The company's new product-activation technology, which locks Office XP or Windows XP to a particular PC hardware configuration, can deactivate unexpectedly, rendering the software useless. The feature could present the biggest headache to people that frequently upgrade or change components on their PCs. Already, the activation technology, introduced to thwart piracy and promote software subscriptions, is controversial with some users of the new Office software package. "I have been completely against Windows Product Activation from the second Microsoft announced they would implement it in Windows XP and Office XP," said Bryan Jagielski, an Office user and software engineer from Dallas. "Microsoft has every right to combat piracy, but they should do so without invading my privacy."
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