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Microsoft Will Pay If Its Bugs Damage Your Data

Posted by Zonk on from the microsoft's-two-cents dept.

RMX writes "CNet is reporting on a new Microsoft policy where they will pay if their software damages your data . There's a pretty low limit on what they will cover and "it also applies even if Microsoft knew or should have known about the possibility of the damages" but at least it's nice that they're specifying exactly to what length they'll go to cover their customers. Is this the "support" from proprietary vendors that corporations like so much?"

30 of 330 comments (clear)

  1. 5 Bucks??? by lecithin · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Microsoft will reimburse direct damages up to $5 for problems associated with the new downloadable tool that wards off spyware, adware and any other "potentially unwanted software."

    That is a very low price for data.

    I don't think that corporations would care about this.

    --
    It could be worse, it could be Monday.
    1. Re:5 Bucks??? by mboverload · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey, if Microsoft wants to pay, sounds great. For all the data you have lost me you owe me around $10,000 dollars.

    2. Re:5 Bucks??? by Quasar1999 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I once had Visual Studio crash, and take out my filesystem completely while I was working on a network driver at work... it blew away close to 2 days worth of work... I had to come in and work on the weekend instead of going on a roadtrip with my friends as I had planned... What if that would have been the one time I'd have met a woman drunk enough to have sex with me? There isn't enough money in the world to cover that... although... I think $5 will tide me over... do you think I meet their criteria?

      --

      ---
      Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
    3. Re:5 Bucks??? by rokzy · · Score: 2, Funny

      that drunk woman turned out to be a man. now your friends are scarred for life, as well as having several STDs.

      that computer crash saved your life![/soap opera cheese]

    4. Re:5 Bucks??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      What if that would have been the one time I'd have met a woman drunk enough to have sex with me? There isn't enough money in the world to cover that.

      There isn't enough alcohol in the world to make a woman want to have sex with you either.

    5. Re:5 Bucks??? by Frostalicious · · Score: 2, Funny

      I once had Visual Studio crash... it blew away close to 2 days worth of work...What if that would have been the one time I'd have met a woman drunk enough to have sex with me?

      I have it on good authority that women don't have sex with people who don't regularly check in their work with Visual SourceSafe

    6. Re:5 Bucks??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      what he probably meant to say was that he is running a pirated copy of 9i and doesn't have a support contract so they told him to go fuck a goat. but that version of the story doesn't get you much sympathy...

    7. Re:5 Bucks??? by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 1, Funny
      No, the insult is that they believe you are stupid enough to accept the EULA.

      --
      You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
  2. Great! by sgant · · Score: 1, Funny

    1. Buy XP and install.
    2. Start building up data on your computer.
    3. Have it all damaged by XP.
    4. ????
    5. Profit!

    Great business model, gonna write this up and submit it to my bank for a business loan!

    Me rich...me REALLY rich!!!

    --

    "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    1. Re:Great! by the+grace+of+R'hllor · · Score: 2, Funny

      I thought step four was "Fire Rick Berman out of a cannon" ?

  3. About time by Lisandro · · Score: 5, Funny

    I swear, if i had a buck for each time a Microsoft product damaged my dat...

    Oh... wait...

    1. Re:About time by unitron · · Score: 4, Funny
      " I swear, if i had a buck for each time a Microsoft product damaged my dat..."

      You don't, but Bill does.

      --

      I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

  4. Greaaat by robyannetta · · Score: 2, Funny

    How do I make a claim? I should be getting 76 of these checks.

    --
    - Just my $0.02, take with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary.
  5. Stefanie Olsen: Sarcasm Queen? by bigtallmofo · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Microsoft offers $5 windfall for errant software"

    Did anyone else find it extremely funny to see such flagrant sarcasm in this news.com.com headline?

    --
    I'm a big tall mofo.
  6. Heh... by Azh+Nazg · · Score: 2, Funny
    This is a clause that has been included in the EULA since 1995, IIRC...
    "In the case that the software product causes damage, Microsoft Corp. is liable for either $5, or the cost of the product, whichever is higher"

    From memory...

    --
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  7. Cinco Dolares? by Stanistani · · Score: 1, Funny

    Menos mal que hay papas fritas...

    Just enough money to eat at Mickey D's... ...or buy some lotto tickets ...or ammo.

    --
    You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
  8. Fine print... by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please send in your request along with $4.99 for shipping/handling...

  9. Re:Cool by fistfullast33l · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, technically you didn't lose the data...it just won't come back on command. You installed the update, you broke the computer. I don't think you're going to get anything.

  10. Five dollars? by Primal_theory · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do we need a drm liscence to spend it?

    --
    Your skill in reading has increased by one point!
  11. Re:WOW!!!!! by Auckerman · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let me tell you a secret. People have simple and short memories. Structured sound bites is the way things are remembered. If you pay close enough attention, you can see it at work all around you.

    Boss: "Why should I go with Apple, Microsoft will pay me for my lost data?"

    Peon: "Sir, they will give you $5"

    Boss: "Shutup boy, that's so wrong as to be stupid."

    Remember, the "absurd" is ignored, the "favorable" is repeated.

    --

    Burn Hollywood Burn
  12. linux admins may scoff by matthewg42 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's easy for all you Linux admins who cost so much to scoff at 5 bucks, but for the average windows professional, it's a lot of money!

    1. Re:linux admins may scoff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That's two month's wages in India !

  13. from my parent's basement, i stab at thee! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    you get em, tiger.

  14. Re:Anyone know WHY they are doing this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    Scam is a little harsh. They are doing this for the PR and FUD value, pure and simple. "Microsoft stands behind its products. We'll even pay you if we damage your data. Do you other vendors offer this?" Of course, this offer applies only to their spyware tool, but they'll still make the claim, and it will be true. Nobody will bother to make the claim (who wants to spend an hour filling out forms, etc. for $5 ?), and they'll use THAT as evidence of their software's reliability.

    So basically, yeah, it's a scam.

  15. Value of data by TiggertheMad · · Score: 3, Funny

    Before I file a claim, i just want to know how much money my data is worth. I mean, 200gb drives full of she-male pr0n dosen't grow on trees you know...

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
    1. Re:Value of data by BandwidthHog · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can only pray that Monsanto doesn't prove you wrong some day.

      --

      Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
  16. Re:Anyone know WHY they are doing this? by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Funny
    "Microsoft puts its money where its mouth is with its money-back warranty." says Laura DiDio, analyst at the Yankee Group. "You won't see that with any open source software out there."
    So here's a way to beat Microsoft at their own game: let open-source distributors say:
    When you buy a retail copy of our distro, at half the price Microsoft charges for XP, if it screws up your data, we'll refund you twice Microsoft's capped amount - no questions asked.

    So - cost is half price, and indemnity coverage is twice as much - we must be 4x better than Microsoft!
    It now works the Microsoft Way::
    1. retail = $100
    2. max refund = $10
    3. $90 = PROFIT
  17. Well... by Cytlid · · Score: 2, Funny

    "$5 should be enough for anybody."

    Or was that 640k? I can't remember.

    --
    FLR
  18. Sweet! by bushidocoder · · Score: 2, Funny

    XP only has to corrupt my disk 40 times before it pays for itself!

  19. Do they specify the amount of data? by timothykaine · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do they specify the amount of data loss? Maybe one could beat them in the legalese department and charge them $5 for each byte lost...

    Id love to see that.