kcredden
November 20th, 2006, 12:52 PM
Yes Kansas, there is an Office "Kill Switch" built into the newest version of MS Office.
Buried in a Knowledge Base article that Microsoft published to the Web on November 14 are details of Microsoft’s plans to combat Office 2007 piracy via new Office Genuine Advantage lockdowns.
When asked last month whether Microsoft was planning to punish alleged Office 2007 pirates by crippling the functionality of their software in the same way that Microsoft is doing with Vista via reduced-functionality mode, Microsoft officials were noncommittal.
But now Microsoft’s intentions are clear: Just as it is doing with Vista, Microsoft plans to incorporate what basically amounts to a “kill switch” into Office 2007. Office 2007 users who can’t or won’t pass activation muster within a set time period will be moved into “reduced-functionality mode,” according to Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article.
More here (http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=111)
In a counter balance to the above article: Something to think about, if your a business...
Control is the real open source advantage
In all the blah-de-blah over the moves by Oracle and Microsoft into open source a very important point is missing, namely the motivation of enterprises in moving toward open source.
It's not the cost savings. It's not the community. It's not the name of the vendor.
It's control.
When you are running open source you control your own code. You also control the code budget. When you are using a proprietary solution — no matter how good the solution — the vendor controls your code. They decide what you will pay, and when.
It's a pretty obvious point, but it's a vital one.
More here (http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=844):
Finally the solution for MS Office:
OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute. To help build the community, join us.
More here (http://www.openoffice.org/)
Buried in a Knowledge Base article that Microsoft published to the Web on November 14 are details of Microsoft’s plans to combat Office 2007 piracy via new Office Genuine Advantage lockdowns.
When asked last month whether Microsoft was planning to punish alleged Office 2007 pirates by crippling the functionality of their software in the same way that Microsoft is doing with Vista via reduced-functionality mode, Microsoft officials were noncommittal.
But now Microsoft’s intentions are clear: Just as it is doing with Vista, Microsoft plans to incorporate what basically amounts to a “kill switch” into Office 2007. Office 2007 users who can’t or won’t pass activation muster within a set time period will be moved into “reduced-functionality mode,” according to Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article.
More here (http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=111)
In a counter balance to the above article: Something to think about, if your a business...
Control is the real open source advantage
In all the blah-de-blah over the moves by Oracle and Microsoft into open source a very important point is missing, namely the motivation of enterprises in moving toward open source.
It's not the cost savings. It's not the community. It's not the name of the vendor.
It's control.
When you are running open source you control your own code. You also control the code budget. When you are using a proprietary solution — no matter how good the solution — the vendor controls your code. They decide what you will pay, and when.
It's a pretty obvious point, but it's a vital one.
More here (http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=844):
Finally the solution for MS Office:
OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute. To help build the community, join us.
More here (http://www.openoffice.org/)