We all know what WGA is… but for those who still are not sure… WGA is the anti-piracy mechanism MS uses to check whether users are running “genuine” OS before allowing them to download certain product updates and fixes.
Microsoft has issued an updated Internet Explorer (IE) 7 release that no longer requires Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation in order to download.
* The menu bar is now visible by default
* The Internet Explorer 7 online tour has updated how-to’s and the “first-run” experience includes a new overview
* A new MSI installer that “simplifies deployment for IT administrators in enterprises,” according to the Softies</blockquote>
Are there anymore changes or is that it? And why isn’t this available to users who already have IE7 via automatic updates? What does it matter if WGA is gone if you have a genuine OS? Is anyone gonna leave the menu bar visible, I know I’m not?
well. i don’t think this reason is the true reason. Why now?
I think FF and Opera are biting his market. Today they are dominators, but tomorrow?
M$ giving presents… M$ is “paying” companies use Livesearch because Google is the leader.
Free licenses for XP are only for companies via volume licenses, not home users. Why? because Linux is here. A lot of companies are installing Linux now. It’s free, and usually they have got an expert maintenance
Home users can’t have got an expert, but if tomorrow Linux became a real rival for home users… M$ will be for free or very cheap.
i installed ie7 on my newer pc not to long ago then you had to have the wga to download
it then as it was installing it still looked for wga >:( also so if you can download it
with out being checked for wga would it not still check for wga when installing
a trick mabe to find more pirates
Now you can D/L and install IE7 with a illegal XP.
I have got a “genuine licence”, i haven’t got problems wit WGA, but tonight i downloaded and installed this new version without WGA checking.
Linux at this stage, no matter how much bells and whistles it has (read: Beryl or Compiz Fusion), will never be a real competitor to Windows. Why ? Simply because it’s not user friendly and because software support is not even close to the one for Windows.
Business world is not switching to Linux over night… it just don’t work that way
The biggest thing for business is the hit on productivity and training costs when a new OS is introduced, which is why many businesses haven’t switched to Linux nor adopted Vista and possibly why M$ Bill initiated the free downgrade/go-back to XP for business users who bought new systems with Vista Business installed.
I think M$ have to look at the issue of those who are using IE6 and if for whatever reason they can’t get IE7, then if they want a more secure browser then they are left with firefox and opera. So I guess Bill doesn’t want to lose market share for ‘any’ reason.
But let’s not forget that IE6 is outdated as it can be. Just like Windows 98. When there is something more secure and updated, people are moving on. IE7 is free, and installation file is not that big, so it is natural they want people to switch. Before everybody complained how insecure to use IE6 is, and now when they have this option they don’t want to download it…
Well, I also use FF, I use Safari and IE7, and I use Flock. I need all those browsers to check my websites because none of these browsers is perfect and every one of them is having difficulties with certain things… As long as there is a freedom of choice, I don’t have problems with either one of them. They all have their pluses and minuses…
EDIT: Regarding my previous post… don’t get me wrong I don’t have anything against Linux, I use Windows XP, Windows Vista, PCLinuxOS and OS X Tiger on my Mac, so I’m just trying to express my experiences with Linux. I tried them all, and I see that OS X is still the biggest serious MS competitor out there…
Linux divides all its financial resources and all their hard-working volunteers between wa-a-ay too many different versions. If all those resources were pooled between six or so OSes, besides support and development being phenominal, it would probably be pre-installed on every pc and wipe out Windows within 5-10 years. Then comes the problem! Malware-writers would focus all their attention on Linux, and they’d be using the same OS to do their deed. Do you think Opera would be so secure if 80% of the market had it! Thanx but no thanx! I like a WUBI installed Ubuntu with Opera for a browser because of “protection by obscurity”, but that’s just my 2c though…
http://distrowatch.com/ Looking here, is what I mean. Ubuntu stays “under the radar” for this reason. This October is no different than any April. I’m not debating Linux-kernel…I’m talking worldwide-adoption. The “big-boys” don’t offer this kind of selection. When Firefox challenges InternetExplorer for dominance, it doesn’t hurt us Opera-users either.
IE6 SP2 is still supported by security updates and will be for some time, unlike win98 which I feel is a poor example, a browser v an operating system. So I wouldn’t go so far as to say IE6 is as ‘outdated as it can be.’
As a measure to get the obsolete IE6 out, and the more secure IE7 in, it is good. On the other hand installing IE7 creates some unsolved problems, for instance that I cannot save pics from inside Outlook Express, M$ did not patch that in XP.
Maybe others will suggest migrate to FF or Opera but I’ll stay with IE7. I don’t have any problem using it especially pop-ups. Since I’ve used IE7, I can’t remember when I have this problem. Maybe I don’t even have one. As far as I know, only with IE that I can have M$ updates, hotfix etc… which other is incompatible. Plus, OneCare Safety Scanner that can only be launched by IE7 so why should I move? And the most frustated thing when in the middle of surfing I’ve to stop caused I need to installed some addin&addon to view that page, this some kind of annoying.
