FW: more on XP activation

[Doyle Saylor <djsaylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings Economists,
In the disabled community the new XP operating system
Microsoft will introduce in October has been generating disability access
issues very strongly.  Here is a forward from "Vicug" Visually Impaired
Computer User Group" raising the issue of disabled access to the new OS XP.
Which I think could segue into a discussion about the economics and
reasoning behind XML.
thanks,
Doyle Saylor

---------- From: Kelly Pierce <kellyjosef@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Reply-To: Kelly
Pierce <kellyjosef@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 06:49:36 -0500 To:
VICUG-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: more on XP activation

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.

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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