Will Wright's new videogame, Spore, allows buyers to install it on three computers at most, unless they buy another license. Copyright activists and just plain huffy consumers clogged Amazon.com with 2,000 one-star reviews for the game, based solely on the three-machines limit. Spore's maker, Redwood City-based Electronic Arts, has upped the limit from three to five. An EA spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that fewer than one percent of buyers attempt to install on a fourth machine (EA can collect these stats from its activation servers, just as it can change the number of allowed machines on the fly.) "Less than one percent" is a standard PR dodge. Still, in theory, boosting the limit to five should appease all but a few customers. In reality, the not-so-smart mob won't be happy until the game is free and EA tries to make its money selling T-shirts.

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