I fought Microsoft over selling NFR software and I won!


Recommended Posts

Unfortunately it nows seems that Microsoft has become a Sacred Cow around here, and it is sacreligious to do anything against them. Not only that, but apparently the mods around here have deemed it OK for people to repeatedly insult me. Since Tom Warren reposted my story on the front page, I have become the most reviled member on Neowin. Wow, I never expected that so many people around here supported Microsoft's habit of abusing and misusing copyright laws to keep people from reselling items on eBay. I guess that after all my years here as a contributing member, it is time to say goodbye. This site has gone downhill quite a lot in the past few years, both in quality of reporting and the maturity level of the people posting here. I got a warning today for a link that was on my profile for a couple of years, and which I had completely forgotten was there! This warning came simply because so many people had begun actually looking at my profile after I posted this story, and one ******* reported me. The irony is that the warning was issued by the very mod who took my story and reposted it to the front page without even asking me for more details on it. If I was to go through all of the posts of people insulting me here in this thread, or on the front page news reporting people, I'd be at it for a very long time. Not one single mod or admin here has taken it upon themselves to reprimand people for those insults, which is in itself an insult.

+1...this thread brought out the know it alls, hypocrites and retards for sure...shame what neowin has become over the years...and yes i know it'll get modded and i'll get warned but meh...best of luck to ya man if ya decide to not post much around these parts

I do have a question. I purchased a copy of the Pro upgrade from the .edu eligable site. Can I sell it?

I haven't seen the agreement for the Windows 7 for students discount site but typically it would only be licensed for you to use, you'd be unable to transfer the license to anyone else or re-sell it.

I don't know, but I purchased a copy from microsoft expertzone that is not for resale. I wasn't going to sell it anyway, I bought it after taking tests and am using it right now. Also if you check roadwarriors profile, he has posted over 36% in the Mac forums which might indicate he is a Mac fanboy trying to take advantage of Microsoft.

Awesome, so does this mean I can legally sell the 5 "Not for Resale" retail boxed Server 2003 Enterprise & SBS editions I have sitting on a shelf collecting dust, that I got for free from MS for attending various shows? Cha-ching baby! LOL

A majority of your Topics are links to your Ebay listings, so as far as contributing member, your contributing to trying to sell your wares

you posted an update Patting yourself on the back for doing something if done to you, im shure you would be flaming,so you expected what ?

the link in your profile was to a porn site, which is definiatly a no-no here unless its in a special hidden section, been a neowin rule since i think day one, yet you put it years ago when the rule was still in effect

and i got a warning from a mod for a personal insult toward you, the mod edited it from my post so they are doing their thing

and one ******* reported me.

Not one single mod or admin here has taken it upon themselves to reprimand people for those insults, which is in itself an insult.

Edited by Hell-In-A-Handbasket

i do not respect any of the people that have entered the "party" just to get windows 7 and sell if for few quick bucks. why not sign up so that people that actually want a copy of windows 7 have a better chance of getting one. people are money hungry. and yes i have won my version and its sitting right here next to me waiting to be installed. few of my friends have signed up but didnt get in, and they really wanted to get it.

Unfortunately it nows seems that Microsoft has become a Sacred Cow around here, and it is sacreligious to do anything against them. Not only that, but apparently the mods around here have deemed it OK for people to repeatedly insult me. Since Tom Warren reposted my story on the front page, I have become the most reviled member on Neowin. Wow, I never expected that so many people around here supported Microsoft's habit of abusing and misusing copyright laws to keep people from reselling items on eBay. I guess that after all my years here as a contributing member, it is time to say goodbye. This site has gone downhill quite a lot in the past few years, both in quality of reporting and the maturity level of the people posting here. I got a warning today for a link that was on my profile for a couple of years, and which I had completely forgotten was there! This warning came simply because so many people had begun actually looking at my profile after I posted this story, and one ******* reported me. The irony is that the warning was issued by the very mod who took my story and reposted it to the front page without even asking me for more details on it. If I was to go through all of the posts of people insulting me here in this thread, or on the front page news reporting people, I'd be at it for a very long time. Not one single mod or admin here has taken it upon themselves to reprimand people for those insults, which is in itself an insult.

good riddance. dont flatter yourself, after looking at your topics, most are EBAY items your selling, not so much contributing to the community.

I do not want in this row.

i would like to point out ...here in the states if you get something for free that has value

its TAXABLE as income.

that explains the "not for resale" thats the protection microsoft offered you and everyone else in that position.

so if you sell it just remember to find the correct line on your 1040 in January.

You post a story like this then call everyone else immature.

You had a porn link in your profile and you blame others.

You complain about them reposting your story without talking to you, after you posted it online on a public forum.

Maybe you should do some growing up.

This thread is the best. Everyone calling the topic starter with insults and whatnot, its funny.

Just shows how jealousy works. I say hooray for getting a quick buck on Microsoft's expense.

And to everyone who is jealous, well, thanks hahahaha

That was epic, just saw it on the frontpage and laughed about it. Dude, your right, you can resell copies of software as long as they have the original contents (Manuals, Registration Cards, etc.) as long as you have it uninstalled from your system.

I don't understand why everyone gets the idea that it's illegal. But whatever. Kudos man.

Unfortunately it nows seems that Microsoft has become a Sacred Cow around here, and it is sacreligious to do anything against them. Not only that, but apparently the mods around here have deemed it OK for people to repeatedly insult me. Since Tom Warren reposted my story on the front page, I have become the most reviled member on Neowin. Wow, I never expected that so many people around here supported Microsoft's habit of abusing and misusing copyright laws to keep people from reselling items on eBay. I guess that after all my years here as a contributing member, it is time to say goodbye. This site has gone downhill quite a lot in the past few years, both in quality of reporting and the maturity level of the people posting here. I got a warning today for a link that was on my profile for a couple of years, and which I had completely forgotten was there! This warning came simply because so many people had begun actually looking at my profile after I posted this story, and one ******* reported me. The irony is that the warning was issued by the very mod who took my story and reposted it to the front page without even asking me for more details on it. If I was to go through all of the posts of people insulting me here in this thread, or on the front page news reporting people, I'd be at it for a very long time. Not one single mod or admin here has taken it upon themselves to reprimand people for those insults, which is in itself an insult.

and you(and others) still dont get it, its not us defending M$, we are defending the website housparty.com and the really cool contest they had that you abused for profit which was against the rules you agreed to when you entered/signed up for the contest on their website.

Pretty lame that people are complaining about "what Neowin has become". You obviously support the guy trying to do something illegal so the only way to justify your nonsense is to say that this site has gone downhill.

Seriously, last time I checked you were allowed to say whatever you wanted, but don't expect that nothing happens when you do something illegal, it's clear that you will get called for it.

Just shows how jealousy works. I say hooray for getting a quick buck on Microsoft's expense.

And to everyone who is jealous, well, thanks hahahaha

I can tell, with all honestly, that I am not even remotely jealous. Why would I be? Maybe you, as some teenager or something, feel like that usually and there's an urge to generalize. Not sure really.

Edited by Rodrigo
This thread is the best. Everyone calling the topic starter with insults and whatnot, its funny.

Just shows how jealousy works. I say hooray for getting a quick buck on Microsoft's expense.

And to everyone who is jealous, well, thanks hahahaha

Hm, since I own a small business, I have access to MSDN through BizSpark, which means that, as a Bizspark Administrator, I can issue more than 20 other MSDN accounts, so technically I could literally get thousands of Windows 7 copies if I wanted to.

Jealousy?

I don't think so.

Most of us are just sad that these party packs are going to the people who shouldn't deserve to get them. There are many people out there who would love a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate for themselves and would legitimately throw a party for it.

Unfortunately it nows seems that Microsoft has become a Sacred Cow around here, and it is sacreligious to do anything against them. Not only that, but apparently the mods around here have deemed it OK for people to repeatedly insult me. Since Tom Warren reposted my story on the front page, I have become the most reviled member on Neowin. Wow, I never expected that so many people around here supported Microsoft's habit of abusing and misusing copyright laws to keep people from reselling items on eBay. I guess that after all my years here as a contributing member, it is time to say goodbye. This site has gone downhill quite a lot in the past few years, both in quality of reporting and the maturity level of the people posting here. I got a warning today for a link that was on my profile for a couple of years, and which I had completely forgotten was there! This warning came simply because so many people had begun actually looking at my profile after I posted this story, and one ******* reported me. The irony is that the warning was issued by the very mod who took my story and reposted it to the front page without even asking me for more details on it. If I was to go through all of the posts of people insulting me here in this thread, or on the front page news reporting people, I'd be at it for a very long time. Not one single mod or admin here has taken it upon themselves to reprimand people for those insults, which is in itself an insult.

Bye!

What you did means we may never get a promotion like this again.

Hm, since I own a small business, I have access to MSDN through BizSpark, which means that, as a Bizspark Administrator, I can issue more than 20 other MSDN accounts, so technically I could literally get thousands of Windows 7 copies if I wanted to.

I dont suppose your able to legally sell a windows 7 key or msdn account?

the key word being legally.

unless i can become a 'business associate' online. :p

I dont suppose your able to legally sell a windows 7 key or msdn account?

the key word being legally.

unless i can become a 'business associate' online. :p

Sadly I see a lot of douches selling MSDN keys on eBay.

I don't know if it's LEGAL (as in government-enforced). But just like the Signature copies people got, it's definitely against the Terms of Service to resell them and Microsoft reserves the right to blacklist the keys. Now if they DO that is a different story.

Edited by Pharos

Jealousy has nothing to do with it. I find that hilarious. Most people on here who want Windows 7 more than likely already have it.

People are angry because he felt the need to go and brag about it and bring attention to it. This might keep Microsoft from doing anything like this for any future promotions. The way he bragged about it was also very immature. Look at his original post about this and tell me he didn't have this entire thing planned from the moment he signed up to get the party pack. His intention was to sell it from day one.

I'm glad he decided to leave. The only thing he ever really posted was his eBay auctions to begin with. He never contributed anything of worth. He made himself sound like he's a large contributor to the site and that he's owed something :rolleyes:

No its not theft, nowhere did he say that he took a copy of windows home from work, he could have used his own Windows disc but used his works VLK.

He didnt take the property of his work and by using the key he didnt deprive his workplace from a windows licence, he used a licence key that by definition licences windows in volumes and the terms of which state that it can only be used at work, so therefore the extent of his "crime" is breaking the terms of the EULA which isnt a legally binding contract, he cant go to jail for breaking a EULA, all Microsoft can do is block the key and his access and refuse to support any software using the VLK.

Get a clue, EULAs arent legally enforceable, he didnt steal a copy of windows and he didnt steal a windows licence, he used the VLK at home and by doing so broke the terms of the EULA, and since the EULA isnt legally enforceable his copy of windows isnt "illegal" nor can he go to jail for using it.

:laugh: It'll be funny when his work can't understand why their software isn't granted access to updates and support because this key was blacklisted.

I don't know if it's LEGAL (as in government-enforced). But just like the Signature copies people got, it's definitely against the Terms of Service to resell them and Microsoft reserves the right to blacklist the keys. Now if they DO that is a different story.

Isn't it "a bit ironic" that you're condemning what he does "against terms of service" with your avatar?

Or do the rules here change just because we're talking about Microsoft? Oh I forgot, THEY DO.

Unfortunately it nows seems that Microsoft has become a Sacred Cow around here, and it is sacreligious to do anything against them. Not only that, but apparently the mods around here have deemed it OK for people to repeatedly insult me. Since Tom Warren reposted my story on the front page, I have become the most reviled member on Neowin. Wow, I never expected that so many people around here supported Microsoft's habit of abusing and misusing copyright laws to keep people from reselling items on eBay. I guess that after all my years here as a contributing member, it is time to say goodbye. This site has gone downhill quite a lot in the past few years, both in quality of reporting and the maturity level of the people posting here. I got a warning today for a link that was on my profile for a couple of years, and which I had completely forgotten was there! This warning came simply because so many people had begun actually looking at my profile after I posted this story, and one ******* reported me. The irony is that the warning was issued by the very mod who took my story and reposted it to the front page without even asking me for more details on it. If I was to go through all of the posts of people insulting me here in this thread, or on the front page news reporting people, I'd be at it for a very long time. Not one single mod or admin here has taken it upon themselves to reprimand people for those insults, which is in itself an insult.

Just because we think you did something wrong does not mean we're blindlessly defending Microsoft, Microsoft's past actions or future actions have absolutely nothing to do with this discussion, and Microsoft's past & future actions are not automatically defended/attacked by whatever opinion anyone in here has.

Is this really what discussion boils down to, today? Like those political nutjobs that believe they can excuse their own mistakes by attacking their opponents for having done similar mistakes in the past? That is not the way things should work.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I sort of agree with you on that. I had a telescope - a real hefty thing, although only around 500CHF - that got me so fascinated about the stars and planets. I would stare for hours, amazed that I could see the craters of the moon or the rings of Saturn in "realtime" (quotations because, y'know, speed of light and whatnot). A friend of mine has a telescope like the one mentioned in the review, and the pictures are amazing to look at. But there is something missing for me. I may as well just go to NASA's website and look through their gallery.
    • As opposed to catching bad press because it's the engine's fault? The engine has all the tools a dev needs to optimize their game, Epic isn't gonna hold their hand to make sure they use them. Also, Epic isn't forcing anyone to use Lumen, Nanite or super high resolution meshes and textures. Just because Nanite can render meshes with millions of polygons doesn't mean you should use it like that, in fact, Epic recommends you avoid doing that. Most of the stuttering can easily be fixed by cutting down on unique shaders by using master materials and generating a PSO cache and compiling every shader before loading the game and also managing what must be loaded and unloaded at runtime, it's up to the developer to set all that up properly.
    • I think it depends on what you're looking for to do, and the time you have to spare. With my Dwarf 3, I easily spend 3-4 hour sessions; half an hour driving to an un-light polluted place, another half hour unpacking and setting up the smart scope + tripod for equatorial tracking, then 15 more minutes mucking around with settings and shooting calibration frames, spending a few hours shooting, merging with past photo sessions, etc. It's crazy how time flies and I often get home later than I expected. It's something I still need to set aside a good part of an evening to do, all in all. For one session, where you often need like four for best results when it comes to deep space objects. Even with a smart scope like Dwarf 3, regular non-astro photography is still way more approachable to people getting into photography. I find this is a time consuming niche no matter how I go about it. With practice, I can probably begin cutting time here but I think where smart scopes find their home is among people who love to shoot the night sky but don't have the spare time to go deep with the "navigator level" attunement to the night sky itself in addition to everything else. Having said this, _if_ you have even more time to spend on this hobby, it will probably be even more rewarding to do it more by hand and learn the skies and the details of how it all works.
    • I misread the title and thought Teams itself would be redesigned. Imagine having this one as a native WinUI app.
    • Dell, HP PCs ran into endless reboot, BitLocker recovery loops but Windows 11 isn't to blame by Sayan Sen Last month Neowin reported on a major issue on Dell systems wherein a bug in its official support tool was leading to endless blue screen of death (BSOD) and restarts. Following our report, Dell officially acknowledged its SupportAssist-related crash issue, confirming that the culprit is not Microsoft's operating system but rather a faulty version of its own remediation software. In a newly published support advisory, Dell stated that version 5.5.16.0 of Dell SupportAssist Remediation and Alienware SupportAssist Remediation can trigger blue screen errors and unexpected system restarts. The company notes that the problematic component operates independently of the main SupportAssist application, meaning users should not remove the primary SupportAssist software when troubleshooting the issue. According to Dell, the crashes are linked specifically to the SupportAssist Remediation service, which is bundled with SupportAssist OS Recovery Tools, and as such it has since released an updated version, 5.5.16.1, which is said to resolve the problem. Affected users are advised to first verify whether version 5.5.16.0 is installed by checking the Installed Apps section in Windows Settings. If so, Dell recommends updating SupportAssist OS Recovery Tools through either SupportAssist's "Update Software" feature or Dell Command Update. Dell also advises users to back up important data before performing the update and to ensure systems remain connected to power throughout the installation process. If you are still having issues though make sure to report to the Dell support forum. As it turns out though Dell is not the only PC maker currently dealing with update-related headaches as HP is also facing a separate but probably equally frustrating issue involving recent Windows Secure Boot updates that were released with recent Windows 11 Patch Tuesdays. Similar to Dell, HP also put up its own support article where it explains the issue. The company says that affected devices could hit a brick wall when booting as they run into a BitLocker recovery loop after the April 2026 updates. The problem appears to affect systems wherein the new UEFI Secure Boot CA 2023 certificates fail to apply properly. As such affected users will find themselves entering their recovery key over and over again despite the system otherwise functioning normally. HP says such PCs should be updated to the latest available BIOS version and configured with the necessary Secure Boot certificates before installing Microsoft's Windows 11 Patch Tuesday updates. Systems that are already experiencing the problem may require BIOS configuration changes to restore normal boot behavior. Admins can find information regarding that in the support article here on HP's official website.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
    • Dedicated
      Conjor earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Week One Done
      Windows Guy earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      493
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      246
    3. 3
      Steven P.
      72
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      69
    5. 5
      neufuse
      68
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!