1 (edited by nathanm 2014-01-14 18:41:25)

Topic: My solution to Windows Activation woes

Edit: because of Bobsz's concerns, I have changed the text to Pig latin, a language which Microsoft's bots hopefully don't understand.
Irstfay, ymay olutionsay isway otnay "ovemay otay Inuxlay".
Ownay, et'slay etgay otay ethay actualway ointpay Iway asway
yingtray otay akemay. Asicallybay, afterway ovingmay otay
Indowsway 8, Iway iedtray otay akemay ethay OSWAY oremay
usableway, utbay ustjay ouldn'tcay ealday ithway itway.. Omfray
Etromay eepingcray intoway ethay esktopday otay avinghay otay
ogay intoway ethay Indowsway Orestay otay etgay anway
essentialway updateway (Indowsway 8.1) otay ethay actfay atthay
Icrosoftmay eptkay yingtray otay akemay emay ignsay upway orfay
away Ivelay accountway, Iway ustjay ecamebay edfay upway ithway
Indowsway 8. Iway insteadway osechay Indowsway 7, ichwhay ymay
amilyfay eepskay oneway opycay ofway atthay eway installway
onway allway ofway ourway omputerscay. Iway installedway itway,
utpay inway ourway odecay, andway oundfay atthay Iway ouldn'tcay
activateway, asway eway adhay oremay anthay oneway omputercay
onway ethay amesay opycay. Owhay idday Iway ixfay isthay?
Afterway ookinglay aroundway ethay Internetway orfay away ewfay
inutesmay, Iway oundfay atthay insteadway ofway admittingway
efeatday onway ethay Indowsway Activationway eenscray, Iway
ouldcay optway otay allcay eirthay onephay inelay insteadway,
ichwhay isway intendedway orfay eoplepay ithoutway anway
Internetway ervicesay otay useway. Iway alledcay ethay umbernay
, andway asway omptedpray onway-eenscray otay ypetay ethay 40-
igitday odecay atthay Indowsway ovidedpray intoway ymay onephay
otay oday osay, ilewhay anway overenthusiasticway ecordingray
eeredchay emay onway. Afterway Iway inishedfay, ethay
ecordingray oldtay emay atthay ehay eedednay otay askway emay
oneway oremay ingthay: owhay anymay otherway omputerscay
esidesbay ethay oneway eingbay activatedway ereway usingway
atthay icenselay? Iway aidsay "onenay", andway ethay ecordingray
ecturedlay emay onway owhay Iway asway inway iolationvay ofway
ethay Indowsway EULAWAY incesay Iway adhay ootay anymay
icenseslay. Iway enthay alledcay ethay umbernay ackbay, utbay
atway ethay ointpay erewhay ethay ecordingray askedway emay
owhay anymay omputerscay ereway installedway ithway atthay
opycay ofway Indowsway, Iway ypedtay "0" intoway ymay onephay.
Iraculouslymay, itway orkedway. Ethay achinemay eadray emay
ackbay anotherway onglay umbernay ichwhay Iway ypedtay intoway
ethay oxbay onscreenway, andway Indowsway acceptedway itway
andway aidsay atthay ymay icenselay asway "enuinegay". Ethay
essonlay erehay isway atthay Icrosoftmay actuallyway owsknay
owhay anymay omputerscay ouyay avehay activatedway Indowsway
ithway, utbay alsoway atthay eirthay activationway onephay
inelay ependsday onway ethay onorhay ystemsay.

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

Better make an image of that hard drive! If you ever have any problems you may not be able to install and activate again!

I do not advocate working around license restrictions but this seems to be more of an OS "downgrade" of a Windows8 box (with appropriate Windows8 license, right?)

I have an unused Windows7 license that I am holding onto for my next computer. I only use Windows so I can run Adobe Photoshop and InDesign (yes, I paid for them too). Linux has replaced Windows on my laptops and dual boots on my desktop.

With all the nonsense Google is pulling with Google+ (and some other stuff) I may be looking for a new phone OS to replace Android. Not sure if Cyanogen is free from the issues or if I will have to look at alternatives like FirefoxOS or an Ubuntu phone.

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

3 (edited by bobsz 2014-01-14 13:20:47)

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

@ Bolo...- I am admittedly a privacy freak, especially when it comes to Google. I am surprisingly satisfied with the combination of WindowsPhone8 on a Nokia phone. As of now, Nokia still offers some of their own apps, so I'm not 100% tied to the Microsoft Store. I was able to download a Nokia browser that's a little more versatile than the "mandatory" IE. But soon Nokia will disappear. Still so far, I've managed to download several MS apps that don't have insane "permissions." Some apps even work offline, though they complain about it. I'm sure that will get worse as WP gets more popular. Yes, I also hope we see a FF Phone or something soon. It's a shame I never got to try the old Nokia phone/tablet OS, seems people loved it.

@nathanm - seems like you anticipate every computer nightmare I have. Good job figuring out the MS problem, but I think I'd keep it to myself or it will quickly disappear. I don't know if I would have posted your workaround online this way, at least not in such plain language. The bots abound, and I'm afraid you may have used some "key" words. I'm always surprised how thoroughly Google indexes all these forums. Our local online paper even comes up in Google searches. If I want to post something with "secret" or "verboten" terms, I actually make a screenshot of my message, upload the jpeg to imgur, and just post the link to the screenshot. Yes, very paranoid, but only about certain things.

Thanks to advice from this forum and others, I bought my "new" laptop when they were still coming preinstalled with Win7, and it came with a CD/upgrade for Win8, which I haven't used. I'm at a loss deciding what's going to happen to my old netbook and laptop with XP installed come End of Life. My Office 2003 is also EOL this year, though that's become a vestigial organ, since my once-beloved Outlook doesn't really sync with anything anymore. I wonder if the business world is ready for Win8 when XP goes out to pasture? But then again, who would have believed Blackberry would have disappeared. My brother works for a big engineering company and they thought they'd die without their Crackberries. But, they all learned to love their iPhones pretty quick.

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

bobsz,

I don't know which netbook you have, but my Samsung NC10 runs Linux Mint just fine. Everything works. I use MATE because I like it but LXDE is quite a bit faster. I know it is out of fashion to use netbooks these days but I like mine and still use it about once a week.

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

5 (edited by bobsz 2014-01-14 23:28:53)

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

@ nathanm - brilliant and elegant security solution. You probably have the NSA computers burning up by now. On the other hand, the Chinese hackers are probably hitting Spokeo trying to find out that special phone number, since it's not printed on their bootleg CDs. But as for Microsoft, you might have to try Navajo. http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/news/Pre … livat.aspx

I'm glad I got to read your post yesterday, because it really is a good tip.

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

Belated thanks to BoloMKXXVII above and the folks who commented on the "End of XP"  thread. I am happily typing this on my obsolete Asus eeepc netbook. I took the easiest way out, installed Linux Mint on a mini USB stick. This way, I was able to leave XP untouched to use those programs that won't run on newer OSs. I won't use XP for anything involving going online. A nice thing about these very old programs is that they work without trying to go on the web to "phone home." For any web stuff I just boot into Mint on the USB. Even with such a tiny footprint and mediocre-slow USB stick, Firefox runs notably faster in Mint. The fonts on this forum page (and other pages) look better than with Windows. I haven't used Linux regularly since Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon- a long time ago. I'm having a really good time re-discovering it. SO simple and elegant compared to Windows.

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

I have no concerns.  Not having easily found a pig latin to english translator online I demand you repost your interesting tome.

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

Oh, btw.  In english.
Will you meet my demands?

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

Oday ouyay peaksay igpay atinlay?

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

Here is Google's pig latin page;

https://www.google.com/?hl=xx-piglatin

11 (edited by Steevo 2014-04-21 20:11:22)

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

infocastme wrote:

Here is Google's pig latin page;

https://www.google.com/?hl=xx-piglatin

That doesn't seem to contain a pig latin translator.
The wordplays and snowcrest online translators don't work with the posted text, or not well.

Since I want to read the interesting article again, having read it earlier but not committed it to memory, I want to reread it.

Is that too much to ask?

Again, will you meet my demands?

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

nathanm wrote:

Oday ouyay peaksay igpay atinlay?

No, but my ex wife spoke dog latin, whatever that is.

13 (edited by infocastme 2014-04-21 23:24:24)

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

Steevo wrote:

Again, will you meet my demands?

Ok, in the middle of this page is a pig Latin to English translator. Make sure you click the button for the correct option or you get pig Latin pig Latin!

http://www.keepyouremailprivate.com/

The Google link would take a search query in pig Latin and return the result. If you look in the upper left corner of the screen, the options are in pig Latin

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

infocastme wrote:
Steevo wrote:

Again, will you meet my demands?

Ok, in the middle of this page is a pig Latin to English translator. Make sure you click the button for the correct option or you get pig Latin pig Latin!

http://www.keepyouremailprivate.com/

The Google link would take a search query in pig Latin and return the result. If you look in the upper left corner of the screen, the options are in pig Latin

None of those seem to do this text.
You guys are making fun of me! 

It's outrageous.

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

The problem with the translator is that the original message is too long to fit all at once and it handles some words incorrectly (words beginning with a vowel or with 'w' and for some reason the word 'the').

Steevo, I translated it for you and emailed it to you from the forum mail.  Let me know if it got mangled or misdirected before it got to you.

16 (edited by Steevo 2014-04-23 14:25:17)

Re: My solution to Windows Activation woes

dead-eye wrote:

The problem with the translator is that the original message is too long to fit all at once and it handles some words incorrectly (words beginning with a vowel or with 'w' and for some reason the word 'the').

Steevo, I translated it for you and emailed it to you from the forum mail.  Let me know if it got mangled or misdirected before it got to you.

I got it, thanks.
None of those online translators worked as far as I can tell.  Or they all worked poorly.

Some not at all.