That’s right, Bill. And it’s not another Vista refugee. This time it’s someone who just wanted to use their computer for e-mail and the Internet, and this time it was someone who was converted by your [edit: crappy] Windows ME product.

Of course, ME broke, and the fact that it couldn’t fix itself (the system disc apparently only reinstalls, not repairs installations … I don’t know what I was expecting, though) was compounded by your weak attempt to combat piracy, 1999-style.

I have a legitimate, legal, pressed OEM copy of Windows ME. Along with a legitimate, legal serial number on my Dell laptop. And the VAIO I was pressed into service to repair also has a legitimate, legal Windows ME serial number.

But can I use my system disc to repair the crippled VAIO?

Oh no, Bill. I can’t. Because there’s a tiny system check written into the disc that prevents me from reinstalling Windows ME on that machine — legally and legitimately — because it was made by Sony and not Dell.

Talk about adding insult to injury. I could not be more infuriated. Of all the weak, light-minded, penny-ante, below-the-belt punches. Who cares if the machine was sold out of Plano or out of … somewhere else? Who cares if it was bought in Japan or Texas or wherever?

Your product didn’t work. And attempts to reinstall or repair it were fruitless. And now because of a cheap proprietary hardware check, this nifty little 800Mhz Sony VAIO PCV-J15 now has a brand-spanking new installation of Ubuntu 7.04.1, and the owner is a happy woman again. She can surf the Internet, check her e-mail, listen to samples of teaching materials, and basically go about her business with a working, supported, well-crafted product.

So think about that next time you hot-wire your software to work with only one brand. Oh sure, maybe you can blame it on Dell, or maybe Sony, or both. That is the most expedient way. But let’s face it: You failed on that one, and again, it has come back to bite you on the [edit: rear]. Because again, you’ve lost one more customer.

(Edit: I got a little carried away with this one, and edited out the mild angriness. That’s not healthy. 😳 )