things that can really turn you away from microshaft...

[whitewash]

ive spent all evening replacing my girlfriends copy of windows with an oem copy bought off the internet......


only to be told by the program "you may be a victim of software counterfeiting click here to resolve this issue" expecting a useful helpful website instead i got "BUY A GENUINE LICENSE FOR £95.25" etc bunch of ******s, i already thought i had a genuine copy, well its got a genuine microsoft cd, sealed in cellophane, complete with a hologrammed xp disc and a genuine code and hell it according to microsoft isnt genuine, theres no "talk to an advisor" buttton or anything. nothing helpful just a GIMME ALL YOUR MONEY button



i think ill go and buy a mac...... no ones stupid enough to go to extreme lengths to copy thier software....:bonk:

 

[Nath]

i think ill go and buy a mac...

Seriously, don't. If I told you what I think you should do my post would get deleted.

 

[busterboy]

ive spent all evening replacing my girlfriends copy of windows with an oem copy bought off the internet.

Don't tell me it was eBay..:shake:


How stupid/bizarre was this I read about..

People were selling brand new genuine copies of Vista/XP on eBay and adding a picture of the genuine package showing the serial key proving they are getting the genuine item..

Crafty peeps were lifting the image from the listing..... Opening it up in their editing program so the serial could be read.... then using the key on their machine before the actual item had been sold on eBay. :thumbsdown:

Obviously they had rung Microsoft up and activated the key on their PC before the poor sap had bought the original from eBay paying the full price not knowing the key had already been used the week before..:bonk:

 

[desantnik]

WGA isn't 100% accurate... I have seen completely pukha copies of windows (like named PC's with same name branded installation CD's out of the box!) come up with WGA errors.

However probably not this time... software counterfitting is really common, you cannot blame MS for asking you to pay for their software can you really?

Besides, technically an OEM copy of XP is only to be sold with a new PC by a systems intergrator/OEM.

 

[busterboy]

WGA isn't 100% accurate... I have seen completely pukha copies of windows (like named PC's with same name branded installation CD's out of the box!) come up with WGA errors.

Agreed..

you cannot blame MS for asking you to pay for their software can you really?

Again I agree although Billy boy is quite a wealthy man and could drop the price of his software a little and still pay the bills..:nuts:

Besides, technically an OEM copy of XP is only to be sold with a new PC by a systems intergrator/OEM.

My copy of Vista is OEM and I can't think of one reason why anyone would pay the extra to have the "Retail" version..:shrug:

 

[desantnik]

My copy of Vista is OEM and I can't think of one reason why anyone would pay the extra to have the "Retail" version..:shrug:

Because technically you are in violation of the MS licence agreement?

 

[busterboy]

Because technically you are in violation of the MS licence agreement?

In which case my supplier CCL computers at Bradford must be technically breaking the law selling it then..:shrug:


Its the same issue as vendors selling CD/DVD Writers etc.. 95% of these items are used for for piracy and not "Backing up their collection" as they should be used..:nuts:

Grey areas that always opens a discussion.

 

[markp]

We're having real trouble with OEM licensing at the minute. Basically, the invoice that the sells the OEM license to the end-user must also have a piece of non-peripheral hardware on, such as HD, Motherboard, Memory, etc. This is what MS have said - an OEM license is supposed to live and die with the PC. CCL don't really know if you're an end-user or system builder, so most places that sell stuff are happy to dish out OEM licenses.

It's not much of a big problem - but if a company gets audited or wants to have certification that all their systems are running legally, they must be able to show that OEM software was purchased according to the license agreement.
FYI, OEM licenses of MS Office can only be bought with a complete PC system - not even having some pieces of hardware on the invoice will help out with that one.

 

[Joe T]

I bought what I believed to be an OEM copy of XP, and it worked fine for about a year or so. Now MS is telling me its fake! Why the change of heart I wonder!?

 

[busterboy]

an OEM license is supposed to live and die with the PC.

Mmmmm. Interesting.

Since purchasing my copy of Vista I have already had a serious upgrade to my computer replacing almost everything inside the tower, Of course had to Re-Install Vista and activate it again, It wouldn't let me do it online so I rang Microsoft UK and did it over the phone.

The lady I spoke to asked me "Did I purchase it online or through a vendor"

I told her the truth and was immediately given an activation code again.


Another question while on the subject, Do you have to ring Microsoft up for activation every-time I format, Or just when new hardware is added to my PC...:shrug:

 

[antonroland]

Maybe we really should consider getting Macs

 

[IanC_UK]

Mmmmm. Interesting.

Since purchasing my copy of Vista I have already had a serious upgrade to my computer replacing almost everything inside the tower, Of course had to Re-Install Vista and activate it again, It wouldn't let me do it online so I rang Microsoft UK and did it over the phone.

The lady I spoke to asked me "Did I purchase it online or through a vendor"

I told her the truth and was immediately given an activation code again.


Another question while on the subject, Do you have to ring Microsoft up for activation every-time I format, Or just when new hardware is added to my PC...:shrug:

As i understand it, Vista can only be moved/reinstalled on a system twice, the licensing agreement is a bit vague (ie a really really boring read).

Buying an oem version is not actually in breach of microsofts licensing terms, if you bought a piece of hardware at the same time that is required for the PC to operate, this can even be a mouse/keyboard as this is required for a computer to work.

 

[busterboy]

As i understand it, Vista can only be moved/reinstalled on a system twice, the licensing agreement is a bit vague.

Are you sure about that Ian..

I can assure you Ian there will be a few choice words to Microsoft if thats the case..:bang:

£120 for an operating system you can only install twice..

Buying an oem version is not actually in breach of microsofts licensing terms.

And below...:shrug:

Because technically you are in violation of the MS licence agreement?

Still a grey area IMO..:|

 

[whitewash]

i might ring up microsoft uk then and explain see what happens. i simply did not like the fact that when you click the link to "find out about resolving the problem" there is nothin saying "there may be a problem please phone or email an advisor" instead its "gimme all your money, signed bill"

 

[IanC_UK]

its a very grey area, but many computer retailers are selling oem copies of software totally legally, as long as they provide a piece of essential hardware at the same time as the software it is not in breach of their licensing agreement.

And yes Tim im fairly certain about the install it twice thing, although MS are rewriting the license agreement all the time so who knows what the latest version will say.

If you have an OEM version of the software you should be able to get a new installation key no problem, the only thing you will not get is technical support, as the oem supplier provides that, thats why the software is cheaper !

 

[petemc]

Seriously, don't. If I told you what I think you should do my post would get deleted.

Seriously, do. If I told you what I think of PC's my post would get listened to Haha. But yeah they both have their bad sides and its the internets so you hear far FAR more about the bad side of things. People lurve to bitch more than praise.

Anywho back on topic. I do hate that MS are essentially treating their customer base as criminals. You have to go through all kinds of nonsense to prove you're for real and that you honestly did pay for Windows. If you want to transfer it to another PC it'll cost a child. You don't get that with any other software on any platform that I know of. The hilarious thing is that XP was pirated before the official release and Vista has also been bypassed. So they annoy genuine users who have to prove themselves while the pirates (yarrrr) carry on as normal.

 

[busterboy]

Seriously, do. If I told you what I think of PC's my post would get listened to Haha. But yeah they both have their bad sides and its the internets so you hear far FAR more about the bad side of things. People lurve to bitch more than praise.

Anywho back on topic. I do hate that MS are essentially treating their customer base as criminals. You have to go through all kinds of nonsense to prove you're for real and that you honestly did pay for Windows. If you want to transfer it to another PC it'll cost a child. You don't get that with any other software on any platform that I know of. The hilarious thing is that XP was pirated before the official release and Vista has also been bypassed. So they annoy genuine users who have to prove themselves while the pirates (yarrrr) carry on as normal.

Are you a pirate Pete..

 

[petemc]

Are you a pirate Pete..

While I do say yarrrr alot I don't see myself as a pirate. Don't listen to the parrot either, he's just jealous of the monkey.

 

[busterboy]

While I do say yarrrr alot I don't see myself as a pirate. Don't listen to the parrot either, he's just jealous of the monkey.

..

I couldnt see you with one leg and a patch on your eye..

 

[petemc]

As an Apple fan I do indeed have an iPatch

 

[busterboy]

As an Apple fan I do indeed have an iPatch

Oh gawd that is poor..

 

[Celestia]

i think ill go and buy a mac......

Well with Vista you're more than half way there! More bits of Mac coolness lifted borrowed lifted from Mac OS than you can shake a stick at.

Or go get Linux.

As a web designer who wastes precious hours trying to get sites to work with Microshaft's incompetent browsers, I don't need any extra reason to hate Microshaft and Billy boy's antics, but their peculiar licencing arrangements have long annoyed me - for example the "replace more than X components of your machine and it's a "new" machine and you therefore need to shell out for our awful OS all over again" rule. Similarly with this two installs and it's shell out more dosh thing - crazy! Have a major problem with you machine and you need to do a complete OS reinstall, but the same thing happens again and you're stuffed. Daylight robbery! As IanC_UK says though, they're re-writing the rules all the time.

Personally, Vista's not going to be going anywhere near any of my machines for a long time. The only reason I still have Windoze is because my VPN connection to work doesn't work with anything else, but my next machine I'm going for dual boot - Windoze for my VPN connection, Linux for everything else. The majority of my software's already open source, and I see absolutely no reason to hand over any more of my hard earned cash to Billy boy and friends. :shake:

 

[Steep]

I once bought an oem copy of xp pro on t'internet that later turned out to be fake, I'd never have known it (the disc looked so professional) but comparing the disc with the genuine ones on the M$ advantage site there were distinct differences. Online company nowhere to be found so nothing to do but bite the bullet and buy the genuine advantage copy and return the fake to M$.

I very recently bought a second hand laptop, didn't want XP on it so reformatted and installed (after much hair pulling and gnashing of teeth) Linux. Even Ubuntu Linux though by far the easiest to install and use is not easy to set up properly. Hardware items that are very common have no or very poor driver support, drivers that do exist often just don't work. While I got the laptop working 95% successfully, nothing I could do would get the wireles network card talk to the router, nor could I use a usb mouse.

Back to XP, I bought an oem copy of home (from a long term reputable company), had it installed and working completly without any fuss or bother in 90 minutes.

I'm sure there's a place in the world for Linux, but not on my laptop until the o/s is properly supported, meantime I'm (just) happy to pay microsofts premium.

 

[Celestia]

Yep, that's the big problem with Linux, and I do think until it is more user friendly and better supported, it's not going to really take off. At the moment I play about with Knoppix, which runs off CD-ROM - nothing to install on the PC as an intro to the Linux world.

The sad fact is that at the moment, for your average PC user who knows nothing about OSs and just wants to be able to switch on and go, with the exception of Mac, there isn't a viable alternative to M$, which is I guess the way M$ wants to keep it, but for the good of the computer industry and consumers, I do feel that an alternative is badly needed. M$ has a virtual monopology in the OS world, at least as far as desktops are concerned - servers are a different matter - and that's not good for anyone.

 

[Marik]

Just download the thing which disables the WGA check thing, search your soul.

Most internet users, knew that the WGA was getting released and set their windows update to non automatic, this meant that the WGA wasn't install into your computer thus, meaning you don't get a message...

Ofcourse, this problem is solved if you buy a legit version

Love Dan

 

[brummie]

Steep i dont believe any flavour of linux will not sort your usb mouse out :shrug:
Ubuntu even supports WPA now for wireless

and it isnt Linux fault that OEM only write drivers for M$

 

[King_Boru]

Another question while on the subject, Do you have to ring Microsoft up for activation every-time I format, Or just when new hardware is added to my PC...:shrug:

You'll have to ring them up every time to activate. They WILL get suspicious as I called them 3 or 4 times a year when I was running an XP machine. Thankfully I have converted to Mac. not problem or reinstall since .

King.

EDIT: That was duw to formatting and system cleansing.

 

[busterboy]

You'll have to ring them up every time to activate. They WILL get suspicious as I called them 3 or 4 times a year when I was running an XP machine.

What right have they to get suspicious..:shrug:

It can be anything from a virus to a hardware failure or even just to tidy things up that makes a new install necessary..:bang:


It really makes me angry that you pay good money for your operating system to make things legal and all this technical bull**** really drives you back to the none legit versions..

Then they wonder why people go down that route..

Rant over..

 

[IanC_UK]

It really makes me angry that you pay good money for your operating system to make things legal and all this technical bull**** really drives you back to the none legit versions.

You aren't the only one mate, i work with it everyday, and its sickening sometimes, i don't like the fact they put IE7 on as a critical update either !

 

[Celestia]

I did the same with that - installed the wotsit that stops IE7 installing, at least on my laptop. I only keep IE around for testing anyhow, but apart from IE's blatant disregard for web standards, I don't trust a browser that hides the menubar by default. Real smart move that was.

 

[desantnik]

Since purchasing my copy of Vista I have already had a serious upgrade to my computer replacing almost everything inside the tower, Of course had to Re-Install Vista and activate it again, It wouldn't let me do it online so I rang Microsoft UK and did it over the phone.

The Vista activation code is derived from the licence number and a hash value generated by motherboard serial number, CPU serial number, network card MAC address and video card (I think!). If you change more than two of those elements then it is effectively a new PC.

The OEM licence is only for a specific computer. The full retail licence is for one computer (ie my computer).

So yes, technically you have a new PC and so require a new licence.

MS let you off a bit at the moment, but probably not for much longer.

Expect licence enforcement to become a lot harsher, especially as people are moving to "software as a service", where you pay per use of software rather than for an open ended agreement....

 

[petemc]

Yep, that's the big problem with Linux, and I do think until it is more user friendly and better supported, it's not going to really take off. At the moment I play about with Knoppix, which runs off CD-ROM - nothing to install on the PC as an intro to the Linux world.

The sad fact is that at the moment, for your average PC user who knows nothing about OSs and just wants to be able to switch on and go, with the exception of Mac, there isn't a viable alternative to M$, which is I guess the way M$ wants to keep it, but for the good of the computer industry and consumers, I do feel that an alternative is badly needed. M$ has a virtual monopology in the OS world, at least as far as desktops are concerned - servers are a different matter - and that's not good for anyone.

Agreed. Linux is very powerful and a great server OS but I still feel its not enough for your average home user. You will get Linux fans claiming it is but personally I don't think it is. My Dad managed to switch from XP to OSX but I doubt he'd manage with Linux as easily. 7 years ago I kept hearing IT bosses say "We're switching to Linux. Its great and powerful and buzzword." It never happened. 7 years on, it never happened. If you're a gamer you are stuck with Windows and you can bet that MS planned that all along. DX10 is Vista only to make people upgrade. They tried to tie IE into the desktop years ago to hook people into Windows and now they're doing the same thing with games.

As for IE7 as a critical update, I do kinda agree with that. IE6 was buggy as hell and allowed for so many backdoors. IE7 is better for security and for standards too so its good to make people upgrade to it.

 

[IanC_UK]

As for IE7 as a critical update, I do kinda agree with that. IE6 was buggy as hell and allowed for so many backdoors. IE7 is better for security and for standards too so its good to make people upgrade to it.

If you saw how many issues i have seen in a corporate environment with this forced upgrade you wouldnt feel like that Pete ! It is fine to recommend it for an upgrade, but forcing this upgrade has destroyed pc's, leading to them requiring a reinstall.