Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 29th Dec 2007 21:58 UTC
Users who install Windows XP Service Pack 3 will not be required to enter Microsoft's product activation key before they use the operating system, according to a Microsoft white paper. Instead they will get a 30-day period of grace - the same as users of Windows Vista - after which they will have to enter the key to prove that the product is genuine. Problems can occur if a user legally obtains the software and, for some reason, a problem occurs with validation. By allowing a 30-day period, users have a chance to get the problem fixed while they are using the software.
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2005-07-06
"product activation key" is a bit misleading - if you take the word "activation" out of there it makes more sense. Right now you have to enter the XP CD key during setup. With Vista, Microsoft changed it so that you don't have to enter the key until after a month, and now they plan to make XP the same way. This essentially means that Vista has a built-in 30 day trial, although I don't know what the license has to say about that.
This will only apply to XP installs made with a disc that was sold with SP3 or had SP3 slipstreamed in, though.