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Windows Genuine Advantage Servers Out
Posted by
kdawson
on Sat Aug 25, 2007 02:23 PM
from the single-point-of-disadvantage dept.
from the single-point-of-disadvantage dept.
krewemaynard writes to let us know that Microsoft has been having major problems with its WGA servers since at least Friday evening. Quoting Ars: "Users of both Windows XP and Windows Vista were writing to say that they could not validate their installations using WGA, and one user even said that his installation was invalidated by the service... The Microsoft WGA Forums are full of problem reports, and Microsoft WGA Program Manager Phil Liu has acknowledged that there is a problem, and that MS is investigating." Update: 07/25 22:10 GMT by KD :Microsoft has identified and fixed the problem and posted instructions for anyone whose system mistakenly failed a WGA check. (The link posted earlier was to a 2006 article.)
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The Downsides of Software as Service 326 comments
JustinBrock writes "Dvorak's article yesterday, entitled Don't Trust the Servers, argues that the danger of software as a service was highlighted when 'the WGA [Windows Genuine Advantage] server outage hit on Friday evening and was finally repaired on Saturday. It was down for 19 long hours.' The whole fiasco raises an interesting perspective on the software as a service 'fetish'. Dvorak highlights it hypothetically: What if the timeline were reversed, and we were moving from online apps to the desktop. Hear his prophecy of the marketing: 'You can image the advertising push. "Now control your own data!" "Faster processing power now." "Cheaper!" "Everything at your fingertips." "No need to worry about network outages." "Faster, cheaper, more reliable." On and on. I can almost hear the marketing types brag about how much better "shrink wrap" software is than the flaky online apps. The best line for the emergence of the desktop computer in a reverse timeline would be "It's about time!"'"
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HaHa (Score:5, Funny)
Nothing new here. Move along.
Aren't? (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Aren't? (Score:4, Funny)
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WGA sucks (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally I've never had problems with WPA or WGA, but this incident pisses me off just thinking about how pissed off I would be if that would ever happen to me. Microsoft needs to understand that there are limits to how much bullshit people can take, even among people who appreciate some of their software.
On the other hand it's not like I'd switch to Linux anyway. Ubuntu completely screwed up my X configuration after an apt-get upgrade that took two hours (6.x to 7.4) and I just shut the thing down. I need to move my FreeNAS to a better box anyway so that's what I'll probably do after wiping it. If I had a dime for every time I've typed su vim /etc/X11/xorg.conf I'd get me an iPhone or something.
Lack of choices suck too.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
This prompts the question of why on earth you're running NAS on a box with a head anyhow? If you're going to use a box for a NAS server, hooking up a graphics card to it is counter-productive, and using a typical GUI
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
That box also has my SVN repo but not much else, so it's never had X installed at all.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Makes me wish you could still pick up a pci video card for $5 at places.
It cant be just me who has a shelf full of pci video cards. Or maybe I should start throwing legacy kit out (my current laptop is a 500Mhz Dell, simply because its little, light and just keeps going - 2 batteries give me 5-6 hours of usage, and there are two bays...) but I just cant bear to get rid of stiff that could be useful to me or someone else...
Hell the pile of semi working laptops I have sat here very from a powerbook 100 (still works) through a dell latitude ( I think a 166 Mhz processor) through
Re:WGA sucks (Score:4, Insightful)
So let me see here.
a) You didn't read the upgrade instructions but simply assumed Ubuntu = Debian and tried to manually switch versions using apt-get.
b) Even on Debian upgrading between versions is done using dist-upgrade rather than upgrade.
c) You got lazy and interrupted the process halfway through
d) The only problem you had was that you had to reconfigure X
Now, let us hypothetically assume that Windows had a package manager that let you upgrade from XP to Vista over the net. Let us further assume that instead of following the instructions for how to use it, you run a low-level tool with incorrect command line parameters to do it the way you would have done it on a completely different system. Let us finally assume you interrupted the thing halfway through. How much do you want to bet that fixing your display settings would be the only problem you would experience as a consequence?
In a word: PEBKAC
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I have had the WGA haunt me. It comes in at the startup/login screen telling you your version of windows is pirated. It then bugs you some more about it. It offers a link to fix the problem but it is a link to a site that tells you your running a stolen version of windows and attempts to blame it on your tech support for fixing your computer with pirated software and then it says you could have bought it from a vendor who isn't reputable and could have pi
Oh boy (Score:3, Funny)
Re:WGA sucks (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:WGA sucks (Score:5, Interesting)
Are you just horribly mis-informed, joking, trolling or shilling? The missus and I have been using GNU+Linux on our laptops, desktops and servers (2 laptops, 2 desktops, 1 home server and one dedicated web server) and have never compiled the Linux kernel. The only times I've ever bothered compiling anything is if I want cutting-edge, not-even-released-yet software, and what's wrong with that?
Here's a deal for you: when there is a single day where Microsoft don't cock things up, shill standards organsations or act as an abusive monopoly then there will be a single day on Slashdot without an anti-Microsoft story.
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It's 2007. I use cutting edge software on Windows, to the point of daily builds. Never needed to compile one yet.
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Except that it does.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
For the rest of us there's always the real solution of just not using it. It's been working out pretty well for me.
Re:WGA sucks (Score:5, Insightful)
Earlier, they sued anybody with a similar GUI out of business (except Microsoft. They essentially 'created' Microsoft's market for them by running all GUI-on-x86 competitors out of the market for Microsoft)
Earlier yet, they sued anybody with a machine similar to the Apple II.
Apple has a long history of 'Innovation by Litigation.'
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Doesn't exactly prove his point, but Apple is known as a litigious company.
Liability (Score:5, Insightful)
Too bad it doesn't happen more often, and piss off more people.
Personally it doesnt effect me either way
Slashdot Delay (Score:3, Informative)
"Fight club scenario?" (Score:5, Interesting)
Man can dream...
Re:"Fight club scenario?" (Score:5, Insightful)
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Project Mayhem (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Project Mayhem (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:"Fight club scenario?" (Score:5, Interesting)
Personally, I think it's both.
Like many people here, (I imagine), I change hardware frequently, and am also cursed with being my neighbours', friends', childrens' software and hardware support. So I get this 'activation' bs regularly. Have you ever tried fixing a system that was delivered with a 'recovery' CD, that tries to access some (corrupt) partition etc...of course, no 'original' installation CDs
How long before you cut your losses and install from one of your 'corp.' CDs, or - if it's not in the family - download some streamlined thing from isohunt? Believe me, its 10x quicker than going the ms way. Shit, it's not even as if they or I did not BUY the software in the first place... Anybody want a load of VALID ms serials - you can have 'em...
The real problem is that 'activation' punishes the honest user, whilst doing little or nothing to stop the pirates...
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Inevitable - look it up in the dictionary (Score:3, Insightful)
This [microsoft.com] (redundant link) is what can go wrong, and it was only a matter of time. There is no such thing as an unsinkable ship. I believe in Murphy's Law, so long as you add the word "eventually" to the end of it.
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Toro
The bigger problem for Microsoft... (Score:5, Interesting)
The whole concept if flawed (Score:5, Insightful)
For me it started with XP. Since I can no longer interchange parts in and out of my computer without worrying about setting off the authentication, I've worked hard to get my myself and my family off Windows. I'm the computer dork in the family and if I can't trouble shoot stuff without worrying about this kind of stuff it sort of kills the fun in building your own machines.
I'm not surprised this is happening and I won't be surprised when this stuff continues to happen in the future. Please get rid of these awful 'features' Microsoft
eggs in one basket (Score:4, Insightful)
Phil Liu has workaround already (Score:5, Informative)
Additionally, I know you all are looking for an explanation/root-cause. I will get that ASAP. We are aware it is a server-side issue - the cause is unknown at this current time.
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Toro
switch to LGA? (Score:3, Funny)
I'm switching to Linux Genuine Advantage(TM) [linuxgenui...antage.org], guys. It is better and open-source!
Sysadmins! Go to work! (Score:5, Funny)
Repay the compliment (Score:3, Interesting)
Microsoft frequently shill online forums, they're even attacking the venerable ISO! From this Groklaw article [groklaw.net]:
So, this would seem like the ideal time to feed them some of their own medicine. Get over to the WGA forums [microsoft.com] and do some pro GNU+Linux astroturfing. Here was my message:
As long as you're polite and make a point it can only help the adoption of Free software. Show these people that we're not zealots and offer them a way out of the WGA doldrums! :)
Microsoft fanboi (Score:3, Interesting)
true story (Score:3, Interesting)
- A Vista installation at a company I work with 'invalidated'.
- I called Microsoft.
- A person named Josh, who had quite an Indian accent as well as a speech impediment answered and after MUCH effort I provided the information required. (Please note I have the greatest respect for people of Indian decent as well as people with speech impediments but you can, I am sure, appreciate how this makes communication difficult.)
- A few minutes later he came back on and said that 'Microsoft is currently having computer problem' and please can I call back later.
In fairness, 2 days later the machine automatically revalidated but the whole thing was rather comedic.
]{
Proof the piracy has the 'genuine advantage' (Score:4, Interesting)
If i was buying the software on a lease/maintenance agreement, things might be different, but Windows is VERY expensive, and rather poor quality. I know of no other server OS that needs frequent reboots to correct weird slowdowns, and strange resource leaks.
I am just glad that I switched to Linux when Microsoft went down the product activation route with Windows XP. They cleary think that their customers are criminals, and i'm sure most of their customers have a similar opinion of Microsoft for delivering substandard products and exercising criminally monopolistic practices.
Good ridance Microsoft. I don't miss you.
I really love these features (Score:3, Informative)
We are only a few years away from (Score:4, Interesting)
WGA doesn't have a problem... (Score:4, Insightful)
National Security Risk (Score:5, Interesting)
The dangers of software monoculture are well known, now combine that with an authentication system the government has no control over. Once the entire Windows desktop marketshare (+90% of all desktops) is using a Windows OS featuring WGA, what's to stop criminals and terrorists from capturing the datacenters that house these servers and holding a major factor in world finance hostage?
WGA can disable your running system? (Score:5, Interesting)
Why do people use that crap?
"Safety critical" (Score:3, Insightful)
Alternative workaround (Score:4, Informative)
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Retaining one's freedom has no "workaround". (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Just imagine if all those license fees, the cost of downtime for malware attacks, the cost of license following, the cost of unnecessary servers due to lack of scalability, etc., ad nauseum, had been diverted to open source development. Microsoft would be out of business now.
You have a very good point indeed - put it probably proves something other than what you expected.
Commercial software companies like Microsoft have spent a lot more resources on shaping their products into finished stand-alone packages that actually WORK... without the requiring the user to read five or six 800-pages O'Reiley books about advanced protocols or client/server APIs. So precisely because these companies HAVE spent their license fees on development that appeals to their customers, they are do
Thank god for The Pirate Bay. (Score:4, Interesting)
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