Re: thought police

MS has yet to change the bogus PA message about XP being installed too many times, because they use it to sucker people into buying software they really don't need. 2 Service Packs, nearly a hundred patches, and almost 4 years since XP been out and MS has yet to change it! PA is a way to FUD people into buying software they really don't need, and so is WGA.

I agree with you. Product activation is really intended to intimidate the average ill-informed single computer user. It has nothing to do with piracy, since it does nothing to reduce piracy. It has two really unfortunate consequences, in my view.

One is to inhibit people from upgrading their computers. Who knows how many users have decided that they don't want to make an upgrade, if it means they have to go through Product Activation, and maybe be denied permission to reactivate? This hits the sales of hardware, but it also boosts the sales of new machines, since people buy another box rather than trying to upgrade.

The other terrible consequence is to make people frightened to reinstall Windows. Every time they reinstall, they face the dreaded inquisition. Eventually, they figure, the verdict will turn against them, and they'll be forced to buy a new computer, or at least a new retail copy of Windows, because they'll have used up all the "reinstall" numbers.

How many people really understand PA completely? I'm guessing not one in a hundred. We see how obscure the subject is every day on this group. There are always questions about PA. Users don't know what they can do and what they can't do, and Microsoft likes it that way. The confusion increases sales. That's why they keep the bizarre OEM/Retail thing going. It generates uncertainty.
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