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Subject:Re: Microsoft Activation ... UGH From:stephen -dot- arrants -at- comcast -dot- net To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 15 Oct 2003 20:34:15 +0000
>
> "Stephen Arrants" <stephen -dot- arrants -at- comcast -dot- net> wrote in message
>news:216357 -at- techwr-l -dot- -dot- -dot-
> > If your Microsoft software repeatedly and regularly demands activation,
> > there is something wrong with your system. We would've heard a lot more
> > about this in the news if Word or Office or Windows did this daily.
>
> Depends on where you get your news.
Uh, Slashdot, news.com, wired.... There haven't been any threads or reports on constant reactivation problems. If you have any other sources beyond rumor and apocrypha, I'll look at them.
> > If enough consumers had problems
> > with activation and complained loudly enough, it'd be removed.
>
> A lot of consumers have PCs with Windows and Office pre-installed by the
> OEM. Those consumers don't even know about product activation. But when they
> try to upgrade or replace their PCs, that's when the customer relations
> nightmare will begin.
Why do you call it a nightmare? It isn't as if they have to give a blood sample. The process is almost automatic, there are clear, well-written instructions, and it works for the vast, vast majority of users.
> No doubt MS will eventually refuse to issue activations on their old
> products. "Old" meaning you are on a 2-3 year upgrade cycle. It absolutely
> kills MS that Win98/Office97 still works.
And what's your source for this? At some point a user has to accept that a company will end support for a product. I'd love to still be using Electric Pencil on the TRS-80, but that's not possible. A company can invest in support a swindling number of users of old products or invest in improving a product line.
Try getting support for an older open-source or shareware product. You'll probably be told to upgrade to the newest version...
> > The corporate, activation free versions of MSFT software avoid
> > this problem...
> > They are just meeting the wants/needs of large
> > corporate customers.
>
> Exactly MS was smart enough to realize that sysadmins would openly revolt
> if they had to manage activations on every client. They weren't so concerned
> about burdening individual consumers, though. Activation is for the little
> people.
No, it was more likely that the corporate environment was more secure in terms of copying the software and passing it around to whomever.
> And it's not about theft or piracy, that's a red herring.. Product
> activation is enough of a pain even if you are using a legal copy on one PC.
if it isn't about theft or piracy, then what *is* it about?
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