A Bad Omen for Vista: My Aborted Install Experience

This weekend I sat down to install the latest beta of Microsoft Vista on a new machine. After all, I hadn't seen a version in a few months, and I figured it made sense to see how the OS was shaping up.

I'm lucky enough to have a DVD, and on the back, as with all Microsoft software, is a 25-character alphanumeric license key that you have to type in before Windows will let you install one bit of the OS.

And so I did. The key didn't work. I typed it again. Still it didn't work. I went over the key with a fine-toothed comb: Could I have mistaken a "1" for an "L"? Or an "8" for a "B"? Nothing doing. There were no mistakes in the key, it just didn't work. My request for a replacement key is now under advisement. Says a rep: "I will connect with our team here to see if we can arrange this."

Given the hubbub over Microsoft's over-aggressive campaign to stop piracy, this isn't exactly a surprise. Microsoft has long been notorious for doing everything in its power to prevent legitimate users from enjoying its software. What's so especially annoying about this issue is that the Vista beta is free of charge! Microsoft is actually encouraging everyone to download the 3.5GB monstrosity from its website so they can see how great it is. I can't imagine the frustration of a user who spent a week pulling down the app, only for it to fail to install after he finally got it downloaded.

Why do you need a license key at all to install a free, beta operating system? I await a response from Redmond, yet I expect nothing but silence.