Microsoft in violation?
Posted on:: October 25th, 2004
In order to register a Microsoft product, you must get a .NET Passport. There are no alternative methods. I don’t want to support Passport because I’m uncomfortable with Microsoft being in the ID business — and if I’m wrong, then I’ll fall back simply on “I don’t want one because I don’t want one” — so now I don’t get the benefits of registration (whatever those might be).
Isn’t this coercive behavior? Can’t someone please sue them? Thank you.
Categories: Uncategorized dw
Is it really that much different than registering any other software?
Get a hotmail account and use that for Passport. It’s not like you have to tell the truth on when you sign up for one.
This is a new one on me. What was the product?
I think you are incorrect. I registered XP w/o ever getting a passport. I had to use phone registration, which was more irksome than an online process, but that’s what I did.
Julian, OneNote a few weeks ago and their optical trackball today. I suspect it’s corp-wide, or will be soon.
James, I saw no alternatives to online Passportian registration for either of those two products. I don’t know about XP.
Disclosure: I’m (Sandhill is) a MS Certified Business Partner… whatever that is. Here’s what I get about your issue David. The Passport requirement is coming at us fast and hard. When I signed my partnership agreement there may or may not have been such a thing as Passport. There definitely wasn’t a .Net. Last year they started coaxing us to use the Passport. This year you can’t see what’s in the “Action Pack” they’re going to send you if you don’t log-on using the Passport. Next year I expect we’ll have to get RFID implants or something.
Seems to me the solution is to not use MS products.
Scoble misses the point on Passport
Scoble asks, apropo a complaint about being required to get a Passport account: I don’t get what the big deal is here. Passport isn’t a big data collector. All you need is one email address. It doesn’t collect your life…