RE XP or 2000

[Patricia M Godfrey pmgodfrey@xxxxxxxx]

This is purely theoretical and a matter of principle, but XP inflicts
this outrageous Product Activation scheme on you. After you first boot
the machine you have only a certain number of boots before it will
deactivate itself unless you call (or maybe you can do it on the Web)
Microsoft and "activate" your product. If you should subsequently change
too many components of your hardware, Win XP might decide it wasn't
running on the same hardware it was originally installed on, and require
you to "activate" it again, with another call to Redmond ("Please,
Brother Bill, pretty please with sugar on it..." Yccch!) Now this isn't
likely to happen with a laptop, but the mere idea makes me see red. BBBG
thinks we're all crooks and liars (because the EULA requires you to say
that you do accept its terms)? As we used to say in grammar school, "It
takes one to know one."
Patricia