You forgot that it totally screws someone from using they purchased
system as they wish, how they wish! I guess MS doesn't care about that,
though. This is MS treating the buying public as total idiots (not
saying that many aren't). I've bought store PC and I don't feel I need
a repair help unless something just dies before it's time and I want to
collect on a warranty. Software issues I'd rather deal with on my own.
Well, the good news is that MS's day is coming to an end....
CW wrote:
They talked about this at a recent TS2 in the Q&A. This is the way I
understand the new method:
Shop A builds PCs, and they run Sysprep on them before they ship (obviously) so
that the customer puts in the key, etc.
When Sysprep runs, it requires a "shop" key, which stays universal, it's not a
Windows key, it just identifies the partner.
If that user needs to get a major hardware change (warranty) it needs to be
done by that shop, as if it goes anywhere else, they won't have the matching
partner key.
So, when something goes wrong with HP, HP or an HP Authorized shop can get the
matching key, and do the repair. But otherwise, any repair would require a
completely new licence because the key will not match the partner ID key which
is rquired during the install.
MS's argument basically boils down to: hey, it helps your shop in that you know
people will come back, and it protects us against piracy and shops doing work
while stealing your software for nothing, making their build cost less.
On the other hand, it means that a lot of small shops will be in deep s*(& if they get asked to do any real work on say a tier-1 vendor (ala HP, etc.).
The argument is: hey, it will help you sell an all new machine. Maybe, but it
might just as easily piss off people that it's harder to get work done.
-----Original message-----
From: "Anthony Q. Martin" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:13:46 -0500
To: The Hardware List [email protected]
Subject: Re: [H] MS gets serious about activation
why? I bought a copy with a PC...my hardware, I own it. I don't need
vendor support after i know the system works. why should anything be
tied to hardware and what makes hardware unique? Do we now consider a
PC to be a disposable unit...don't fix it, change it, or upgrade
it....just toss it out (OS and all) and get a new one?
Ben Ruset wrote:
Why should you? You didn't pay retail price for that copy of XP. It's
sold at a discount and tied to the hardware. And the hardware vendor
is the person who has to support the OS, not Microsoft.
You want to shift your OS around to new PC's? Spend the $199 and buy
the boxed copy of XP.
Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
I kinda think this sucks, though. If I bought an OEM computer and I
decide to trash it, I feel as though I ought to be able to use the OS
on a new system. Is that unfair to MS?
