TechRepublic members have made it clear that Microsoft is risking a public relations nightmare with its insistence on requiring “product activation” for Windows XP and Office XP. But the company responds that it has to do something to prevent piracy, especially in the home market. Some users are getting ripped off by crooked resellers who preload bootleg copies of Windows and Office, they say, and others are turning into criminals by using CD burners to press illegal copies of Windows disks forfamily and friends. OK, if product activation isn’t the answer, then what is? Imagine you’re running the Windows or Office business at Microsoft — how do you keep your product from being stolen without inconveniencing your customers or holding their PCs hostage? I’ll take the best suggestions and pass them along to Microsoft. I’ll print the best responses in my next column.