Thought the group might get a laugh out of this.
It is part of an emailed newsletter I get regularly on MSOffice, called
Woody's Office Watch. (Yes I still have to use the beast at the moment)
Note the recorded converstaion at the end.
I've also included the "Administrivia" section to acknowledge the origin of
the newsletter and in case anyone wants to subscribe. This guy has a
love/hate relationship with Microsoft and is sometimes worth reading!
6. MORE PRODUCT ACTIVATION HEADACHES
Here's a new twist on a topic familiar to all of you
WOWsers - product activation. Steve W wrote with this
interesting story:
"I have experienced something which goes against everything
Microsoft has publicly stated about Product Activation, and
it affects Office and Windows users. I recently sold my
original Office 2000 Academic Edition to a student through
eBay. I made sure to request that a student schedule be
submitted along with payment to uphold the license
agreement. I sold the beast for $250.00 and am awaiting
payment. In order to ensure that the new owner would not
have trouble activating the copy, I began an endless cycle
of phone calls, which led me to the activation number for
Office. The policy to remove yourself from the license, and
allow the new owner to activate is this.
> Write a letter including your Name, Address, Phone
Number, and Product ID stating that you sold the software.
> Include copies of any receipts, bills of sale, cancelled
checks or other documents from the sale.
> Include the new owner's Name & Address in your letter.
Fax that letter to 1-302-678-9583 for "consideration".
Microsoft will then decide whether to allow the transfer
and reset activation.
Now this isn't anonymous by any means. Microsoft will not
(under any circumstances) activate this copy of Office for
the new owner without the information. The new owner could
lie in this instance. He could pretend to be me, and that
he was just re-installing the software on a new computer,
but that would actually violate the EULA and defeat the
purpose of protecting the honest consumers. He would also
have the burden of explaining my numerous activations if he
needed to re-install. And what if they "disagree" and
refuse to allow the sale? There's no oversight, as you've
said.
I called the Consumer Protection Agency for my state. They
explained that they could not help me because, technically,
I was the seller and not a consumer. Sounds as though
Microsoft thought this one through but good. And in the
future, who's gonna pay hundreds of dollars for something
without knowing whether they'll be able to use it after
buying it? Private sales are dead in the water.
It occurred to me (for the first time) that activation is a
wonderful tool for Microsoft to control the resale market.
If you cannot buy a used copy cheap on eBay, you will have
to buy it from Microsoft at full retail prices. (Sounds
like a future .NET push in the making) This is an evil,
evil problem and Microsoft won't budge. I've been
everywhere trying to play nice and get my information
removed from their servers with no concessions from the big
boys at Microsoft.
There is no mention what-so-ever of this procedure that I
could find on Microsoft's site, as they clearly don't want
public attention focused on it. In fact, I played "dumb"
and faxed a letter to the MS support number requesting that
they e-mail a list of what must be included to address the
activation and transfer, and they won't respond. They don't
want it in writing, anywhere, but they'll tell you on the
phone. The real kicker is the phone conversation I had the
privilege of being involved in. It went something like
this...
Me: "There has to be an easier procedure to handle this".
Phone Rep: "Well, there's always Linux if you disagree with it."
Me: "What's your name, sir?"
Phone Rep: "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Me: "Yes, give me your name."
Phone Rep: "Thank you for calling Microsoft."
(Click) "
None of this is any surprise to us - ever since Microsoft
introduced Product Activation there's been a yawning gap
between the publicly stated policy and how it is
implemented by MS staff.
Steve has passed along some useful information if you want
to try it.
Or you could take the advice of a Microsoft employee and
try Linux - it can't be that bad if the main competitor is
recommending it <g>.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. ADMINISTRIVIA
Want to support WOW? Get one of my books!
If you like the no-nonsense style you see in this
newsletter - the straight scoop, whether Microsoft likes it
or not, dished out in a way that won't put you to sleep -
check out my books. My latest tomes pack thousands of tips,
explanations, warnings and workarounds covering the good,
the bad, and the merely annoying in Office and Windows.
Quick links:
"Windows XP All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies", Hungry Minds
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0764515489
"Special Edition Using Microsoft Office XP" with Ed Bott, Que
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0789725134
"Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2000" with Ed Bott, Que
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0789725134
"Woody Leonhard Teaches Office 2000", Que
http://www.woodyswatch.com/l.asp?0789718715
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READER COMMENTS
Your best bet is to use specific email addresses listed in
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mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] but I don't get a
chance to go through that stuff very often. I know, I know.
Take some pity on me. Microsoft's making all the bucks. I
catch all the flak....
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WOW'S FAMILY
WOW is the flagship newsletter in my ever-expanding
electronic empire, a mere pawn in my master design to amass
a giant warchest and take control of all the software
manufacturers on the planet by giving away free advice
to... to... wait a sec... hmmmmm... strike that. Let me try
again.
WOW is part of my secret plan to launch a hostile takeover
bid for Microsoft. Yeah. That's it. See, all of us WOWsers
will get together and chip in a buck or two, and them we'll
have enough to... to... to pay Microsoft's electric bill
for a month. Or at least a week. Naw, maybe a day. Yeah.
Take THAT, Redmond!
To help facilitate my hostile takeover, I've set up these
handy one-click links so you can subscribe to my other FREE
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hotlinks, or sending email.
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http://woodyswatch.com/winxp/
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Woody's Windows Watch - for everyone's favorite operating system(s)
http://woodyswatch.com/windows/
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Woody's Access Watch - database debunked
http://woodyswatch.com/access/
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Woody's Project Watch - takes MS Project to new heights
http://woodyswatch.com/project/
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Woody's OFFICE Watch
Copyright 2002 by Peter Deegan. All rights reserved. ISSN 1328-1674.
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