This is rather long, but very worth your while to read! (Or so I think)
There are many people who gripe about product activation and how it intrudes your privacy, treats you like a crook, etc. But the real bad side of Microsoft's new "anti-piracy" effort can be seen when it affects legitimate customers in a bad way, like it did me. Listen to this rather unpleasant "experience" I just had with Microsoft. :mad:
I recently got together the parts to build a new computer for myself, since my old one was falling apart. For my OS I wanted to dual boot SuSE 8.0 and Windows XP, so I could use Linux and at the same time be able to run some programs that aren't available for Linux yet. Even though I already had a copy of Windows XP (actually I don't have it; it came with my brother's computer) I needed my own copy since my attempt to install it on my computer was rather ruinous. You see, I installed his copy of XP on my machine with one of the many cracks that are available on the internet. The crack was supposed to remove WPA from the OS. All was well until one day I tried to log onto my computer but I couldn't; every time I tried to log in it booted me off. I thought it was a virus at first, but then I realized this was exactly 30 days after I had put XP on my computer. So, obviously the hack hadn't worked. Or... perhaps it had, but MS secretly put something on my computer during one of the "automatic updates" that re-enabled it. (X-Files music playing in background) Anyway, I ordered the computer parts and a new OEM copy of XP from googlegear.com, but I ordered XP a few weeks before I ordered the parts because I wasn't sure on which parts to get at the time. When Windows XP came I didn't have a working computer since this was just a few days after XP had bombed mine, but I had a bare-bones Win 98 installation on it. "Oh goodie!" said I. "The copy of Windows XP I ordered has finally arrived! Time to use my computer again!" So, I installed it on my computer since the parts for the new one hadn't arrived yet. I was slightly concerened about how I would "un-install" it from my computer so I could put it on the new one, but it nagged me to activate so much that I finally gave in and just activated it. Besides, I thought, It's my copy; I'm sure I can install it on my other computer and remove it from this one. I've never had a piece of software not let me transfer it from one computer to another. I was very curious, though, as to how I would go about doing this, so I went to Microsoft's webpage and read "Licensing 101." My question was there:
quote:
Is it possible to transfer a license to another computer?
Consumers should refer to the terms of their license agreement to determine whether or not it is legal to transfer a license to another computer. But in those cases where it is allowed, the product must first be removed from the previous computer. Users may be required to complete the activation on the new computer by placing a call to the Microsoft Activation Center.
OK, so I got out my Eunuch Underling Lashing Agreement (EULA) where to my horror I read this:
quote:
OEM licenses are single-use licenses that cannot be transferred to another PC.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rather gay XPerience, is it not? :mad:
