Microsoft Windows XP Launch: The eXPerience, or eXtra Painki

Article Title: Microsoft Windows XP Launch: The eXPerience, or eXtra Painkillers Required for Small Businesses? You Decide

Author: Joshua Feinberg

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Joshua Feinberg
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Keywords: Microsoft Windows XP Launch Product Activation for Small Businesses

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Microsoft Windows XP Launch: The eXPerience, or eXtra Painkillers Required for Small Businesses? You Decide

Focus on Windows XP Product Activation

By Joshua Feinberg, Editor of Smallbiztechtalk.com http://www.smallbiztechtalk.com

Copyright (C) 2001, KISTech Communications Corporation

Deck:

"Don't let the slick marketing presentations fool you. All the Microsoft Windows XP arguing in the media over the past several weeks makes impact your small business computer keep costs."

July 16, 2001

Morganville, NJ

How many a Microsoft marketing MBAs (oops, I mean "product managers") makes it take to release Microsoft Windows XP?

Give up?!? - One hundred

One to create all the sleep-inducing PowerPoint slideshows

One to click the mouse, advancing the canned slides during the demo

One to write the fairy-tale (sorry another slip, I mean "press release")

And another 97 to generate the truckloads of white papers that are supposed to brainwash you into basic cognitive process that last year's version of Microsoft Windows, you cognize the one you simply finished installing, stinks like rotten eggs

If you've been closely following the "soap opera" that industry pundits refer to as the weeks leading up to the Microsoft Windows XP launch, you're probably deed dizzy simply trying to follow the ample arguing and scandals. And that's even as ignoring the much closely followed news of Microsoft's fair ruling and the MSN Traveller outage. It's all but a full-time job, simply trying to keep up with the Boche Springer-like drama close the anticipated release of Microsoft Windows XP.

But before we go any further, and get any closer to Microsoft's planned Oct Ordinal Windows XP release date, let's take a few minutes to regroup and look at how several of these Windows XP issues wish impact your small business computer keep costs. And for those of you fortunate enough to have incomprehensible the current events as they were unfolding, consider this a quick rundown.

In this issue, we'll look at Windows XP Product Activation. Next time, I'll continue to analyze how at least another half-dozen different related issues power impact your small business computer keep cost with Microsoft Windows XP.

Smart Tags - Microsoft Windows XP & IE 6

As discussed in our Gregorian calendar month 2nd issue of "Tips", Mossberg Rattles Microsoft into Reversing Stance on Windows XP IE 6 Smart Tags (see http://www.smallbiztechtalk.com/news/archives/tips070201-bn1.htm), Microsoft had planned on mistreatment its dominant market share in the web browser space to hijack web traffic, via "Smart Tags", to its own or preferred web sites.

Microsoft Windows XP Product Activation

For years, most of us have showing wisdom unheeded PC hardware and code vendors' annoying Assurance or User Registration postcards. Regardless of whether we sweptwing this body minutiae under the rug because we were lazy, didn't sense a compelling or serious risk, or simply wanted to avoid deed beat with "special offers" (marketing-speak for junk-mail), I don't cognize many a who feared getting even for refusing to turn over personal demographic data.

Background

It's a whole new story for Microsoft Windows XP. It seems that the soon-to-be-released in operation system wish virtually go "on strike" and refuse to continue working if you don't "activate" the product during the allowed grace period.

Early reports promise that large corporate customers on enterprise site license agreements wish be exempt, as well as folk purchase PCs from certain OEMs. What simply about the rest of us mere mortals in the small business world?

Now as a freelance writer, I'm one of the 1st to condemn several casual and planned code piracy. But Windows Product Activation is a lawgiver way of enforcing compliance. Here's why.

What if Microsoft controlled ________? (fill in the blank)

Imagine the public outcry if this logic were applied in different situations.

What if, for example, a paroled felon, under home arrest and being monitored by one of those "ankle bracelet" contraptions, fails to call in to their parole officer during a "configuration change" - such as moving from room to room, dynamic clothing, or bathing? Should the articulatio plana bracket mechanically inject the person with a heavy dose of tranquilizers that can only be countered by "reactivation"?!?

What if you forget to return an due video rental on time? Should the videotape sitting in your VCR be able to disable your VCR until the rental is returned?

I can think of only one example wherever this logic applies --- parking tickets. In many a large cities, if you have a sizable figure of unpaid parking tickets, the police can immobilize your car with a "boot" until the summonses are paid.

So, we're now at the point wherever Microsoft's power over our daily lives rivals a major city's police force.

How makes Windows Product Activation affect small business PC keep costs?

So, how makes Windows Product Activation impact small business computer keep costs?

Every time a major configuration change is ready-made to a PC, your internal guru or small business computer advisor wish need to call into Microsoft Sales and plead your case for deed an unlock code. So the Inside Sales Rep becomes the judge, jury, and executioner.

And this whole process adds time (which of course means money) onto any major installation and troubleshooting efforts close Microsoft Windows XP.

Or plan B, if your hard driving rolls over due to mechanical failure, or your new PC hard driving simply necessarily a routine "rebuild" to continue functioning at peak levels, you can simply throw away the copy of Microsoft Windows XP that you already own and buy another!

Concerns over privacy abuse with Windows Product Activation

Also consider the privacy issues. Once you at first activate Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft takes a "snapshot" of your hardware baseline configuration. Think of it like a fingerprint.

Posted privacy policies not withstanding, do you actually think Microsoft won't be tempted to "sell" or "barter" a list of millions of folk who are activated for Windows XP, but have a sub-optimal figure of RAM?

I cognize if I were VP of marketing at a institution like Kingston Technology, I'd love to get my hands on that database.

What simply about folk who activate Microsoft Windows XP with broadband Cyberspace access and no personal firewall? Forgetting simply about hackers who would-be eat that stuff up alive, think simply about the ISVs who sell personal firewall software. What a scandal that breach of privacy would-be be!

Note: Microsoft's official statement on Windows XP Product Activation is set at http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWSXP/guide/activation.asp

The Bottom Line

Microsoft Windows XP may offer several features that ultimately reduce your small business computer keep costs. However, don't let the slick marketing presentations fool you. All the Windows XP arguing in the media over the past several weeks makes impact small businesses.

In the last issue of "Tips", we recapped how The Wall Street Journal's award-winning Personal Technology journalist Conductor Mossberg raised public awareness of the dangers of "Smart Tags" in Windows XP and Cyberspace Human 6. This week, we looked at Windows XP Product Activation and how Microsoft's latest attempt at combating code piracy means major headaches for small business internal gurus and computer consultants.

In the next installment of "Tips", we'll continue to focus on the coming Microsoft Windows XP product launch and how various third party news stories provide a valuable glimpse into what to expect from Microsoft Windows products going forward.

Copyright (C) 2001, KISTech Communications Corporation

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AND

Joshua Feinberg is an internationally recognized small business technology expert, consultant, columnist, author, keynote speaker, and trainer. He is a publicised Microsoft Press author, as well as the creator of and two-year veteran writer of the Microsoft Direct Access
"VAPVoice: Notes From the Field" column. Discover what your extremely paid computer advisor doesn't want you to know! Subscribe to Joshua Feinberg's FREE bi-weekly Smallbiztechtalk.com "Tips" e-zine at http://www.smallbiztechtalk.com and obtain two FREE mini-reports by e-mail.

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