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See the original image at consumerist.com

The $1,632 copy of Windows Vista

consumerist.com — Since Microsoft is unwilling to reverse the clearly erroneous charges, it's time to ask the bank to stand up and fight for its customer. If conversations don't help, leap over the hurdles of incompetence and fire an Executive Email Carpet Bomb at both Microsoft and the bank.

Bury
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  • eekfuh, on 05/25/2008, -9/+126Sounds like the same crap that Xbox Live customer support pull.
    • lex0nyc, on 05/25/2008, -1/+16Sounds like a job for a small claims court.
      • MarkusDee, on 05/25/2008, -6/+12Sound like a job for Night Court, "Roz, Bull, go get Mr. Gates".
      • Tenoq, on 05/25/2008, -1/+7Not even. Just tell your bank the charge was erroneous and after contacting the retailer yourself they refused to help. The bank will then credit you the money and chase them for you. At least that's always been my experience with my credit cards. My bank even helped with an international transaction, which I thought was pretty awesome.

        Does this kind of service not exist in the US?
        • tyywebb, on 05/25/2008, -1/+4That might only work if he paid with credit not debit.
        • nickj6282, on 05/25/2008, -0/+3tyywebb,

          I've never had that be my experience. My credit union has always gone to bat for me on these types of things.
    • chromerium, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1I never understood why support staff at large companies don't just fix these kinds of things when they come up. Its not like they're gonna get fired for doing the right thing, right?
      • dOOBiEx213, on 05/25/2008, -1/+6I never understood why people don't just STEAL it. I came to find out I didn't even want it FREE.
        • TheGuruStud, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2Steal is such a harsh word for something that isn't worth the DVD it's printed on lol.
    • Poltron, on 05/25/2008, -0/+5Xbox live support manager told me once he would give me free 2 months gold card for my troubles... when i called back to claim it, i was told that they apologize for the misinformation and that nothing can be done...
    • FutureGuy, on 05/25/2008, -1/+1This is silly. I have worked with credit card auths and payment gateways. This is how credit cards work, if he tried to place an order multiple time but didn't complete (due to error, which could be MS's fault) a pre auth would be placed on the card, pre-auths cannot be reversed, may be the back can but MS for sure can't and automatically drop off after a few days and the interval is decided by the bank. Is this perfect, no, but that's how credit cards work, he did not pay 1632 for the order, he is just trying to create a sensation story about how he was victimized by the giant MS.
      • mysedai, on 05/25/2008, -0/+3Did you not look at the copy of his statement he attached?
        There were the standard $1.00 this-account-really-exists authorizations, plus the $233.16, then further down, you see where those puppies start clearing vs. the two refunds given by Microsoft. Also, as somebody who works with CREDIT CARDS we might expect you to understand the inherent differences between credit and debit cards.

        I guess this was a long way of saying READ THE EFFING ARTICLE!
  • dtr18c, on 05/25/2008, -83/+134Why would an IT manager want to install vista?
    • 0011002, on 05/25/2008, -4/+113Honestly to know the ins and outs of it so when employees come in with a vista equipped laptop from home and try to hook it to the network. Anyone serious about IT tries to know at least a little bit about all OSes.
      • Hangly, on 05/25/2008, -26/+5Sure, but on a test box.
        • Blandyman, on 05/25/2008, -1/+10Sure, but he needs to buy it regardless, because he's a legitimate kinda guy.
      • shmatt, on 05/25/2008, -3/+4rtfa- He wanted it for his HOME computer.
        • TheGuruStud, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1that'll teach him to use M$ ***** haha
        • TheOther1, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2Because we all know everything you learn at home stays there when you walk out the door...
      • salomejones, on 05/25/2008, -2/+3Anyone serious about IT does not allow vista anywhere on their networks.
      • Feldon, on 06/07/2008, -0/+1AGREE with Salomejones
    • jabberwolf, on 05/25/2008, -23/+62This I somewhat agree.

      1- Why is an IT manager stupid enough to continuously press a button that charges his credit card

      2- I dont think this guy is buying it for his company use but his own, which many are doing these days.
      As most aren't going for the retarded mactard propaganda against it.
      • akumal999, on 05/25/2008, -4/+1#1 sums all this.
      • strangewill, on 05/25/2008, -1/+5#1:
        Not just that, but charged it some 5 times in under a minute!
      • grumpyrain, on 05/25/2008, -12/+135But it is a mistake anyone could make.
      • grumpyrain, on 05/25/2008, -13/+136But it is a mistake anyone could make.
      • grumpyrain, on 05/25/2008, -12/+135But it is a mistake anyone could make.
      • grumpyrain, on 05/25/2008, -12/+135But it is a mistake anyone could make.
        • tyywebb, on 05/25/2008, -9/+1What is this, Youtube?
        • robeph, on 05/25/2008, -0/+5I don't think you fully understood the funny that he just made...
      • DestroyFascism, on 05/25/2008, -17/+3Microsoft Advertising agency could not be contacted.
        Please try again
      • DestroyFascism, on 05/25/2008, -17/+3Microsoft Advertising agency could not be contacted.
        Please try again
      • DestroyFascism, on 05/25/2008, -14/+3ad nauseam....
      • asus2000, on 06/30/2008, -7/+9He didn't know they were charging him each time. Doi-ay...
        (hint: when having difficulty on the internet people do not check their credit card balances on every other click.)
      • DiogenesJr, on 05/25/2008, -1/+16As a developer, I can tell you it's for the same reason that companies jumped on XP way back in the day. You get a few at first, you check your product to ensure that it works, and you prepare for the end of the old and the beginning of the new.

        Right, wrong, or indifferent, most companies are heavily invested in MS stuff and they're not going to abandon their investments in order to be righteous, open source, crusaders. My boss is a huge Linux guy and nothing would make him happier. However, my company is not willing to drop the 10's of millions it would cost to redevelop for Linux, test, and field (open source does not actually equal free in terms of development). It's the same reason that many companies, mine included, still use 30 year old mainframes.

        We need to be prepared when XP is no longer supported and everything in the world is Vista.
    • trolldotexe, on 05/25/2008, -18/+4why would anyone go into IT?
    • Frappman, on 05/25/2008, -9/+1Why would an IT manager want to install [non-Windows OS]?
      • DigitalPioneer, on 05/25/2008, -1/+1Perhaps because he knows what he's doing?
  • UltramegaOK, on 05/25/2008, -68/+8His situation is unfortunate, but this guy sounds like a whiny bitch.

    Being out $500 (temporarily) for someone working as an IT Manager at a large University shouldn't be a life-altering circumstance.

    He should have used a credit card or Paypal *shudder*.

    • fxspec06, on 05/25/2008, -1/+12Hey, can I borrow $500? Oh, and don't bother asking for it back, I'll call you tomorrow ;)
  • 0011002, on 05/25/2008, -45/+97Ummm yeah someone who is an "IT Manager" should know better than to try to submit an order threw a website that is apparently having problems more than once.

    Seriously 7 times? WTF!? Go buy a copy from Wal-mart if your in that big of a damned hurry to get your hands on a copy.
    • slifty, on 05/25/2008, -11/+94I remember one time I threw a website as hard as I could. It pinged off the windows and bounced right back at me. Luckily I was able to redirect it with a mirror before I got smacked in the head! I really do have a bad history with that sort of thing.
      • LMaxey, on 05/25/2008, -4/+20Wow. It felt so wrong to digg you up, but I had to. It was far too perfect.
      • 0011002, on 05/26/2008, -0/+1Yeah.... I dugg you up too.
    • badassninja, on 05/25/2008, -9/+2So you have no idea how much the non-oem non-upgrade version of windows vista ultimate or even just home version costs?
    • WomensUnderwear, on 05/25/2008, -2/+6through
    • mman426, on 05/25/2008, -1/+10threw != through
    • Gregd, on 05/25/2008, -1/+8No. Someone being labeled an IT Manager may not actually have any IT experience. It happens all the time. It makes total sense that he wasn't competent enough to submit an order online, much less purchase it from Newegg for a hell of a lot less than $233.15
    • jellygraph, on 05/25/2008, -2/+2Buried for stupidity. This sort of thing could have happened to anyone, even an IT director. Your argument is idiotic. You base it on the assumption that he knows what is happening behind Microsofts servers, which no one does. In fact, your whole comment is based on flawed assumptions, when you have no idea what happened. Stop flaming Digg. Thank you.
  • cupofjoe88, on 05/25/2008, -54/+48My only question is...

    why anyone is buying Vista?
    • jabberwolf, on 05/25/2008, -25/+23Just about everyone that isnt buying the retarded propoganda.
      • nmnnotmyname, on 05/25/2008, -10/+6From Microsoft? but that doesn't make any sense.
    • Clugenheim, on 05/25/2008, -15/+28I'd like to know this as well. Eye candy aside, what does Vista have that makes it so spectacular? New security features (which are annoying as hell) yes, but those could have been added to XP via Service Pack, right?
      • nmnnotmyname, on 05/25/2008, -4/+7Could have (Not as high of a level but still would improve security), but then there'd be less reasons to buy Vista.
        • Clugenheim, on 05/25/2008, -9/+16Incoming comment - Accept or Deny?
        • nmnnotmyname, on 05/25/2008, -2/+1Depends on how many times it says Mac, Apple, Microsoft and Linux....Hmm, That would make a good improvement. I need the source to this patch :P
        • strangewill, on 05/25/2008, -3/+11@Clugenheim:
          Really funny, considering before Vista XP was made fun of for not having a similar feature to UAC.
        • Murdats, on 05/25/2008, -2/+7@strangewill
          I have numerous friends who work with linux who always bitched about how everything was always run as admin by default.
          so microsoft comes out with UAC, where everything is run as user unless permission is given, and while at launch it had a few wrinkles they have been fixed now, but everyone hates UAC, but everyone loves sudo, it makes no sense.
        • nmnnotmyname, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1Actually, UAC is a good idea, but it's implemented pretty damn poorly. You can't even become the super admin, you can only elevate permission to an application. There were quite a few more things they could have done to make it less annoying.
      • Tishiablo, on 05/25/2008, -6/+6Speech Recognition
        Searches
        DX10
        ...And I suppose the auto defrag
      • insertAliasHere, on 05/25/2008, -2/+16One of the main reasons I use it is because of superfetch. It's a prefetching service that preloads your most common applications into memory. If you use vista for a few weeks, and you repeatedly use an application (in my case Visual Studio) you will notice that that app launches faster. It launches faster on my laptop with vista than it did when I had XP on it. It is also a reason that people think that Vista is a RAM hog. Superfetch releases the RAM that it uses when a non-preloaded application needs it. So if you are looking for it, you notice that your RAM usage doesn't increase as much as you would expect.

        What good is RAM if you don't put it to good use?
      • grumpyrain, on 05/25/2008, -5/+6YMMV, but it is faster than XP on my box.
        Search functionality is much better
        UAC has caused developers to wake up to 7 years ago and not presume administrative access.
        Per application volume settings so you can watch a movie without falling off your chair if you receive an IM.
        Windows has encountered a problem dialog can actually tell you if a new version of the product fixes the issue and assists with downloading it.
        64bit version actually works.
        I/O prioritization.
        Aero does look nice.
        Live preview on flip3d and taskbar hover.
        Resource Monitor
      • Syphon8, on 05/25/2008, -0/+5Faster, better native apps, instant search in everything.

        I actually shudder when I have to use XP now.
        • grumpyrain, on 05/26/2008, -0/+2I don't mind XP, but given the choice on suitable hardware (ie, not some 4 year old P4), I would take Vista any day.
    • Rage67, on 05/25/2008, -9/+1Your grammar is just as bad as the article...
      • itsgotyou, on 05/25/2008, -0/+6*article's
        *stop raping the ellipsis
    • akumal999, on 05/25/2008, -6/+3Do you mean in the real world or mactard-land?
  • Hangly, on 05/25/2008, -8/+114Now that the story is on the front page of Digg I bet he'll be getting some service pronto.
    • sfacets, on 05/25/2008, -6/+9Not yet... Microsoft people don't read Digg, they probably rely on CNN or *Snigger* MSNBC to get feedback on how they are doing. Digg is probably on the Microsoft employee blocklist, seeing the amount of criticism the company receives here.
      • Adgeman, on 05/25/2008, -0/+4Probably not; big companies like to know what's being said about them regardless of the hue. If they don't know there's a problem they can't look at correcting the problem.
      • natenovs, on 05/25/2008, -10/+19"Microsoft people don't read Digg"
        yes we do.
        • chromerium, on 05/25/2008, -3/+2OMG. You'll totally get fired if your manager finds out you posted on digg.

          They're going to go back through every post you've ever made and make sure that people understand that it's a :Microsoft: employee posting, and everything you post reflects on your employer, donchyaknow! In fact, anything you post will be OFFICIAL! OMG!

          ... ;)
        • luchid, on 05/25/2008, -4/+15Ughh. Then please stop reading Digg and go fix your god damn OS.
        • ZeroFive1, on 05/25/2008, -1/+6Aha! That's where the 5 years went! You were all reading digg!
      • asus2000, on 06/30/2008, -10/+1How do you know he's a stupid black guy?
    • sevenalive, on 05/25/2008, -1/+15Oh yes like Digg has any power or authority on what a company does.

      Someone bitches, gets on digg
      Company: Oh Noes we better do what they want, its on Digg!
      • dazparkour, on 05/25/2008, -1/+6Aren't microsoft still the sponsors around here?

        I imagine that may make it matter a little, not a lot, I am not deluded.
    • Deviant_Tech, on 05/25/2008, -0/+4That's pretty damn laughable.
    • Turbojugend27, on 05/25/2008, -2/+1HAHAHAHAHA, yeah I am sure he'll get service super fast now hahahahahahaha.

      Thanks for that, made my day
  • jabberwolf, on 05/25/2008, -26/+10TO IDIOT PRESSING BUTTON REPEATEDLY!!

    Simply contest and cancel debits on your account - Banks sides with consumer. Done deal.
    • smpx, on 05/25/2008, -0/+14You cannot cancel debits as easily, had it been a credit card charge it would've been simpler.
  • killbert24, on 05/25/2008, -145/+54Microsoft gave me free versions of Vista Ultimate: both 32 bit and 64 bit just for being on the Windows Feedback team.
    Plus Vista is a good operating system so suck it.
    Also: when you buy the OS online you get an activation key. They don't do returns because of pirating losers who scam MSFT. I don't think this guy is one of them but you never know.
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 05/25/2008, -18/+17I'm sure a lot of people get legit, free copies of Vista and still choose to run XP. In particular, I'm one of those people.
      • sirbeta, on 05/25/2008, -4/+6The only reason I'm not using my free copy of vista has absolutely nothing to do with the operating system, it's creative being a bitch and giving us crippled versions of our drivers (mine doesn't even support Surround Sound in vista)
    • usingpond, on 05/25/2008, -23/+7You are one of the 4% of people whom think Vista is a good operating system. And you were rewarded with free copies.

      Sounds like an objective analysis to me!
      • senae, on 05/25/2008, -3/+2I take it that means you're one of the 96% of people who hasn't bothered trying Vista/are too stupid to learn how to turn off UAC.
        yes, it needs over a gigabyte of RAM, but is Bioshock a bad game because the computer I used last month couldn't run it? No, no it is not.

        Plus, XP only supports up to two processors and has crap security out of the box.
        • usingpond, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1Well there are many stupid statements in that comment. But I'll take you to task on one:

          If 96% of people haven't tried it or are too stupid to try it, then there's a problem with it.
    • gannondork, on 05/25/2008, -16/+2The only time I agree with Vista and suck being in the same sentence is in the instance that it is a two word sentence and suck is replaced with sucks.
    • smpx, on 05/25/2008, -22/+11"vista is a good operating system" lol.

      Also, windows ME is a great operating system.
    • killbert24, on 05/25/2008, -4/+8Returning a product
      What is your policy on returns and refunds?

      We have a 30-day, money-back guarantee. To return a product, go to your purchase history in the Digital Locker, and then click Return a Product next to the product you want to return.
      How do I cancel my order?

      To cancel your order, go to your purchase history in the Digital Locker, and then click Return a Product next to the product you want to return.
      How do I return a product for a refund?

      Go to your purchase history in the Digital Locker, and then click Return a Product next to the product you want to return.
      How soon will the return be credited to my account?

      After we receive your completed letter of destruction, the credit will be applied within 5 to 7 business days .
    • christhechris, on 05/25/2008, -5/+22The whole point of his complaint is that he got charged for 7 keys, and got one. RTFA!!!
    • PabloMac, on 05/25/2008, -11/+32"Microsoft gave me free versions of Vista Ultimate..."
      You got your money's worth.
      • noerrorsfound, on 05/25/2008, -0/+3I'm not so sure he did. Perhaps Microsoft should be paying him.
      • ZeroFive1, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2Well done.
    • phalanxcronos, on 05/25/2008, -4/+8Ya know I have no problems with Vista either, sure its had its problems in the beginning what what OS hasn't?? Biggest complaint seems to be about the UAC well if you don't like UAC then turn it off and if you don't know how to turn it off then you probably should keep it on!! A lot of the early vista problems have disappeared such as slow file transfer and faulty sleep mode on some machines. Now its a lot more stable then my XP machine.
  • Petrarch1603, on 05/25/2008, -25/+5microsoft is a multi-billion dollar corporation...all they have to do is take the guy's money once and they can't even do that correctly. what's going on?
    • Picard102, on 05/25/2008, -7/+13The guy hit submit seven times is what is going on. Blame the idiot user.
  • zadadka, on 05/25/2008, -6/+52"IT Manager" and "large University"...if this were true, he should have a clue....not to mention Site or Volume licensing....his MSDN disks would have provided him with with a copy to satisfy his "needing a license for Vista right away".
    • smpx, on 05/25/2008, -3/+36"IT manager" aka English student
      "Large University" aka community college.
    • johnlandes, on 05/25/2008, -0/+28"I was able to purchase a copy of Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade (which turns out was not what I wanted in the first place)."
      He wasn't even aware of the product that he needed to download
    • dualboy24, on 05/25/2008, -1/+8I was thinking the same thing. Plus you would hope an IT Manager would have more sense and hopefully enough money in the bank, I mean no savings at all in case of emergency is just stupid.
      • lolcat23, on 05/25/2008, -5/+2er? so you say everyone should always have 1600+ dollars in theire account? are you serious? or just a kid who doesnt know that living costs.

        And what does it matter what job he has "hope an IT manage would have ... enough money in the bank" WHAT? ARE YOU RETARDED?

        reminds me never to post anything personal on the internet, always some stupid know-it-all's who think they can pick apart what has been done and say "hes stupid, he should have done so-and-so, especially as a this-or-that, he really should have known, i blame him that microsoft is screwing him over, refusing to give him money back, or even the products he payed for. ye, its his fault alright!
        • dualboy24, on 05/26/2008, -0/+1Nope I am not not retarded lolcat, I just know that if I only had $800 to live off of for the remainder of a month, the last thing I would do is throw my money away at a software upgrade. I would be more concerned that I have no financial security and be a grown up and save my funds. But its okay I know you have a difficult time understanding the concept of being an adult.
    • dlmaher, on 05/25/2008, -4/+3He also said this was for his home use, not for work, so the site and volume licensing would not apply
      • abohling, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2That's not necessarily true - it just depends on the licensing agreement for the campus. Where I work I picked up an upgrade copy of Vista Ultimate for about $15 - for home use - as specified in the campus wide license agreement with Microsoft.
    • fuzzynyanko, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2I'm surprised that the "Large University" doesn't have an MSDN Academic Alliance subscription. That basically allows the university unlimited downloads of Microsoft software to college computers, staff, and students.
    • jellygraph, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2"Recently I went to purchase the new Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate operating system from their online store, Windows Live Marketplace for my personal use on my home computer."

      Note: 'Personal use on my home computer'

      RTFA
  • coltraning, on 05/25/2008, -31/+7***** Micro$oft
    • LMaxey, on 05/25/2008, -2/+9That has got to be the edgiest comment I've ever seen on digg.
    • coltraning, on 05/25/2008, -9/+6Come on people! If they didn't have a monopoly on the market, no one would buy their crappy software. It's like I'm talking to poor people who defend Republicans or something...
      • insertAliasHere, on 05/25/2008, -5/+6I'm going to give you my "Dumbest Comment that I've Read Today" award.
  • Jovensdesciple, on 05/25/2008, -71/+24I'll let you have a $1,632 copy of a zerox of my balls, bitch.
  • GTPilot, on 05/25/2008, -1/+81There's a federal regulation which allow you to dispute any electronic transaction. The bank must refund the money and do an investigation if you request to dispute it.
    • johnlandes, on 05/25/2008, -1/+23Why would the fraud department inform him and then refuse to help at the time? It seems odd considering the charges hadn't been cleared yet.
    • asus2000, on 06/30/2008, -2/+5The guy is using a debit card to buy things from Microsoft...

      American Express, don't leave home without it. (this advertising campaign had no effect on the guy.)

      Bottom line is this: Microsoft is a bully. Protect yourself.
      • mysedai, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1It's not just MS, I've had a similar incident with a travel agency; they authorized the transaction, then didn't drop the authorization when they made the actual transaction, so I was walking around with around $400 that were "in" my account, but being held and bounced a crapload of checks before I even found out there was an issue.
        I learned a valuable lesson; don't use your debit cards for online or over-the-phone transactions. If they can't slide it, don't use it.
    • MaxPayne3476, on 05/25/2008, -2/+2I work at a Credit Union. The bank does not have to refund your money. We will launch an investigation into the situation, which would be done with his debit card company (probably Visa). It's up to Visa to issue a 'temporary refund' which can result in taking the money back.
      • GTPilot, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1credit unions aren't federally insured and they do not have to follow the same regulations real banks do.
    • buckygrad, on 05/25/2008, -0/+0It is called regulation E (or Reg E for short). I am surprised the bank allowed these duplicate transactions to begin with.
  • TsuruchiBrian, on 05/25/2008, -23/+19Ubuntu = free (both kinds, beer and speech)
    • jwoulf, on 05/25/2008, -6/+5Buried, because you misspelled Kubuntu.
      • TsuruchiBrian, on 05/25/2008, -1/+4Apparently you are not the only one burying me.
      • CCmachined, on 06/17/2008, -0/+1Kubuntu is just a derivative, stupid... Ubuntu is the original.
    • Disease, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1The last release of Ubuntu wasn't that great either. Pulseaudio is terrible and my Broadcom wireless took a lot more work to get working than in 7.10. Shared folders are harder to manage because they took away the Shared Folders utility from the System menu (which can still be run from the console).
  • glennkachmar, on 05/25/2008, -20/+5This should also be submitted to consumerist.com. Although the front page of Digg should do the trick. Microsoft should be paying people to use Vista, not the other way around (seven times!).
    • willwork4ammo, on 05/25/2008, -1/+12Wow....if you look at the source of the story...it is the consumerist.
    • badassninja, on 05/25/2008, -0/+4HAA HAA HAA HAA HAA. Classic.
  • bdude, on 05/25/2008, -26/+17People actually *pay* for vista?
  • Zyphon, on 05/25/2008, -7/+120In before "Vista sucks"

    Seriously, the OS he was buying is irrelevant, all MS hate should be aimed at the Live checkout/customer service.
    • Schmich, on 05/25/2008, -3/+1Don't you mean "all Vista hate should be aimed at MS's Live checkout/customer service"?
    • Sephaa, on 05/25/2008, -3/+1All hate should be aimed towards vista?
    • arkmtech, on 05/25/2008, -3/+1See, but... the Windows Live Marketplace servers run on Vista!

      The OS is not irrelevant. Your argument is invalid.
  • ControlcChris, on 05/25/2008, -34/+85Ive never paid for an operating system in my life, because illegally downloading is free.
    • passedoutghost, on 05/25/2008, -10/+4Not when you have limited bandwidth
      • zspade, on 05/25/2008, -1/+3But is your soul free? Is it!?
        • passedoutghost, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2My soul's already possessed the moment I entered law school. Kind of ironic though downloading a whole heap of copyrighted content...I'll stop I swear...
      • renagadex2, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1No, it's still free.
    • annihilator675, on 05/25/2008, -2/+10Dugg up for honesty.
    • mfc5200, on 05/25/2008, -8/+3So you are a petty thief that steals the work of others. Congratulations buddy.
    • Virtuosity, on 05/25/2008, -4/+3People give the stupid excuse that if things were priced better, they wouldn't have to pirate. I call BS because here we have people clamoring about getting things free. No, no word on making prices more palatable to the consumer, but free as in I'm a thief no matter what.

      If you want save money and make a statement about pricing while respecting the rights of other individuals/corporations, embrace FOSS instead.
  • ufia, on 05/25/2008, -31/+54Who the ***** shop online with a debit card? Especially a "consumerist". I thought this was an Onion article for a second.
    • dazparkour, on 05/25/2008, -11/+45I've done that.

      Not everyone is stupid enough to get a credit card and spend money they don't have!
      • lifeinchains, on 05/25/2008, -2/+6What is stupid about building credit? It is something everyone will need at some point in their life, so why not get it the easiest way possible? Buy stuff you know you can pay for and pay it off.

        And what is stupid about protecting yourself? All credit cards have fraud protection and give you the ability to dispute any charge on your bill. That way you can send the credit card company after Microsoft. They will be much more successful, I guarantee you that.

        Debit cards have none of these benefits.
        • provost, on 05/25/2008, -1/+8depends on the bank. mine does.

          also, I dont use credit cards, did once, decided it was a scam and never have again, yet I have an awesome credit rating, bought a house before all the credit ***** happened so i did it fair and square, i have bought cars etc.

          Dont be fooled into the 'you need credit cards to build credit' propoganda.
      • mysedai, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1I tend to agree with you on the credit card front, but I do keep one with an absurdley low limit just for buying crap online. Just use your credit card to buy something, then go to your credit card websit and make a payment for the same amount. Make sure you have a credit card that offers a "grace period" for interest-free payments and you aren't "spending money you don't have" and you're only paying about $30 a year for online fraud protection. It's a win-win situation.
      • thrallie, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2I use a visa check card which lets me buy things online by entering its number and using it as "credit" but the money is taken from my checking account. Awhile back a company had double charged me and my bank completely refunded my money and the original charge was canceled, the company had no intention of sending me the product. The site had good reviews on google product search too. I'm more careful now and have never run into anything like that again.
    • jm1234567890, on 05/25/2008, -2/+2I didn't even know you could do that...
    • slaystench, on 05/25/2008, -7/+27I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or you are just a moron, but I have been doing it for years without any problems.
    • khyberkitsune, on 05/26/2008, -0/+1Enjoy your debt, ufia. Apparently you don't know Debit cards have a couple more layers of security than credit cards.
  • JMilton, on 05/25/2008, -16/+4Bill Gates wants your soul.
    • badassninja, on 05/25/2008, -0/+7No, power and your money will do just fine.
    • mysedai, on 05/25/2008, -1/+1Yes, he already took your brain, now he's coming for you soul. :/
  • kakapu4u, on 05/25/2008, -9/+2Towards the bottom, 3 out of 4 of those credits are not in the same column and indicate with their description that they were PURCHASE, not RETURN.

    Did he accidentally buy 10 copies and get credited back for only 1?
  • smpx, on 05/25/2008, -42/+25Lesson of the day: Don't buy Vista. You can download it just about anywhere... but why would you want it to begin with?
    • adml_shake, on 05/25/2008, -2/+2Because if you have the cash just buy the damn thing. It will save a lot of time and headaches in the end.
  • NSResponder, on 05/25/2008, -11/+59Take them to small claims court. If they don't show up, you win a default judgement. If they fail to pay the judgement, you can find some property that they own in your area (regional sales office, perhaps), and take a sheriff with you to collect. Get it all on video, and sell it to the news syndicators. ;-)

    -jcr
    • ByteGuerilla, on 05/25/2008, -0/+12Absolutely. Even if they show up, he'll win his money back unless you get a judge who doesn't know what he's talking about, and then you can make an attempt to collect money for damages (i.e. late payment penalties for the bills he missed, compensation for having no money and thus no food, etc.)
    • DharmaTurtle, on 05/26/2008, -2/+1***** you jcr.
  • badassninja, on 05/25/2008, -15/+4PR = -30,000.
  • themonkman, on 05/25/2008, -1/+57I just wonder why he wouldn't just take it to small claims court and get a default judgement on the problem. If a Microsoft rep fails to show, you automatically win. Most small claims courts have a $7,000 limit, so he would've been well within that. That's what I would've done if I was getting screwed like that.

    On the other hand, I agree with the other's who say that an IT manager should know better than to hit the submit button 7 times when an error occurs. Additionally, he shouldn't be using his debit card online, anyways. It's much easier to dispute a credit card charge than it is through your debit card.
    • tendonut, on 05/25/2008, -2/+10Not necessarily. My bank is very good at refunding your money for deputes at the drop of a hat.

      My brother bought something online with my card (without asking) from a site I never heard of that was not secured. A few days after the order went through, I noticed a few ~$300 charges showing up on my account. I called the number associated with the transaction and they said I have to send the stuff back if I want a refund. I told them that the items were shipped to Rhode Island and they didn't care. I then brought up the fact that I live in Western New York and they didn't seem to see that problem with that situation. So I called my bank and 24 hours later, I had my $600 or so back. No hassle whatsoever.
      • vailripper, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1So you defrauded a company of the products they sent your brother? Shouldn't you have been on the phone with your brother telling him to send that ***** back?
        • tendonut, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1No no no, he got his stuff no problem. It was even more orders he did NOT place that were sent to Rhode Island. My brother was living at home in WNY with me.

          Someone else got my debit card info from the site my brother placed his order on. This person is the one who charged all this *****.
    • MaxPayne3476, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1You're absolutely correct. With a credit card, as long as it is reported in reasonable time frame, you're only responsible for the first $50. With your debit card, Visa will most likely issue you a temporary refund, but you can still be held liable for all charges.
    • JohnSteel, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1Small claims court limits vary from place to place. The small claims court in my city has a limit of $5,000. Also you might not be able to take Microsoft to small claims court if they do not have some kind of business presence in the court's jurisdiction. You have to serve them with papers by certified mail and delivered to their home / office by either you or a server that you hire. Of course I may be wrong so ask a lawyer.
  • twtmc, on 05/25/2008, -14/+54Linux: Because at least you won't have to deal with charges to your credit card for a simple upgrade.
    • LingNoi, on 05/25/2008, -11/+9He's too stupid for Linux, he's a windows admin.
      • ByteGuerilla, on 05/25/2008, -3/+4And logging into an IRC server to get 'support' (read: condescending insults) from a room full of smug little pricks like you is obviously the better option.
        • philhatesyou, on 05/25/2008, -1/+2If you're not a jackass and have done your due diligence before asking for help in IRC, you won't get those insults.
      • LansingSterling, on 05/25/2008, -0/+0 many Linux distros are now being design with Windows admin in mind by adding cute GUI system configuration wizards to hold the admins by the hand. this is what lead me to use DragonFlyBSD and OpenBSD instead.
    • InorganicMatter, on 05/25/2008, -7/+6Unless he's running version 2.6.22-2.7.1 of the kernel, in which case he'll have to checkout and compile the latest beta of the PPC version of the kernel, making sure, of course, to disable the ACPI functionality which is not stable yet, and installing it BEFORE rebooting and AFTER updating his glibc to 2.7.2-beta4.
      • cuddleparty, on 05/25/2008, -0/+3oh come on, that's funny.
      • CCmachined, on 06/17/2008, -0/+1most of that is BS, but even if it wasnt, it would still be done automagically when you click "Update" on Ubuntu's system-universal package manager ;)
    • possiblyneil, on 05/25/2008, -2/+5Depends on what distro, remember you have to pay for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Enterprise.
      But really and truly this whole OS fame is ridiculous. Computers are tools. In my opinion I think that Vista is amazingly inefficient, needing 1GB of ram to check emails, surf the internet and do a bit of word processing should be laughable but it is a grim fact with Vista. That said if you want or need it, it is probably worth paying for.
      Linux as Ubuntu is good, its free and easy to use but if there are any problems like setting up a wireless card or getting Compiz to work most people who are unfamiliar with the command line would be stuck.
      Use whatever OS is right for you and don't let yourself be conned into paying big money for Vista or be pressured into using Linux because it is "better".
      • CCmachined, on 06/17/2008, -0/+1ever installed Windows from scratch, and then installing drivers for obscure hardware? its the same.
        some Linux apps lack a decent interface sure, but its nowhere near as bad as that.

        WINDOWS IS PRE-SETUP FOR YOU WHEN YOU BUY THE PC
        UBUNTU IS NOT, unless you buy an Ubuntu PC readymade with all the proper adjustments.
    • Gutterpunk, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2The guy tried to pass 7 transactions on his debit card, and sent his complaint to consumerist.com with screenshot of his charges that aren't even charges but pre-authorization.

      Do you really think that he would know how to get any linux distro if it wasn't served to him on a golden platter with detailed instructions?
  • BrandonB1218, on 05/25/2008, -5/+11Yeeaaahhh, I got a copy off of Usenet that doesn't require activation or a CD key. I like Vista so far, but not so much that I'm spending $400 for Ultimate, hell, I won't spend that much for ANY operating system, no matter how good it is. If Windows was decently priced, I would have no problem buying a legit copy.
    • Adgeman, on 05/25/2008, -2/+7What would you define as decently-priced? It's a product they've spent years developing with millions of man hours devoted to it. I'd say $140 is a pretty decent price for something like an OS.
      • sk11, on 05/25/2008, -2/+2Yeah and it only took 2 people working for 5 minutes to develop Linux, right?
    • McTedo, on 05/25/2008, -0/+8$140 maybe, but abroad Microsoft don't seem to understand currency conversion. They think just replacing the $ with a £ or € sign is what you have to do.

      So instead you pay £140 ($280).
    • MaxPayne3476, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2Newsflash: Everything is expensive in Europe
    • caffeinelover, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2If you need to buy the most expensive version of Vista, pay $169 (USD) on Newegg. That's what I did - works great.
  • ronaldmonster, on 05/25/2008, -1/+11Ok...This has happened to me many a times, go to your bank file a dispute and get your money back and they investigate. It's sure to get your money back, it's happened to me many a times and no fuss whatsoever when getting my money back.
  • Spacenoodle, on 05/25/2008, -10/+51"... I suppose this is what I get for trying to do things legitimately with Microsoft..."

    Dugg
  • MarkusGarvey, on 05/25/2008, -12/+3i don't understand how he can do something so stupid...and write about it...and have such a great job...
  • coltraning, on 05/25/2008, -12/+2Go ahead and digg me down, but I seem to recall that shutting down Playsfor$hit was another one of Micro$oft's little mind games that they like to play with their customers...

    I can't seem to recall anything like that ever happening with iTunes.
    • whitey9, on 05/25/2008, -1/+7Oh! You switched the S for a dollar sign. I get it.
  • natesnotjewish, on 05/25/2008, -5/+10Authorizations on a card are NOT the same as actually being charged. Typically an authorization has to expire, or be removed by the bank. Authorized funds are held by the bank, not actually in the hands of MS.

    As ***** a situation as it is, it's not MS's responsibility to remove unresolved authorizations from an account.

    Again, it's not unusual for a card to approve (authorize) but then fail to capture the actual money. This is a bad experience that someone could have had with any merchant experiencing problems with their checkout system.
    • dazparkour, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1Your comment is quite general, "It may not have left the bank, blah, blah".

      I'm pretty sure that when $1,500 left the bank, this man damn well saw it!
      • natesnotjewish, on 05/26/2008, -0/+1When a charge authorizes, the money HASN'T left the bank yet. It's not "general", it's how it ***** works.
  • hyperden, on 05/25/2008, -11/+5No wonder people pirate this software, it is not even worth buying anyway.

    • JYoungest1, on 05/25/2008, -1/+0BEEP BEEP, Do you hear that? Its that "Vi$ta-Hate Bandwagon". ALL ABOARD, THROW AWAY YOUR INTELLIGENCE!
  • coltraning, on 05/25/2008, -15/+6*****$ 2008: The only software solution that you'll ever need!

    Where do you want to go today?
  • coltraning, on 05/25/2008, -47/+13George W. Bush sucks Saudi *****
    • Ricemanstm, on 05/26/2008, -0/+1WTF does that have to do with Vista? Never mind, you're too much of a ***** idiot to answer.
  • tendonut, on 05/25/2008, -11/+18In a situation like this, ***** Microsoft. Report it all as fraud. My bank (Citizens Bank) will reverse a charge in a heartbeat if you feel like challenging it. Just make sure there is no way Microsoft can prove it was legit. The bank will yank that money back pretty quick if it means they would eat it.

    But as the article said, he learned his lesson of doing business with Microsoft. You try to do the right thing and you get smacked in the face. www.isohunt.com is your friend.

    This is stretching it a bit, but it's kind of like movies with the FBI warning on it. It does nothing but aggravate the people who legitimately purchased the movie. If they would have just downloaded the movie illegally, the warning would not be there. But because they wanted to pay for the movie, they have to be slapped with a "You're a criminal in hiding!" message.
    • CCmachined, on 06/17/2008, -0/+1no, ubuntu.com is your friend.
      isohunt is for soulless theives doomed to hell.
      =]

      unless you're using isohunt to get a Linux torrent, then sure!
  • mohamedmansour, on 05/25/2008, -11/+19That IT Manager is speaking bull... No IT Manager buys stuff licenses from Online, since he is referring to a big university, he has to seek his MSDNAA personal and they would give him the license. IT must be the banks fault and MS fault for overcharging, and it would be resolved. I bet he didn't wait and was impatient after couple of minutes.

    Stuff like this needs time, not minutes. Your not dealing with a child company, your dealing with a large company. Plus, customer support for Microsoft is always great.

    Next time, don't say your an IT Manager at campus... IT Managers talk to MSDNAA supplier not Microsoft.
    • legoman31245, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2For personal use i'm fairly sure he would be like any other consumer buying it.
  • kingatrock, on 05/25/2008, -12/+6waahhh solve your own problems jesus christ. Every time some company screws up its "they're screwing everyone everywhere because it happened to me!!"
    no digg.
    • WoollyMittens, on 05/25/2008, -1/+4So. Because it didn't happen to you, their incompetent customer service is no problem to anybody?
  • madmccoy, on 05/25/2008, -3/+20For everyone who thinks pre-auth is the issue, look at the second image: several final debits went through (at least 3 of them according to the image).

    This is just general douche-baggery by underpaid customer service people not interested in doing their jobs.
    • Rendonsmug, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1And he got 3 refunds + the refund for the original.

      The pre-auth is the issue.
    • Gutterpunk, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1Surely they never saw anyone trying to pass off multiple activation as being a "mistake" before. For every legit problems that any customer service rep face, they got about 10 people trying to use the same problem to get a freebie before.
      Customer service rep don't get lazy by themselves. They get lazy after the hundreds of stupid assholes that think that the customer is always right (see : consumerist.com)
  • spacebuddy, on 05/25/2008, -13/+7what kind of idiot buys Vista?
  • iDe1337, on 05/25/2008, -3/+7net user administrator /active:yes
    Then you never have to worry about the UAC ever again but you get to use everything else in vista.
  • benitojuarez, on 05/25/2008, -1/+6well it looks like hes a fifth third customer hes ***** out of luck, they wont stand up for him for *****. I had problems with someone stealing my card and pin info from my mailbox a few years ago and withdrawing 2000 dollars from my account over a period of 4 days and got a refund of the 2000 + overdraft fees after about 5 months and extensive reviews of the atm security tapes and hours upon hours of phone calls and meetings with the bank manager at which point they signed me up for overdraft and fraud protection. 6 months later i got several overdrafts because the gas station i was going to at the time holds the debits for a few days. I was told "we worked with you on your previous issue and we are unwilling to reverse the fees". I said what about my overdraft protection? The bank manager then told me they offered no such services, Fifth third is a ***** ass bank. I suggest he switches to another bank once this is resolved.
  • magamiako, on 05/25/2008, -4/+13Doesn't he understand the little warnings about "Don't click back as you may be double charged?" I'm pretty sure every website has one of these when you purchase something.

    He's a dumbass. He's no "IT Manager", and if he is, I feel sorry for the IT Department he runs.
    • Tyrghast, on 05/25/2008, -1/+2Dugg for truth. He's a retard.
    • HerbSolo, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1FTA: "Microsoft cannot be contacted at this time Please try again later."
      Honest mistake. Serious screw-up by MS-Support. Hell, if you're buying porn online, you'll have better customer-support!
  • WoollyMittens, on 05/25/2008, -1/+8This sort of shenanigans started to get out of had, when corporations started calling us consumers instead of customers. That's like calling your pet pig "Ham"
  • Murrabbit, on 05/25/2008, -6/+1I'm a life long PC user but one thing I'll say about Mac is that at least when you go into their stores or order online they'll let you pay the listed price for the correct number of units that you wished to purchase.

    That's really a pretty basic part of customer service, so it's a little sad that we can't seem to say the same about Microsoft.
  • Psythik, on 05/25/2008, -2/+2I can't believe this guy took this ***** from them for so long. If it were me, I'd be screaming and cussing up a storm until I got the attention of the right guy. It worked for me when Dell screwed me over with a defective laptop, so I'm sure it would work with Microsoft.

    Yeah, sure it's his fault for clicking the button seven times, but this is something that should have been fixed the same day. Still I'm burying this because of the guy's own stupidity.
    • secrity, on 05/25/2008, -0/+4It appears that it was not his fault; the error message stated that the transaction had not occurred and that he would have to try again.
  • jasonalangraves, on 05/25/2008, -21/+5Vista is really horrible. The especially bad thing about Vista is that it's offers nothing radically different or better than XP and on top of that, is less stable, does not work with all drivers, does not work with all software.

    I have really tried to like vista, especially since I paid a pretty penny for it, but with their hundreds, maybe thousands of programmers, Microsoft does not seem to be doing much to improve it.

    The best thing we can do is not buy Microsoft products. Encourage others to not buy Microsoft products. If you are in IT, switch your company to something else.

    I have never used Linux before. I checked out Ubuntu, and holy smokes it looks amazing. I'm still on the learning curve, but I can't believe what I have been missing.
    • estvir, on 05/25/2008, -8/+3Less stable? Hahah, wow, you're amazingly dumb. In an odd way, it's kind of impressive how stupid you are.
      • Abomonog, on 05/25/2008, -3/+2It is less stable. It's the only O.S. I have ever seen where sol.exe has produced the BSOD.

        It sucks to have the comp go BSOD when you're $50 ahead in Vegas style solitaire.

        And forget sound. Any attempt at direct sound access is an instant protocol violation. This means that most games can't run surround sound. I can't even run a sound card in ASIO mode in Vista. No realtime access allowed.

        Vista sucks.
        • vlurk, on 05/25/2008, -1/+2I don't know for ASIO (I don't need it), but I am using an Auzentech XPlosion 7.1 under Vista Ultimate 64bits SP1 and I have no problem getting surround sound. My MP3s are playing in DTS (this card feature a DTS encoder), all the games I play are doing great too (although this card only support EAX 2.0).

          As for direct access... If I remember correctly, there is an hardware abstraction layer (HAL) at least since Windows 2000. A software cannot use DMA (direct memory access) with a device. But then, maybe that's not what you meant.

          Anyways, your system looks unstable and your sound card not totally supported under Vista. Your machine (or your expertise) seems to be at the root of your problems.
        • WaruiKoohii, on 05/25/2008, -1/+3Probably more a user error sort of thing, vlurk.

          Also, for the record, ASIO works fine under Vista.
    • MaxPayne3476, on 05/25/2008, -1/+2Is this a thread about how Vista is? No it is not. ggthxbai
  • KenFC3S, on 05/25/2008, -8/+1microsoft is always pulling stupid strategies to get money, and what happened to this guy is just messed up.

    i feel bad im using windows xp
    • AzzX, on 05/25/2008, -1/+3Yeah, like they would do something like this on purpose.
      • secrity, on 05/25/2008, -1/+2It's not that their website ***** up, it is that MS appears to not care and the MS people that he has contacted won't help get the problem sorted out.
  • AzzX, on 05/25/2008, -13/+5Ahh the weekly Vista bashing DIGG
    That IT Manager or should I say pretend story from a Mac Fanboi, is a toss.

    Never has an issue with Vista - or any OS for that matter, being naive in your job is no excuse.
    • imsteve22, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1he didn't mention any problems with vista, just purchasing it from Microsoft. at least read the article before judging it.
      ...Although im not really one to talk, i just scanned through it.
  • heystoopid, on 05/25/2008, -2/+3So this is how Balmer and co earn the big income ripping off their customers bank accounts multiple times for questionable OS's , like that man is truly evil !
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