At 06:49 AM 7/12/01 -0500, you wrote:

>Here's more on the activation feature in windows XP.  I wish I could
>provide more technical information, but as the article states, Microsoft
>has chosen not to release a technical document listing the specifications
>of the activation feature.  It is still unclear what the decision making
>structure will be in determining which users get activated and which ones
>don't.  For example, a disability rights activist who files a 508
>complaint with the government saying that a Microsoft product is
>inaccessible might be denied activation in an attempt by the company to
>limit the reach of its critics.  Also, what happens when there is a
>system failure or a virus becomes so widespread that it forces a reformat
>or re-install of the operating system?  How will Microsoft know that this
>is not a second instillation?  If the decision is made to deny activation
>to a user, Microsoft has not committed itself to an appeals process so if
>end users allege constitutional or civil rights violations in activation
>decisions, the company can reverse decisions without the end user needing
>to go to court.  I am sure we will learn more in the upcoming weeks.
Believe it or not, but the WPA or Windows product Activation has already
been hacked and its contents found out.  You may wish to read the following
two articles located at:
http://www.licenturion.com/xp/fully-licensed-wpa.txt
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/20337.html

Justin.....




>Kelly
>
>The Wall Street Journal
>July 12, 2001
>[WSJ.com -- Mossberg's Mailbox]
>
>Users Must Get Permission
>Each Time 'XP' Is Activated
>
>By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
>
>
>Q. I have two questions about the new Activation system in Windows XP.
>First, do you really have to call Microsoft every time you reinstall
>Windows XP on
>the same PC? Second, what happens if I buy a replacement PC -- not an
>additional one, but a replacement -- and I want to move my licensed copy
>of Windows
>XP from the old PC to the new one?
>
>A. Every time you install or reinstall Windows XP, you will have to
>"activate" it -- that is, you will need to get Microsoft's permission to
>use it, either
>via the Internet or by phone. If you don't go through activation, the
>operating system will stop functioning 30 days after it is first run.
>Whether that
>activation request will be approved, and how it will be handled, is
>entirely up to Microsoft, and the company has published only a general
>description
>of the system, not a detailed set of rules and scenarios. Different
>Microsoft spokesmen answer some of these activation questions in
>different ways on
>different days to different journalists.
>
>As the public discovers the activation plan, however, and criticism
>mounts, Microsoft seems to be loosening the rules, at least according to
>the answers
>being given by spokesmen in the past few days. Here's the latest:
>
>The company now claims that in many cases, a Windows reinstallation on
>the same PC will result in an instant activation approval over the
>Internet, with
>no phone call required. That sort of instant approval might recur again
>and again, up to some numerical limit set by Microsoft. In other cases,
>you will
>have to call Microsoft to explain what's going on and beg them to let you
>keep using the copy of Windows XP for which you have already paid.
>Exactly what
>it would take to require a phone call isn't clear, but the company is
>stressing this week that it will strive to make phone calls as rare as
>possible.
>
>That sounds considerably more conciliatory than last week's description.
>But, the whole system is filled with uncertainty and seems rather fluid
>right now.
>Here's an even more surprising example, which answers the second
>question:
>
>On the issue of replacing one PC with another, a Microsoft spokesman
>tells me that "in this instance, we will err on the side of the user. We
>will trust
>that the user is doing the correct thing and not just going after
>additional activations." He says, "The process is simple: A user would
>call into Microsoft
>and say they want to transfer the license to a new machine they have. And
>we will give them a new activation code."
>
>This seems to open a big loophole in the whole activation scheme, since
>the replacement-PC explanation could be used by people who actually want
>to use
>the same copy of Windows XP on two machines. Go figure. I don't think
>we'll know exactly how this will work until after Windows XP ships on
>Oct. 25 --
>and, since Microsoft controls the system, and its exact rules are secret,
>the company could loosen, or tighten, its policies even after that date.
>
>
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Justin........
My hindsight is 20/20.........



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