damn the muse

Do I see reformat trouble in the future? Since it involves Bill Gates, maybe.

XP SP2 arrived five weeks ahead of schedule. I have a site design job on the horizon, which requires Photoshop, and that in turn means I need a functional laptop.

I hate reformats. Apart from the fact that I almost always forget to backup something, Microsoft will make me call them before I can succesfully use my laptop to full capacity. This does not make a happy Yazzy.

Starting Feb. 28, Microsoft's product security will require that customers who need to reinstall their operating system call a customer service representative to get a code that will reactivate their Windows XP system. New systems shipped from the top 20 PC makers... will be preactivated...

Hmm... so maybe I'm not screwed. Everyone else is.

"To reduce the illegal trafficking of these OEM product keys, Microsoft will 'disable' the ability to activate these direct OEM Product Keys over the Internet," the memo stated. "When a customer or reseller tries to activate using a Product Key found on the list of 'disabled' keys, the online product activation wizard will instruct them to call Microsoft, where a customer service representative can assist them further."

The customer representative will ask several questions, such as where the person bought the Windows XP system, to find out whether the certificate is authentic, the representative said.

Let me see, Best Buy owns me. My name is Yasmín, and I'm a 27 year old female law graduate with an interest in civil rights and civil liberties.

How exactly do they cross reference? Anyone can steal information. Anyone can hack XP to make it work. All Microsoft is doing is making its customer base feel more uncomfortable, and frankly it's the wrong move.