Microsoft Offers Free Copy of Windows Vista Ultimate if you Surrender Privacy *UPDATE*

Woohoo!

*sells soul*

 

i signed up

can't resist a legit copy of Ultimate lol

 

So now Microsoft give Vista away ?

I'd tell them everything they want to know for a copy of XP pro with DX10 support .

 

This is why you have that desktop you use for only 2 hours a week for gaming. ^_^

 

Too bad Europe is not within the program. If it was, I'd install Vista on my MBP and dedicate it only for games. M$ could collect as much data as they wanted!

 

sweet deal, i signed up

 

Yeah, I'm thinking that this just isn't worth it for me so I probably won't do this.

I already have three licenses for Vista (well, I have two but I could buy the third tomorrow if I wanted to for about $35).

Vista Business (OEM copy...but the installer for my 8710p lets me choose 32bit or 64bit)
Vista Ultimate (32bit only, but it might be upgradeable to 64bit I'm not sure...this is the one I could buy tomorrow)
Vista Home Premium (32 or 64 bit)

Then on top of it I have two copies of XP and one of XP-64, so I think I'm all OS'ed out.

Vista Ultimate is 'better' than the other versions in only that you can do full OS backups, have MCE, those 'Extras', and BitLocker.
1) MS based OS backups have never gone well for me...Ghost and Acronis forever!
2) MCE...who cares...I gave up on PC+TV a long time ago. As long as WMP is there (and it is) I don't care.
3) Extras...yeah, if they ever released them.
4) BitLocker...don't care for TPM and I have that disabled on my machine.

 

how do we uninstall the tracker after 3 months?

 

you can run the setup again and it'll give you uninstall option.

 

Ooh, I'd love to join if I lived in the US I have nothing to hide lol

Maybe what I can do is join the program [using my old PC] but have the freebies addressed to my relatives in the US, then just have them send the stuff to me? Think that's possible?

 

But it looks as the software is free for only 3 months right ?
Can you keep it after ?

 

You use a tracker program for three months, then receive the free gift.

 

If I take the Vista Ultimate deal, will they dig deep enough to find out that my Office 2007 is not "as legit" as it should be? If I use a VPN such as relakks during this 3 month period, thus (theoretically) masking my behavior from them, will that renege the whole deal?
To a75user: Looks like they send out the DVD, so it must be yours for life

 

Might as well use it. I'm pretty sure Microsoft is monitoring me anyways.

 

I won't do it.. let some unknown access you computer for 3monht it's not worth it.. maybe for some it is..

 

I'm trying Microsoft Office 2007.

Survey was..wierd. Asked you how you start up the windows registry editor in your own words..

 

uhhh even though windows vista ultimate is worth like 260 bucks, i'd rather get office 2007. thats probably why they are offering it to bamboozle our private lives. If Microsoft was smart, they'd work on making windows less resource hogging instead of the opposite.

 

Microsoft has done this before. I got a free copy of Vista business from microsoft just by watching 3 hour long videos so of course I will do this again to get a copy of ultimate.

 

Why craving for an inferior pirated goods then being bound as a slave when you can own a superior genuine alternative at first totally free of charge?

Human nature

 

you know the easy way for this? use an old laptop / desktop for installing the program, and use that machine once every couple days to browse digg.com.

lol.

EDIT: The program runs as a service, WFPService, not as a program.
EDIT2: Nick, my survey asked how do i start up the registry editor, lol... I just said "Win+R, Regedit, enter"

 

Free Vista Ultimate, I'm game.

Hmm, signed up an hour ago and still no email...

 

Wow, Microsoft is really desperate. It looks like they're finally admitting to how badly they botched their new software. I already have a free copy of Vista Business available to me through my college and there's no way you'd get me to install that. Likewise, they've been doing the "ultimate steal" thing for Office 2007 and I wouldn't touch it with a 6 foot pole. I've been stuck with Office 2007 at work for months now and still hate it because I can't find options that were available in the past.

Sorry Microsoft, but your offer is not tempting enough. If you want me to drop my privacy and let you watch everything I do then you're going to have to appeal to me. I have a feeling other advanced power users will feel the same. The software on the list being given away is not worth the price it sells for, in my eyes. Now if they were giving away Xbox360's I would have to think about this offer. That would appeal to me somewhat, but even then I do put a high value on my privacy. I doubt I'd even want a piece of software watching what I do and reporting back. I'd likely freak out because it'll probably take up a significant portion of memory I'd rather devote to development projects.

Because genuine is sometimes a bigger pain in the ass than a pirated copy. Genuine has a tendency to penalize real customers or erroneously identify them as something they're not, or it tends to take up a ton of time when it doesn't work properly (ie Flight Simulator X activation).

 

Is there anything in the fine print to prevent you from reselling the free software?

 

About all it says is:

 

Na, advanced users will find a loophole and put this software on a computer they almost never use. $200 in software is $200 in software.

 

Just to see if you are lying about your proficiency level IMO but anyway google hold all the answers...

 

so i just installed this thing on another machine running XP that i will use to broswe the web for 5 - 10 min. a day

i opted for a copy of vista ultimate. since i'm using the feedback software on a XP machine i am still eligible right??

 

It's a shame it's not offered in Canada, or I'd be on this like Oprah on a glazed ham.

Of course, the requisite monitoring software would get installed on an old laptop that would just be used to read Slashdot/NBR/other news feeds from the bathroom, and said copy of Vista Ultimate would be sold on eBay shortly after its arrival.

 

If MSN wants to learn anything, they should be monitoring these threads to see peoples responses and to see how many people actually have pirated copies of there OS. Yes MS, WGA does not work.

 

Ok have some concerns....Would I just be able to make a seperate partition and install vista and simply just boot it up for 10 minutes every once in a while?

how often and for how long do you think I would have to boot to it?

also, would i be safe to view and browse and whatever on this current partition without being tracked by ms? Like it only tracks you on the Vista partition correct?

 

Besides the installation in an old computer, I think would be kind of risky to install willingly a full spyware software, which clearly is not the same as looking 3 hours of videos.

And by the way, since you are giving your email address, you bet you'll get 'oficial' spam from microsoft and other companies...

 

hmm... i'm confused. there are options to do the automated feedback program AND/OR the survey program. what if i just choose to participate in the survey portion? that way my privacy won't be intruded upon, right? and i'm still eligible for free software, right?

 

Where is it???

I signed up for the program last night (picked vista ultimate) took the survey, and installed the spyware/program on an old PC.

I tried to sign up my GF and intended to use another old PC I own, but the options for free software (wanted office 07 this time) aren't there?---Did MS cancel the "free gift"

 

EPIC!
I actually want to do that now.

 

You have to sign up for BOTH to get the free gift. I just wish it was possible to do all 6 surveys now and not over the next 3 months.
To answer someone else's concern, I haven't recieved any spam emails *yet*, only one email with a link from MS to continue the registration.

 

damn... in that case... forget this vista crap. and that's coming from a stereotypical asian freeloader who will take almost anything for free.

 

I signed up for it, and there is NO mention of the free product in the process anymore, nor on any of their pages.

Goddamit!

 

Agreed---It worked yesterday, but the "free gift" is now gone.

Oh well, 1 out of 2 gifts scammed isn't bad

 

Don't worry, they will come eventually... advertising their products...

 

I can deal with that. I never buy anything through those kinds of adverts anyway.

 

So I bit. How do I lock one partition from being viewed from the other? Right now I'm on my regular partition with all my personal stuff, but I can still browse the files of the WFP partition. Is there any way I can stop that? At least stop this partition from being browsed from the other partition?

 

One way to get this easier is put it on a separte hdd, boot it up 2 times a week and check nbr, then turn it off, hahahaa!!! boot to primary hdd, and back to normal.

 

Now THAT is an idea! I have a spare backup HDD that I might use.

 

I've noticed something VERY peculiar. Since signing up for the program and downloading their program and installing, today, I have a strange tiny blacked out rectangle in the upper left portion of my screen, with 2 tiny greenish rectangles inside it. But only when I'm on my desktop, not in any other full screen app, AND, when I tried to capture a screen shot, and copy and paste a tiny portion of my screen to put in paint to show it here in a screenshot, it disappeared. Strange indeed. Never had this before ever.

 

I installed the program as well, and I don't have any of the symptoms you have.

 

It's free. I'm doing the feedback program on my lappy. It sends you surveys once every two weeks to do.

 

I signed up for the program since I can just keep it on my laptop and power that up. This way, I don't have to worry about MS keeping track of what I'm really doing. I'll just set my laptop to burn some files, MSN, and some other boring stuff. I'm sure by the end of the 3 months, MS will think I'm a boring guy.

The only problem is where can I choose the gift that I want? What if I reformat the laptop during the 3 month period?

 

They have ended the free gift promotion without mention apparently, but they still allow you to run the tool and take survey of course.

 

Hope this works. This is what I've been seeing, strange...



Click to expand it, it's hard to see.

 

So not gift? What's the point then?