14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 9 is work in progress at Microsoft and, according to various sources, the company is working at full speed to introduce the first preview version later this year.
What's very interesting however is that Microsoft is preparing a completely new activation system for Windows 9 that would help the tech giant tackle piracy and thus force more users to purchase a legitimate license. According to information provided by Russian leaker WZor, Microsoft came down to this decision following the problems it had in China, where 9 out of 10 of Windows copies are pirated, as Steve Ballmer previously said.
Now, thanks to a translation provided by Super User on MDL forums, we have more information about this new activation system that is expected to associate every Windows 9 copy with a computer.
Basically, Microsoft will force every user who installs Windows 9 to create a Microsoft account and associate the purchased product key with it. Once installed, the operating system gets users to the store where the activation is performed completely automatically, so the buyer never gets to see the license key, which makes it harder to crack, since everything's embedded in the operating system.
In case the user decides to change the computer or reinstall the operating system, he first needs to go to the store and remove the current activation. A special download from Microsoft that would allow users to burn Windows 9 to a disk or create a bootable USB drive will also be offered, sources say, in order to make the whole process smoother whenever such tasks need to be performed.
At this point, it appears that Microsoft is only planning to make this activation system work on computers sold by its partners, such as Lenovo and Dell, but there's no doubt that the company wants to expand it to every single device capable of running Windows 9, including not only desktops, but also smartphones and tablets.
There are a few issues, however. Once Windows 9 is activated, the store is going to hold information about the user, such as name, address, and billing information, in order to better associate a specific license with a computer. Needless to say, some might find this unacceptable, but according to sources, the company is working to make this very secure.
At the same time, such an activation system basically requires an active Internet connection, so there's no doubt that a secondary option, most likely based on phone, is very likely to be offered.
In case the user installs a Windows 9 copy that cannot be activated, the operating system runs flawlessly for a maximum of 3 days, after which they cannot boot anymore.
As usual, all these details are still in the rumor stage, so take everything with a pinch of salt until Microsoft indeed confirms or denies them.