Microsoft holds death of the "Kill Switch" hostage to Vista SP1

For plenty of people, a big reason to upgrade to Vista SP1 will be the death of the dreaded "Kill Switch," which in essence kills Windows if for some reason Microsoft determines your copy isn't a validly bought version. Good move...but getting rid of the Kill Switch is something that Microsoft can easily do as an update without bundling into SP1. So why hold it hostage until SP1 ships? To force you to upgrade, and make the service pack's uptake numbers look better.

First, a bit of background. The Kill Switch built into SP1 goes into effect if you don't activate a retail version of Vista after 30 days, or if you ignore a three-day grace period you're given after making so many hardware changes that Windows is no longer considered valid. Your desktop turns black, the Start menu and desktop icons disappear, and you can only copy your data files, but you can't open them. In addition, after you use Internet Explorer for an hour, you're logged off.

With SP1, the Kill Switch will become a nudge switch. As Computerworld has reported, you'll still be able to use Windows, but you'll get reminders to validate it, your desktop background will turn black, but the icons and Start menu will remain. You can still use your PC.

Should you really care about the Kill Switch if you've already validated Vista --- or if you're an IT pro? Yes, you should, because the Kill Switch is part of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation system, and that system has caused nightmares for people and enterprises because of Microsoft glitches. Back in August, many Vista and XP users found their Windows systems disabled by Microsoft because of a Microsoft server glitch. The servers went on the blink, the Kill Switch went into effect, and countless people no longer had access to their PCs.

After SP1, that won't happen, because thankfully the Kill Switch will go away. But there's no need for Microsoft to wait until SP1 to do this; Microsoft has been getting vociferous complaints about WGA and the Kill Switch ever since it went into effect. (In fact, Computerworld Editor Scot Finnie has abandoned the PC in favor of the Mac in part because of it. Check out his blog about it.)

Microsoft could easily get rid of the Kill Switch through a normal Windows Update, and not wait for SP1. But SP1, by itself, isn't exactly an earthshaking Vista improvement. You'll be able to copy files faster, get incremental battery life improvements, and there will be some plumbing changes made to improve security and overall reliability. That may not be enough to get people to upgrade. But the end of the Kill Switch may put plenty of people -- and IT folks -- on the SP1 bandwagon.

Why should Microsoft want to get so many people to upgrade to SP1? Plenty of enterprises have held off installing Vista until they see how SP1 goes. Microsoft recognizes that if SP1 fizzles, it will be much harder to get enterprises to upgrade from XP. But if plenty of people use SP1, Vista looks that much healthier. More enterprises will make the move to Vista, and Microsoft will get a whole lot of additional revenue.

All this, of course, begs the question of whether WGA should even exist. But I'll hold off on that for another blog. Until then, though, tell me about your experiences with WGA and the Kill Switch, and I'll try to include them in my blog.