February 27th, 2007
Vista Activation Bug Forces Legit Users to Re-Activate
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
Hmmm … maybe I should continue to put off installing Vista. I was planning on doing it this weekend … it seems that Microsoft freely admits there’s a bug (fortunately, already patched by a “recommended” update) which has forced (or is forcing) users who already activated their Vista install to re-activate … even for something as simple as installing, say, QuickBooks.
“You may be prompted to activate Windows Vista on a computer on which Windows Vista activation was not previously required,” Microsoft said in a support document last updated Feb. 15. “Although this problem rarely occurs, it may occur during typical use of a Windows Vista-based computer. For example, this problem may occur under one or more of the following conditions: You install a device driver, you install a program, you run a new program, you remove a program.”
One Vista user commenting on Microsoft’s Windows Vista Validation Issues support forum reported that he ran into the bug after he had updated his PC’s BIOS. Source: ComputerWorld
We Say: Only when installing a device driver, program, running a new program or removing a program. Hmmm … that sounds like … all the time (potentially). This is one of the reasons I hate activation. Bugs. Remember when Symantec first came out with activation for their AV software, and all the bugs there were?
Lewie says:
May I compare piracy to shoplifting? Stores build some shoplifting losses into the costs of their wares. They do not typically search you when you leave. They do not weigh you when you enter and again when you leave. Yes, they have those EAS tags that the clerk invariably forgets to deactivate, but when those alarms sound nobody gets too upset if you keep walking.
I guess my point is that totally defeating the bad guys is an impossibility. I thought, based on the prices of software, the “build losses into the price” model was already in place. Apparently not. Still, with all this piracy prevention going on, shouldn’t we start seeing cheaper products?
February 27th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Freud says:
The objective is not to reduce price but to increase revenue. Selling price is determined by what the market will bear and competition.
I stopped buying Symantec products what they started in with their activation nonsense.
March 1st, 2007 at 5:35 am
Tarzan says:
I keep reading that Microsoft took a big step backwards with this OS, no surprise to me.
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:07 am