Seriously, Activation and Validation are the main reasons I
never migrated to XP. I have a low tolerance for small
annoyances. If my legitimately purchased OS falsely
claimed to be pirated, instead of calmly calling them and getting
it sorted out, I would prolly break down and cry, and in a fit of self-pity,
go down there and do something we would all regret.

I can fix just about anything that goes wrong with win98.
It's at least as secure as XP, runs on modest hardware
and only crashes once a week or so. It's bulletproof. My wife
can't destroy it.

My own workstation is Slackware Linux. Would I give that up
for an unproven Microsoft OS? What do they really have to offer?
I've got enough on my plate without any computers that threaten
to quit for non payment of the bills. It's no secret that they want
to evolve toward a system of leasing the software, rather that
a permanent license. Maybe businesses can cope with that
but I can't.