Let's say you want to download a full version of Windows 8 onto a home-built PC or as a virtual machine on your Mac. After much research and careful consideration, you buy the Windows 8 system builder 64-bit OEM DVD from Amazon. That totally makes sense, because it's one of the few ways to get Windows 8 on your device in such scenarios.

This is exactly the route Wired senior writer David Kravets took.

When the disc arrived, Kravets popped it into his Mac and used Parallels to begin the setup process. Everything was running nicely. Until the Windows 8 Setup prompted him for a product key.

"The product key should be with the box the DVD came in or on your email receipt," the prompt politely informed him.

Kravets looked all over the packaging. Once, then twice. He saw legible strings of numbers and letters on the white packaging. None of them worked. He examined everything again. And then he saw it. A small sticker on the the blue DVD sleeve. There was a tiny little key icon. Beside that, a string of tiny little characters. And behind that string of tiny little characters is a blue and orange grid pattern that makes the tiny little characters utterly unreadable.

What to do, what to do?

Kravets did what any reasonable person would do. He called Microsoft for help. If anyone can help, it would be the people who thought it was a good idea to provide a product key that looks like a row of baby dust mites. Kravets explained the situation.

"Get a magnifying glass," came the reply.

Thanks, Microsoft.