PART 6: THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL'S BACK

For several months, I was happy with working on the Mac without any reliance on Windows. I went as far as buying iWork '08, Apple's whimper of an answer to Microsoft Office. Nonetheless, what I found was quite satisfactory, and I enjoyed the totally unique interface in iWork compared to Office. I produced some good documents, presentations, and even a few Web pages for an organization of teachers I work with. I enjoyed it, and the products were much nicer than anything I could do in Office.

I was secretly keeping up, however, a side relationship with an older laptop that had Windows XP. I never like the laptop itself, as the keyboard and touch pad don't seem to be ergonomic for my hands. Last year, I had done a system restore on the laptop, but Windows XP wouldn't re-install. I had a license, but I needed to borrow the operating system install disks from someone else since the OEM disks wouldn't re-install Windows on the machine. I thought I'd be able to provide my own license information, but the installer wouldn't accept it on the borrowed disks. So, even though it was technically illegal, I used the other person's license, knowing that I was ethically right since I possessed the license for the same version of Windows (XP SP2) that came with my laptop. It accepted the other code, and installation continued.

After the first auto-update, however, I received a message informing me I was the "victim of pirated software," and that the vendor who sold me that version of Windows may have done so illegally. I could click a link to resolve the problem, but the only "solution" offered was to buy a new license for Windows XP, which I didn't want to do. I closed the browser window and continued using the system. However, when I restarted the machine a few days later, I got the same "victim of pirated software" message, but this time there was a delay of 10 seconds or so before I could continue booting up and work on the machine. The next time, same thing, but with a longer delay. Finally, about a week later, the machine just did nothing. Blank screen. No restart. Nothing.

Determined to get things right, I started the entire process all over again, with my OEM system restore CDs, which turned out the same way. I used the borrowed CDs again, entered the other person's license information, and re-installed Windows. With the first auto-update, I got the same "victim" message, so I followed the link and, eventually, succumbed to buying a new license with my Visa card online. A while later, Microsoft emailed me a valid code, and sent me original disks via DHL with a letter thanking me for reporting the pirated software.

As luck would have it, a few months later, the screen on my laptop got cracked, and I had to take it in to repair it. However, the screen was not identical to the one that came with the laptop and, for some reason, I needed to re-install the monitor drivers for it to work properly. This eventually ended up with me backing up the few files that I had on the machine and, you guessed it, re-installing Windows XP using my license that I paid for twice. Sure enough, after the first auto-update, I got the same "victim of piracy" message, and I clicked the link, and I was taken back to the same page to buy a new license.

This was last week. That was it. I'd had it. Really. Who needs this crap? I know there are abuses out there and people pirating software left and right. I respect Microsoft's right to protect its assets. I also respect Apple's same rights. I don't want to rip anybody off, but I don't like to be ripped off. I don't want to dig through Web sites searching for the place to type in a message to explain all this to some help desk guy (or gal). I don't want to explain it over the phone. It's not worth it, in my opinion, and it's become a co-dependent relationship in which I need these companies to provide me with software, but they don't trust me, and I don't trust them.