Solved the second question
Solved my own issue. For those who have the same problem, here is the solution.
1) Go to your xamp install directory and into the php folder.
2) Open the php.ini file
3) Find the line: ";extension=php_curl.dll"
4) Change it by removing the semi-colon. It should now be: extension=php_curl.dll
5) Save the file.
6) Restart your apache server.
The first question I am still curious about. Why do we need to activate the product everytime we use it when the licensing states unlimited?