So Much for Rote Memorization

Some good news and some bad news from Redmond today as Microsoft announced today an end to the era of the product key:

"Microsoft said, however, that it would no longer require legitimate Windows users to enter a product code, a string of 25 numbers and letters, in order to verify that a copy of Windows is legitimate. Instead, Microsoft said it will check hardware data to verify that multiple copies of Windows aren't being installed on different personal computers.

"Customers whose copies of Windows are found to be pirated have two options: send in a pirated CD and fill out a piracy form to receive a legitimate copy for no charge; or, in the case that there is no CD or proof of purchase, buy a new copy of Windows XP Home for $99 or Windows XP Professional for $149."

I have to be misunderstanding this, because the article suggests that a pirate CD can be exchanged for a legitimate one for no charge. What's to keep me from taking an XP CD, making an ISO, burning it to a CD-R, and exchanging it for a new, legit XP disk? Clearly there has to be some kind of catch, like providing exact details regarding where you obtained the pirated disk. I suspect the offer is only valid for individuals who bought a seemingly legitimate copy of Windows at, say, a computer expo or trade show. I seem to remember a Russian pirate on eBay selling can't-believe-how-cheap-it-is copies of "Visual Sdudio", complete with misspelled labels on the CDs themselves.

(One of Microsoft's more philosophical interview questions is "If you spotted an insignificant typo in a product the day before it shipped, would you still stop the presses?" I say the answer is "Do you want to make the Russians look good?")

I dunno. I'll like not having to enter product keys anymore. I'll also kind of miss memorizing new ones. That's what I do. That's my thing. I memorize long, seemingly meaningless alphanumeric strings for fun. I've used a password that is 128-bits long. I am Johnny Mnemonic, sans chip. I wonder if Microsoft is going to pitch a fit if I try to put XP on a second PC, or if this new maneuver is exclusively intended to weed out the rampant (and I do mean rampant) piracy in China and Indonesia.