You think Microsoft's Product Activation is Draconian?

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/02/10/07/021007opgripe.xml">http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/02/10/07/021007opgripe.xml</a><br /><br />How would you feel about installing an OS that <b><i>made</i></b> you give your name, age, home address, phone number and other personal information or your device would shut down in 30 days after applying the upgrade? That is exactly what Casio is doing to BE-300 users that buy the $30 upgrade. I couldn't find <a href="http://www.casio.com/accessories/product.cfm?section=155&product=4329&display=">anything on Casio's site</a> stating these requirements and the person in the article says it is only on the fine print on the corner of the CD's jewel case. To make matters worse, he couldn't uninstall it.<br /><br />This is crazy. Product activation? Ok. It is stopping the casual pirates and so far, I've not been bitten as an honest user. Registration requirements like this? HA! I'd sooner activate my Pocket PC with Passport, which I plan on doing right after I scrape the funge off the bottom of the hot water heater. As the author stated: "Things are seriously out of whack when, without any warning before you buy, you must give a manufacturer whatever information they demand or have your product disabled. Something needs to be activated all right, and it's our sense of outrage at the way we as consumers are being treated."

[Rirath]

Out of all things that can get me worked up, this just ain't one of them. Maybe I'm just naive, but I'm somewhat ok with being another name in a pile so big no one will ever care.

[JvanEkris]

Have you ever heard of direct marketing or SPAM ????

The pile is big, and worth a lot of money. And databases are extemely patient and good in sending you e-mails about products you do not want to own.

Jaap

[juni]

So, if I understand it right: You want to update your device and order an update cd, install it and then after 30 days the device stops working?

Strange...

[Ravenswing]

Don't know what the rules are in the US, but in the UK, Casio would be required to offer you the option of disabling direct mail and denying them the option of selling your information on to a third-party. I suspect the same rules apply over there.

I don't think I've ever had spam come from giving an e-mail address to a legitimate company, and Casio should technically count in that group. I used to hand out different addresses to different companies, so I could trace back addresses that were sold. Almost all of the spam I got on that old ISP came from a (defunct) address I had used in a newsgroup once.

The issue here is basically one of customer inconvenience (which makes Casio a bunch of idiots, but I've never been that impressed with them) and poor customer handling.

As regards the info they want, assuming the above controls on marketting apply here, I'm with Rirath. Worrying about it isn't worth the hassle.

[Ravenswing]

BTW... I assume if you ordered the CD from Casio they already have your home address...

[Jonathon Watkins]

False details are the way to go here.... .

Seriously though - the only people I give true details to are those that I buy things from - but I guess that covers this update. :evil:

Not good - I would leave as many fields blank as I could - or enter slightly altered details - so I could see if they tried to sell my detials for spam.

[Snail]

Yep, I agree with PDA Gerbil - if it's spam you're worried about, be as obstructive as you can (or give them someone else's email!) :wink:

[Paragon]

You know, it's bad enough that these guys all bought an inferior device :D (joking...well sort of) but it seems that over and over again the owners of the BE300 get sh*t on.

If in fact it was a typo to say that the info was required as the Casio spokesman says, then why did customer support not rectify the issue when the guy called them?

BTW, I'm disappointed I thought this article was going to be an MS Reader bashing. Darn! I was getting all warmed up (overheated) and ready to go!

Dave

[PPCRules]

This is what we get for not resisting when Microsoft started it. I'm not surprised at this and it will only get worse. If we'd resisted Microsoft, it might have made a difference. Casio? There's not enough weight there for anything that come of this that would deter the next company. And, of course, it's all to prep us for when we have to pay subcription fees regularly to keep our software and devices working.

[Ed Hansberry]

This is what we get for not resisting when Microsoft started it. I'm not surprised at this and it will only get worse. If we'd resisted Microsoft, it might have made a difference. Casio? There's not enough weight there for anything that come of this that would deter the next company. And, of course, it's all to prep us for when we have to pay subcription fees regularly to keep our software and devices working.
I personally don't have a real issue with product activation on end user products. I have several friends that have been forced to actually buy the product. :roll: I do disagree with it on server products. I don't know what the current status of Activation on .NET server is, but if it deactivates the server until you activate it, that is unacceptable. We've seen copies of XP and Office XP quit after being legally activated due to code glitches. Pretty rare, and an annoyance on a workstation. Even once thought and it is 100% unacceptable on a server.

DRM is a whole 'nuther thing. I have rights. Not a machine.

[farnold]

Ed, I couldn't agree more! They must be kidding. Next stage is that we have to provide a secret service file as well... Penalizing honest customers while hackers are laughing their heads off. There is just one answer to this: don't buy these products and they will learn the lesson.

[BugDude10]

I agree that we can (and must) talk with our $$$, and one could easily choose not to patronize Casio if this is it's new policy. But... can one not buy Microsoft, realistically? Can Linux/Lindows/whatever realistically do everything that the average user wants/needs to do with the software he/she already has and/or is widely available?

I'm not particularly a fan of overly agressive government action, but perhaps putting Microsoft better in its place would change this tone in the industry. And, definitely, we need better consumer protection efforts (less restrictive copyright protections, less obnoxious DRM-like efforts, less disturbing activation procedures, etc.).

[185driver]

Not to take away from the point of your post Ed, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't think WPA is doing too much to stop casual pirates either.

[Foo Fighter]

I don't have a problem with Microsoft pursuing ways to curtail software piracy. My biggest gripe is with the way WPA works. If XP can't verify your hardware config, it kicks the bucket right out from under you and completely locks you out of your system...instead of providing a grace period of say, oh, five days to reactivate. I saw the ugly side of WPA first hand last spring. When I booted my Dell rig up one morning I was greeted with a very alarming message stating the Windows couldn't verify my hardware configuration..Please contact Microsoft immediately. Here's the kicker: it wouldn't allow me to login to Windows so I couldn't do the "activation" from my desktop. I had to call an 800 number and wait on hold for nearly 30 minutes before I could talk to a technician to issue me a new license code. It turns out that the problem was with my USB Keyboard which I had moved to another port.

Other than this incident, XP has given me no problems. It is by the far the most solid OS Microsoft has ever produced. I just wish they had created a more sleek and elegant UI, instead of the childish "Luna" visual style. :roll:

[Ed Hansberry]

I just wish they had created a more sleek and elegant UI, instead of the childish "Luna" visual style. :roll:
Oh yeah, this from an OS-X user. :roll:

[Foo Fighter]

Oh yeah, this from an OS-X user. :roll:

There is far more to OSX than Aqua's pretty icons. The Quartz composition engine is light years ahead of the geriatric Windows GDI+. Quartz is vector based, built on Adobe's PDF format. The UI is fluid and beautifully rendered. Want to change the size of icons in X? Move a slide bar and the icons will grow or shrink on the fly, to any size you want. Want to change icon size in XP? Ok, well go into the Display properties and put a check-mark next to "use large icons". Ooh, how impressive, I get to choose between a fixed 16x16 or 32x32 pixel format. Wow, Windows has really come a long way since 95. :roll:

[klinux]

Ditto Foo! - From another dual platformer

But back on topic, unless it is aboslutely necessary, I always register my software with the name of Bill Gates so he (rather, his mail handlers) can get all the spam. :)

[Dave Beauvais]

Whenever possible, I fill in forms with the name, home address, and home phone number of the director of the IT department that "eliminted my position" as part of a "reorganization" in May. If necessary, I also provide a birthdate, and any other info I gathered while there.

But I'm not bitter or anything... :evil:

--Dave