#2, Mass Decertification? What are you talking about? If you're saying that everyone who is certified in Windows 2000 will need to recertify for XP / .NET, you're incorrect. Microsoft has announced that any MCPs for Windows 2000 will also be certified in XP and .NET, and have merged the 2000/XP/.NET certification track. As far as a "minor upgrade"... it's only minor if you've been using Windows 2000 in the past. If you have, you're used to the stability, and the over-all NON DOSness of it. If you're a Win9x user, it's a major upgrade. If you think that shifting home users to the NT kernel is a minor thing, you have serious problems.
Product Activation? ... OK, right on. WPA sucks, and I hate it. It's a painless process, but that doesn't make it any better. Hopefully, we won't see this in the following versions, but I have a hard time believing that.