Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion

consumerrights.wiki

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 401 posts

Re: Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion

#121

Post by stackghost »

jasonfarnon wrote: post #56
asveikau wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it me or are people too eager to "one track mind" everything into AI? If I had said thirty years ago that Microsoft would remote disable old copies of Office asking you to upgrade, literally no one would be surprised. This is standard MO for Microsoft, even in a world without AI.

"literally no one would be surprised" Microsoft 30 years ago was the gold standard for bending over backwards for backward compatibility. For the proposition that once you have purchased one of their products, you didn't have to maintain any further relationship with the company. This behavior is strictly the new 2010s Apple-like microsoft.

>This behavior is strictly the new 2010s Apple-like microsoft.

Surely you jest.

US v Microsoft, the antitrust case, was decided in 1998. Microsoft has always been a shitty company run by shitty people doing shitty things.

They enjoyed a brief upwell in public relations during the period when they had first seemingly embraced open source with WSL, GitHub, and maybe dotnet core, but it was merely a blip.

Being overtly anti-consumer is baked into Microsoft's DNA. They'll always return to that baseline.

Re: Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion

#124

Post by DrewADesign »

codedokode wrote: post #109
wmf wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The answer is far more comprehensive than I imagined. "...run one instance of the software on your device (the licensed device), for use by one person at a time... In this agreement, “device” means a local hardware system (whether physical or virtual) with an internal storage device capable of running the software. A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a device. For purposes of this agreement, “device” do…

So you need to waive even the right to sue to use Office? I didn't think it was so bad...

Arbitration agreements are de rigueur in EULAs, terms of service, and all sorts of other contracts.

Re: Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion

#125

Post by userbinator »

Retr0id wrote: post #40
teaearlgraycold wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn, you could create an illegal number by sharing an offset+value.

Or indeed an illegal LLM prompt: "/goal locate and patch out the licensing check"

It would be amusingly ironic if someone used Copilot to do it.

Re: Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion

#126

Post by qingcharles »

DomenicoMazza wrote: post #108

This change would go against multiple consumer guarantees in Australia where it's 1) a right to have undisturbed possession of a product 2) products must be fit for the advertised purpose https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/buying-products-and-servic... Microsoft would be breaking consumer law if the change goes ahead for the perpetual licenses they sold in Australia

Also, it's Office 2019, but they were officially selling it until the end of 2021, and third-party sellers were selling through their boxed inventory for years after too. So, this isn't even that old a piece of software.

And, let's not forget, this is trillion dollar corporation. They could find one of their Mac devs to write an update for this in a week. The negative publicity from this is measured in millions of dollars.

Re: Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion

#127

Post by jmward01 »

This is the new way and we need to stop it now. Forget the 'is it legal or not' arguments, their lawyers will win. Just get mad and tell them this is wrong. Stop buying their #$@#$ software. Block them. This is what is wrong with cars too. Don't want to give them real time data on you and your passengers and instead try to disconnect the modem? Well, no car functionality for you even if it doesn't need it. -get mad- Stop taking it. Microsoft is the enemy and needs to be treated that way. Same with any tech company that does the bait and switch TOS world. I buy so little software now and it is hard, but unless we stop this now it will only get worse.

Re: Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac view-only conversion

#130

Post by cwnyth »

Underphil wrote: post #81
asveikau wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it me or are people too eager to "one track mind" everything into AI? If I had said thirty years ago that Microsoft would remote disable old copies of Office asking you to upgrade, literally no one would be surprised. This is standard MO for Microsoft, even in a world without AI.

This is a bizarrely revisionist take. Perhaps you weren't around at the time but that was not standard MO in the slightest. Obviously they were incredibly scummy in other ways, but that was not one of them. //Edit : I see from another comment that you say you worked there in the 2000s. Inclined to believe you, but having worked in the industry since the mid-90s I'm absolutely confident the general sentiment about Mic…

Counterpoint: Bill Gates' appearance in the Simpsons clearly depicts him as a nefarious bully. I think the Windows XP and the Gates Foundation actually resuscitated his image a bit. Windows was a bit hit or miss. Blue Screen of Death plagued Windows 98, Windows ME was a joke, even early XP wasn't great. (I personally wasn't a fan of XP when it came out, switching instead to Windows NT before moving over to Linux c. 2004.)

Bill Gates the ruthless business-nerd was definitely a stereotype 30 years ago, though to your point I don't remember anyone talking about them revoking licenses for purchased software.

Post reply on HN