Microsoft has officially retired the traditional phone-based activation system for Windows (and MS Office) that served as a ...

People who buy PCs with Microsoft's Windows XP could find their machine disabled if they change or upgrade as few as four components. Details of Microsoft's Product Activation technology, which is ...

A German copy-protection company has published details of Microsoft's technology for preventing casual copying of Windows XP but concluded the technology allows for reasonable upgrades and doesn't ...

Basically, there are 3 possiblities, all possible, AFAIK:<P>1. Microsoft does not say anything about how long they will provide activation codes for XP. They may stop providing codes anytime.<P>2.