MS XP Beginning Off End
by Alan Marston


Microsoft's latest anti-piracy product activation (MPA) technology is a a self-strangling device.

Buyers of new PCs may have to grapple with Microsoft Product Activation, a controversial new Windows feature. Users who buy PCs with Microsoft Windows XP could find their setup disabled if they change or upgrade as few as three components. Details of the Microsoft Product Activation (MPA) technology, a copy-protection measure, are contained in a Microsoft technical bulletin document designed to debunk fears surrounding the technology. The new process is a headache for users, as they may have to go through a relatively complicated telephone transaction or to rely on an Internet connection to activate their Windows XP software.

Though Microsoft insists the activation scheme will be unobtrusive, only those who will not see are blind to the obvious fact that Microsoft in trying to label people who copy MS software as pirates, is and has been for years the biggest pirate on the digital ocean. Windows XP surely means Windows, the Extra Pirate version. What's the big deal? Microsoft has been bringing our `new versions' of everything since DOS 1.0 and we've seen that one in three new versions is actually worse that the old version, but highly profitable to MS nonetheless. Why predictions of a sinking MS now?

Product activation of Windows XP isn't carried out using a hardware add-on like a dongle or a key disk, but instead is tied to a particular machine's configuration and will stop working if that configuration is "substantially altered." Wher the latter term is totally defined by MS.

Users are being told thay can activate Windows XP in one of two ways: They can connect directly to Microsoft over the Internet (a chicken before egg call) or they can call a help desk and give their "Installation ID" in exchange for a 42-digit "confirmation ID." Businesses should not have to deal with this activation process at all, as the version of Windows XP sold with volume licences does not include product activation technology.

Most of the controversy to have arisen around MPA since it was first revealed this spring has revolved around the process by which Microsoft gathers information about the user's hardware configuration and the way it monitors alterations. In July a study by a German firm found that the process appears to protect user anonymity and allows for reasonable upgrades. Yeah sure. Recently Microsoft bowed to user demand and revealed some of the technical details behind MPA. However, I predict that more users of Windows than ever will put 2 and 2 together and get... out a here. After all, Linux looks better than Windows, is not subject to every budding digital terrorist attack, is low-cost (as opposed to MacOSX) and supports all usual applications.