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Microsoft ditch RFM
Dec. 12th, 2007 08:06 amNo, not "Read the 'effing manual" but the even more annoying "Reduced Functionality Mode".
This "feature" was introduced with Windows Vista as part of WGA which is short for "Windows Genuine Advantage". It should be noted that so far this seems to be mainly an advantage to Microsoft. I have experience in XP of the system deciding it's not genuine because of a minor hardware change and been quizzed by a Microsoft employee as a result. But at least XP lets things run relatively normally until you get around to fixing the problem.
Vista's RFM disables all applications except Internet Explorer until you fix the problem, as well as shutting down after an hour of use. Supposedly this is to force you to get the issue resolved quickly.
I fully respect a company's right to protect its revenue, but not at the expense of legitimate customers. So if you're going to implement something like that, you'd better make sure it works. Reliably. All the time. Otherwise you're saying "we're not going to let you use your computer because we think you're a thieving b**tard."
Unfortunately for thousands of users, that's exactly what's happened, and naturally a lot of users haven't been happy about this.
So what a surprise when it's revealed that Service Pack 1 will remove RFM and go back to the lower level annoyances of XP's WGA.
Of course, machines already in RFM won't be able to install it.
This "feature" was introduced with Windows Vista as part of WGA which is short for "Windows Genuine Advantage". It should be noted that so far this seems to be mainly an advantage to Microsoft. I have experience in XP of the system deciding it's not genuine because of a minor hardware change and been quizzed by a Microsoft employee as a result. But at least XP lets things run relatively normally until you get around to fixing the problem.
Vista's RFM disables all applications except Internet Explorer until you fix the problem, as well as shutting down after an hour of use. Supposedly this is to force you to get the issue resolved quickly.
I fully respect a company's right to protect its revenue, but not at the expense of legitimate customers. So if you're going to implement something like that, you'd better make sure it works. Reliably. All the time. Otherwise you're saying "we're not going to let you use your computer because we think you're a thieving b**tard."
Unfortunately for thousands of users, that's exactly what's happened, and naturally a lot of users haven't been happy about this.
So what a surprise when it's revealed that Service Pack 1 will remove RFM and go back to the lower level annoyances of XP's WGA.
Of course, machines already in RFM won't be able to install it.
