The Computer Corner
By Charles Miller, Aug 11, 2006


Software and swashbucklers

A few weeks ago, I wrote on the subject of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage program, WGA for short. For those of you who might have missed the entire hullabaloo, WGA is ostensibly an effort by Microsoft to inform their users about software piracy and to sell more copies of Windows XP.

WGA installs itself on your Windows computer when you use the Windows Update feature, and if the copy of Windows is pirated, and sometimes even if it is legal, warning messages pop up to nag the user into buying a legal copy. The WGA software can even guide you to the website where you can find options for how to pay up and legalize your pirated Windows XP.

The fallout from this has been predictable. A large number of Windows users who were unaware their software was not legal now know the truth. Some users who knew their software was pirated are reminded they are robbers. A small number of users who really do have legitimate and legal copies of Windows are being mistakenly hassled by the messages. And probably a few users who have never read any of the warning messages on their computer anyhow are still blissfully using their computers as before.

Some computer users innocently use illegally obtained software out of ignorance, and until WGA came along they did not know they were software pirates.

Other computer users might have known they were using illicit software but did so purposely. I imagine a lot of these people turned to pirated software when they were buying a computer and confronted with the fact that a legal copy of Windows costs more than US$100 to $200 and the Microsoft Office suite of Word, Excel, and so on, sells for US$200 to $500, depending on the source.

A lot of computer software is outrageously overpriced. Witness the fact that if you, or a friend, have a youngster attending any major college, that student can go to the university bookstore and buy most major software for less than half price, and sometimes as much as 90% off the retail price! This is clearly an acknowledgment by the software companies that if they did not sell legal copies of their product at these affordable prices, the students would all pirate the software and their campus sales revenue would be near zero.

If you have someone who can buy software for you at a university bookstore, this is one way you can obtain legally licensed copies of most software inexpensively. If you do this and you are not a student, you will be in violation of the software company's user agreement, but at least you will have paid something for the software rather than stealing it.

Another place to obtain software legally is online sources such as eBay. This is actually a good place to buy legitimate software because the management at eBay enforces strict policies against illegal software and quickly removes anything not in compliance with software license agreements.

Complying with these agreements sometimes creates comical situations. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) software can legally only be sold with some hardware on which it could be used. For example, OEM Windows XP is sold by Microsoft at a considerably reduced price with the intention that it be sold with new computer hardware. If you buy an OEM copy of Windows on eBay, it might come shipped to you with an old, used video card or junk modem included-that is hardware and that makes the transaction legal!

Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044-415-153-8528 or email FAQ@SMAguru.com