Picture this:  You get in to your car in the morning. Before you can start it, you must

• Validate your drivers license;
• Validate your car's registration;
• Validate your emissions test certificate; and
• Validate your insurance policy.

Then you're good for the day.

Is that reasonable? Would you stand for it? How about if you only had to do it once per month?

The truth is that all these things are, indeed, validated periodically. All these things expire and must be renewed, at which time you receive a "validation." However, after having received each of these credentials there is no need to re-validate until they expire or until they are examined by the authorities, perhaps after you roll through that stop sign.

When I buy, install, and validate Windows, that should be it. As I've noted below, it's okay with me if Microsoft wants to check my credentials when I want to download something. I've been providing proof of ownership to dozens of other software companies for years.

But checking whenever Microsoft feels like it? That's intrusive and unwarranted. It certainly isn't customer friendly.

Freedom!