Disabling Office Genuine Advantage

To Uninstall OGA

Microsoft has released Office Genuine Advantage notification though Windows Update that displays an annoying message every time you start an Office application. The message says that the installed copy of Microsoft Office is not genuine. To get rid of this annoying thing, follow the steps below:

1. Start the Windows registry editor from the Start menu. To find the Windows registry editor, type regedit into the Search box.
   
   
   
2. Go to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall in the left pane. Press Ctrl+F or select Find... from the Edit menu. In the Find dialog, type OGA and press Enter.
   
   
   
3. You'll be taken to the registry key for the OGA installer. In the right pane, double-click UninstallString. Select the value data and copy it by pressing Ctrl+C.
   
   
   
4. Open the Start menu. Start the Command Prompt from the Accessories menu as administrator.
   
   
   
5. Paste the UninstallString above into the Command Prompt.
   
   
   
6. Run the command. Typically the command looks like:
   
   

   MsiExec.exe /X{B2544A03-10D0-4E5E-BA69-0362FFC20D18}

   
   

Windows ME (Millenium Edition) Still Lives

Is Windows Vista too slow for your good old computer? Is Windows XP too much for your computer to handle? But you don't want to spend a fortune to buy a new PC. Then get a copy of Windows ME and install it. Surprisingly, there are still copies of Windows ME on the 'Net. Get 'em before they disappear into obvillion!

• Microsoft Windows ME (Millenium Edition).iso
  
• [App - O.S. - ITA] Microsoft Windows Me (Millenium Edition).iso
  
• Windows ME BR.iso
  
• Windows ME Millenium Edition Port - Bootable CD.iso
  
• Windows ME Chinese
  
• Windows ME PT
  

The following keys can be used for RTM versions of Windows ME.

B6BYC-6T7C3-4PXRW-2XKWB-GYV33

FMMMC-G8GQH-BH9MT-YBRH3-CRD6T

Downloading Windows Vista ISO

Microsoft often releases samples of its flagship programs to its MSDN members. Among the software samples released to MSDN members are a series of Windows Vista editions. Some of these copies are leaked to P2P networks like BitTorrent or eDonkey. Below is a list of Windows Vista ISO images including those released to MSDN members:

Language	Filename	32-bit Links	64-bit Links
Chinese Traditional 繁體中文	tw windows vista x86 dvd X12-59649.iso Windows Vista x86 32位元系統繁體中文正式授權製造商裝機版.ISO (2,577,250,304 bytes)	1
English	Windows Vista All-in-One RTM build 6000.16386.061101-2205_x86Fre_Client Lrmcfre_En_DVD.iso (2,678,614,016 bytes)	1, 2
	Windows Vista English Service Pack 2 6002.18005.090410-1830_x86fre_Client_en-us-FRTMCFRE_EN_DVD.iso	1
Korean 한글	Windows Vista X86 DVD X12-59647 vista.rtm.kor.iso (2,591,459,328 bytes)	1

Related Posts

• Tools for Downloading Stuff from the Internet
  
• Resizing a Windows Vista partition with ntfsresize
  
• Using GParted To Create Dual-Boot Vista Partitions
  
• Installing Korean Windows Vista
  
• Test Driving Taiwanese Windows Vista (Chinese Traditional)
  

Microsoft Weakening? Upcoming OS Battle

Now that Bill Gates has shifted his endeavors from monopolist Microsoft to his philanthropic foundation, once invincible Microsoft is now constantly threatened by the rise of Apple and Google. With its charismatic leader gone, Microsoft is no longer a leader in technological innovation and trends. Indeed, the Zeitgeist of technology is being dominated by Google and Apple. Microsoft is facing increasing challenges in multiple fronts, one of which is the Internet.

The Internet has become an integral part of modern computing. The Internet has a potential to become a new platform from which applications are delivered on demand. Google is dominating the Internet industry based on its lead in the search market, and expanding to other markets such as cell phone industry. So fascinated with Google, people are willing to follow the trends set by Google, buy the products from Google, and becoming bored with Microsoft. Facing the threat of Google, Microsoft is desperate to take over the Internet for which it has unsuccessfully spent billions of dollars and a decade.

Apple has also stole public spotlight from Microsoft. With the help of public craze over iPods and iPhones, Apple has set out a massive marketing campaign against Microsoft Windows operating system. Thus far, Apple is gaining in sales of Macs and MacBooks.

Microsoft is also facing oppositions from the open-source world. The open source trend has released a multitude of free software whose quality rivals most products from Microsoft. Among the numerous open-source software, we can find many fine software that can be used in place of Microsoft Windows. The main contenders for the operating system market are as follows:

• Microsoft Windows
  
  Microsoft Windows come bundled with most new personal computers. Still, many people in business stick with Windows XP, reluctant to switch to Windows Vista because of many problems posed by Vista.



• Linux
  
  Linux is gaining popularity especially in the network sector. Linux is also seeing increase in its user base who's trying to find alternatives to Microsoft Windows.



• OpenBSD
  
  Another group of contenders for OS market comes from the BSD camp. Besides the popular FreeBSD, I am fond of OpenBSD.



• OpenSolaris
  
  Sun Microsystems was once a dominant player in the network server market. However, after its market share dwindling, Sun decided to release its Solaris operating system free to the open-source community. Now people can experience the stability and solid performance of OpenSolaris. It will be interesting to see if OpenSolaris can become a formidable force in the OS market.

Free and Commercial Office Suite Alternatives

Modern computing can hardly be done without office suites, that is, word processor, spreadsheet, presentation etc. The market for office suites today is dominated by Microsoft Office. The problem is its too expensive and so resource-hungry that it can't run on old computers. For Linux enthusiasts like me, the main disadvantages of Microsoft Office are its inability to run on Linux or any other open-source operating system.

So I began searching for alternative Office software I can use instead of the evil product from Microsoft. Here we go.

1. OpenOffice.org

Undeniably the best free office suite, OpenOffice.org is an open-source office suite that well integrates each office components such as Writer, Calc and Impress. It is freely available for download for Windows, Mac and Linux.

2. IBM Lotus Symphony

After unpopular Lotus SmartSuite, Lotus has shifted its focus on developing a new office suite based on OpenOffice.org technology. The interface looks a lot clean and attractive. You should give it a try.

3. Hancom Office

Best office suite for users of Asian languages, Hancom Office is developed by Korean software company, Haansoft. With good support for Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages, Hancom Office also processes English language well, of course. But its awkward English user interface may intimidate English speakers.

4. Thinkfree office

Another product from Haansoft, Thinkfree Office is made with Java. That means it can run on Windows, Mac and Linux without a problem. However, since it runs on top of Java, it may not run so effectively. There is also Web version of Thinkfree Office that you can access and use with your Web browser such as Mozilla Firefox. This means Thinkfree has a potential to become a big player in the coming Internet-oriented computing era.

5. Lotus Smartsuite

This is a very fine product that deserves attention. Now nobody seems to use it and it's being forgotten. It shouldn't be, but sadly it's true. You can still try it. It is sold very cheap on the Internet. Its major flaw is that it doesn't seem to support Unicode although it claims it does.

6. WordPerfect Suite

Still surviving office suite for niche users like lawyers and professionals, WordPerfect Suite also has good functionality. Its main strength is its wordprocessor WordPerfect.

7. Microsoft Office

You are forced to use it simply because everybody else uses Microsoft Office and hands you documents in its proprietary format. What a sad reality. Of course, you don't have to use it, let alone buy it. Use OpenOffice.org instead. Just tell your friends and colleagues to use OpenOffice.org or Lotus Symphony. Petition your school and government to use OpenOffice.org. Take action, please.



In summary, my clear choice is OpenOffice.org. I should master OpenOffice.org and make a transition from other office programs to OpenOffice.org.