Microsoft has argued in the past that Linux infringes on their IP, but when called upon for specifics has failed to name the patents in question.

Ballmer, in an obvious threat towards open source users, has told c|net that “open source is not free, and open source will have to respect the intellectual-property rights of others, just as any other competitor will”.

For those that aren’t fluent in the language of Bullshit, that is loosely translated as “play by our rules, or else”.

One interesting quote in the interview, however, is a possible admission that Windows is in fact more expensive than Linux. After a huge campaign against Linux specifically aimed at proving that Windows has a lower total cost of ownership than it’s open source alternative, Ballmer has this little cherry:

“We are higher-priced, but we bring greater value.”

Higher priced you say? What happened to all of that “Linux is more expensive that Windows” rhetoric?

Linux users respoded to Ballmer’s accusations with the following message:

You can keep your higher prices and intellectual property. We are going to play on our own, and you’re not invited.

Is Bill trying to tell us something?

In the never-ending battle of anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better, fought bare-knuckled between Microsoft’s finest anti-piracy gang, and those who seek to circumvent their attempts to force ‘product activation’ on the masses, another blow has been struck against Microsoft.

After months of planning and scheming, Microsoft finally rolled out yet another anti-piracy measure in the form of Microsoft Genuine Advantage only to have a workaround found within hours of its release.

For those that care to know, the tactics employed by these dastardly pirates are so simple it is almost embarrassing. Simply disable the ‘Genuine Advantage’ ActiveX applet once installed, and then… well… nothing. That is it!

To me this constant battle is a waste of time. Humans are an inquisitive bunch, and everyone knows that as soon as you are told that you can’t do something, the first thing you want to do is prove them wrong! I would even argue that Microsoft (and while I mention it, Adobe) have become their respective market leaders due not only to the value and usefulness of their products, but also the fact that they are so widely pirated. Think about it. By the time you are in a moral and/or financial position to legitimise your software, you are already accustomed to one brand, and more than likely you will purchase the very product that you had used for free for so long.

Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and software activation/validation gotta be circumvented. It is the way of all things, and the sooner Billy Gates understands this he might realise that the funds used to (unsuccessfully) stop people copying his software might be better spent making said software any good in the first place.

UPDATE: BoingBoing has since posted another way to get around the validity check. Simply paste this into the address bar and press enter before clicking on Custom or Express:

javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')