Microsoft said Wednesday it will ease up on planned anti-piracy measures in its upcoming Windows XP operating system. The change centers on a new feature called Windows Product Activation that asks for a unique code when first using the product, effectively tying the software to a single machine. If the hardware profile changes too drastically, Windows will think it has been installed on a second machine and will stop working. Some testers have cried foul, pointing out that some PC users frequently update their machines with new parts like graphics cards or hard drives. There were also concerns that Microsoft could keep tabs on individual PC usage or use the data it gathered during activation for other purposes. Responding to those concerns, Microsoft will alter Product Activation to allow a certain number of changes to a PC within a certain period of time, Shawn Sanford, group product manager for Windows, said in an interview.
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