Why Consumers Won’t See “Mac Genuine Advantage” Anytime Soon

Windows Genuine Advantage is a system developed by Microsoft in an attempt to thwart piracy. And with Vista, WGA gets even more pervasive. With its insane restrictions I have no doubt it will be received with open arms by a public desperately seeking for more copyright protection in their lives. Why, I constantly struggle with copyright-related guilt. Pirated music, movies, TV shows and so much software! Sometimes I cry myself to sleep at night when I imagine an unlicensed copy of Windows being installed on an unsuspecting PC. But I shall sleep better once Vista comes out and saves us users from ourselves.

However, a few bloggers have hinted that it is only a matter of time before Apple follows suit. Their logic goes something like this: When Apple’s marketshare reaches X (where X is whatever magic number their dog predicted that day) then Apple will have no choice but begin locking down their OS and crippling it with intrusive anti-piracy measures. Because that is the only way to ensure people buy OS X.

Now, in the pre-Intel days of yore (my how long ago it seems) this wasn’t really an issue. Because even if you illegally copied OS X then you still could only run it on an Apple computer. So, even if Apple took the hit by losing out on 1 sale of their OS, they won big by gaining a hardware sale to offset it. And since no one could easily build their own Apple-compatible PC they were safe.

Things have changed a bit since then I’m afraid. Now, it is difficult (though easier than it once was) but still possible to load OS X on a non-Apple piece of hardware. This means that piracy could still theoretically happen, but is currently far too small a factor to warrant investing large amounts of resources fighting.

But things become so much more different if Apple starts to license OS X. If they do that then they move away from their current model of selling hardware to Microsoft’s model of primarily selling software. And if they make that shift then they will be subject to all of Microsoft’s problems, including rampant piracy.

So, this brings up the question, “is it worth it?” Is it worth the benefits of licensing OS X (cheaper hardware, more customization, wider selection) if one has to also accept the drawbacks of things like Mac Genuine Advantage, registration codes, calling support to enable your computer and all the rest of the WGA nightmare. To me, the answer is a resounding NO. Maybe one day I will change my tune if Microsoft can prove that their system works. But I wouldn’t count on it.