Free Windows Vista Business & Office Professional 2007 ?

[Ryland]

I have the feeling that an IRS audit is similar to what happens in airports when the security people have decided that YOU are the one they are going to give the "full deal" to that day...

 

[zigner]

Originally posted by: commOdog

My personal feeling is that, in all reality, if the IRS wants to audit me over my 1040ez form because i forgot to claim I got a copy of free software, i don't give a crap.

I'm single, make less than 100k a year, no kids, I don't itemize. I doubt they will add a flag to their software to check for a bunch of computer geeks who didn't claim their "prize" from microsoft.

And if they do, who gives a rats ass. Audit me.

Its a simple process, and you will get to see it. All companies are required to send files with all the 1099 information to the IRS. When the IRS systems don't find the match on your return, it will generate a letter telling you how much additional tax you owe, plus interest, and possibly penalties. It doesn't matter how much you make, how many kids you have, etc, you owe tax on it. It doesn't take an audit to do that, its all automated and has been for years.

If your response to the IRS letter is I don't give a rats ass. Good luck with your audit....lol

 

[StevenYoo]

got my e-mail.

can't wait to get my copy of Office!

 

[Treyshadow]

I received my email for vista. Very pleased...

 

[InSuboRdiNaTioN]

Update today from Mark Brown:
Thanks everyone. I know you're all anxious to get your hands on these products. Please be patient. We're working hard processing the W9's and picking/packing/labeling the products to go out early this next week.

He also says:
?btw I just confirmed with my team that we are only shipping the 32 bit version of Vista.

Bummer. Looks like I'll have to sell my copy so I can buy the 64bit version. Or perhaps they will let us upgrade for a price.

 

[eklass]

Originally posted by: InSuboRdiNaTioN
Update today from Mark Brown:
Thanks everyone. I know you're all anxious to get your hands on these products. Please be patient. We're working hard processing the W9's and picking/packing/labeling the products to go out early this next week.

He also says:
?btw I just confirmed with my team that we are only shipping the 32 bit version of Vista.

Bummer. Looks like I'll have to sell my copy so I can buy the 64bit version. Or perhaps they will let us upgrade for a price.

It's possible (and probable since retail will ship with both physical disks) your key will work on 64 or 32-bit. In that case, you could just get your hands on the other bits and use your key legitimately.

I'll leave it up to you on how to get those bits.

 

[Ryland]

Originally posted by: InSuboRdiNaTioN
Bummer. Looks like I'll have to sell my copy so I can buy the 64bit version. Or perhaps they will let us upgrade for a price.

That sucks. I was specifically planning on installing 64bit Vista.

I wonder if the free upgrade I am getting for my new work box from Dell will have both versions? If so I may have to switch them around since I will be installing 32bit at work.

 

[QuixoticOne]

Originally posted by: InSuboRdiNaTioN
Update today from Mark Brown:
Thanks everyone. I know you're all anxious to get your hands on these products. Please be patient. We're working hard processing the W9's and picking/packing/labeling the products to go out early this next week.

He also says:
?btw I just confirmed with my team that we are only shipping the 32 bit version of Vista.

Bummer. Looks like I'll have to sell my copy so I can buy the 64bit version. Or perhaps they will let us upgrade for a price.

Yes, I agree.

I certainly try not to look any gift horse in the mouth, so I am
in no uncertain terms grateful that I'll be getting an x32 VISTA license.

From an overall technology perspective, though, it seemed like the main potential
benefits of VISTA could / should have been:
a) Windows File system -- but this was scrapped and never made it to market.
b) True seamless 64bit and 32 bit backward compatible computing for the masses.
c) DirectX10 (though honestly this SHOULD also have been made available for XP)
d) Ubiquitous multi media / media center integration -- this didn't happen either.

As it is WFS is not going to happen.

64 bit mode seems like it's got so many software, hardware, and usability compatibility
problems that I sort of doubt that most people even with 64 bit CPUs will be able to use
this effectively for at least 2 years so overall there's no real standardization or usability
benefit of the design relative to the XP X64 incompatible / non-integrated fiasco present
situation. Games and many software installers won't run under VISTA 64. Many
drivers for printers, scanners, older video cards and other hardware won't either.
Enforced DRM "shove it down your throat whether you like it or not" X64
driver signing just makes it more unreliable, more expensive, more incompatible for
everyone, and a lot harder for the software and hardware developers. The only good
thing about X64 is being able to have more than 3GB of memory.

DX10 has/had some promise to be a bit better than DX9, but considering the
ridiculous "shoot everyone in the foot" DRM fiasco with VISTA, especially how it relates
to video hardware, HDCP, HDMI, PVP, etc., it's a total mess and it seems like it's
being very difficult for video card OEMs to even get *working* DX10 drivers out that
are half as good as the DX9 present ones. NVIDIA's top of the line card has been out
for 3 months and VISTA business / enterprise has been out for 2 months and they
have yet to have even the first released VISTA driver for it or any of the previous BETAs.

Media center ought to have been included in every VISTA version, but as it is it'll
only be in Home Pro & Ultimate while the normal Home version and Business version
won't have it. Frankly it's not all that good either in the sense that there are plenty of
freeware or inexpensive PVR / TV / HDTV / DVD player programs that are just as good
as Microsoft's Media Center at a lot lower price than VISTA HOME PRO would be.

Given all that mess plus the usual "pre-SP2" product instability, it's tough to find a
financial cost / benefit or technical features / performance reason to choose VISTA
over XP HOME, XP MCE, or XP PRO / PRO64.

Anytime upgrade COULD have been somewhat of a decent feature but they messed
that up royally -- go out and buy an RETAIL box version of VISTA, and you can
install it / use it legally on any PC you want, changing your hardware and upgrading
to a new system as often as you want, and you can sell it and the new owner gets to
use it on any system they want too.

BUT let's say you want the very best, you start with unrestricted VISTA HOME retail, but
you ANYTIME UPGRADE that to VISTA ULTIMATE -- and -- whoops! All of a sudden
your "ULTIMATE" VISTA is now no better than an OEM version -- you CANNOT transfer
it to a different PC or upgrade your PC substantially more than once or you lose the
VISTA ULTIMATE license you just paid for, it's done after one PC transfer, and, oops,
you lost your original VISTA HOME retail license too since that gets "used up" when you
upgraded to "ULTIMATE"! If you sell your ULTIMATE, well, it can only be transfered
between parties ONCE, and then the new owner is stuck using it on ONE PC and never
being able to transfer it to another PC either. Not a very ULTIMATE experience for
$400+ or cash. That's more like an ANYTIME DOWNGRADE not an ANYTIME UPGRADE!


Security? Maybe ever so slightly better, but really still not much of an improvement over
XP and the new DRM ware and NAG ware (UAC "I'm sorry, Dave, you're not authorized
to do that to your own PC, I can't let you do that, Dave. Dave, what are you doing?
Please don't do that Dave.....") is a total fiasco. If they cared about end user
security they'd have not crippled all the encryption, secure remote access, security
policies, etc. etc. on the HOME versions and would have included a MUCH better
firewall and virus scanning program and hooks for it into the filesystem and task
manager etc. more like SELINUX is on LINUX.

Oh well. I'll be happy to have OFFICE, and it'll be nice to be able to do some testing
and development under VISTA but it's sad to see that with so many "years in the making"
that VISTA ended up being so crippled and disappointing in the end.

 

[ScottAD]

Pity I didn't get in on this. Perhaps they will do it again...unlikely, but one can dream.

 

[Mellman]

Who are the emails from? I have my gmail account registered with them and havn't seen anything - but my stuff says the congrats message.

-Matt

 

[QuixoticOne]

Originally posted by: Mellman
Who are the emails from? I have my gmail account registered with them and havn't seen anything - but my stuff says the congrats message.

-Matt

The person in charge of the promotion just yesterday said that they're still
busily sending out emails and doing other aspects of order fulfillment preparation etc.
I wouldn't worry.


Office Series Support (Support-OfficeSeries@response.microsoft.com)
Reply-To:
Support-OfficeSeries@response.microsoft.com
To:
Subject:
You've Earned Your Office Series Gift

Dear :

Congratulations.You've learned how to leverage the 2007 Microsoft Office system to enable to workers to get connected to the information they need. And now your free, full-licensed copy of the Microsoft Office Professional 2007 is on its way.

Please be patient. We cannot ship your gift until Microsoft Office Professional 2007 is released to manufacturing. Your free software should arrive in six to eight weeks after RTM. If it doesn't arrive after eight weeks, please contact a customer service representative at Windows Vista and Office Kit Order Admin. Be sure to have your confirmation number xxxxx on hand.



Vista Series Support (Support-VistaSeries@response.microsoft.com) +Add contact
Reply-To:
Support-VistaSeries@response.microsoft.com
To:
Subject:
You've Earned Your Vista Series Gift


Dear :

Congratulations, you?ve learned how to build well-connected, visually stunning applications with Windows Vista, and now your free, full-licensed copy of Windows Vista Business is on its way.

Please be patient. We cannot ship your gift until Windows Vista Business is released to manufacturing. Your free software should arrive in six to eight weeks after RTM. If it doesn't arrive after eight weeks, please contact a customer service representative at Windows Vista and Office Kit Order Admin. Be sure to have your confirmation number on hand.

If you are eligible for and have registered to receive both the Windows Vista Business offer and Microsoft Office Professional 2007 offer, you must complete a W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) form. To make this easier, go to this online form and fax or mail the completed form using the information provided. This form must be completed, returned and documented before the second gift can be shipped. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient.

W9 form if needed to get both:
http://www.windowsvistaoffice2007w-9.com

 

[generalnewbie]

Forgive me if im wrong but...

If you only signed up for 1 of the offers then your not required to put it on your tax return right? or are you?

Filing it on your tax return means you went over the 600 gift amount? which would be both office and vista? Correct me if im wrong

 

[kaborka]

Damnation! I missed the requirement that the videos had to be viewed within 30 days of registration -- I lost the offer!

 

[WDEagle]

Originally posted by: generalnewbie
Forgive me if im wrong but...

If you only signed up for 1 of the offers then your not required to put it on your tax return right? or are you?

Filing it on your tax return means you went over the 600 gift amount? which would be both office and vista? Correct me if im wrong

You understood correctly.

 

[QuixoticOne]

Originally posted by: generalnewbie
Forgive me if im wrong but...

If you only signed up for 1 of the offers then your not required to put it on your tax return right? or are you?

Filing it on your tax return means you went over the 600 gift amount? which would be both office and vista? Correct me if im wrong

Well the *GIVER* is not required to report gifts to you unless they're over $600/year.

Technically as a recipient I think you MAY be technically required to report all
'income' on your taxes even if the giver does not send you a 1099 for it.
But since the giver doesn't send a 1099 about the gift, the only one who knows about
it to report it would be you.

If you want to know the answer check what it says about income from things like
tips, prizes, awards, gambling winnings, miscellaneous income or whatever and see
what the exclusion amounts and situations are. It is not AFAIK the same as if
a PERSON gives you a gift though -- in that case you do not pay tax on it.

Actually that brings up sort of an interesting question -- when I 'tip' I consider it a gift
to the server for good service. It seems unfair and contradictory to make them pay
tax on their gifts received (e.g. tips) when nobody else has to pay taxes on
monetary gifts received...hmm...

 

[Replay]

"Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise ready to download"

Whoopee, er, wait a minute...
Damn. Had me going for a moment, but it turns out I'm reading a spam email in a domain catch-all account.

"Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise
Retail Price $899.00
Our Price $79.95
You save $819.05
Office 2007 is available for enterprise users from November 30, 2006. The end user version is available from the beginning of 2007. The 2007 Microsoft Office System, also known as Microsoft Office 2007, is the most recent version of Microsoft's productivity suite. Formerly known as Office 12 in the initial stages of its beta cycle, it was scheduled to be made available to volume license customers on November 30, 2006, with general availability following in early 2007. Office 2007 contains a number of new features, the most notable of which is the entirely new graphical user interface called the Ribbon..."

 

[altonb1]

Got my confirmation msg about a week or so ago...trying to decide how quickly I'll install once received. I'm thinking I should probably ghost my machine before install. you know, just in case....

 

[Luthien]

Saw this question already asked but no one answered it yet. Fax the first page only or all four pages? Doesn't seem like you would need to fax more than just the first page since the rest is all instructions/explanations. Probably a dumb question but who wants to fax four pages when they can fax just one, lol.

 

[Elixer]

Originally posted by: InSuboRdiNaTioN
Update today from Mark Brown:
Thanks everyone. I know you're all anxious to get your hands on these products. Please be patient. We're working hard processing the W9's and picking/packing/labeling the products to go out early this next week.

He also says:
btw I just confirmed with my team that we are only shipping the 32 bit version of Vista.

Bummer. Looks like I'll have to sell my copy so I can buy the 64bit version. Or perhaps they will let us upgrade for a price.

Can't sell this one, it is a NFR CD. It does suck that it is only the 32bit version though. This was geared for developers I thought, so why not let them have the 64bit version?

 

[loup garou]

I wonder if we are eligible for an Anytime Upgrade from this? Inexpensive road to Ultimate for those who want its features.

 

[Darthvoy]

Originally posted by: Replay
"Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise ready to download"

Whoopee, er, wait a minute...
Damn. Had me going for a moment, but it turns out I'm reading a spam email in a domain catch-all account.

"Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise
Retail Price $899.00
Our Price $79.95
You save $819.05
Office 2007 is available for enterprise users from November 30, 2006. The end user version is available from the beginning of 2007. The 2007 Microsoft Office System, also known as Microsoft Office 2007, is the most recent version of Microsoft's productivity suite. Formerly known as Office 12 in the initial stages of its beta cycle, it was scheduled to be made available to volume license customers on November 30, 2006, with general availability following in early 2007. Office 2007 contains a number of new features, the most notable of which is the entirely new graphical user interface called the Ribbon..."

I also got the same email and got all excited only to find out it was spam.

 

[QuixoticOne]

Bummer. Looks like I'll have to sell my copy so I can buy the 64bit version. Or perhaps they will let us upgrade for a price.

Can't sell this one, it is a NFR CD. It does suck that it is only the 32bit version though. This was geared for developers I thought, so why not let them have the 64bit version?

Where did you see that?
I've never seen any official statement that it was NFR: I've only just recently seen
confirmation that it was a Retail license, and in that statement nothing about NFR was
mentioned.

I've seen some speculation / rumor that x64 discs are simply NOT going to be
included in any of the retail box VISTA products, but rather that the license key will
entitle you to order and use an x64 VISTA disc for some service / handling / shipping
cost.

If so, I'm disappointed that they haven't included x64 files with all VISTA media / editions,
but I am at least glad to see that there may be a relatively inexpensive way to get
VISTA x64 if you have an x32 license anyway. It is also disappointing that they did
the mandatory-driver-signing thing in x64. That combined with the lack of easy / free
availability of x64 to people that buy retail (or probably many OEM) OS copies
seems likely to make x64 a giant product failure that's likely to remain in only very
insignificant use compared to x32, and a product that will be generally incompatible
and poorly supported with many drivers / games for quite a while.

Reportedly there will also be a Microsoft e-commerce site where you can order
and download VISTA in any of its consumer-available editions either x32 or x64,
though I'm not sure if a download x64 "side-grade" will be available at low cost to
those who already have x32 keys.

I dislike the DRM / "encryption" type of references in the below materials; I fail
to see any point in encrypting / DRMing the downloaded purchased VISTA/Office
software since the software itself will presumably require activation with a
unique product key to be of any use, so just letting people download the
ISO image or executable installers of the full products without any limited access to
the software seems sensible.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/jan07/01-17ConsumerOptionsPR.mspx

Windows Marketplace Adds Windows Vista to Its Virtual Shelves

In another first, Microsoft will make Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft ® Office release available for direct download via Windows Marketplace, the largest online destination for buying software that runs on Windows. Starting Jan. 30 and working with retail partners, Windows Marketplace will offer the following upgrade editions of Windows Vista and full versions of the 2007 Microsoft Office release at suggested retail prices:

Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Ultimate
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
Microsoft Office Professional 2007
Microsoft Office Standard 2007

Windows Vista editions offered through Windows Marketplace are available in English only, in either 32-bit or 64-bit versions. Windows Marketplace visitors also can find a wide variety of Windows-compatible hardware and software, including products carrying the Certified for Windows Vista logo, which are tested to ensure superior reliability and quality when running on Windows Vista.

Windows Marketplace makes it fast and easy to download large programs such as Windows Vista through its digital locker technology. Digital locker combines the immediacy of downloaded software with the security features of owning physical media like a DVD ? it uses innovative security technology to store purchased software and license keys, efficiently resumes downloads if they are interrupted, and manages the overall installation process. More information can be found on Jan. 30 at http://www.windowsmarketplace.com .

 

[QuixoticOne]

Originally posted by: loup garou
I wonder if we are eligible for an Anytime Upgrade from this? Inexpensive road to Ultimate for those who want its features.

Yes, you can do Anytime Upgrade from BUSINESS TO ULTIMATE AFAIK.
However I STRONGLY DISCOURAGE use of ANYTIME UPGRADE
for most people since you actually are effectively forced to DOWNGRADE
from a RETAIL license to an OEM-like one (in its PC upgrade/transfer and
license transfer to another person/party restrictions)!

You'd basically start with BUSINESS RETAIL whose license lets you transfer
the OS to any other PC or make unrestricted upgrades to your PC any number
of times as long as you're only using it on one PC at a time. It also lets you transfer
(give/sell/whatever) the OS license to someone else and in turn they are free to
use it on any successive number of PCs, do any upgrades, sell/give the OS away to
someone else in time, etc.

If you ANYTIME UPGRADE, you LOSE the right to use your BUSINESS RETAIL license
product, it's gone forever, and you LOSE the ability to transfer the OS to an
significantly upgraded or new replacement PC more than ONCE EVER.
You can transfer/give/sell the ANYTIME UPGRADED OS to someone else
ONLY IF YOU ALSO GIVE AWAY THE WHOLE PC, and the recipient could NOT
transfer the OS license to another party or use it on a different PC!

So basically you really get screwed if you use ANYTIME UPGRADE and it is useless
for many people who will want to upgrade their PCs more than every several years
unless they change the license terms so you don't LOSE rights when you 'UPGRADE'.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/jan07/01-17ConsumerOptionsPR.mspx

edition that?s right for them.?

Windows Anytime Upgrade Lets Customers Upgrade Anytime, Anywhere

Windows Anytime Upgrade is a new option that allows customers to conveniently upgrade their existing edition of Windows Vista to a higher-grade edition by way of an online transaction. For example, if a Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Business user decides he or she wants more capability ? perhaps to join his home PCs to secure domains at the office, or to experience the multimedia capabilities of Windows Vista on his work laptop ? Windows Anytime Upgrade makes the process of moving to Windows Vista Ultimate expedient and affordable. To use Windows Anytime Upgrade, a customer simply clicks on the Windows Anytime Upgrade option in the Start menu, selects the desired upgrade edition, purchases it online to secure a new digital key, and then follows the on-screen instructions to complete the upgrade.

Within Windows Anytime Upgrade, customers will be able to obtain detailed feature-by-feature information on the different Windows Vista editions, so that they can make an informed decision on whether an upgrade is right for them. The integrated desktop and e-commerce experience allows customers, with one click, to go from the Windows desktop to an e-commerce shopping cart containing the upgrade path they have selected.

The business model for Windows Anytime Upgrade is unique in the industry in that selected original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and retail partners will be able to offer Windows Anytime Upgrade as online merchants, via a new e-commerce infrastructure developed by Microsoft. For the first time, both retailers and OEMs can ensure that their customers have the option to directly upgrade the version of Windows on their PC even after their initial purchase.

The manufacturer?s suggested retail prices to upgrade to more premium editions of Windows Vista are as follows: Home Basic to Home Premium $79, Home Basic to Ultimate $199, Home Premium to Ultimate $159 and Business to Ultimate $139. Windows Anytime Upgrade will coincide with the general availability of Windows Vista in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan on Jan. 30, and after launch customers can find additional information at http://www.windowsanytimeupgrade.com .

http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/useterms/default.aspx
Windows Vista_Business_English.pdf

MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS
WINDOWS VISTA BUSINESS
...
13. UPGRADES. To use upgrade software, you must first be licensed for the software that is
eligible for the upgrade. Upon upgrade, this agreement takes the place of the agreement
for the software you upgraded from. After you upgrade, you may no longer use the
software you upgraded from.
...
15. REASSIGN TO ANOTHER DEVICE.
a. Software Other than Windows Anytime Upgrade. You may uninstall the software
and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license
between devices.

b. Windows Anytime Upgrade Software. The first user of the software may reassign
the license to another device one time, but only if the license terms of the software you
upgraded from allows reassignment.

16. TRANSFER TO A THIRD PARTY.
a. Software Other Than Windows Anytime Upgrade. The first user of the software
may make a one time transfer of the software, and this agreement, directly to a third
party. The first user must uninstall the software before transferring it separately from
the device. The first user may not retain any copies.

b. Windows Anytime Upgrade Software. You may transfer the software directly to a
third party only with the licensed device. You may not keep any copies of the software
or any earlier version.

 

[loup garou]

Yeah, but for $140 (I believe that was the cost for Business -> Ultimate), I don't particularly care.

 

[QuixoticOne]

Originally posted by: loup garou
Yeah, but for $140 (I believe that was the cost for Business -> Ultimate), I don't particularly care.

For only a little more than $140 you can just buy another VISTA HOME PRO UPGRADE
license, then use that on one PC or partition or whatever as your media center / for games
or whatever and run BUSINESS on your other PC or dual-boot partition for more serious
work where you may want/need the business features.

It seems like you'd get more value and less license restrictions that way for basically
the same cost.

But to each their own.