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It's 2013, and Windows Activation Is Still Frustrating
Deathspawner writes "There's little that's more frustrating than being a legal customer and getting screwed over by the company you're supporting. If there's a perfect example of this, it's with Microsoft's OS and its millions of customers that have had to ring its tech support lines for activation help. Recently, a Techgage writer got bit by an issue with Windows 8 — caused by Microsoft itself — and wasn't even able to call to fix it. Microsoft has two problems to solve here: it needs online chat support (like most large companies in 2013) and it definitely needs an activation system that doesn't make things difficult for its legal customers on a too-regular basis."
There's no benefit WHATSOEVER for the customer, and it's not even made the product cheaper. All it's managed to do is piss of just about everyone, probably including the poor bastards in tech support in Microsoft.
Probably faster than installing the java plugin in the metro ie.
Its obtuse only if you have paid for it. For the pirates, the activation is included in the ISO
The most complex solution that most paying users will be happy with will be something like what we haven't had since Windows 2000 (and all versions before that). Which was a simple key that you enter to install the software. The same key could be used on every system, and it didn't really do anything for protecting against piracy. Pirates are going to pirate, regardless of what kind of system gets put in place to stop them. Any system that is good enough to stop even a few people from pirating is inevitably going to annoy quite a few paying users. The only thing that's really going to stop people from pirating is lowering prices for home users. It's the exact reason I got Windows 8. At only $40 I finally felt they were asking a fair price. Asking home users to spend 50%-100% of the cost of the hardware on the operating system for their computer seems to be more than most people are willing to pay. People who buy computers from large manufacturers already pay a license. Most of the individuals who are pirating are those who have built their own systems. Give them the operating system for a price comparable to what they large computer builders would pay, and you'll see piracy drop a lot.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
I've never had to talk to a guy in India, I've always gotten an automated phone system. You read the key, it processes for a second then gives you a long-ass number to put in. It's a nuisance but less horrible than issues we've had with Adobe software activation.
2003 was the year of Linux on the Desktop for me. Has been ever since too.
It's 2013, and Windows Activation Is Still Frustrating
It's 2013, why are you still using Windows ?
I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
Open Source is more like a house full of IKEA furniture. You need some basic skills and sometimes a bit of improvising to get what you want, but the end result is pretty useable and very versatile, even if some of the edges are still a little rough.
Windows is a furnished apartment. It looks better and the stuff that you need is all there and works great. You need absolutely no skills because the landlord will take care of it, but you can't do a lot of renovations. Fortunately, your landlord has gone around to all the furniture stores in town and made sure that most furniture you can buy will fit in your apartment.
seriously, its your own damn fault.
Yeah - I guess it's my fault for needing Photoshop, Solidworks, AutoCAD, Excel, Word, etc. to share files with my customers.
Place nail here >+
Who gives a shit about Word? How about everything else he spoke about. Do you not understand the bigger picture here? People run businesses, not Half Life festivals
Java or metro?
Because if its java you are at the best unknowledgable. Users generally don't have a clue that java is what they use to communicate with their office over a remote access appliance. However they do know that they took their computer to "some guy" and now they can't connect to their work network anymore and I have to clean up the mess you made.
Please only fix what is actually broken on a customers machine and don't put your own personal biases of what is "necessary" software into the equation. You obviously don't know what users do, and even THEY do not even know what they do or need.
You should at least know THAT!
As a potential lottery winner, I totally support tax cuts for the wealthy
What kind of tech are you? Removing shit without A) a problem. Or B) without getting permission to do so. You just don't go around willy-nilly deleting shit on customers computers just because you disagree with it. Especially without permission. Even if they are clueless. I have seen screwed up systems in which I told customers - this is the problem - you should get rid of this - or upgrade this - or you shouldn't do this... but at the end of the day it's up to them.
I had a customer with 3 virus scanners installed and running at once, causing major slowdowns and strangeness. I could not convince him that was a bad idea. But he insisted to leave them installed. So I did. If they say no - it's no. I never do anything without discussing it with the customer first..