Its very simple, I run XP RC1 builds 2499, and 2505, and damn near every BETA since the beginning and all of them I've had cracks on, and none of them ever failed on me. The 14 day Activation crack works, all it does is reset the portion of the registry that lets it now, oops... you've been on here for 14 days, time to shut ya down.
As for the 180 day Beta limit, I have no idea, I didn't count the days and Windows XP only identifies the time since install in seconds, and i don't feel like doing the math... besides I don't even have the numbers anymore as I've switched versions so often.
Anyway, even if the 180 day beta limit does expire, by then the real deal will be out, and within 30 hours of the release will have a new crack/s out for it, some will work, some won't. Bottom line is if the Office XP activation was cracked, and I have proof of that. Windows XP will be no different, as the person above said "Anything can be cracked" if crackers can break the hardware checks on a dongle (the hardest protection to defeat) then surely software checks and product activation schemes can surely be eliminated as well.... thats all I have to say on the matter.