Microsoft Drops XP Pirate Checks - Class action suit filed

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

Since I was speaking about class action suits the other day I thought I
would relay this story about MS's daily bed checks and how they've pissed
off end users . . .

Microsoft has stopped performing daily checks on user's machine  to track
down pirated copies of Windows XP.  Unwary Aussies were the first to
experience the joys of the daily "boot check." According to reports,
Microsoft claims the undisclosed daily check is a "safety measure designed
to allow a tool, called Windows Genuine Advantage, to quickly shut down in
case of a malfunction."  (Arf, arf - that's funnier than their claim to the
Dept. of Justice that they didn't know how to unbundle and build a modular
Media Player - it had to be tightly coupled to Windows to work.  Yeah, sure,
Bill.)

WGA Validation is still in operation, although it only checks back
periodically with the Microsoft mother ship.   The issue here is really,
once again, one of informed consent.  Many people knew that MS would check
up during updates and SW downloads, but very few (if any) were aware that it
would be done daily.

More importantly, these updates are billed as "security patches" but class
action lawyer Scott Kamber asks whose security is being protected.  He
claims it's fraud to tell people that they are downloading security patches
when in fact MS is pushing self-serving piracy monitoring software through
that pipeline as well.

He's filed a class action against Microsoft on behalf of millions of
computer users, alleging the tool is spyware.  He points to MS dropping the
daily checks as a tacit admission of liability.  All he has to do is get to
a sympathetic jury that finds the on-line agreement people click on to get
updates does not contain "a meeting of the minds" and it's coupons for
everyone and a huge payday for Scott. In another words, if they find the
contract benefits MS disproportionately compared to end users, the agreement
becomes unenforceable.

He's apparently filed in sunny California -San Diego, to be exact, once
again reinforcing my feeling that their consumer protection laws are pretty
seriously pro-consumer and that California-based businesses need to be
especially careful of how they treat their customers.  Go get 'em, Scott!

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-microsoft-faces-2nd-class-action-spyware-laws
uit-/2006/07/05/1705076.htm

It's not that I don't believe in the protection of IP, it's just that MS's
weepy tears about the money it loses to piracy don't quite match up with its
enormous profits made from monopolistic and predatory bundling practices.
Their crocodile tears are betrayed by the fact that they are one of the
*world's* biggest and richest companies.  Piracy must not be hurting them
*that* badly.  I'd venture a guess that it's actually been a factor in
making them as successful as they are and now that they are a "standard" as
a result, it's time to tighten the screws.

I'm not especially fond of them watching my computer for any hardware
changes they don't like.   I don't like their mendacity, either.  "We don't
track any personal information via our WGA or validation programs," they
claim.  That's nonsense, of course.  If they are able to identify your IP
address and your computer well enough to know if you've swapped out a NIC,
they may not be DL'ing your Quicken data, but they sure as hell know who you
are and from there, can track you all over the internet.

Big Brother is watching you.

--
Bobby G.