Microsoft changing terms of service - taking away right to licensed material.

Ian Rogers

Joined Dec 12, 2012
1,136
I think the difference is support rater than license..
Microsoft said:
Unless accompanied by a separate Microsoft license agreement (for example, if you are using a Microsoft application that is included with and a part of Windows, then the Microsoft Software License Terms for the Windows Operating System govern such software), any software provided by us to you as part of the Services is subject to these Terms. Applications acquired through certain Stores owned or operated by Microsoft or its affiliates (including, but not limited to the Office Store, Microsoft Store on Windows and Microsoft Store on Xbox) are subject to section 14.b.i below.
If you buy a product "other than bundled with the operating system" the license is yours... They can pull support unless you subscribe but if you are running office 7 on win 7 tough... you own that copy..

As for the one drive... They cannot support software for an OS they don't support..

I can't stand Gates and his mob anyway.... I've used open office since forever... VBA macros dont work, but Open office scripting does..
 

Hymie

Joined Mar 30, 2018
1,277
I would think this a good case for a class action against MS, you need to find a lawyer who will take it on, on a no-win no-fee basis.

MS need to be taken down a peg or two for this type of behaviour – imagine if after buying your Ford motor vehicle outright, two years later Ford wrote to you telling you, you needed to pay them $1,000 per year to continue to use the vehicle; you would not stand for that, why would you accept it from any other company?
 

atferrari

Joined Jan 6, 2004
4,764
Never had a need to use macros. I do use the auto correct feature to be able to easily type suit symbols.
I never had that problem. For a number of recent years I ran and updated a spreadsheet in Libre that was developed in Excel, with lots of macros and sorting. It was the weekly stats for our pool league. I shared the pdf and printed results with the members. During that time, I added a few more features. I passed it over to the new stats man who is working with it in Excel now. We never encountered a compatibility problem. Libre appears to have excellent upward compatibility, too.
As far as macro's go - I've created them, used them, and whatever else. However, I currently don't have a need for macro's. I can live without them.
Sorry gentlemen. Common macros, yes, they seem to work OK. I should have say "macros including VBA routines, created with Excel". After working for a long time creating an elaborated sequence to define patterns for a LED cube when tried to use them in one of those free versions, learnt that they would not work.

The consecutive crashing of two PCs (working copy and back up) completed the fated saga. I even vaguely remember the details.
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
But LibreOffice documents can’t be read by MS Office. I’m working with someone who uses LibreOffice. She created a spreadsheet for hire for me, and I couldn’t read it. She had to redo it in Excel before I’d pay her.
 

Ian Rogers

Joined Dec 12, 2012
1,136
But LibreOffice documents can’t be read by MS Office. I’m working with someone who uses LibreOffice. She created a spreadsheet for hire for me, and I couldn’t read it. She had to redo it in Excel before I’d pay her.
Ah!! But you can "save as " a microsoft excel sheet in Libre office, then it can be read in excel...
 

Deleted member 115935

Joined Dec 31, 1969
0
Ive just received the same from MS,
wonder if any government agency will take up the cause ?
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,079
I received an email this morning from Microsoft. They're changing their terms of service. I regularly use MSWord and MSExcel. According to the new terms I have to sign into my account once every one - or two - years, not certain which, or I will lose my license. I NEVER sign into MSOffice. The version I have is the one where I paid for the service license without expiration. Under the new terms it looks like they're saying if I don't sign in I may lose my right to use the program. I have deliberately NOT upgraded to the latest version because there the agreement is to RENT the license, not OWN. $99 a year I think was the cost - I could be wrong. This really ticks me off! They want to pull away my original agreement by saying "We retain the right to change the terms of service whenever we gaud dam feel like it." This is a money grab in my opinion.

SO: I'm familiar with Apple's version of Word and Excel. Are there any other versions that DON'T hold the risk of losing the right to use their programs? Geez! I have a ton of spread sheets I've built over the years.

Yeah, I know it's $99 a year - but I'm a fussy old codger who doesn't like being ripped off. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT MY SIGN IN WAS, I've never used it. PITA!
Tony, could you provide the particular paragraph(s) in the new ToS you are taking about? I tried to find something and can't.
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,159
until it isn't. Until it gets bought by someone who sees the potential for the entrenched userbase being forced to pay for it.... I've seen it before.
That might be a risk if they were motivated to sell. Is there evidence to that effect, or are you just spitballing for effect?
 
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