Microsoft Has Come Up With A New Way To Rip You Off
Author Bernie Wheater Harvest Time Alert
Once upon a time you bought a software disc and you used that
disc to install the software on your computer. If you bought a new computer you
could use that disc to install that software on your new computer. That was
once upon a time, but now Microsoft has found a new way to rip you off. If you
buy Microsoft Office 2013 for $140.00 to $399.00 depending on what version you
buy, you no longer receive a disc, you get a key code and you download the
software. Here’s the catch it is only good for one computer forever.
Microsoft Office 2013 is not transferrable, not even to
yourself, in other words if you buy a new computer your $400.00 copy of Office
2013 is useless, you cannot load it onto your new computer even though you
bought it. If you want to put it on your new computer you have to buy a new key
code for $400.00. I guess Microsoft isn’t rich enough so it needs to come up
with new ways to steal your money with the legal help of the US courts.
Many Office users have
expressed outcry over new, harsh Hitler-sounding terms in the Office 2013 retail license that takes away any rights customers can
do with the software. The paragraph that has people angry is:
You may not transfer the
software to another computer or user. You may transfer the software directly to
a third party only as installed on the licensed computer, with the
Certificate of Authenticity label and this agreement. Before the transfer, that
party must agree that this agreement applies to the transfer and use of the
software. You may not retain any copies.
In the past if you bought copyrighted works such as records,
CDs, DVDs, books, and even software you had the right to use and dispose of
them as you wished. But US courts once again in favor of big business because
of greased palms stick it to the little guy. US courts ruled that first sale doctrine does not apply to works that have
merely been licensed and not sold outright. Which means if you are only buying
the license to use the product and not buying the product itself, you have no
rights in the product’s use. Using the US courts to back them up Microsoft’s
new dictatorship roll makes the Office license very clear that you are not
buying their software.
We do not sell our
software or your copy of it – we only license it. Under our license we grant
you the right to install and run that one copy on one computer (the licensed
computer) for use by one person at a time, but only if you comply with all the
terms of this agreement. Our software license is permanently assigned to the
licensed computer.
The only exception to the non-transferability clause is if a
customer's computer fails when it still under warranty. In this case a customer
can receive an exemption to install it on the replacement computer. So if your
mother board burns out a week after your
warranty runs out you are tough out of luck as far as installing your office
2013 on your new computer, so plan on spending another $400.00 to put Office
2013 pro on your new computer.
I think Microsoft is
getting ridiculous with their policies on ripping off their customers. I would
say to anyone thinking about buying Office 2013 to not do it. Instead buy a
packaged copy of Office 2010 so if you need to you reinstall it on a new
computer if you need to. There is not enough new features in 2013 over 2010
that makes it worth you not having any rights on what you can do with it.
There is even a better
way to go than buying Office 2010, when it comes to having an office suite on
your computer. I have Office 2010 on one of my computers and Office 2007 on
another. I also have a few other office suites that for the price is almost or
just as good as Microsoft Office, the price for these office programs is FREE!
Below is a list of some of these free office suites I have and the web
addresses for downloading them.
SoftMaker FreeOffice
A great office program. In fact at times you may forget you are not using
Microsoft Office. Download free here: http://freeoffice.com/
SSuite
Office another great office program for free. Download free here: http://www.ssuitesoft.com/freedownloads.htm
Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012 Another great
office program even has a couple features Microsoft office doesn’t have. It
even has a built-in Office to PDF converter. Download Free here: http://www.kingsoftstore.com/software/kingsoft-office-freeware
Lotus Symphony Another Great Office Program.
This one even comes with all kinds of neat plug-ins you can add on. Download
free here:
OpenOffice Another great office program, and
it is the most known free office suite program. They have had over 44 million
downloads. There must be something about this program people seem to like.
Download free here: http://www.openoffice.org
LibreOffice I like
this office suite a lot. It has features you won’t find in any of the other
office suite programs including Microsoft Office. It also has a number of
plug-ins you can download and add on to the suite. Download free here: http://www.libreoffice.org/download/
I
think Microsoft is getting way out of line on how they treat people, and I
would like to see people take a stand and stop buying their products, with the free
software out there now that can take the place of their office programs, it’s
not really that hard any more to turn your back on Microsoft. After all they
have turned their back on you.
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