techwireless
Windows Black Screen of Darkness
Filed in archive Software by Elwyn Jenkins on September 11, 2007
Microsoft is getting really heavy handed these days. This week Microsoft sent emails to a Windows Vista distributor indicating that Microsoft has now turned on worldwide a system that identifies pirated codes, or pirated Vista installations and reduces the computer to working in "reduced functionality" mode.

Now that might be a good thing to locate and reduce a pirated copy to being able to do nothing, but what happened to me is the reason why I will not use Windows Vista again.

Windows Black Screen of Darkness

Three months ago I bought a new Hewlett Packard desktop computer complete with Windows Vista Home Basic already installed. A week ago, my computer stopped working except for allowing me to use a browser to go to a Microsoft site where I was told I could buy a genuine Microsoft product key for my installation.

Having already paid for the software in my hardware purchase I was hardly going to buy another key. So I called Microsoft and their response was initially that I needed to buy a key. I told the service agent the story of where and when I purchased the computer.

buying_vista.jpg

An hour and twenty minutes later, eventually the microsoft help desk worked with me to get my computer going with a new code.

The problem was that my copy of Vista is genuine. AND Microsoft took nearly an hour and a half to get me going again. How many innocent people are going to get netted in this time wasting exercise? This broke into my productivity for one morning. How many more times is this going to happen?

It's OK to net the pirates, and I hold no grudge against Microsoft for trying to wipe out piracy, but I am totally against Microsoft wasting my time like that. They are going to have to do better than that. This is the last computer on which I will run Vista.

Pictures with thanks from maxasia.net.

Permalink: Windows Black Screen of Darkness
Tags: Microsoft+Vista  Microsoft+reduced+functionality 
Trackback: http://publish.creative-weblogging.com/publish/mt-tb.pl/91172
img Addthis img Ask img Blinklist img del.icio.us img Digg img Fark img Facebook img Google img Lycos img Ma.gnolia Add this page to Mister Wong Mr Wong img Netscape img Netvousz img Newsvine img Reddit img StumbleUpon img Slashdot img Tailrank img Technorati img Wink img Yahoo

Vote for Windows Black Screen of Darkness:

  • Currently 7.50/10
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
Rating: 7.50 out of 4 vote(s) cast.
 
Subscribe
Share It
RSSrss
See all blog subscribe options
Google google
What is RSS?
Yahoo! yahoo
Addthis Subscribe using any feed reader!
Bloglines Bloglines
Newsletter

TwitterFollow us on Twitter!