So I bought Quickbooks Pro 2007 from Costco last night because A) Vista requires 2007 or later and B) my 30 day "trial" of Premiere was running out.  I installed it, put in my registration number, and was given a phone number to call for an activation code.

I called the number and waited on hold for 10+ minutes.  A woman then came on the line and asked for my registration number.  She then told me that because I didn't buy my software direct from Intuit, I would need to call ANOTHER number to activate my license key.

So I called the other number, waited on hold again, and gave them the same info as before.  This time I got the activation key.

During this process, I asked the woman why the software tells people to call a number that can only help those who bought direct from Intuit, when I imagine MOST of their sales comes from stores like Costco, Sam's Club, Best Buy, etc.  "We'll take that as a customer suggestion," was all she replied.

Software companies - when you make piracy both the free AND easier method to use the software, you have a problem.