Slashdot Mirror
Trouble With MS Genuine Office Validation
Julie188 writes "Here's another little gotcha with Microsoft license validation, discovered by security and PowerShell expert Tyson Kopczynski. The Microsoft Office 2007 add-on site refuses to download legitimate add-ons for Office 2007 when a legitimate — but not yet activated — additional Microsoft product is installed on the computer. In Kopczynski's case, the product was Visio. He writes: 'Let's back this license train up and look at why this picture is wrong: 1. I have a valid copy of Office 2007. 2. The Visio installation only failed the validation because I haven't activated it. 3. Microsoft has presented me with a page to buy Office, which I have a valid copy of... Dear Microsoft, When used incorrectly and in direct conflict of something that you are promoting, DRM sucks! By making the usage of your software a hassle, you risk further pushing more users of your applications to other solutions."
Forgive my ignorance but I don't really understand the problem here. Why not just activate Office? You can do it over the internet or by a toll free phone call. You can only open Office apps so many times before you must activate it, so why delay?
"When used incorrectly and in direct conflict of something that you are promoting, DRM sucks!"
That's too long. DRM sucks period.
Only at Slashdot would this be considered a problem. Obviously, Microsoft does not consider unactivated software "legit" for the purposes of downloading add-ons. To me, this makes sense within the product activation concepts. Why would a company want to provide additional functionality to products that had not been activated? Within their scheme of DRM, products that have not been activated are probably not legit.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
I'm guessing within the next ten minutes the ole' defectivebydesign tag will make its appearance.
I would say that DRM sucks always. But this is beyond DRM, this is the blue monster taking over your computer. I am always amazed at how MS knows what's best for you.
So updates to Office fail because a newly added product (Visio) isn't yet activated... seems to me that in this case the only update failure that would be understandable is one related to the added product (Visio). Other activated pieces of software should be able to receive updates without problems. Furthermore, if Visio fails validation and the response from Microsoft is to send the user to a page that suggest he purchase Office then that is just plain incorrect. It should send him to a page that says "activate Visio, dude!"
So, yeah, this isn't really Microsoft bashing. Though it maybe should be worded a bit more clearly so the problem is made apparent.
I like basketball!!1!
I know this is Slashdot so I should be ripping MS, but this seems like a non-story to me. Just activate the software and it will work. End of problem. I'm know it's a huge hassle with all the steps of having to LAUNCH the software to activate it. What's next, Microsoft making you have to turn on your computer to actually use the software too!?
Someone... Just released something for free
Infiltrated dot Net
Fairly recently I had to battle with Microsoft to use my purchased copy of Office on a single computer. I had to call Microsoft thirteen times over the course of 2 weeks to get it working again. It's sad when a version you can download online offers you less hassles than the legally purchased version:
http://www.thelinuxpimp.com/main/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=743
--It's Pimptastic!--
...one of the main reasons I still use use Windows 2000! No DRM, no activation headaches, no secret file updates, no useless eye-candy, most stable MS OS ever... oh, the list just goes on....
The actual add-in that he was looking for was "save as PDF".
Now let me think - what other office suite has that function built in?
So freakin Activate the damn thing. Nice MS bashing though. Need help turning on your computer too, or is logging in too restrictive?
How is that flamebait? The guy has an office-related program that isn't activated, and now it's not downloading stuff because part of it isn't activated. Someone hit this guy in the balls with a clue-stick! Ok, maybe that was flamebait... but that doesn't mean this guy isn't retarded.
1. Ask for you money back for Office and Viso.
2. Stop using software that pulls this crap.
Yes office compatibility is extremely useful but that usefulness is what gives Microsoft the power to pull crap like this.
Just doing number one will probably solve the problem. Chew up the support lines and they will eventually fix the problem for you.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Seriously, I was working at a medical imaging company in 1995 and testing a number of systems (QNX, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Windows 95, Windows NT, and Windows 3.11) to create a turn-key medical imaging system. Not one of the MS offerings were stable enough to call a product. Every morning, EVERY MORNING, the NT box was blue screened.
Linux was good at the time, but NetBSD, FreeBSD, and QNX were all great. NetBSD was smaller, but since we were going to use x86 design, we focused on FreeBSD and Linux. FreeBSD was better, but Linux had more active development and seemed like a better bet.
Because of that experience, I dropped Windows at home. In my house, we run Linux or OS/X on our computers.
Since that day, I become more and more bewildered that people continue to put up with that crap. Seriously, who needs it. Of late, OpenOffice.org does what you need.
Call them when you've bought a few hundred copies, you'll be more important then.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
... that people would stop telling Microsoft why it's products are sucking. Let them dig their own hole their own way and let them die in it. Don't try to give them a helping hand!
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Surely there are significant issues with both Microsoft and product validation in general, but this really isn't it. He bought MS products knowing that they required validation, and now is whining because he can't install a added feature that would work with his unvalidated Visio install.
The author admits that the only obstacle he faces is running the validation wizard for Visio, after which he can happily download and install the add-in. What would that take? two minutes?
Sheesh....
Three Squirrels
Okay, so, what's the big deal here? Why doesn't this guy just activate Visio? Or uninstall it? Why would you have a piece of software installed on your computer if you're not going to use it? C'mon, I know this is Slashdot, but do you need Microsoft to "fix" minor issues so the truly incompetent don't have issues when going far out of their way to create problems?
than it needs to determine if you have a valid Office license. What other information do they collect that they don't have a right to? Did they deliberately plant the Excel multiplication bug to force people to need a patch? M$ is loosing friends fast, and I actually like XP.
"The Visio installation only failed the validation because I haven't activated it."
So what you're complaining about is that you didn't want to go through the trivial step of activation and, because of this Microsoft is to blame? In the time it took to submit this, the activation would be done and the updates started.
This is a non-issue. Move along, nothing to see here.
'Let's back this license train up and look at why this picture is wrong: 1. I have a valid copy of Office 2007.'
Yep.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
... defective by design?
Honestly, DRM sucks. The technology is designed to stop certain people from using the software (or everyone from using it in a certain way), and it will always cause problems.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/visio/default.aspx
I'm not defending activation here, far from it-
But Visio probably updates through the Office 2007 manager rather than stand alone and that's the reason Office 2007 won't update in general.
Which leads to some proper questions:
If Visio requires separate activation than shouldn't it require a separate update path?
If not, then shouldn't the updater be smart enough to update only the activated components?
And overall, what does this say about the concept of SEPARATE products requiring SEPARATE activation but morphing into a SINGULAR app. Does this not, in fact, affect my future upgradeability? (Oh sorry, you integrated Visio in 2007, for Office 2010 your only upgrade path is Office 2010 Ultimate)
Is this like not being able to install extra sensors on your car's alarm system because you have not yet activated your OnStar service?
Or maybe it is like not being able to use Vonage VoIP if you have not yet activated your VoIP account with your ISP ???
The original poster is right, this is stupid. There is no excuse for this, and amounts to MS trying to ensure that you use their products and nobody else's products by mopolistic use of your desktop. Personally I feel that if this is found to be widespread issue, it should result in further DOJ investigations.
Sure, you can say that since the OS and office suite are from MS, it is their right to be a little ignorant of customer needs, but I won't. MS has far too many resources to do something stupid like this by accident, so there is more than just programming oversight at work. Whether you think that failed logic or not, it is true.
The argument that "it's no big deal, just activate visio and move on" is a failed logic. If MS had their way, you'd have to activate the Windows OS before your computer would operate, even in stand alone mode with some other OS installed. Monopolies need to be pushed back against at each given instance, no matter how small. The adage, give them an inch and they will take a mile applies here.
Only when MS is seen to be operating in a manner that is both consistent and fair to its competitors will it be okay to cut them some slack.
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
... and refusing to accept work from students submitted in MS Office formats.
.docx?), then I'm not going to grade it.
If I have to guess how to open it (wtf is a
The other day I took a dump and the toilet wouldn't flush. It said my crap had to be activated first. I couldn't believe it.
Then I noticed a "Designed for Microsoft Windows" sticker on the side of the toilet, and I realized that I would have to do the craptivation.
Microsoft could do a better job and just ask him to activate visio. And it wouldn't be much of a hassle for him to just activate it. but would would user's do if Open Office had similar hurdles?
Cfr. subject.
This is getting out of hand. Microsoft's licensing and copy protection issues are not "DRM" issues. It's licensing issues. Licensing issues are an entirely different class of problems which have been around for decades. Don't start throwing anything you don't like with computers into your definition of "DRM". It's true that, once again, pirating software (on the high seas) eliminates both DRM and licensing issues, but it also eliminates problems like excessive cost. You wouldn't throw excessive cost into the definition of DRM, even though you know that the software went up in price merely because they had to pay to sub-license the copy protection software.
We'll ignore the argument that piracy makes the software cost more. Buying someone else's copy protection software is what brings the real cost of the software up. The companies will sell it for what they can sell it for. That's price, and with a complete lack of supply and demand balances, is always grossly overpriced.
But back to the DRM term misuse. This is similar to a story I heard the other day. A co-worker was telling me that her "identity was stolen" because she called a loan company and they couldn't find any record of having a loan with them. A computer glitch at a random company is not "identity theft" and confusing the two makes it seem like a non-issue. She called back a few days later and they found her record. I guess that means her identity was "recovered" and returned to her as property should be.
"My email was hacked!!!"
"Wow, what happened?"
"I sent a private email to a friend and he forwarded it to everyone he know."
Dekker Dreyer
Are you a MORON? You must be.
So everyone has to stop downloading different office components or demos of new versions just because Microsoft can't program it's way out of a wet paper bag and can't seem to grasp the notion of "side effects"?
Disabling parts of the applications that people PAY YOU MONEY FOR need to be better thought out than this.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
It's easy to say when your needs are simple and straightforward. I use Linux wherever I can, and I advocate its use (especially) on failure-critical applications, because it's stable, lightweight, and it doesn't "just break" the way Windows occasionally does.
There are needs, however, that are not met by commonly available OSS software. My usual example is GIMP. I use GIMP, I like GIMP, but it's not a professional product. For the average user, retouching family photos, no problems. It works great. For a professional user, designing images that will need to be printed at some big printing house, it's lack of CMYK support is a deal breaker.
That crap shows up over and over again, that one little niggling little crappy feature that you've never even heard of, or that you thought no one wanted or used, will become this giant sticking point when you're trying to convert someone to an all linux/bsd system. OS/X has a lot less of that sort of problem...Mac, for all it's commercials to the contrary, has very friendly relationships with most of the big business software providers...Still though, there are issues (goddamn internet explorer) which can crop up and cause problems.
In a nutshell, we've come a long way toward being able to toss windows completely, but if you have complex needs, or you need certain applications, you can still be forced into using it.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
Suppose you have Microsoft product A and Microsoft product B installed on your system. Of course they are both legitimate copy, but you have only activated product A so far.
Now, in which case would you agree that it is reasonable for Microsoft to refuse to provide update for product A because product B hasn't been activated?
1. A = MS Office, B = Visio
2. A = MS Office, B = Visual Studio
3. A = MS Windows, B = MS office
4. A = MS Office, B = MS Windows
5. Never
I have a fresh Office 2K7 installation and also a Visio 2K7. Visio is not activated yet. I was still able to validate and install the PDF plugin two days ago without a problem.
Love, Microsoft
PS We had asparagus for lunch. We're not apologizing, just letting you know the taste is about to get worse.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
How does Microsoft know that a product is legitimate if it hasn't yet been activated? It's my understanding that the activation process is the means by which Microsoft determines that a product is in fact legitimate.
How is Windows XP any different? You can't download any Windows updates unless you have activated your copy of Windows... what's the difference?
What happens if the guy uninstalls Visio, gets the desired Office components, and reinstalls Visio? Would those components then work with Visio?
What if he hadn't installed Visio in the first place? He should obviously be able to get the Office components he was interested in then. If he subsequently installed Visio without running the activation, would the components work with the unactivated Visio then?
If the answer is yes, then Microsoft is either being an ass about it, or there's an as-yet unacknowledged bug in their validation process.
1) Activate Visio.
done.
Next story please
On my father's old Toshiba notebook/laptop with Windows 98 SE, his Office 2000 SP3 can no longer go get updates online. You read about in details on: http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.officeupdate/tree/browse_frm/thread/14153ec8030bce52/df5d42d92ec24a2e?rnum=1&q=office+2000+98+SE+genuine+philpi%40earthlink.netANT&_done=%2Fgroup%2Fmicrosoft.public.officeupdate%2Fbrowse_frm%2Fthread%2F14153ec8030bce52%2F760a3397482fbf1b%3Flnk%3Dst%26q%3Doffice%2B2000%2B98%2BSE%2Bgenuine%2Bphilpi%2540earthlink.netANT%26rnum%3D1%26 ... I have not been able to fix it. All this DRM/*GA stuff is CRAP. :(
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Another whiner, "I need Windows bla bla bla"
I'm sorry, while I understand a lack of control over corporate policy (That's why I only mentioned home use.) Your home is where you have control.
As far as I'm concerned, if, at home, you run one piece of Microsoft software, licensed or otherwise, you are part of the Microsoft problem.
Its like obesity or alcoholism, to change away from Microsoft does take some work. If you are not willing to work for that goal, you are part of the problem. People who whine about Microsoft but don't take a stand are lazy cowards who perpetuate the situation they complain about. Face it, you are in an busive relationship and you need to get out.
The though bubble over every MS executives head after hearing this would read: "Stop your crying and bend over and take it like a man. You've been doing so for years and years so shut the hell up and suck it up. It's the way it was, the way it is, and the way it will continue to be. It is our way."
;-/
Abuse by Microsoft is not a new phenomenon and I doubt most Microsoft fans are going to think anything of having to jump through yet another hoop to get back to clicking buttons and wiggling that mouse around. Heck, the majority of their users don't know the difference between an application and a utility and hardly know what a file is. It's all a bunch of icons right?
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
I'm no Microsoft fan, but why doesn't this guy just activate Visio. Problem fixed, no?
Often the "brilliant" computer programmer is kept on a tight leash when it comes to features. He doesn't get to decide what the product should and shouldn't do, he only gets to decide how to make it do or not do that.
So, I would put the blame for this flaw squarely on the business analysts who decided that this DRM was a required feature, and that it should work as it is currently working.
Some of the blame might also go to whoever selected the deadline for release, and forced the product to go out the door before this kink was discovered by QA and worked out by the dev team.
Visio ships as a part of Office, at least in some developer packages; that may be why Windows Update's inability to validate Visio is preventing Office updates.
Just a thought. I'd be interested to see if there are failures because of other unactivated products.
You really can't see the BFD? He has Product A installed on his machine. He installs Product B but hasn't run it yet. He tries to update Product A. The update system says, "You need to buy a legitimate copy of Product A."
You really don't see what's wrong with that? Seriously?
1) Product A is Product A. If it's legit and has passed all validation and activation checks, it should work. It should be updated. End of story.
2) If Product B's lack of activation is an issue, any related message should state that Product B's activation is the issue. Telling him to purchase Product A (which is in no way failing validation or activation checks) is just stupid.
3) Microsoft has a history of problems with their activation and validation procedures. This is a given. If you have 5 different legitimate Microsoft products installed, activated, and validated on your system and the process breaks for one, does it make sense to bring down the whole system? Say I've got Flight Simulator installed and my system crashes while I'm playing. It gets corrupted. It no longer passes validation checks. Should I be locked out of Vista, Office, Visio, and Money updates? Should I have to worry about Vista going into "reduced functionality" mode?
That's the BFD.
I like pc games. I like to play them; it's one of my best sources of stress relief. I've got way too much experience with WINE and I can make most games run in WINE...Eventually. But screw that! I don't want to buy a game then spend hours tweaking things to get it to run; I do enough of that crap at work. I want to just play it.
.Net site, and they want to pay me to fix it, I'm not above taking their money just because I don't like using those products, and I'm not going to limit myself by telling people, "Oh, I'm sorry. While I'm capable of doing this work, I refuse to do so because I'd prefer you were using OSS."
I occasionally have to use Access and MSSQL Server. I occasionally have to use Visual Studio. It's not even always about corporate; if someone has a screwed up database, or a
I ended up out of work for a good while during the Dot Bomb, and OSS made it possible for me to make a nice living, but I sure as hell didn't turn down Microsoft work when my customers asked me for it. Why send them to someone else when I can do the work? And you can make some good converts that way; I hooked a lot of people on Samba.
It's not about right and wrong, or good and evil. It's about tools, and giving people what they need to do their jobs. Don't cripple yourself by deciding that you're only going to deal with the tools you like.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
You make this sound like it`s a bad thing.
Every now and then I run into a machine that requires that a repair installation of Windows XP be done. The f***ing repair process asks for the product key. Sometimes a customer of mine hands me about 10 certificates of authenticity from Windows upgrades because you can't remove them from the upgrade packaging. Nobody has any idea which key belongs to which computer. The computer won't boot, so I can't extract the key with a key finder. The upgrade keys won't work with a full version install disk, OEM's need an OEM disk, etc. I've also had the mentioned problem with Office. My Office 2003 app was FrontPage 2003, which I installed but never started. Back to my previous point, the thing I dread most about fixing a dead machine is often the licensing BS I'll have to deal with. If I change parts...maybe a motherboard with a different chipset...Office and Windows XP, among other applications, want to reactivate. OEM copies consider it a different machine, and since they only get 1 activation, you need to call and explain what you're doing to Microsoft. What a pain in the ass. It's sad when your worst fear of upgrading a machine is how the software activation will react. This will only get worse as more software requires different versions of product activation. Most software with license protection is a pain in the ass.
There's a balance that needs to be struck. Unfortunately, I think copy protection and identification is necessary for many companies that make money on closed source software. I've often seen that people who can afford software won't pay for it if they don't have to. I'd just like for the process to get easier. Having to take time out to install a licensing server on a network is BS. Having to call tech support and sit on the phone for hours getting a copy protection issue straight on software I've paid for is BS as well.
If you don't like a product or service of some vendor; don't buy it.
Visio Alternatives
Microsoft Office Alternatives
Next question?
Well, if he doesn't want it, he could always scrap it.
Though, M$'s genuine disadvantage is quite silly.
Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
Your software isn't considered legit by Microsoft ( and will stop working after a while even ). Don't like those rules? Choose a software vendor that doesn't have those restrictions.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
to Visio, along with the rest of the Office Suite.
If you look at the screenshot, it is VERY CLEAR that Visio is not activated, and that it's the source of the problem. It sent him to the Office 2007 Product Page, because VISIO IS A PART OF OFFICE 2007!
This is only an issue because the guy is too lazy to click one f-ing button.
- Garick
You're just mad that MS activation scheme actually works.
Look at it from their perspective, what the bigger problem. Millions of pirated copies of your product representing billions in lost revenue or some guy that refuses to activate his copy of Office.
Even if activation occasionally messes things up, it's still the most advanced and hardest to crack scheme yet and it has without a doubt effectively lowered piracy. Keeping up with WGA and getting updates is nearly impossible, which has made selling pirated copies much trickier.
I think the only users they are interested in pushing away are ones not paying for their software and who can blame them there, that's the common business view. Though I'd argue and OS is more like a medium and doesn't needs a price tag to itself since it is a vehcile for proft via so many various means.
So, minor problem. If anything you're showing that activation is effective and only a minor problem even when you did have a bug.
I've never had a problem with activation, cept maybe having to call in by phone on a key that was activated too many times, but it didn't take long and that doesn't happen often. It's only at best mildy annoying, but it's very effective. I tell many clients to stick with the old office to avoid the massive cost increase per PC.
This is just more anti-MS whining I think. I was surprised how hard activation was to crack on the OS, and while I may personally dislike that, I can see it's the way to go for a product like Windows.
Why do we want mass Chineese piracy? How is that a good thing? Activation works 99% of the time from my experiences. If you want to use someone elses product, don't be coy and pretend that it is activation driving you away.
Face it, you want to you VISO because it's the best software choice you have. Using another app will present a learning curve and likely have reduced functionality. If you don't like it, switch to Mac, but don't kit yourself into thinking that MAC won't impliment activation also as piracy of there OS skyrockets with the introduction of the x86 port and super cheap high end core 2 systems.
Do you have a real complaint other than your software isn't perfect ? Activation while annoying is a result of over piracy of the Win32 platform and MS is in the right to try to stop it, though I wouldn't if I were them, at least not on the OS.
Instead I'd have better activation on Office, the cash cow and just let people pirate the OS. However, there is still no reason not to slow them down with activation. The only downside is you may face less immediate mass appeal since many a power users who want to try out the OS won't be able to. However, that is not a technology decision, it's a busienss decisions and that mindset is certainly how most software compaines would look at it. Activation doesn't kill piracy, it just helps keep incentive for legit sales. Those who want the OS as soon as it comes out (why) will have to pay and those who want hassle free updates will have to pay, and greedy computer sales people trying to sell pirated copies of the OS won't be happy when they all start informing their customers the copies are counterfit.
I mean think about it, MS could pop up a message that says your computer guy has sold you a pirated OS. Call this number and report him. They aren't trying to even use legal means against people so much as they just want a piracy deterrant to slow down the cycle. Without it Chineese are selling the OS pirated before it's hits the shelves. Well, that didn't happen with Vista. So, it's good to see, for once us outsmarting the Chineese and US technology working (mostly) as design. Certainly better than that missile shield is working.
So, what your solution, switch over to Open Office ?, go for it. You're not going to hurt my feelings, but chances are your competition will have access to better tools if you go that route.
You know, computer people, just expect a lot for free these days. Live it up, but if the US software ma
"... why doesn't he activate Visio, already?"
If a doctor find blood in your stool, you shouldn't say "what's the problem? It's a trivial amount of blood."
The loss of blood is not serious. What is serious is what the loss of blood shows: that something is wrong inside you.
Kopczynski found a bug in the activation system. This particular bug didn't affect him in a serious way this particular time. That doesn't mean it isn't a serious bug.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
I see the somewhat the problem he has but then again I don't. You have a Microsoft Product not validated. Your inbaility to grab the huge basket of freebies fails. Which never has happen to me except when the trial period has run out. So you refuse to either purchase visio or register it but want addons from there website. Now there website does a basic check for Microsoft validated Products and since your visio isn't you lose. Thats lazy on thier end but god complain more. Just uninstall Visio or Validate it and there your fixed. You want the freebies for all the products but only paid for some of them. I see the problem its the user. Just remove visio and get an alternative stop relying on it if you don't like it. Its not really broken but it is, Its Microsft. Go use something else and stop wasting time.
Don't you have to click and click and re-click through every single Visio drawing? The mouse is teh total productivity killer. IMHO the only thing Visio is good for is fire exit maps and marketing pics for the slicky booklets IT makers hand out. Let marketing ppl get repetitive stress injuries...
No, I see a little issue blown out of dramatic proportion, and people over complicating a simple issue. The software isn't activated - so uninstall it? Or activate it? Problem solved. It's THAT simple.
Oh well if the feedback IS clear on what the issue is, and if he's trying to update Visio before activating it, then yeah he's just being a noob
I like basketball!!1!
While I was posting that, IBM were emailing me to say that it had been fixed for me to get the software, so it seems I can now get it in the UK.
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
Be a zealot all you like. Spend time telling people how stupid they are for using what they're used to. No skin off my nose, because I don't have an irrational emotional stake in using any software.
I'm not wedded to using a Microsoft product when I can get it done better with OSS, and I'm not committed to forcing OSS solutions on people who don't want them.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
The fact is, Office's DRM should be separated from the DRM in Visio and other products. If they weren't linked, there would be no problem to begin with.
I have been writing Microsoft emails for a couple years in an attempt to get them to get their heads out of their asses and realize that Microsoft was starting to suck. Of course I didn't phrase it quite like that, but instead worded concrete reasons for their downward spiral, as well as possible solutions for them to ponder. Never once did I even get an automated reply to them. I can only surmise that the great Microsoft Corporation, the one that inspired nerds and laypersons everywhere, simply does not care what we want any more. Their agenda appears too political, and motivated solely by profit and a very narrow view of reality. I sincerely hope that the new guy on the block re-invents Microsoft . . . I fear Bill Gates may have finally killed it with Vista.
If I HAD a problem with it I wouldn't use it. I know this will shock you to the core, but, for what I use Microsoft products for, they serve me pretty well. My games work, I seldom need to reboot, I have 15 applications open, and the machine's not crapping itself.
I'm working on a Windows machine right now, and the most troublesome piece of software I use on it is fricking FIREFOX, and I am actually considering boycotting it...To the point that I've actually bothered to download the new version of Opera for the first time in god knows how long.
Right now I'm running Eclipse, Putty(x4), Navicat, Reflections, Dreamweaver, MS Management Console, MySQL Query Browser(x2), Outlook, Firefox, and Access 2003. Nothings causing me any problems, I'm on top of all my systems, and I'm satisfied...If I wasn't I'd be using something else.
Apparently though, I'm some kind of intellectual traitor for not being miserable, and not boycotting all these products that aren't making my life a living hell, just because a zealot thinks I should. And yes, if you decide that my using Windows software is symptomatic of the moral decline of the US you're undoubtably a zealot.
People like me, who are comfortable dealing with open and closed source software do more for OSS and the free software movement than all the hairy fanatics who equate closed source with all the evils of the world. If you can't even appreciate that there are legitimate reasons why people use closed source products instead of their OSS competitors, you are NEVER going to create a superior OSS product because you have absolutely no idea of what the POINT of the product actually IS.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
May contain traces of nut.
Made from the freshest electrons.
Strike: Dear Microsoft, When used incorrectly and in direct conflict of something that you are promoting, DRM sucks!
Replace With: Dear Microsoft, Technological Measures to Enforce Illegal Prior Restraint, popularly misspelled DRM, sucks, is annoying, and is probably illegal in all contexts. We don't care if you have been "getting away with it", its wrong. Cut it out.
Innocent people shouldn't be forced to pay for inferior software development.
--"Code Complete" Microsoft Press
...can be found HERE.
Circumcision is child abuse.
Reality is that Microsoft has elected to term Visio an "Office Suite" product despite the fact there isn't an Office bundle that you can buy that contains Visio. Then you have a person who purchases one of the traditional Office bundles legitimately who is prevented from accessing extensions to it because he has an unactivated so-called Office product on his system.
Now, to answer your question directly, he may:
1} have a timed-trial of Visio he's evaluating and CAN'T activate. In this case, trying a different MS product has impacted his purchased product. Not nice.
2} have a 50-runs trial of Visio he's evaluating or using up to 50 times because he only needs to touch a Visio file a couple times a year and CAN'T activate. Again, his legitimate purchase is impacted.
3} have a purchased Visio license that he's temporarily installed on a 2nd machine to get some work done and CAN'T activate. Again, legitimate Office product is impacted unfairly.
4} have a purchased Visio license that he's installed in a virtual machine to test with that counts as a 2nd install and CAN'T activate. Yet again unfair impact to a purchased product.
5} have a purchased Visio license that he doesn't want to activate because he a fraktard whining complainer.
6} have a pirated Visio and CAN'T activate because he's a fraktard infringing bastard.
The key takeaway here is that while there are certainly explanations for his situation that make him a bad guy, there are also explanations that make MS the bad guy. We shouldn't write off their unfair policies just because someone MIGHT be a fraktard. Legitimate customers should never be meaningfully impacted by measures taken to stop illegitimate users. Entering the 25-digit-code-of-inevitable-typos is bad enough.
And really, the point here is that MS shouldn't view Visio as an Office app in this scenario. If MS wants to play the OGA game, they should treat each Office app individually. "Your Word is stolen, but your Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, Publisher, Project, Access, InfoPath, OneNote, FrontPage, Accounting, Communicator, and Groove are all legal. You must fix your Word license before you will be allowed any Office Genuine Advantage Content." That's intensely mistreating a customer, but the way OGA has just been shown to work. Thank you MS.
"Oh no... he found the
I still question this. What do they risk? Yet another article about how MS is hosing the customers? What does that mean? They had abysmal stability for the longest time and no one really stopped using the OS. They were a punch line when it came to security, yet business kept using them. They used DRM in the file system in ways that prevents you from recovering your hard drive if the computer breaks. The list anti-competitive behavior to long to mention, the forced upgrades, the computers that won't boot if you upgrade too much hardware...
What makes this guy think that anyone will stop using MS over this? How is this any more inconvenient? Is this guy going to do anything more than write an article asking MS to stop? Is he going to start using a different solution? If not him, then who? Why does he think anyone else will?
The irony is that it would be much easier to get exclusively pirated software. They've actually created a situation in which activation is a massive hinderance, as opposed to the behind-the-scenes, one-off post-installation few seconds of Internet communication that it's supposed to be.
Having said this, the same is true for films and music, and has been for a long time. Buying some music or a film and not being able to move it to other devices is like a big road sign pointing people towards piracy as an easier, more convenient option. Even people who can afford to pay, who want to pay.
Amnesty International
I say let them keep going. They'll end up reaping the rewards by going bankrupt in the end, because people simply aren't gonna stand for it anymore.
Sorry, but it my book, if ANYTHING that costs you money does NOT do the job you believe it was meant to do, then it is "NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE" and you have a right to get your money back.
But what do Microsoft care if you just sit there whinging on? They have achieved what they set out to do, they have your money.
Can we not have more people with guts who are prepared to have the strength of their convictions and DO something? Rather than just sitting there spewing out what they believe to be clever diction?
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
How fucking dare anyone out there make fun of DRM after all it's been through?
AACS has been broken. Trusted Computing is unpopular. The TCPA had do change its name twice.
Slashdot turned out to be a newsblog, and now it's hosting a bunch of articles. All you people care about is warez and making money off of them.
It's a technology! What you don't realize is that DRM is making you all this money and all you do is write a bunch of crap about it.
It hasn't been a good copy protection scheme for years. AACS is called "Advanced Access Content System" for a reason because all you people want is CONTENT! CONTENT! CONTENT!
LEAVE IT ALONE! You are lucky it even occasionally works for some of you bastards! LEAVE DRM ALONE!
Please!
Anonymous Coward talked about professionalism and said if Microsoft was professional they would've let people download patches no matter what.
Speaking of professionalism, when is it professional to publicly bash a technology which is going through a hard time?
Leave DRM alone, please.
LEAVE DRM ALONE RIGHT NOW. I MEAN IT.
Anyone that has a problem with it you deal with me, because it is not well right now.
LEAVE IT ALONE!
USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
Hey, if Microsoft wants to keep pissing off users with stupid overreactions, that's fine by me.
It isn't uncommon for server admins to have to drive to perform installs. Some Microsoft technologies also require certain Office products to be installed. So, if an admin isn't aware of this, drives to slap Visio onto his web server, and only later finds it's hosed up his ability to generate charts through COM or something, it's going to generate many sour stories to everyone he knows. Sure, this is a corner case, but so is someone using a legit Office and a "pirated" Visio. Oh well, just more evidence that business models based on artificial scarcity are doomed.
if it's a part of Office, it should be part of Office.
What if it were part of Windows Vista? Your Vista is now broken because you bought it with a "demo" copy of Office 2007 with your new computer.
Jeez, there's a lot of MS cork suckers on here today...