Microsoft Bribery?
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/30/vista-later
To be honest, MS did try to engage me after I wrote that, but the sad thing is it was through bribery. I don't use that word lightly, but there is nothing else I can call it. I think I explained my differences of opinion quite clearly in that article, and the response I got from MS was as follows, names removed to protect the sender.

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Hi Charlie,

I'm really sorry to hear of your bad impression of Windows Vista, I would be very interested in having a chat with you to dispell some of your worries, and to provide you with your first contact at Microsoft!

I've got a copy of Windows Vista here for you as well if you want to have a go with the real deal RTM build!

(signature)

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Please note that in the original complaint, I never once asked for a copy of the software, I had several versions here, and my complaints were about activation, DRM and other problems. A copy with all those problems is still as unacceptable as the ones I owned. In the following half dozen emails, my concerns were not placated, if anything they were confirmed.

There were several half-baked workarounds offered, but in the end, I came to a startling conclusion, why did I have to jump through hoop after hoop to use a properly paid for and licensed piece of software? Am I insane, or does my want to control my own software seem as irrational to you as it does to MS?

I told them to get stuffed and that they did not want the software under the unacceptable license terms they were offering me. To this day, over a year later, those impediments are still in place, and if anything, given MS's behavior, are even less palatable.
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This could confirm what I thought a while ago. With the liberation of pack one for Vista, I don't think I'm mistaken if I affirm that a wave of propaganda and information (which is normal) is coming. But also, misinformation and attacks are coming from Ms as well to try and sell Vista by whatever means possible. The first symptoms are seen: first it was a change of attitude of known shills to make their opinions more easy to digest and so influence the readers to buy Vista. Now the second stage is an increase of shills in all blogs (like we see here now)

Lets be on our guard and not let ourselves be cheated once again.

Living with Vista, one year on
So, 12 months to the day after release, Vista is still a chrome plated turd, but due to direct abuses of the customer, much of that chrome has worn off. Activation servers that could never go down did for days.

Inviolate promises of user control over patching was shown to be far less important than MS needs to control your box, and hosts of other egregious violations show how much MS really cares about the people giving them money.

Until MS does a complete 180 on the anti-user aspects of Vista, it remains unsuitable for use to any rational person. In the three years (optimistically) between it's release and Windows 7, Ubuntu will have gone through 6 major revisions, and it does not actively threaten the user like Vista.

In the end, I guess I do have a very favorable impression of Vista, it forced me on to Linux again. Now things are cheaper, more secure, less annoying, and my computer never says no to me. The fun I am having and the knowledge I am gaining makes the initial pain of Vista well worth it. MS, call me when you change radically, but forgive me if I don't hold my breath until then, I am having too much fun to do so.
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/30/vista-later

The Inquire is your source? How impressive!

What's the problems, boys and girls? If the industry was so confident Microsoft had the goods to compete in the web future, don't you think the shareprice would reflect that?

Isn't that what the goons declare about VCSY's shareprice?

At least VCSY owns the patents and Microsoft has to now show the world just what Ray's been able to cook up. What, Ray? More spagetti? More secrecy? More promises? We'll see. Welcome to MIX. Are you going to show off Silverlight 2.0 and you know what I mean... REALLY show it off. Not just promise more of the same.

Looks like Ray Ozzie's hair is falling out.

I would think the "falling out" would be between Ray and Microsoft management who apparently had to cajole his highness into taking the stage with a point man to run interference. If getting on MIX 08 was such a passion, I would have thought he would have announced it long ago... instead of having to have someone flip his nose and tweak his lips to convince Microsoft to pull their reluctant wizard out of the server closet.

While VCSY is walking up to the threshold, Microsoft is doing everything they can think of to make the industry think they're doing fine. Quite an act! Let's see if they deliver something other than more promises.

whos ozzie?

Shut up I-Menst. Nobody wants to hear anymore of your garbage VCSY piece of turd company. SO SHUT UP!