My biggest gripe against Microsoft products is their WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) and their activation scheme. While I do agree that it helps with anti-piracy, it is a buggy, in your face, non-transparent way of doing things. I’ve never been a fan. The people that have the problems with it are the ones that legally paid for the software, and are using it legally. I’d say 99% of people don’t want to call Microsoft to activate the software if it fails, to be treated like a pirate by a customer “support” agent across the world. If it worked correctly, 100% of the time, I’d have less of a problem. But, there are times when a legitimate Windows Update causes my Windows to suddenly become a pirated copy. Or a hardware upgrade requires a reactivation… by phone.

Now, Apple Mac users will suffer the same fate. Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 requires activation. Have fun, guys! I look forward to the support emails and posts in forums! As many of you know, I support Microsoft products, I like Microsoft as a company. But, they don’t do everything right, just like any other company (unless you are an Apple user… Even Steve Jobs poop is perfect). This is just one of the problems I have with their products. And it’s a minor issue, but it’s still an issue. Windows is still an awesome product, as is MS Office. I still highly recommend them!

Office for Mac 2011 comes with a 25-character alphanumeric activation key that must be entered within 15 days of running any of the suite’s applications for the first time. During that grace period, the software works as if it had been activated.

At the end of the grace period, Office for Mac 2011 refuses to launch. “[It] becomes unusable,” a Microsoft spokesman said in an e-mail reply to Computerworld’s questions Wednesday.