[Am-info] Microsoft to activate antipiracy "Plus"

[Fred A. Miller]

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Microsoft to activate antipiracy "Plus"
=20
By Joe Wilcox=20
Special to ZDNet News
January 2, 2003, 7:26 AM PT

 Microsoft is set to release its first mainstream consumer software
application protected by product activation, in what could be a first ste=
p
toward expanding use of the antipiracy technology.=20
On Tuesday, Microsoft plans to officially launch Plus Digital Media Editi=
on
(DME), a $19.95 add-on pack for Windows XP. Microsoft has offered various
versions of Plus since the release of Windows 95. But unlike earlier
versions, Plus DME is protected by product activation, meaning that
consumers will have to enter a 25-key code to install the software and th=
en
"activate" Plus DME over the Internet.

The change comes as the Redmond, Wash.-based software titan also has been
experimenting with new methods for distributing software.

"Plus Digital Media Edition is the first Microsoft product to be sold
digitally online," said a Microsoft representative in an e-mail response =
to
questions about product activation. "In order to enable digital commerce,
we needed to use a technology that allows consumers to easily purchase an=
d
use the product as well as protect against casual piracy."

The new Plus version offers features aimed at enhancing Windows XP's
digital media capabilities, such as creating stories using digital photos
or enabling a special party mode for Windows Media Player 9 Series.

Microsoft will be launching Plus DME as part of its participation in the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The software titan also plans to
release on Tuesday the final version of Windows Movie Maker 2 and Windows
Media Player 9 Series. Beta versions of both products have been available
for several months.

Steve Moore, a technology manager from Nashville, Tenn., said that
Microsoft's expanding product activation to Plus DME is a sensible move.

"I wouldn't have any problem with the product activation technology being=
 a
part of the new release," he said. "Microsoft has gone to great lengths
since Office XP's release to calm fears over the technology. It has becom=
e
a nonissue for many early critics."

In fact, Moore sees Plus DME's product activation as a real opportunity f=
or
Microsoft to win over those consumers who remain wary of product
activation. "By providing the new release...via the Internet," he said,
"Microsoft has a chance to make some headway against what appeared to be
the prevailing dislike for (product activation) when it was first introdu=
ced."

A technology misunderstood?=20
Microsoft broadly introduced product activation with the release of Offic=
e
XP in May 2001; earlier, installation of an Office 2000 service pack adde=
d
a less-sophisticated version of the technology to the productivity suite.
The company later added the technology to the Windows XP, Visio 2002 and
many other business software applications. But other than in Windows XP
Home, it has shown reluctance to use the technology in its stable of
consumer products, such as the Encarta encyclopedia or Works Suite. Earli=
er
Plus versions did not require a code key for installation.

"We can't speak to future products using this technology," the Microsoft
representative said.

Product activation essentially locks the software to the computer's
hardware configuration. Microsoft claims that no personal information is
collected during the process, which essentially associates the software k=
ey
and hardware configuration in a database of information collected for
product activation. In theory, this method makes it easier for consumers =
to
reactivate the software should the PC's hard drive ever be reformatted.

In summer 2001, more than a dozen consumer and privacy groups filed a
complaint with the Federal Trade Commission that, in part, alleged the
product activation process violated consumer privacy rights. But Windows
XP's activation process, following optional product registration, led to =
a
misunderstanding over information collection.

Microsoft isn't the only company using product activation. The 2002 tax
year will be the first for which Intuit uses the process to protect again=
st
piracy of its TurboTax application. But its activation process is somewha=
t
different than that used by Microsoft. According to Intuit's TurboTax
support Web site, the software uses a license key deposited on the comput=
er
hard drive.

Intuit and Microsoft introduced product activation in part to thwart
software piracy. Microsoft estimates that about half the copies of Office
in use worldwide are pirated. Trade group Business Software Alliance
estimates that, around the globe, about 40 percent of software is pirated=
=2E
In the United States, the figure is about 25 percent. But the percentage
varies dramatically by region and state, with New York, for instance, at
about 12 percent, and Wyoming at 48 percent.=20

In 2001, the BSA estimates that in the United States software piracy
accounted for $5.6 billion in lost wages and about $1.4 billion in lost
state and federal taxes.

For the most part, product activation attempts to decrease the amount of
casual piracy, where consumers buy one copy of software for multiple
computers or pass it along to friends or family. Products like Plus or
Works are easily pirated in this way if there is no product activation or
other protection feature.

Paul Gunton, a tech support technician based in Kettering, Ohio, said he
had mixed feelings about product activation. "It's a good idea because yo=
u
know who has a copy of that piece of software," he said. "You can tell
which computers that piece of software is registered on. You can help
control software piracy."

Plus' activation minuses=20
But Gunton believes that the technology is too cumbersome for consumers.
For one thing, he says, the activation codes are too long. He also sees
problems when people have to reactivate software because of changes to th=
e
computer hardware configuration or the recovery of a damaged Windows
installation.

"There should not be a limit of how many times you can activate/register =
on
a computer," he said.

Some consumers initially balked at Windows XP's product activation featur=
e,
since they would not be able to install the operating system on multiple
PCs. But technically, such activity is considered piracy, since the
consumers would not have paid for use of the software on additional
computers. Microsoft responded to these complaints by offering consumers
discounts on Windows XP "family licenses."

For now, Plus DME buyers cannot expect similar discounts. "At $19.99, Plu=
s
Digital Media Edition is already a huge value," said the Microsoft
representative. "There are no plans for additional discounts for multiple
copies."

Microsoft may also institute further restrictions. Office XP users can
obtain an activation code for putting the software on a second computer,
such as a notebook. But the Plus DME license is more restrictive.

"The license included with Plus allows consumers to install and activate =
on
a single PC," the Microsoft representative said.

DME is the second Plus version for Windows XP. Microsoft released Plus fo=
r
Windows XP when the operating system launched in October 2001. Like earli=
er
versions, Plus for Windows XP offered "themes" for changing the look of t=
he
desktop and a number of dynamic screen savers. Like DME, that version of
Plus bolstered Windows XP's many new digital media features.=20

In December 2001, Microsoft offered some of those features as a free
download dubbed Windows Media Bonus Pack for Windows XP.
=20
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- --=20
"DRM.. Digitally Retarded Media. That's exactly what it is - content
that cannot reach its full potential because of artificial restraints." -=
Paul=20
Rickard
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