2 edits | Miocrosoft Office 2013 licensing nightmare So we have a bunch of systems we've been setting up on our network and it seems you must have an internet connection to activate them.
The Microsoft web page shows screenshots of a method of phone activation. Unfortunately in the real world, what they refer to doesn't exist.
Since you don't get discs anymore, you have to deal with an online method that doesn't work so well.
Two of our systems we figured out who our activation employee was going to be (this is stupid) and then had him authenticate his hotmail email for office activations, and then he has to login again to authenticate. So, yea, two logins to your live account to activate.
After a day of us, after a nightly shutdown, two of our systems complain they can't start, there was a problem with the installation. Well, that's great... even though it was working, activated, there was a problem.
We use our downloaded installation and then reinstall and it asks for the product key again. {expletive deleted}
We punch in the product keys - UGH, need that user's login again. Where is he? Damn it.
He logs in and it tells us the product keys are in use on another system. {expletive deleted}
Call the Microsoft number on the screen. He can't help me, they have to transfer me to technical support but don't worry, this technical call will be provided for free this time... gee, thanks, your product has a failing registration system and your web page is wrong so I appreciate you gracing me with your support to make your product work out of the box on a new PC.
So far 45 minutes waiting for Microsoft Technical Support to activate my product...
I'm switching this place to OpenOffice. |
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| Microsoft representative has confirmed that a real email address is a requirement for Microsoft Office 2013.
Tying your login to this Office also seems to be a requirement to combat piracy. So every time a different person opens up Word on the same PC you use, he's greeted to your Live image / email.
Now we find out the software that exports templates to Microsoft Word won't work with x64 and we need 32 bit... guess what that means? We have to re-activate the program. ugh. |
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 JohnInSJPremium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA | reply to HateOffice
Welcome to two months ago. We've been waiting for you.
Enjoy Libreoffice.
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1 edit | reply to HateOffice
said by HateOffice :Now we find out the software that exports templates to Microsoft Word won't work with x64 and we need 32 bit... guess what that means? We have to re-activate the program. ugh.
Hah! I'd like to know how you made out with that. I wonder if you made it to the final level of fighting with Office 2013 and discovered that you have to call for a secret link to download the 32-bit version since none of Microsoft's download links are google-able.
Or if you had to call Microsoft to have them de-activate the x64 so you could activate the 32-bit?
Or if you had to call Microsoft and learn that your product key is not a product key but a 'redemption key' and the real product product key (not a double typo) is only obtainable through your Live account?
Microsoft is a trainwreck.
I think they're doing everything they can to make it impossible to do anything that doesn't involve a subscription.
Edit: Adjusted profanity. It was hard though, this experience is a stain on your soul. |
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 DKSDamn Kidney StonesPremium,ExMod 2002
join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON
kudos:2
 ·Bell Sympatico
| reply to HateOffice
said by HateOffice :So we have a bunch of systems we've been setting up on our network and it seems you must have an internet connection to activate them.
Which is why government systems are still running XP and Office 2003.
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 dib22
join:2002-01-27
Kansas City, MO | reply to HateOffice
said by HateOffice :I'm switching this place to OpenOffice.
As stated above... consider LibreOffice instead.  |
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 MsradellP.E.Premium
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| said by dib22:said by HateOffice :I'm switching this place to OpenOffice.
As stated above... consider LibreOffice instead. Unfortunately, this is not an option in many corporate situations for various reasons. |
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OZOPremium
join:2003-01-17
kudos:2 | If it's not an option, why corporations have to update to Ofc.2013? They can still use old versions without that hassle...
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Keep it simple, it'll become complex by itself... |
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| It's true, with VLK corporations won't have to deal with that. For everyone else though... |
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| reply to dib22
It doesn't seem like LibreOffice or OpenOffice have an "Outlook" type client?
If you get 2013 preinstalled on a system, lets just say from Dell for example... can you use downgrade rights to put 2010 on it?
We just rolled out 2010 last year. 2013 is atrocious, 99.9% white, flat, lifeless, migraine inducing UI that I don't want to subject the users to another change so soon. It was a big enough change for us going from 2003 to 2010. |
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Reviews:
·Cogeco Cable
| There's no Outlook type client available anywhere. I investigate the possibility every few years and I've yet to find anything that's comparable or as out-of-the-box functional with Exchange.
Good question on the downgrade rights. My googling produced a chart on the path of what you're allowed concerning yearly skus but did not distinguish between medialess retail or media retail or VLK. VLK you're always allowed to downgrade stuff so I know that's not an issue... but not sure on the others. |
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JohnInSJPremium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA Reviews:
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·Comcast
| reply to cypherstream
said by cypherstream:99.9% white, flat, lifeless, migraine inducing UI
You can also use seizure-inducing dark gray and catatonic light gray now for backgrounds now. I prefer the catatonic light gray.
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 KramerPremium,Mod
join:2000-08-03
Richmond, VA
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| said by JohnInSJ:said by cypherstream:99.9% white, flat, lifeless, migraine inducing UI
You can also use seizure-inducing dark gray and catatonic light gray now for backgrounds now. I prefer the catatonic light gray. LOL
Their definition of "dark" isn't the same as mine. "Dark" was what they offered in 2010. What they offer now is different shades of white. That was after popular demand from the Beta which did not offer any themes at all. I prefer as little white on my screen as possible. Everything Microsoft is doing right now is splashing as much white as possible. Outlook.com looks like someone spilled a can of Sherwin-Williams bright white paint on my screen. The same for all the Office programs, dark theme invoked. |
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KramerPremium,Mod
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| reply to HateOffice
Just went through a similar nightmare. A person hired me to set up their new computer and had already set up a Microsoft Account for the WIN8 computer. I told them to buy the one year subscription of Office 365 from Costco for 95 bucks. When we get together I see that he hasn't yet confirmed his Microsoft account (which is now tied to his computer) and I try to do so. Then I see "there is a temporary problem with this service. Please try again..." I try a different computer no luck. I try using a cell phone and mobile broadband... no luck.
I give it three hours and then call Microsoft. That person was unable to help but expedited the support incident and promised a resolution in 3-5 business days. There is no way to install Office 365 unless you have a fully activated Microsoft account. They take your product key and activate it, but you can't download and install the software. Now I have to make a 45 mile round trip to go back and set up Outlook for this person. It really ticks me off they had no way to force the activation of the account and just left the man $100 poorer with nothing to show for it. The countdown has started on his subscription and he can't install the software.
As I read through the Internet I see people who have this happen for weeks at a time. Microsoft is clearly doing everything they know how to destroy their business. I've been in this business for about 20 years and I have never seen anything like it. |
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 RactMicrosoft Certified Systems CrasherPremium
join:2004-01-07
Philippines | reply to HateOffice
This + This = Problem Solved!
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KramerPremium,Mod
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| LibreOffice is a formidable Word Processing solution and I have only spent 5 minutes testing it. I opened an old tax return created by Turbo Tax in PDF format in both Word 2013 and Libre. Word appeared to freeze for a very long time with a warning on the screen that it would take a long time to convert. I thought it was completely frozen up but eventually I could select the option to open it. Add another 30 seconds to convert it and I had a completely unusable and pretty much un-viewable document. Nothing lined up. Libre opened and converted the PDF in seconds and it was near perfect. I could edit the tax return! I am not quite sure who did the OCR and will investigate that later, but I'm impressed.
My next experiment was to scan into the word processor a document that I would like converted into a PDF. That went flawlessly. Try that in Word.
That said, Thunderbird is not an Outlook replacement. It isn't even close. |
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OZOPremium
join:2003-01-17
kudos:2 | Why do not use PDF editor to edit PDF file? |
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 DustynPremium
join:2003-02-26
Ontario, CAN
kudos:10 | reply to HateOffice
Does Office 2010 have these issue? |
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KramerPremium,Mod
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Richmond, VA
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| reply to OZO
You are not editing a PDF which is always clunky. You are editing a PDF converted to a document. This something people want to do all the time and it can be messy. The Libre conversion is the best I have ever seen, not that I have seen everything... but it blows Word 2013 out of the water with that particular task. |
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| reply to Dustyn
said by Dustyn:Does Office 2010 have these issue?
No. |
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