MS should give anyone affected by this some free software as compensation and everyone is happy... If they don't, and you're one of those affected, I'd call them up and complain how the whole thing wasted you a lot of time and they'll probably give you Office 2007 or something. You know it costs them money every time you call...and it costs them (basically) ZERO to give you a gift.

Damn, I can't believe they aren't even going to try to rectify the problem. Figures...

Great a discount for an OS that breaks online gaming!
What a deal!

Great, a troll. Get a life. The programming of these games (and software in general) is more to blame than Vista itself. Software in Windows has been given much too free a rein for far too long. Most software (especially games!) shouldn't require an admin account to install and run. Vista should allow shortcuts to be removed from the desktop without admin rights, but you're making a mountain out of a mole hole.

Win95 broke about 1000x more "things" than previous OS's. Didn't stop it from taking the world in a storm. So I think you're crying just a bit too hard about a few minor EXPECTED glitches in the advacement of the computing world... Not to mention most will be SURELY FIXED by software patches, website redesign for IE7 (also shoved down XP users' throats), and new Vista-compatible drivers released in the coming months, whereas in Win95 you had to buy new MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE HARDWARE (than today) AND SOFTWARE to MOVE FORWARD...

That said, if you're happy with XP, stick with it (like I do too). If you're happy with Vista so much that you'd wanna buy more licenses for all your family's PCs, I'm pretty sure you've made that decision AFTER you enjoyed Vista on one PC... Not everyone gives a crap about "online gaming" or other minor flaws he may encounter on HIS SETUP(s) of Vista as an early adopter. MOST people I know who've tried Vista, LOVED IT. A few went back to XP...

Most retailers allow money back on Vista, so you can buy retail, test it on your machine, return it even if you like it, and get a $69 Educational discounted Vista Home Premium Upgrade via the family's student and install it clean (even though it's an upgrade).

You really need to read up on what your talking about before trolling, otherwise you just look like the idiot that you are.

They must have downloaded the wrong keygen :P

Alright consumer. Here Is the latest in OVERLY-COMPLEX pricing schemes for something you really don't need.

.. oops, we don't seem to be able to handle our own affairs...

...please wait a moment...

Ok, There.
Perhaps this won't happen again.

What a joke.
Corporations: This is how relying on a single company can seriously screw up your bottom line.

Can you imagine if keys just stopped working for corporate customers? Or if a company with 20K users found that during their rollout the keys they had been given don't work?

Lovely.

Dude... It was the original key-generation that wasn't working. No running systems were effected; only those in the process of being upgraded. There was no case of keys that "just stopped working." Especially in the corporate environment given this licensing is intended for home users.

It's a pretty embarrassing mistake for sure, but try to keep a grip on reality, k?

Yep, more proof that:

Cable News is to George W. Bush as Technology News is to Microsoft.

One is unwilling to report any positive news on GWB while the other is unwilling to do so for Microsoft. (note this is a general statement not specifically about betanews. Betanews here is just repeating the negative news from neowin anyway.).

Its a conspiracy I tell yeah! (Oh, brother.)

Missing the piece where Betanews is telling you that MS is releasing working versions of the keys within a week instead of taking a month, as they initially said last week, as well as being basically an article on that everything should be working within a week rather than it focusing on the negatives?

MS gets better press than Sony at least. I'd compare cable news to GWB with non-Sony-owned Tech news to Sony instead. Since as far as I've heard, they haven't been doing very well PR-wise over the last few years. Not to turn this into a Sony v. MS post, just saying...

At least they recognise there is a problem, unlike Apple with certain Ipod models and the screens on some of their computers!

This was the initial response from Microsoft that was reported on Neowin on 31 Jan

Quote:

"Microsoft says, “This is a known issue and has been escalated to the program manager.” When asked what could be done I was told, “I can take your name and number and call you back when there is a solution. If that is not acceptable, I can cancel your order and issue you a refund.” I was also told, “There is no expected time period for a fix at this time.”

Unquote

Perhaps it was the negative reporting that got Microsoft heads out of their nether regions and forced them to fix the problem sooner than later as has been their practice in the past.

You're kidding, right? An entire cable news organization is completely devoted to reporting nothing but positive news about Mr. Bush. On the tech side, many sites, including Neowin, consistently publish overwhelmingly positive stories about Microsoft.

Your post is silly and I hope it was intended that way. Otherwise, your paranoia is preventing you from actually taking a look at the news sources you are concerned about; and instead, you react to any perceived slight as a blanket challenge to your distorted world view.

BTW...the politics/technology analogies are fast becoming as useless as the automobile/technology analogies.

Um, you're borrowing quotes from the wrong article, this was a response to a different issue. Please provide the link if I'm wrong.

http://www.neowin.net/in...p?act=view&id=37734

There ya go. Posted 31 Jan. Unlike some others here I check my sources before I post anything.

complete BS.. the drive by media just counts bodies and shows nothing but death in Iraq - They do not pander to GW at all. The republicans have 2 media outlets - fox news and AM talk radio. Everything else is Count down to no ratings (Keith Olberman) and CNN (Clinton News Network).

... way to post something about the Betanews topic at hand.

I did NOT RTFA, but did they just pop up with the "invalid license ... you have 60 days to register" error? If so, oops on MS's part, but suck it up, people.

Thanks for sharing, Ms. Coulter. Maybe you need to look around a bit more. Republicans have columnists in all major newspapers, not to mention the entire Washington Times propaganda machine. They have editorialists on all networks (including CNN), own most ABC affiliates, control the FCC, etc., etc. The left wing media is a myth and one that has obviously fooled you.

That aside, Ogman's final point is the most salient; comparing politics and technology is about as useful as a 5" floppy drive!

Exactly what color is the sky on the planet where YOU live. It sure as hell isn't blue.

LOL! That kinda reads like a half-assed troll.

Fox News is far from being pro-Republicans or pro-Bush. The Fox Network is owned by the socialist Rupert Murdoch which supports Democrats.

Are you writing from a parallel universe,perhaps?
Simply because in this reality the whole media networks you listed there are owned and controlled and work for the Democrats.

You've obviously never watched FOX news, nor do you know anything about the ownership of media outlets (ever heard of Sinclair Broadcasting?). You shouldn't even be in the conversation.

Enough said.

You've obviously been confused by Murdoch's accurate assessment of Clinton's politics. Hillary Clinton is a neo-liberal. That's why many knowledgeable conservatives actually like her and well informed Democrats would never vote for her. Do a little reading on neo-liberalism and you'll understand.

I have been waiting almost 2 days for a response daq. I guess when you are proven wrong your fingers cramp up.