Sometimes I wonder what the folks at Microsoft do all day. I am beginning to think they sit around and come up with new ways to piss off what few customers they have left. I am not a fan (as if anyone is) of Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage validating software. So much so I have removed it from my machine and refuse to install, even if means I cain’t get IE7 or any of the new Microsoft applications. Now understand I DO have a valid copy of Windows XP and it even passes WGA.

Well, it seems as if WGA wasn’t enough. Oh no, I guess Microsoft still had a few loyal Microsoft Office customer they hadn’t managed to piss off yet. So they come up with a new ‘scheme’ effective October 27th (they were a bit secretive about this). It is called Office Genuine Advantage (OGA). Here is what PCWorld explains:

The company’s Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) program will require mandatory validation of Office software starting October 27, the software vendor quietly disclosed today. After that date, any Office Online templates downloaded from within the Office 2007 Microsoft Office System applications will require validation of legitimacy.

Similarly, starting in January, users of Office Update will have to validate the legitimacy of their Office software before they can use the service, Microsoft added.

Once again this only make me want to use and promote OpenOffice even more! Sure OpenOffice isn’t as powerful or as feature packed as Microsoft Office, but for the average user who doesn’t need all those extra ‘bells & whistles’ and are looking for a nice non-Microsoft, simple and FREE Office Suite, OpenOffice is the way to go.