Hurray! After a 2 1/2 hour drive trying to avoid delays due to accidents, I finally arrived home where my beautiful wife had burgers ready for grilling and beers ready for drinking. Refreshed after my long drive, I tackled her laptop with a vengeance. After a brief battle, it yielded--it is ours! It is with this machine that I write this.

The only hitch in the giddy up, as my Dad would say, was Microsoft's product activation process for Microsoft Office. I have 5 copies of Office for 4 computers. There should be no issue as to my having a proper license for the copy I installed on her laptop. I was not able to activate the copy of Office Professional on this machine until I called Microsoft. A very nice young woman helped me finish the procedure, whereupon Office's activation wizard has hopefully been laid to its final resting place.

My wife asks all too often, "What do people do if they don’t have you to help them" when speaking of computer problems. I am sure that it is frustrating. I understand Microsoft's position in this case, however. A few years ago during a meeting at Microsoft, a speaker said that Microsoft's revenues would have been one billion dollars greater if not for software piracy. I am sure that crime and the losses it generates have only increased over time.

Do not steal. Pay for the things you use. But for goodness sake, companies who make products should make them work so that you don’t feel like a crook just for using them.