Why would any reputable company continue to offer beta code when the RTM code is available for download as a trial version, from MSDN, or from a volume license site? If this were any other company still offering beta downloads, you would be screaming bloody murder.
Sorry, but the lack of foresight on your part is not something that Microsoft will ever be able to offer a program to correct. And the inability to understand what BETA code entails is likewise something that no one except yourself is liable for, especially when it was so explicitly labelled on not one but two downloads.
--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]
Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.
After furious head scratching, jtmgoblue asked:
| I have backups on all my data files.....the so-called converters will
| not work...the error message I got was that I had to use beta2 to
| read the file....and i beg to differ with you on MS....I believe they
| should have the capability to provide a dl site for people who have
| been running the beta for quite some time and who have had a major
| problem...i do think that is uncaring for their customers.....i know
| i was stupid to think they would support me....and I have learned my
| lesson....
|
| "Bob Buckland ?
" wrote:
|
||
|| As another small business owner, I'm not sure I'm following you in
|| this case as to how MS is "untrustworthy" based on this experience
||
|| MS did make the downloads of the product available and you were able
|| to install the Office 2007 beta 2 software, generally without
|| limitation, on multiple computers and the download pages did say
|| that the software was provided without support.
||
|| Many of us have been 'bitten' at some point by not doing a backup
|| (always meant to be sure to <g>), but MS did not remove the
|| downloaded files from your computer, nor did MS make the choice for
|| you not to create a backup (disk, server location, CD or DVD) and as
|| you mentioned the limitations of the stabiility of the beta software
|| made it something not reliable to put the key parts of your business
|| on. The responsibility for each of the business decisions in this
|| case would seem to be yours, unless I'm misunderstanding the
|| scenrio.
||
|| It takes some time to 'flip' an entire website and setup downloads
|| of a product on a large scale. MS is providing trial copies in less
|| than a month since the beta was sent to manufacturing.
||
|| If all you need are viewers for the files (as you mentioned) MS has
|| already provided converters to allow you to open the files in Office
|| 2003, Office XP(2002) and Office 2000 apps.
||
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/CD100602081033.aspx)
||
|| There are some areas that may not convert 'perfectly' (the file
|| formats, along with the Office products were new and also being
|| refined during testing) and you may need to open up the files and
|| pull some content out to meet your deadline (you can add .zip to the
|| end of a Word, Excel or PPT file for 2007 and open the file and
|| extract the contents - it's a bit messy, but can be done).
||
|| ==========
|| message
|| I am a small business and never ever did I think MS would leave a
|| user in such a situation. I know the EULA and assumed MS would not
|| terminate support without a working option (like a viewer that would
|| work at a minimum). The lesson I learned is what others have told me
|| for a long time.....MS isn't trustworthy nor really concerned about
|| their customers.
||
|| The reason I can't wait until the first is that I have a Board
|| Meeting on the 30th, not that it really matters..... >> --
||
|| Bob Buckland ?
|| MS Office System Products MVP
||
|| *Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*
