Vista to be periodically re-checked for validity
...Microsoft is serious about piracy. It likes to refer to the Business Software Alliance—”the voice of the world’s commercial software industry”—which maintains that “35% of the software installed on personal computers world-wide in 2006 was illegal.” Windows Genuine Advantage, part of Microsoft’s antipiracy program, has been in a kind of beta since 2004, but now appears to be ready for prime time:As he points out, if that doesn’t work 100% correctly, there could be quite a few irritated users, not to mention CIOs responsible for corporate Windows networks, as Vista rolls out.
“Technology built into Vista allows Microsoft to periodically evaluate the OS to make sure it is legitimate, rather than just having one opportunity, when the product key is first entered at activation.”