. . . there is the challenge of finding a way to outsmart Microsoft. EACH NEW OS makes pirating more difficult than the previous version but there have always been people who are smart enough to figure out how to activate or at least spoof the activation so that people can use the OS without paying for it, at least so far. Microsoft thinks their people are smarter than everybody else (otherwise they wouldn't be working for Microsoft). It's a challenge and I look forward to seeing which side will prevail.
For me it's a matter of principle. I hate mandatory software activations with a passion. I have a legit copy of Win7 Ultimate on my shelf, key has never been used. Meanwhile the machine it's assigned to is running a bios mod with OEM:SLP key. Why? Because I can.