Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Windows Vista SP1 brings with it a new tweaked version of the WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) anti-piracy scheme. How does this look to the end user?

Check out the complete SP1 WGA gallery here.

Currently Vista offers two different user experiences to those considered to be running non-genuine installations of Vista [...] As of SP1, both these states are gone and if a system is considered to be non-genuine it will enter what I can call a nag state. In this state users will see:

• A nag screen to activate at logon that cannot be dismissed for 15 seconds.
• Every hour the desktop background is switched to black (it can be changed back, but after an hour it’s set to black again).
• Activation dialogs and balloon dialogs appear regularly.
• Optional Windows Updates aren’t delivered.

So, instead of losing functionality, the user is nagged to activate[...]

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Microsoft, Windows Vista, Service Pack, SP1, Vista SP1, WGA, Windows Genuine Advantage, Piracy, Antipiracy, Anti-piracy