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Editor's note: Three weeks after this report, Microsoft bowed to increased criticism of its copy controls policy and announced it is changing its plans for copy protection in Windows XP. Details are still being worked out, but Microsoft says it will ensure that users can make a certain (unspecified) number of hardware changes before the OS requires them to notify Microsoft and request a new activation key.

"Why should I want an upgrade that creates headaches for me?"

"I will not use software that requires me to justify my system changes to Microsoft."

"They expect me to purchase their products and then get their permission to use them? I don't think so!"

If you had any doubts about the unpopularity of Microsoft's antipiracy Product Activation feature, you can put them to rest. We asked PCWorld.com visitors for their opinions of the hardware-scanning, license-enforcement technology that is built into Office XP, recent versions of Office 2000, and the forthcoming Windows XP operating system. The verdict of our readers was a near-unanimous thumbs-down.

Citing privacy concerns, inconvenience during software installs and hardware upgrades, and just plain righteous indignation at having to ask permission to use a bought-and-paid-for product, many participants in the informal survey declared they'd just say no to upgrades that require Product Activation. Instead, they vowed to stick with their current version of Office or Windows, or look into software alternatives such as Linux, Macintosh, Sun's StarOffice, Lotus SmartSuite, and Corel WordPerfect Office.

"Microsoft is telling customers that we can't be trusted," concludes Glastonbury, Connecticut, engineer Chris Cavanaugh, who encountered Product Activation in a copy of FrontPage 2000 that he had bought for home use. When Cavanaugh wanted to install the program on a PC other than the one he'd originally installed it on, the installation program refused--even though he had removed the application from the original computer.

"Running the Microsoft gauntlet to get it changed isn't worth it," Cavanaugh comments. "I don't [work with] bootleg software. The wrong people are being punished for the actions of a few."

"Any time you create a situation where people feel coerced into something they did not agree to, they're going to be upset," says IDC system software analyst Dan Kusnetzky. "This is a pretty heavy-handed approach to protecting Microsoft from the few people who pay no attention to licensing agreements."

The furor over Product Activation may be based more on gut reaction than on the technology itself. Privacy concerns are probably the most overblown, since Product Activation transmits neither the user's personal information nor the actual identity of the hardware that is in use on the licensed machine (see " A Walk Through Product Activation").

"We don't capture or retain any information that is traceable to the user," notes Allen Nieman, Microsoft technical product manager for licensing technologies. Nieman says a Product Activation design goal from day one--aside from the primary goal of combating casual copying--has been to avoid requiring or transmitting personal information.

Hands Off My PC

But users seem not to be getting--or accepting--that message, so Microsoft has responded by making changes to the Product Activation user interface in Windows XP Release Candidate 1 to underscore that activation and registration are separate processes.

"Activation is this required activity, and it's anonymous," Nieman explains. "Registration isn't a required activity, and by definition, of course, you have to provide some personal information."

But no matter how often and how forcefully Microsoft insists that personal information isn't being transmitted, customers may remain skeptical, IDC analyst Al Gillen says.

"The problem is, first of all, do people believe that? And secondly, do people want that happening anyway? I think the answer is no in both cases," he concludes.

Microsoft may yet do more than tweak the surface of Product Activation before Windows XP ships. Lead product manager Mark Croft says Microsoft is open to changing Product Activation's behavior if user feedback suggests that there is a serious problem.

"We are keenly monitoring what the perceived issues are, versus what the actual issues are, and people's legitimate concerns about using more than one PC or rebuilding machines," Croft states.

Even after XP ships, Microsoft can change the way Product Activation servers respond to incoming data. For example, the server can be made more accommodating of the major system overhauls that power users and gamers commonly undertake.

Do the Hassle

Even if Microsoft gets the message out that Product Activation isn't an invasion of privacy, the company may lose customers who value convenience. Wolfville, Nova Scotia, reader Ron Brunton, executive staff officer for the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union, installed the Office XP preview on his computer at work to decide whether upgrading the entire office to it made sense. He then uninstalled the software and tried installing it on his home computer, to no avail. That experience was enough to sour him on Office XP. "The copy protection scheme has answered my upgrade quandary," Brunton declares. "I will not be upgrading."

Other users fear bugs and unexpected behavior could make Product Activation even more of a pain. Johnmichael P. Monteith, information services director for a Bellevue, Washington, insurance brokerage house, hit bad luck in his limited experience with Product Activation. In one case, he was unable to reinstall Office on an aging laptop that was being prepared for a new user. The company had to call Microsoft and explain that the reinstallation was to the same system originally activated. Monteith says Microsoft had no explanation for the glitch.

On another occasion, he adds, Microsoft's Web-based Product Activation was unable to get past his company's firewall (Microsoft says that this can happen if Secure Sockets Layer--a widely used protocol for online shopping--has been blocked). A technician had to go through the tortuous phone-activation procedure (see " A Walk Through Product Activation"). In light of these and other upgrade issues, Monteith says, his firm is looking at Product Activation-free software. "We have recently started issuing licenses for StarOffice...and are considering the introduction of Linux or Mac OS systems as a result of Microsoft's continued heavy-handed practices," Monteith comments.

No Big Deal?

Despite stories like Monteith's, most business users and many home users will never experience Product Activation. Microsoft treats corporations with site licenses and people who purchase new computers with Windows XP preinstalled differently: These customers will encounter the watchdog code only if they modify the system's hardware sufficiently to trigger reactivation. That could happen less often than most people fear. Microsoft's Croft says that the company aims to allow common upgrades--like installing a new hard disk and graphics card simultaneously--to pass unchallenged.

"I think the things that are going to cause Microsoft more trouble are the processor, memory, and storage requirements of these products," says IDC's Kusnetzky.

He believes that Product Activation could cost Microsoft goodwill, but whether it will drive a significant number of customers to competitors' products remains to be seen.

"Microsoft is making decisions based on Microsoft's benefit and not necessarily the users' benefit. And in the longer term, that will anger people," Kusnetzky predicts.

He adds this warning: "If you push people far enough, they will do something."