From "Scotts' Newsletter" about Windows XP
Just as the software maker is beginning to wrap up development of Windows XP (I'm predicting the OS will finalize at the end of this month), Senators, privacy groups, and competitors are doing their level best to halt or delay the new operating system. For some, that's because of issues with application bundling (or "commingling," to use the legalese, by tying in Windows Media Player, Windows Messenger, et al.). For others, it's because of issues with Passport, Hotmail, and other Internet services that are required for some activities, and which may pose a privacy threat. There are even companies like Kodak complaining that Microsoft's built-in software for working with digital images replaces software Kodak distributes with its products. For the first time in over 15 years of writing about Microsoft products, I find myself agreeing not with Microsoft, but with the forces loosely aligned against it.
Oddly, though, it isn't any of the above that's irritates me most about Windows XP; it's Windows Product Activation that has me on edge. Scot's Newsletter, and Windows Insider before it, have produced a half dozen strong, detailed articles about Microsoft's Windows Product Activation (WPA). I've also touched upon Office XP's Product Activation in several recent issues. Even though Microsoft
is still tweaking WPA, and a final pronouncement on the "feature" will be the topic of Scot's Newsletter later in the year, I've seen enough by now to stop pulling my punches about the copy-protection scheme. Product activation is bad idea because it has the potential to significantly erode the end-user experience. It introduces
numerous opportunities for frustration. We're not talking
inconvenience; we're talking outright slam-your-fist-into–a-wall frustration.
I ran into just one example recently. Microsoft sent me a copy of the retail version of Office XP a couple months ago. I installed it on two machines, the maximum permitted. To install it on the second machine (Office XP permits a second installation to a laptop PC, Windows XP does not), I had to call the Office Product Activation support line and say pretty please. The rep gave me a Confirmation ID that I had to type into the PA screen. All went well.
Next, because of testing I'm doing on Word 2002 issues at
Microsoft's behest, I was asked to install a newer instance of Office XP (which they overnighted me) on the same two machines. So I uninstalled Office XP from both PCs and then installed the newer version on both. I didn't bother to call the Office XP PA number to activate the second machine because I had every intention of going back and using the first version of Office XP on the two machines. When I was done testing, I uninstalled the second instance of Office
XP from both machines, and reinstalled the first one. Guess what? The second machine -- the one for which I had called for the special Confirmation ID -- would not reactivate. Even when I attempted to put in the Confirmation ID I'd been given previously. That means I'm going to have to call and explain to the PA rep and try to explain what I did -- all perfectly legal according to Microsoft's license agreement -- and say pretty, pretty please. Otherwise, I've
effectively killed one of my copies of Office XP.
That's why I strongly dislike Microsoft's product activation. Because, while on the surface it sounds like it'll be fine, in practice it is going to cause numerous difficulties and mounting frustration. Far more than Microsoft is so confidently predicting.
I think Windows XP is going to wind up being the best version of Windows ever. I really, really like it. But I'm beginning to think it won't be the version of Windows I use on my primary PC. Because who needs the Product Activation aggravation? Not me. And keep in mind, I'm a reviewer. They send me the bits for free. Microsoft hasn't thought this through. Maybe others will find they can live with WPA, but I doubt I ever will. It's just too much of a big brother thing for my taste. There's a reason why Central Point
Software's Copy2PC thrived back in the 1980s. It's because people hate copy protection -- especially people who are honest. Because copy protection is a pain in the butt. And Windows Product Activation is no different. In fact, it may be worse.
A couple of weeks ago, as I pondered Windows XP with Product Activation, I asked myself. But what alternative do we really have? Well, maybe Linux is a partial alternative ... |
