> You could also embrace the ‘Darkside’,
either use bit torrent or binary newsgroups, there are versions of XP which can use auto-update without a problem and do not require registration.<
...this “friend that I know” (cough)has 5 versions of XP thru mininova. MOST of them dont’ need registration plus 1 of them amazingly was created with the Vista Aero interface. why 5? For future events from MS that will eventually outlaw XP.
How does your friend know the pirated versions of XP aren’t security compromised? They could be monitoring keystrokes for logins and passwords.