On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:51:02 -0400, jim wrote:
[color=blue]
> So pirates haven't been slowed down at all, and the rest of us -- the
> legitimate purchasers -- are left to live with Windows Activation. You
> really need to ask the question - who's benefiting here? Certainly not
> users, and given the amount of discontent this is likely to cause,
> arguably not Microsoft either.[/color]

Ah, but that's not true. Arguably Microsoft DOES benefit.

Whoever wrote this article doesn't seem to understand the big picture.
Chinese users are accustomed to getting their Windows OS for free.
Microsoft is afraid that if they can't get Vista for free, they'll
migrate towards Linux. It wouldn't do to have Linux computers become
dominant in the world's soon-to-be-biggest economy, would it? So,
Microsoft provides a "workaround" that committed software pirates can
exploit, while at the same time putting honest users in a vise to squeeze
out the last possible drop of licensing revenue.

It's called "screwing your best customers." It only works for so long,
which is why Microsoft's star is on the wane.

Charlie