complex and harder to analyze." Amen. The older I get the more gray the world becomes.

Lucid: "Do you have any statistics showing a dramatic increase of subscribers or at least greater than in the previous years?" You have to look at the published financials for that -- there is a spike, but it's not hugely dramatic since there are fewer pirates than the 12 million subs. The subscriber numbers up ticked, however more telling was the ARPU (average revenue per unit), which jumped appreciably. A significant amount of piracy seemed to occur from people who already had the minimal package. The smart card switch resulted in those people upgrading to something more commensurate with what they were watching before being locked out. Also telling was an up tick in subscribers to the Canadian services, since a lot of piracy comes from the north and those people, when deprived of service, can't legally subscribe to a domestic provider. Orion: "I work in financial forecasting and even I can't tell you the exact effect of this or that" Very cool... That is something I had considered. Generally speaking I find the financial realm incredibly interesting. I've worked in the ERP field for quite awhile, I suppose it basically caters to the same core instincts of streamlining and optimizing. Inventory logistics is also like playing Tetris with millions of dollars of someone else's money, so it is also a pretty fun field as well.

Orion: First, regarding the OS X article: You're right, the link here goes to C|net. I had come across that article last night, but it was on MSN's news site. Thanks for pointing that out. Still, the meat of the issue is that the OS X "phoning home" is NOTHING like WGA. Secondly, regarding the economics: I believe there is already enough downward pressure on prices. In other words, I don't think Microsoft can raise them much more without suffering some backlash. Especially since, for the first time in decades, there are real alternatives coming to the forefront. I mean, sure, OpenOffice sucks. But it's slowly catching up. And OS X is a big leap, but it's there. I mean, what's Office cost now, $649.00? That's not a lot for businesses, but for the average home user it's a small fortune! How much higher can that price go before users start looking elsewhere for alternatives? And, in any case, it's a moot point. Software piracy is here to stay. There's just too many bright people in the world for copy protection schemes to last long. Those that want pirated software will always be able to get it.

"but for the average home user it's a small fortune!" However, many home users can qualify for the educational price, which is something like $99 or $149 for the basic package. Those that can't might be covered under the OpenLicense terms from their company that allows install on other machines (laptops, and even a home PC, depending on the license -- don't quote me on that though, I haven't read the fine print in awhile). Outside of those people already served by the above two groups, who needs office? I'd hazard a guess that they would be served perfectly fine by MS Works.

"Still, the meat of the issue is that the OS X "phoning home" is NOTHING like WGA." That's what Apple claims (I'm not saying it isn't true). Microsoft claims its software does nothing more than send information about the hardware. "And, in any case, it's a moot point. Software piracy is here to stay. " Software pirates will always be one step ahead of the companies. That doesn't mean software makers should stop trying to fight piracy.

“I mean, what's Office cost now, $649.00?” a.) The educational license as Christopher mentioned is under $150 b.) Dell’s packaged “basic” version is $150 for Word, Excel and Outlook c.) Many large companies have an agreement with Microsoft called the “MS Home Use Program” where employees can purchase Office for home use around $30 “And OS X is a big leap, but it's there.” I actually came to this site several months ago when I was in the market for a new PC. I was debating whether Vista was worth the wait and wanted to read Paul’s opinions. I evaluated OS X and did determine that it is currently a more solid and user-friendly operating system; however, I decided against migrating for two main reasons: 1. Not enough support for my programs and devices (including an HP Scanner) 2. The “bonch” factor. As has been mentioned in other posts, there seems to be a fanatical zeal to MacHeads. If the people at Slashdot are indicative of a typical Mac user, I would prefer to use an “inferior” OS and not have to switch my religion. So I will happily wait until Vista releases and purchase a new PC then whether it is January of 2007 or 2008. I am content with my computing experience until then. (I also tried Ubuntu for several days but could not even get WPA-PSK to work!)

Christopher, “Also telling was an up tick in subscribers to the Canadian services” That makes complete sense. I was on a project in Toronto a few years ago and was amazed that more than half of their channels are from the U.S. No wonder Canadians on average know more about US culture than US knows about Canadian. “I've worked in the ERP field for quite awhile” Which package? I worked with J.D. Edwards (purchased by PeopleSoft later purchased by Oracle) for the last 5 years until recently…

"but for the average home user it's a small fortune!" I have to agree with Chris about this. The real price people pay for Office tends to be a _lot_ less. I picked mine up for the Educational price and now I'm paying the Upgrade price which is about $250 each time I upgrade (2-5 years). Also a lot of people will get it with new PCs and pay pennies on the dollar. Also the $650 price you quoted is for one of the big packages. Not many people will buy more than Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and that package is fairly reasonable, at least to me, in terms of price. "Still, the meat of the issue is that the OS X "phoning home" is NOTHING like WGA." Take it up with C|Net and MSN. What I was trying to say is that MSN carrying the article wasn't out of the ordinary as it got picked up by a number of tech news agencies. "And, in any case, your point about piracy is [sic] a moot point. Software piracy is here to stay. There's just too many bright people in the world for copy protection schemes to last long. Those that want pirated software will always be able to get it." The best copy protection schemes make it just difficult enough for the average person to abandon the attempt. No copy protection scheme attempts to stop everyone (one's that do are pretty silly). Copy protection designers know that crackers have unlimited time, lots of resources and lots of desire to break their design. Piracy will happen, but I think Microsoft is shooting for the $19.95 of copy protection.

"I worked with J.D. Edwards (purchased by PeopleSoft later purchased by Oracle) for the last 5 years until recently…" *shudder* Yeah, my old company "worked" with JD Edwards, too. For about three years before it was even remotely functional. They're still "working" with it. What a POS.

"What a POS" No argument there. It was because of this that I was so consistently busy as a technical consultant. I do think their World product was still high-caliber (ok, I do have an AS400 bias), but they bit off more than they could chew with their multi-platform client-server OneWorld. Their latest version still uses C++ 6.0. We had to special order it for clients!

Lucidloon: If the HP scanner you mentioned is USB based, OS X will recognize it... without any additional drivers. If it's SCSI based, then you're out of luck. But that's one of the things I like about OS X - it's not afraid to dump some old technologies. And besides, you can get a very good USB flatbed scanner for under $200 now. To drive this point home: a friend of mine was trying to get Windows XP to recognize a playstation controller (he had a USB adapter for it and some drivers from Radio Shack) so he could play some old playstation games on an emulator. He asked me for help. Just for fun, I plugged the controller into my PowerBook and without touching a single thing, OS X recognized the device. I downloaded an emulator and bam - it just worked. OS X said, "Oh, I see you've plugged in a 10 year old piece of hardware that was never meant to be used with a PC. No worries, I'll deal with it." You may notice, no drivers were needed to make the Mac work. That's the case 99% of the time. (Of course, highly specialized hardware like a 3D chart plotter is an exception, so don't start with that stuff.) I can't do anything about Bonch and Zealots, but I can tell you that if your hardware was made within the last 6 years or so, OS X will run it as soon as you plug it in - no additional software needed.

Bdkjones, “If the HP scanner you mentioned is USB based, OS X will recognize it... without any additional drivers.” I definitely read that is Apple’s claim; however, HP clearly lists all their scanners and support for Windows and Macintosh. (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/famiDocument?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=&product=15202&docname=c00014015) MS Windows is supported on 36 series of scanners while Macintosh is only listed on 23. Unfortunately my scanner is a 6250c with an ADF (automatic document feeder) and is not listed in the Mac column. I love the ADF and am not willing to part with it and while Apple does state that it “should” work because it is USB that is quite a gamble since it is not specifically listed. A software example is Family Tree Maker (Genealogy). They used to even make a Mac port and decided it was no longer beneficial to keep developing (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/macinfo.html). And while I do know there are genealogy programs available for the Mac which may even be more functional or easier to use, it was all the time that would be spent migrating software and re-learning that seemed daunting. I do agree that some technologies should be jettisoned (Floppy IDE, COM/LPT ports come to mind).

"I do agree that some technologies should be jettisoned (Floppy IDE, COM/LPT ports come to mind)." I agree in general, but there was a time when companies where trying to abandon PS2 ports for USB, but all devices on a single USB controller share the same pipe and I like having dedicated keyboard and mouse pipes especially since I like mice and keyboards being responsive. Now USB 2.0 has come along and the pipe is much bigger and support for the USB exists in the BIOS, so now I've reversed my position and am fully behind replacing the PS2 ports. The moral of the story: don't replace ports before you're ready.

"Which package?" I developed for IFS for several years (custom task-based client, B2B interoperability, etc). I also did a lot of projects that interfaced with SAP and Oracle E-Business (our clients), but I wouldn't consider myself a master on those systems. For the last couple years I've been working on MS Dynamics AX. I hate to sound like a marketing shill, but it has been, bar none, the most configurable system I've worked with. It includes reams of developer documentation, plus all the tools built in (fairly decent IDE with debugging) so that you can extend the system to suit any conceivable need. It's a simple matter to create ERP apps for Windows Mobile based barcode scanners, etc. Plus, because of the extensibility you can pretty write custom external software from scratch with surprisingly little resistance. MS has been the only supplier who seems to actively support that. The competition seems to thrive on the support revenue and discourages modifications unless procured through their "solution provider" network. Generally speaking I find ERP desktop-clients to be dreadfully miserable. They are almost always far too complicated for the level of workers interfacing with the system (warehouse, production, logistics, etc). Part of the reason I've become a strong Axapta advocate is that they provide a multitude of means to escape the fundamental UI problem. I have a few architectural and core-functionality nitpicks, but they have no bearing on the end-user experience and my ability to extend the system.

"I can't do anything about Bonch and Zealots, but I can tell you that if your hardware was made within the last 6 years or so, OS X will run it as soon as you plug it in - no additional software needed." That sounds like a challenge. I love a challenge. I have a SONY DRX810-UL Dual-Layer DVD burner (Combo USB2/FireWire) attached to the PC I'm using to write this post. I bought it FOR the PC, because it specifically did NOT state on the packaging that it was Mac-compatible. I've never even tried to hook it up to the Mac. Seriously. I'm going to disconnect it and hook it up to the Mac. Let's see what happens. ----- Holy cow. Um...it worked! Seriously, I didn't expect it to. No driver download needed, either...the thing just freaking worked. OK, now for the obvious question: Why doesn't SONY advertise that this unit is Mac-compatible? I actually bought a POS Iomega DVD burner (that refuses to work with several brands of media) for the Mac because the SONY didn't appear to be Mac-compatible, and the Iomega unit said it was--right on the box. I even had the sales rep at the store look up information on SONY's website to see if this drive would work on the Mac. It wasn't listed, so I bought the Iomega POS instead. Of course, now that I know it DOES work on the Mac, I'll swap the two drives, but WTF? Why would SONY be so stupid as to risk losing a sale (which they did!)? And, um...thanks "bdkjones" for the idea. I'd have never thought of it without you (and I apologize, because my intent was to prove you wrong!).

Since I had nothing better to do, I searched for the product on google. The very first link is a review on cnet.com.au, which mentions that the product is compatible with macs. :-)

"I'm going to disconnect it and hook it up to the Mac. Let's see what happens." Neither Apple nor Microsoft are idiots. Nor are the device manufacturers. OS X and Windows both have excellent driver support. I will give Apple props for going out of their way to get more hardware supported on the Mac. Job well done. Now, what I do find irritating is that Apple's Mac commercials, though entertaining, are trying to spread FUD. Very, very few device makers would make a device Mac only. Why target the 10% when you can have the 90% unless you're trying to reach a niche market with higher margin items. And why do a lot of devices have a driver and software CD for Windows? Because Windows provides a universal set of functions for all devices of a certain class, but not functionality specific to that device that falls outside the universal set. Very rarely do I have to install additional software from the CD. It almost always works right from the CD. Now XP is getting up there in age so a lot of hardware has to be downloaded from Windows update post-install, but that's because there have been fewer versions. Now Apple may do the same behind the scenes and not tell you, but I garuntee you it also has to download drivers for new hardware when it comes out.

Lud: Trust me, your scanner will work. I realize it may not be listed in the "mac column" on HP's website. Neither are 3 of the 4 HP printers that I use with my PowerBook. All of them work. And not just work, I mean that all the little things like the self-alignment of the printheads when I replace a cartridge and all the little color options work - without installing any additional drivers. Lotsamystuff: Haha, you're very welcome. To answer your question, you'll find that many companies don't explictly list OS X on their products because they just don't take the time to test them and make sure they actually work with a Mac. The rule of thumb is that if it was made after the year 2000 and it's not an obscure piece of specialty hardware, OS X will run it flawlessly as soon as you plug it in. I'm just glad you got to see OS X in action where it counts. We can all have Windows vs. Mac debates until we're blue in the face, but the proof is in the pudding - and you just got a tasty bite. ; ) I can't tell you how nice it is to show up at a friend's office, plug my PowerBook into some random printer I've never even heard of before and just print. No driver hunting; no "Add New Printer" Wizard; just my document on paper in less than 30 seconds from the time I plug in the USB cable. You've just seen the biggest reason that Windows will never win me back. And keep going. Find some other stuff to plug in to the Mac, see what happens. I was blown away when OS X recognized the playstation controller! And may I ask, did you need to install any software to make the Sony drive work with Windows? Just curious. And no apology needed mate. Always glad to help!

"The very first link is a review on cnet.com.au, which mentions that the product is compatible with macs. :-)" Perhaps you should apply for a job at Staples...or SONY! It would have been nice to have you around when I was shopping for the drive (and you'd have saved me from the pain of another crappy Iomega product).

"And may I ask, did you need to install any software to make the Sony drive work with Windows? Just curious." I did install the Nero suite that came with it (because I really don't know if the PC has the same out-of-the-box DVD burning capabilities as the Mac. Plus, it has a certain versatility I need--the same reason I use Toast on the Mac). I don't know if any drivers were installed as part of the process; it's been a while. The NERO suite is usable, hampered only by a nonstandard ugly interface and more in-your-face wizards than you'll find in a Harry Potter book.

"Now Apple may do the same behind the scenes and not tell you, but I garuntee you it also has to download drivers for new hardware when it comes out." Orion: You're exactly right, Apple does do it behind the scenes. For instance, the latest system update for OS X included support for the newest Razor phones and various other devices. I won't get into the details of how hardware support works in OS X - although it's very clever. What I will say is that you hit the nail on the head and you don't even realize it: on a Mac, it happens IN THE BACKGROUND, long before you ever plug in the hardware. The drivers are there waiting! They're BUILT INTO the OS. What you get, therefore, is a seemless "It Just Works" experience. No waiting, no downloads, no CD's, no headaches. Lotsa plugs in his DVD burner and it's ready to go. No stupid bubbles telling him to "wait while Windows configures your new hardware." No "wizard" to waste your time. It just works. And I freaking love it.

"Perhaps you should apply for a job at Staples...or SONY! It would have been nice to have you around when I was shopping for the drive (and you'd have saved me from the pain of another crappy Iomega product)." :-) "I did install the Nero suite that came with it (because I really don't know if the PC has the same out-of-the-box DVD burning capabilities as the Mac. Plus, it has a certain versatility I need--the same reason I use Toast on the Mac). I don't know if any drivers were installed as part of the process; it's been a while." No. Windows XP doesn't. That's probably due to anti-trust concerns. But you won't need additional drivers. It'll recognize the drive.

"Since I had nothing better to do, I searched for the product on google. The very first link is a review on cnet.com.au, which mentions that the product is compatible with macs. :-)" Since I have nothing better to do, I read that review. It states: "On the software side, the DRX810UL ships with burning applications for Windows and Macintosh users" That statement is 100% false. There was NO Macintosh software included with my drive, and no Macintosh support listed on the box. It may be true in Australia, but it ain't true here. Guess you can't believe everything you read. At least if it's from Australia!

"That statement is 100% false. There was NO Macintosh software included with my drive, and no Macintosh support listed on the box. It may be true in Australia, but it ain't true here." Packaging is often different from region to region (as they may not have a Mac support unit in Australia) and at different points in time. Perhaps when you bought it, it didn't have support for it, but now it does. Nothing irritated me more than when my Netgear router changed a week after I bought it and when I tried to get another one, they were now different. A minor annoyance to be sure, but I like sets of things (and now they looked different).

"The moral of the story: don't replace ports before you're ready." Orion: I like Apple because they do precisely that. For instance, the new MacBook Pros have PC Express cardslots instead of the older PCMCIA slots. Bloggers all over the web threw a fit, claiming that there were no PC Express cards on the market yet and that Apple should have waited... yadda yadda yadda. They said the same thing about ditching the floppy drive, leaving serial ports in the dust, moving away from PS/2, introducing FireWire, and moving from VGA to DVI display ports. I realize I don't use PC cards and therefore it's easy for me to talk. But, I like the idea of the tech industry catching up to Apple rather than Apple catching up to the tech industry. And, of course, what I really like is that as Apple leaves old technologies in the dust, they slim down OS X so that it doesn't have legacy code hanging around for things no one uses any more. (This process is a bit slower, but it's there.)

"I like Apple because they do precisely that. For instance, the new MacBook Pros have PC Express cardslots instead of the older PCMCIA slots." If you re-read my post you'll realize I was _only_ talking about PS2 ports and I've since reversed my position. "They said the same thing about ditching the floppy drive, leaving serial ports in the dust, moving away from PS/2, introducing FireWire, and moving from VGA to DVI display ports." There's a different between PS/2 and, collectively, floppy, VGA, serial and parallel. PS/2 is a) still being used unlike floppy and, often, serial and parallel ports and b) the replacing technology (USB) offers no advantage over PS/2 and in some cases offers a disadvantage (as in the case of USB 1.x). I have long since ditched my Serial and Parallel ports; and Floppies. "And, of course, what I really like is that as Apple leaves old technologies in the dust, they slim down OS X so that it doesn't have legacy code hanging around for things no one uses any more. (This process is a bit slower, but it's there.)" Which Apple can do, which is great for them. But Microsoft has to support a lot of older hardware because it's still used in mission critical applications. Microsoft needs to support both the software and the hardware for devices that were written/built in the 90s. It's part of it's univeral appeal and the reason people stick with the company year-in, year-out. People know that if they buy Windows, the version of Windows 3 versions later will still support it. Windows XP has excellent DOS support and is compatible with 98% of applications that ran on Windows 98 (of the applications that Microsoft knows about). Those are impressive numbers and part of their long-term success.

"But, I like the idea of the tech industry catching up to Apple rather than Apple catching up to the tech industry." You could also look at it as Apple attempting to force the industry to change before it's ready. Apple can actually afford to do this as long as their marketshare is low. If and when they get a 20%-30% share of the market (especially in medium to large businesses), things will have to change. apple will no longer be able to kill support for one technology and adopt another the way it does now. It's easy to say Microsoft should stop supporting legacy devices etc., but the position that it's in, I don't think it can afford to do it. That's just my opinion.

Oh no, I'm not suggesting Microsoft start dumping technologies and picking up new ones. I completely agree that Apple is much more nimble because of its smaller market share. I don't agree that Apple's philosophy will change as its market share increases. Perhaps when Steve Jobs retires some day it might, and that will be a real shame, but as long as he is at the helm, Apple will always be a "rebel." I hope Apple gets to around 20 - 30% market share in the consumer space and then just has some fun. I don't ever want my company turning into what Microsoft is.

Probably Microsoft should go back to having two separate divisions for the home OS and business OS, the way they did in the 90s. The business OS can have legacy support etc. The home OS doesn't need that. Also, by having two separate divisions, the home OS doesn't necessarily have to be a ridiculous subset of the professional one.

Have any of you tried installing devices in Vista? Even with the lack of drivers, the ones that do install work almost like a Mac, i.e. simple. As soon as I plug in a device (like a USB mouse), a icon appears in the taskbar for a second, and a bubble pops up saying that a USB mouse was installed. No drivers necessary. It is less intrusive than XP. Just plug it in and almost instantly it works. For my printer (it is networked), I just double-clicked on the printer icon on my network and almost instantly was able to print from it. No wizards involved. I have not tried hooking up a USB printer directly, but I am sure it would work just the same. If a driver is not available on my system, Vista automatically looks online for a driver. It never prompts, no "Add Hardware Wizard" appears, and only if it cannot find a driver do you see a dialog. In this dialog, you have some options: Insert a driver CD so Windows can look on the CD for drivers, manually locate the drivers yourself, ignore this device, or ask again later. It is incredibly painless. No "intro" screen. Only one (1) screen with choices (unless you choose to install drivers yourself. Speaking of driver issues, Vista will almost never crash because of driver problems. A couple times my Nvidia drivers crashed, but instead of seeing a BSOD, a bubble appeared and said that my graphics driver crashed and was successfully restarted. What amazed me even more was that I did not experience anything that remotely looked like a crash. Either Vista is lying or it does an incredible job of restarting drivers. I would advise anyone looking to buy a computer to wait until Vista arrives. For reasons, look at this webpage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_Vista

Some cool features (MacHeads, tell me if these are in OS X): -Transactional NTFS allows multiple file/folder operations to be treated as a single operation, so that a crash or power failure won't result in half-completed file writes. Transactions can also be extended to multiple machines. -"Previous Versions", previously known as Volume Shadow Copy in Windows Server 2003, provides read-only snapshots of files on local or network volumes from an earlier point in time. A new tab in the Properties dialog for any file or folder provides users with straightforward access to these previous versions. Also, here is a feature I am fairly certain is in OS X that has been lacking in XP: -New support for infrared receivers and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless standards; devices supporting these can transfer files and sync data wirelessly to a Windows Vista PC with no additional software.

"Speaking of driver issues, Vista will almost never crash because of driver problems. A couple times my Nvidia drivers crashed, but instead of seeing a BSOD, a bubble appeared and said that my graphics driver crashed and was successfully restarted." This is because the new driver model for Vista moves a lot of code outside kermal mode and pushes it in to user mode. Meaning fewer BSODs because crashes in user mode don't bring down the system like kernal mode crashes do.