There is some really amazing stuff in this thread, I mean the tinfoil hat level paranoia.. I'll just take it as I go...

MikeJ: "You couldn't PAY me to install Media Player 8...but not because of any of this.
Twice now, since it came out I have tried to "upgrade" to it, and on BOTH occasions, after the install, my PC needed to reboot, which is normal. On BOTH occasions, the reboot crashed."

I would say this is something specific to your system. I am running Media Player 8 on all the systems here (15 or so) and most of my supported clients are running it. The scenario you describe has never happened to any of them. Not once.

Puntomaus: "You might know, that XP is sending informations to Microsoft behind the users back."

And so far for all the paranoia and scrutiny not ONE SINGLE piece of teh data microsoft sends or exchanges with the users PC has been infringing. Funny that.

cherokee69: ""He wan't ready to register the program at the time. He never went online but once during the time he had XP on his computer. He received an email from Microsoft telling him if he didn't uninstall XP because it was a pirate copy (which it wasn't, he purchased if from a store and has the box and all paperwork for it), he would be charge with copywrite violation and would be fined him $150,000.00."

There has been not ONE credibly documented case of any such thing.  Given that the information comes without any supporting evidence... I would say it is simply FUD.

cherokee69:"I don't have to give you squat...nothing..nada..point blank, you full of it...period. And because of your demanding, I'm out of theis thread."

How dare you not just take my word for something that there is absolutely no evidence for!

Puntomaus: "LOL...imagine, even this system clock contacts Microsoft as soon as you are going online to synchronize - of course only to synchronize the time..."

Yes, in fact it IS only to sync he time :) The protocol used is an open one and an internet standard. All you need is a packet sniffer to confirm this.

Does EVERYONE just believe the stuff the read on warez IRC channels?

I can guarantee you that Sun Microsystems has a few techs that do nothing in life but analyze WindowsXP network traffic looking for damaging transfers so they can nail MS in a PR war. Not to mention a few million drooling MS hating Linux "hackerz".

And yet, no one has published anything damaging. Why do you think that is?

Little_Dragon: "I avoid the issue altogether and use WinAmp"

Be aware that WinAmp ALSO transmits your CD data across the network.

OpticalSingenoid: "I was asked a while back why Sony wasn't doing much to prevent the "ModChips" & copies of the games?

The Answer: They sold way more units then if they had made the discs "Warez Proof"..."

And you are wrong. Sony has NO REASON to allow this to happen. The hardware in game consoles is typically sold at a loss. In other words selling you a Playstation so that you can play pirated software loses Sony money. Lot's of money.

Game systems usually cost more to make than they sell for, and when you add in R&D they are losing propositions hardware wise. The only reason to get into the console market is to sell you the games. Sony typically gets 4-6$ PER UNIT of software sold for the Playstation.

They have no reason to let you pirate it. None.

ElectricAardvark: "Anybody ever hear of firewalls? and allowing permissions? Ron, 20years? Then you should know, if I don't want it sent, it isn't getting sent. I decide what information leaves or enters my machine. Not Microsoft. "

Well said! A good point. In the end the end user CAN control their traffic... and they can analyze it as well. This is one of the reasons why the paranoia about the great "microsoft conspiracy with aliens" thing is so sad.

STORM: "If this is happening we could be lulling ourselves into a false sense of security."

Our firewalls check the destination of the connection and it source, not the program it came from. The hardware firewalls that is, not our Zonealarm stuff. So it doesn't matter who is trying to send it we can see exactly what is being sent, to whom.

Again, Microsoft lives under the most intense scrutiny of any company in all of history. The USG is checking their software for violations or any excuse to shut it down, the Linux crowd has their analyzers out and the other companies (Sun, IBM etc') are checking as well.

No one has found a privacy violation, back door or "spy" from MS.