A “genuine” advantage?

Another one of Microsoft's seemingly endless attempts to halt piracy is evolving, following a trial period.

Starting July 26, Microsoft is expanding its "Windows Genuine Advantage" program, which requires users of its software to verify their copies of software in order to receive add-ons to Windows XP.

The only plug-ins exempted from this program are security updates, like patches, due their importance in avoiding the spread of viruses and the necessity to stop hackers.

The Microsoft website explains that the validation process is simple. Upon connecting to the Internet, users will be prompted by Microsoft Update that there are available updates for them to download.

Then, once connected, all updates other than security updates will require that the user agrees to a validation process; after which an online tool will quickly validate that the user’s copy of Windows is genuine. The tool does so by scanning the PC’s operating system to determine whether or not it is running genuine Windows.

After successful validation, the tool stores a Microsoft Windows Download Key on the operating system for future use, and the updates become downloadable.

The pleasant and unexpected surprise is that customers who are found to be running illegitimate copies of Windows will have two options.

The first of these options seems like a very forgiving one, and quite a departure from Microsoft's usual hard line. The user is required to send in the pirated CD from which he/she installed the software, and fill out a 'piracy form' found on the Microsoft website. Then, that user will receive a legitimate copy for no charge! Imagine that.

The catch, though, is that Microsoft wants users to send in counterfeits of certain quality, not just any copied CD bought off the street.

To quote the Microsoft site, “for a limited time, if you submit a qualifying counterfeit Windows compact disk (CD) that meets certain requirements (high quality counterfeit, hologram) and a proof of purchase, Microsoft will send you a genuine copy of Windows for free.”

If, however, the user does not have a CD that qualifies, he/she will be expected to buy a new copy of Windows XP Home for $99 or Windows XP Professional for $149.

Back to option one, imagine what an investment Microsoft is planning to put into this initiative. It could, potentially, be committing to distributing hundreds of thousands of free software licenses of Windows XP worldwide.

Users will be going through their stacks of CDs to find those pirated CDs from which they've installed Windows XP, to see if they qualify.

For now, though, not every country in the world will benefit from this program.

Microsoft has adopted a phased approach with its "Genuine Advantage" program. It initially started on a trial basis last year, then expanded the program to more than twenty countries from February onwards, and is expected to include more and more countries in the near future.

zeid@maktoob.com

Whose Internet is it anyway?

For the past month, there has been talk about 'who runs the Internet', and it has revealed some very interesting facts that few of the hundreds of millions of computer users actually know.

Did you know that the U.S. government plans to indefinitely retain management of the 'main computers' that direct traffic on the Internet; and that, by doing so, it is ignoring calls by some countries to turn that task over to an international body.

These 'main computers' serve as the Internet's master directories and tell Web browsers and e-mail programs how to direct traffic.

Everyday, we interact with these machines, without knowing it. The primary reason why these computers are a reference for Internet users is because they control our access to domain suffixes. Which means domains like .com, .net, .org and so on for millions of sites are managed by these computers. There are 260 such suffixes, probably including country suffixes, like .jo.

Potentially, with the stroke of a button, the US government can stop all traffic to all sites with one of those suffixes.

The term being used to refer to these computers is "root" servers". There are thirteen of them, and they are managed by a private firm who has been contracted by the US government to do so.

In 1998, the US Commerce Department selected ICANN (International Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers) to handle this, with a board of directors that included international members. The idea was that, once ICANN evolved and achieved a certain set of objectives, the organization could become independant and, therefore, run by its international members.

Recently, the US government has taken a step back, saying that it would instead prefer to maintain the current situation due to "security concerns" and going as far as saying that it is essential as part of the "the foundation of U.S. policy going forward."

Obviously, the Internet's importance is not being under-estimated by the US government.

Accordingly, some European countries are considering withdrawing their support for ICANN, which could result in using different route servers, and therefore different domain names.

This potentially chaotic situation would result in a user's inability to access an American site if he/she is connected through the European servers, and multi-national companies will need new domain names, ending with a suffix other than .com for example, to allow visitors from Europe to view their sites. It's as if you have two, or even more, Internets!

There are very strong demands now for an International Internet Council, to oversee the Internet, to prevent such a fractured scenario from occurring.

Relinquishing control of something as important as the Internet can't be easy; especially for the most powerful country in the world! Who's going to be able to 'force the issue' on the USA.

Although, at the moment, the Internet is doing fine. We are not aware of how the US government exercises its control over Internet content or communications. Why not allow more international involvement? We'll have to wait and see how this saga plays out.

zeid@maktoob.com

DIGILIFE | Arcades: A thing of the past?

In the past, any serious games player would have to be an Arcade machine player!

This was in the days before there were Playstations and advanced PC capabilities.

Only an arcade machine, with its dedicated hardware capabilities could give you “arcade realism’- a phrase commonly used in the eighties and nineties to describe top quality graphics, sound and game play.

Starting with classics like Pacman and Space Invaders, and moving onto more advanced games like Operation Wolf, Outrun and Street Fighter; home computer and console games of the eighties and early nineties could not be compared with these arcade machines.

Simply, there was no substitute for the game-playing thrills offered by an arcade machine. Of course, it also meant popping in coins for a whole day. A costly, but satisfying hobby.

Over the past ten years or so, things have changed as consoles like the Playstation 2 and Xbox gave consumers a home gaming experience of better quality than an arcade machine. Not to mention the incredible advances in PC gaming.

These ‘home developments’ coupled with Internet café’s and the rise of PC network gaming centers as the new social gathering for gamers, have resulted in the slow death of the games arcade.

It seems that there’s a ‘PC gaming center’ on every corner in the main commercial areas in Amman.

Of course, it must be acknowledged that these centers provide a very different kind of experience; as the PCs are networked, enabling players to challenge one another. Network and online gaming is a very big business. It seems arcade machines, even ones with two-player features, can’t challenge the attractiveness of network gaming.

So, what has become of the good-old arcade? Look around you here in Amman, as is the case in any city across the world. How many people do you know who regularly go to arcades? Do you even know which venues have arcade machines? Or what the latest or hottest games are? I didn’t, until I started exploring this matter a few weeks ago.

Apparently, there are a couple of ‘gaming sections’ in the big malls and shopping centers, and you’ll find the odd machine in some of the sports and recreation clubs.

The quality of the games, though, is not impressive except for the arcade at Mecca Mall at which the owner seems to have, at least, bothered to import relatively new game machines. The games themselves are not stunning, but the controls remind you of why arcade machines are still unique. You’ve got flight sticks and steering wheels, rocking-cabinets and shaking machines and many customized features that really enhance the experience. Still, the novelty of these gadgets wears off, eventually, and the fact you’ve got to put in money limits the amount of fun you can have.

Tobe perfectly honest, even the arcade I visited last week felt like it was a ‘last ditch attempt’ at re-kindling the interest of young people.

Although the era of the games arcade as we knew it is coming to an end, a different type of phase could be emerging among more mature games players who want retro-arcades, with seventies and eighties machines, to re-capture the memories of their youth.

Such “retro centers’ could emerge abroad and then arrive in the Middle East. Arcades could be back ‘in’ soon. So stay tuned!

zeid@maktoob.com

TECH | Microsoft keeps its options ‘open’

It's interesting that Microsoft is keeping its options 'open', so to speak, by being an exhibitor at open source and Linux shows such as LinuxWorld, and participating in open source conferences.

There is some logic to this, apart from the general notion that Microsoft wants to keep an eye on developments in the field, which potentially threaten its business.

Microsoft, it seems, realizes that it will have to go down the open source route someday, and may even be preparing the products to do so sooner than we think.

It was well publicized last year when Microsoft made exceptions for several governments in Europe and the Far East by opening up Windows source, just to prevent these governments from building their national information systems around Linux.

That development was a major change of policy for Microsoft who has fiercely guarded its intellectual property over the years and it shows some rare humility on the part of a software goliath who usually call the shots in its relationships with customers.

It's not the case anymore. In fact, Microsoft officials are even talking about 'building bridges with other platforms to ensure collaboration'.

Simply, Microsoft needs to ensure its products are integrated with or can communicate with open source environments to maintain the happiness of its clients, many of whom will want to venture into the Linux or open source worlds.

That way, at least, they don't have to abandon Microsoft solutions to experiment with Linux.

Also recently, Microsoft professionals certifications have included open source. The Microsoft Certified Architect material, for example, covers open source tools and technologies.

The open source movement has given the IT world so much, and forcing companies like Microsoft to adopt open source strategies is just one of the benefits.

The real and now tangible benefit is the empowerment of programmers all over the world to create the software systems necessary for national progress in poor or developing countries at a fraction of the cost required to buy or license these systems from Microsoft and others.

In the Arab World, we’ve picked up on that with an impressive open source movement, that is now visible and creating Arabic applications that should serve home and business users.

Supported now by a number of donors and regional offices of IT companies like IBM, it’s looking likely that the Linux platform will emerge as a viable Arabized alternative for organizations in the region.

Linux and open source are driving a noble notion that makes the information age more democratic for less fortunate countries and societies.
Judging by the recent change in Microsoft’s strategy, not even the world’s largest software company will be arguing with that.

zeid@maktoob.com