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Corporations Suffer Microsoft Activation Bug

Posted by michael on from the under-the-yoke dept.

Uncle Bob writes "Trustworthy Computing, eat your heart out! As of the 2003-04-14 update, people are reporting that Office 2000 SR1a is now asking to be "registered" again. And again, and again. Very little information has been posted on the traditional news sites (the only link I could find was The Register. Note - The Register's story is not quite accurate, but the registration bug is real. Our company with approx 80,000 PCs has been hit...."

4 of 596 comments (clear)

  1. Just a bug by Call+Me+Black+Cloud · · Score: 0, Troll
    Yes, it's annoying, but this too shall pass and the software will be better for it.

    Sure, free is nice for consumers but it's a crappy business model. More and more companies are going to implement license protection schemes and these things will come up. Eventually the bugs will be worked out...

    I like open source and free software and use assorted free libraries and tools in my day-to-day programming. I even have OpenOffice on my computer at home (because I installed my 1 copy of Office XP on my wife's computer, though if I had to do heavy duty work I'd have to get Office). I think the flaw in the open source food chain is the food part, as in, who is buying the food? At some point money has to enter the picture because there's no such thing as open source or free food (excepting dumpsters). I don't think this business model:

    Write free software

    Sell services for that free software

    Profit!

    will be enough to keep all the open source coders fed. It smacks too much of the "attract visitors with free stuff then sell ads" model.

    I think license protection is a necessary thing. People should get paid for their efforts. That keeps food on the table and allows free software to be written for the love of it.

  2. SHUT THE FUCK UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll
    jesus, you really have no life do you? Did it take all morning for your write that up?

    do you get off on getting modded up? You must jack off every time you get a mod point.

    Please, fuck off and die, thanks.

  3. Site vs. Single? Answer: Neither. by 955301 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Good thinking, or simply a Bad Idea(TM)?

    Bad Idea: Here is where you are going wrong:

    I've been installing [Microsoft software]

    Stop doing this and you won't run into the issue any more. The people using the old p-200 systems will be particularly thankful.

    --
    You are checking your backups, aren't you?
  4. Fix available by PhipleTroenix · · Score: 0, Troll

    I've been looking at the code in a debugger [reverse engineering?]. I have a fix that I'll post [DMCA viloation?] right after I answer the door for those 2 nice men in blue suits...

    --
    When VPNs are outlawed, only outlaws have VPNs.