Call me a cynic... but if u owned a pirated copy of Win XP or bought it from someone who's not supposed to have that kinda stuff would u give up the person u got it from to get a legit copy of the Vole's OS? Have a read:
Microsoft offers pirate Windows users legit XPs
Just tell us where you got it
By Paul Hales: Thursday 05 May 2005, 19:18
MICROSOFT is offering US Americans compensation if they bought a dodgy copy of Windows, in exchange for information on its source.
The compensation will be in the form of a handy little product activation key by email, followed by a nice new legit copy of Windows XP in the post.
The scheme, labelled 'shaft your reseller' by, um, me, just now, is part of Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage programme which says that if you buy a proper copy of Windows everything will be rosy in your PC’s back garden.
In a scoop, BetaNews says users of dodgy copies of Windows XP need only fill in a wee form, hand over the receipt they got from the bloke in the grey mac in the pub that they bought it off and send off the pirate disk to Vole Central.
A spokesVole told the site the scheme is "part of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to protect its customers from software counterfeiting and its partners from competitors who engage in this practice."
Hmm, so lets say u did buy it and turned in the person, is there anything to stop MS from sueing u or putting u behind bars for buying pirated software?