[blagie]

Really?

When did this come up?

I know tons of people who run Windows unactivated. The key difference is there's a watermark. Otherwise, it seems to work fine.

[InsideOutSanta]

The problem is not activation, it's the login requirement.

[jasomill]

Personalization options like wallpaper and color settings are disabled until activation, though I'm sure there are workarounds.

[fylo]

Unless they have fixed it you used to be able to change stuff really quickly after install before it locked it down due to activation.