Comments on: Microsoft: Can we check your software license?

Know whether your copy of Windows is licensed? The software maker might ask you this next time you visit its download site.

[Tex Murphy PI]

And they weren't doing already?

It's a good bet that Microsoft has already been doing this on the sly. Ask anyone who uses Windows update if MS checks on their licensing, and you'll get a lot of people saying "Yes."

This appears to be a worsening trend among software vendors - treating all of their customers as criminals.

For those of you who think that this observation is unreasonable, think about this.

What if you were made to show proof of ownership of your car PRIOR to having it repaired for a recall? Or to show proof that you own the car prior to being allowed to fill it with gas?

Or... you had to show proof of ownership for using your computer prior to pressing the power switch?

To hide behind the lame excuse of checking license keys just to get a patch for a defect they had coded into a product you purchased, and calling it a "Customer enrichment" proceedure is... stupid. Even for Microsoft to think that people would beleive that.

Wow, are we still in the United States of America? Or in a Communist state?

USA = no longer a free country

To specifically answer you last question, let me tell you that your
"Patriot Act" is enough to declare your country as no longer
being a free country. I am sure it may not be declared a
communist country either...

[volterwd]

Your comment

Although the general comments are true... your last comment about communism shows you know NOTHING about communism and have been infected by the capitolist propaganda america spews out every day.

[sanjef]

Yet another reason to buy a Mac

Most likely, Macs will not be supporting this technology. Most likely, Macs won't be able to play these protected CDs. Most likely, there'll be lots of returned CDs (that don't work on various consumer players). Most likely, this will perpetuate the illegal P2P online trading. Most likely, many people won't be upgrading to Longhorn (either because they don't have the supporting hardware or don't want the embedded DRM) unless they're forced into using it when it comes shipped with a new computer.

[simcity1976]

Duh

Mac's are closed systems, meaning you can't build one from scratch. you can only get one from apple, which means the OS is 100% non pirated.

any ways who would want a mac, there so behind with hardware support and power.

another reason to dump microsoft

that is another linux is getting stronger

[kahe55]

Linux? Talk to me...

I know nothing about Linux. I don't know anyone that runs it. Good? Bad?
I'm all ears.
Aloha...wkb...in the middle of the sea...

If It Walks Like A...

If it walks like a duck, talks like one and smells like one, then it probably is ... meaning to say Microsoft has come up with this nonsesne to justify spying on users of its products ... why don't they just tell the truth? They just want to sneak a peak at what's on our PC's and use the 411 for whatever purposes(s) which likely have nothing to do with software licensing issues!

True...

Are they (Microsoft) not already sneaking a peak at what's on our PC's already ...everytime we go to downlaod updates? And, speaking of those updates, I downloaded all of the ones they told me I needed, and I had more blue screens of death visit me ...which never did before the updates!

If they would make a product that's not so full of holes and so forth, perhaps we'd not need the updates in the first place???

And why do you continue to submit?

If your PC masters at Redmond are making your life so
unbearable, why haven't you given them the boot, the pink slip,
their walking papers?