You must activate Windows within 3 days or...?
Right now, that sentence would finish with "Windows will stop working". That's all set to change however.
In a presentation regarding security features in Windows Vista's upcoming service pack by WGA senior product manager Alex Kochis, the key emphasis was on the following point:
“Based on customer feedback, we will not reduce user functionality on systems determined to be non-genuine”
Yep, that's right. Following Vista Service Pack 1, Microsoft will not reduce user functionality for illegal copies of Windows Vista, at all.
After various WGA glitches and server outages during the year, perhaps Microsoft has realised that rendering entire systems unusable isn't in its best interest. A Windows Vista system found to be fraudulent today will see a timer in which a user must activate the software. Failure to do so will see the desktop turn black, start menu disappear and files become inaccessible. Those are just a few of the countermeasures.
Users running Vista Service Pack 1 in 2008 however will avoid such inconveniences. Microsoft has opted to return to the XP-style WGA checks. If a system is found to be non-genuine, there will be no reduction in functionality but there will be plenty of reminders and prompts to inform you of your illegal software. Furthermore, critical windows updates will still be available via Windows Update. As with Windows XP, optional updates will only be available following validation of your software.
If Microsoft wants to see a big rise in Vista adoption after Service Pack 1, it's certainly going about it the right way.
Source: ZDNet.com
