I personally run my own activation server (https://github.com/Wind4/vlmcsd), and just point the Windows installation there. Or you can use one of the many servers that are floating around the internet. Either way, it's a bit annoying unfortunately.
Also, my country's second hand electronics market has LTSC keys for sale for like $25. That might be worth looking into.
I've seen that stuff floating around and it brings me back to my warez days. I've put that behind me though and I just want an honest relationship now and I'm consistently finding that in the open source community, it's like a breath of fresh air.
>I just want an honest relationship now and I'm consistently finding that in the open source community, it's like a breath of fresh air.
I share these feelings deeply. Furthermore, what Microsoft (and other large tech companies) put people through via their systems, feels like an abusive relationship to me. FOSS, for the most part, aligns much closer to my idea of computation. A kernel of deep contempt remained in me however, from my old days of using, and hacking, my Windows system which just never worked long in the way I wanted it to. And I remember reading news on Microsoft proposals such as "Trusted Computing", where the idea was that Windows would scan your files when they are being opened, to determine if it's a legitimate copy and refuse to work with it if it's not approved[0]. That was such an outrageous idea to me back in mid 2000s that it cemented in me that I won't give Microsoft any money. Which of course softened, over the years, I bought second hand Windows licenses for computers I set up for others, for example, but still... the one installation I have to keep around for gaming, will never be a legitimate copy as long as I can manage.
For added fun, the KMS emulator I'm using is open source, and runs on Linux :)
Also, my country's second hand electronics market has LTSC keys for sale for like $25. That might be worth looking into.