Mike,

>A one time registration (clicking the activate button) doesn't insult me. And thats my 2 cents. I see nothing wrong with WPA.

What about when I change my hard drive and video card and then have to call MS just to re-register a license I already purchased? Even if it takes only five minutes, who is paying for that time?

Another point I just thought of...amidst all of this piracy, do you really think that MS is "taking it on the chin" and not simply passing on extra "costs" associated with piracy losses to the consumer? You think after implementing these more stringent registration checks that they will lower the price of WIndows XP by a buck or two by saying, "Ah, there we go! We have now saved X dollars due to reduced piracy, and so we will pass that savings on to YOU!" Sure, when pigs fly. Back to the record companies...claims of piracy is one of the myriad reasons they have manufactured to claim their CD album price hikes are valid. I know you say the music stuff is a different story, but do you really think software companies don't use the same reasonings to jack up their license prices?

>As for the music stuff, thats a different story.

I understand...was just trying to get a feel for how far you will let a company go with consumer obstacles under the guise of "protecting themselves"...

JoeK