Hasta la Vista, baby

Is this how the lookouts on the Titanic felt? I have read this article over several times, and I can only describe my reaction as shocked. I knew Microsoft didn't care about the little guys, but I really didn't expect this:

Under changes to Microsoft's licensing terms, buyers of retail copies of Vista will be able to transfer their software to a new machine only once. If they want to move their software a second time, they will have to buy a new copy of the operating system.

Why on earth would Microsoft do this? It is not going to cut down on piracy, it will simply further alienate the power user market. While it may improve earnings in the short term, I believe it will accelerate adoption of Mac OS X and Linux.

If I was a Microsoft shareholder, I would be hopping mad.

Update -- November 2: Vista to allow "one significant" hardware upgrade.

Giving up the land line

My wife and I talked recently about giving up our POTS. We use our cell phones most of the time anyway; we don't even have long-distance on the land line anymore.

I Googled a bit and found the Dock-N-Talk, a cell phone docking station which bridges a cell phone and standard cordless phones (which we already have). With what we're paying for POTS, it would pay for itself in 7 months.

WGA and shoplifting

Microsoft has a "shoplifting" problem, like many stores. The stores put detectors at the entrance to the store and alarms go off if the "theft protection" hasn't been deactivated. For the most part, it works OK. The employees are usually polite when it happens to someone who is obviously honest.

Their solution -- WGA -- is like a detector that goes off and suddenly slams the doors shut. Nobody shows up, but a message is on the door saying, "We have detected a possible theft. Please insert $150 into the slot in front of you to open the doors. If you think perhaps you did not actually steal anything, call this number on your cell phone."

So you call the number on your cell phone. The person on the other end already assumes you are a crook, naturally. You read off your receipt number to him and he says, "Yes, that's a valid receipt, but the doors still won't open. Sorry, nothing I can do."

You'd better hope your cell phone battery didn't die. It'll take you half an hour to track down someone to talk to.

Meanwhile, the shoplifters have learned how to cover the theft-detection devices with lead foil and slip out without the alarm going off.