“Windows Vista RTM’d a week ago, and now, the beta testers have gotten their swag. If you (actively) participated in the Longhorn Beta program, this is your chance to get a free Windows Vista Business or Ultimate Edition product key. The only requirement to receiving this free product key is that throughout the duration of the beta program you submitted at least one bug – nothing more, nothing less.”
I went over to the Connect website to claim my key, but I can’t find anything about it. What am I missing? I have submitted numerous bug during my use of Vista.
I didn’t find nothing either.. 🙁 I submited some.. but I need to submit one of RTM I found in Windows Mail =)
If you read the e-mail, at the bottom it says to just install the RTM with no CD-key, it will ask you what edition you want (pick whichever you chose, Business Prem. or Ult.), you can use it for up to 30 days with no key while they are sifting through all the surveys for which edition you wanted, you should get a key by e-mail in a week or two.
It appears that if you used the built-in Error Reporting Client in Vista, thats not considered to be reporting a bug. I’m waiting on clarification from MS though.
Incorrect, that is all I used.
You should have gotten an e-mail, perhaps they haven’t finished sending the e-mails?
Also, you have to be a registered beta tester on connect.
What happens if I set my date up a year in my bios and then install and change it back after install? Will I get a year + 30 days? I wonder if that will work – it use to work on some of the 120day limited copies of XP/2000.
may I’ll get a vista key, too!
I found a bug:
Bug #548897: Bug reporter don’t get a key
lol
Hmmm, testers & developers receive Vista for free, big businesses and schools get it at vastly reduced prices and everyone else…pays top dollar at retail. When it’s what you’re taught and when it’s the only thing you use at work, it’s all you know. If you’re an intelligent free thinker, you’ll seek out better alternatives…otherwise you’ll be stuck on the MS merry-go-round forever. Your choice.
Been beta testing for quite some time, myself.
Got free copy of 2000, Me (switched to 2000 after the beta, but still have my Me CD), XP (5 free licenses for this one), and now Vista.
If you can’t see it and you’re not from the USA, you’ll get it soon.
http://neosmart.net/blog/archives/290#comment-7299
I deleted the Passport accounts I had associated with my original beta test application – I supposed I’m probably gonna miss out on this because of that, despite the fact that I filed numerous bugs and the actual e-mail addresses I filed them under are still active. At least, I assume I will, because I haven’t gotten any such e-mail.
I got a reply back from Microsoft, here is what they had to say:
“Matt,
Thank you for contacting Microsoft Connect Help ([email protected]) and for your interest in testing Microsoft products!
We located your account on Microsoft Connect, but no invitation or enrollment in the technical Windows Vista beta (you may have been registered for the public beta). Access to the download you specified is limited to technical Windows Vista beta testers on Microsoft Connect.
Microsoft Connect Help Team ”
So those of you who took part in the public beta, MSDN, Technet, or whatever get nothing, regardless of what you contributed. I guess that would cut too much into their massive profit margins.
MSDN get it.
Public beta was so you could mess around and play with it.
Seriously, stop crying like a little baby because you didn’t get a free hand-out.
—- Edit—
Also, you seem to expect Microsoft to give out free versions to everyone who was part of the public beta, but do you EVER see ANY company EVER do such a thing?
Edited 2006-11-17 20:59
CPUGuy said:
“Also, you seem to expect Microsoft to give out free versions to everyone who was part of the public beta, but do you EVER see ANY company EVER do such a thing?”
Why yes I have. The company; Canonical. The product; numerous versions of Ubuntu. They even sent me free copies in the US mail.
Something that is already offered freely does not count.
Indeed, i can’t understand why everyone is so keen to do free QA testing and file bug reports on a non-free OS like vista, when we file reports against a FOSS project at least we know everyone will benefit from our efforts, not just the company selling the OS and their paid up customers.
I’m part of the MSDNAA and when renewing we were told that Vista would be made available to us.
Looks like that’s not the case any more, or at least I’m trying to find out what the deal is.
At least with their online chat, one person said yes we can get it, the other said no we can’t.
MS seem very inconsistent, some people are getting their keys, others aren’t, not available in MSDN when it should be.
The way I understand it:
If you participated from the beginning in the exclusive beta, you will get the free key if you submitted at least one bug report.
If you only participated after Microsoft posted the public download links (i.e. beta 2, RC1, RC2), like me, you are not eligible for the free key.
That’s not what the MSDN AA is about, it’s designed for Academic places.
So it should just be available for download, just like the betas and RC’s along with the CTP’s too.
Not the same as being part of the beta and submitting bugs afaik
What I’ve heard is that it should be available to MSDNAA about the same time as it’s available to the general public, sometime January 2007 in other words.
Yes, MSDNAA <em>will</em> get it, just later than the normal MSDN. That’s the way it’s always been.
I was a technical beta tester for Office 2007 and didn’t even get a thanks!!. Scr…..w Microsoft!!!!.
This isn’t fair, TBP people who submited ONLY ONE bug get a ultimate version, CPP people who submited more than 5 bugs get nothing, because.. well they were on the CPP. It is even more unfair because I know the CPP reported bugs got reviewed, I got an email asking for hardware details because of a bug I submited, and a link to connect, but I had no access to it since I was not on the TBP or whatever was needed, I changed a few emails with them and they said they were aware of the unfairness and were taking care of it, never got anything after that email, and now this.. *sigh*
Office 2007 will be the same, I’ve downloaded the beta and TR(payed for it), submited a few error reports related to crash on email sync, and there’s no reward, oh wait, if I buy it I’ll benefit from my reports and the time I dedicated to do real-life testing of it, nice.
Well, congrats to the TBP testers, I never did found how to be a part of that program.
Edited 2006-11-19 04:50
Unfair because you didn’t get a free handout of a piece of software that costs a good bit of money?
CPP is for just that, PREVIEWING the application.
There are many companies out there who don’t offer any sort of beta preview of their software, and there are many companies out there that do put all the beta builds up for download for anybody, and yet no one gets a free copy.
Why is it that you expect something from Microsoft?
BTW, to get into the MS beta testing world, set up an account on connect, and anytime you see news for an invite to a private beta (sometimes through actual invitations, others you fill out a survey and send it in, then, most of the time, you will be on the private beta for said product). Then there is the “available connections” which will show you all kinds of different private betas that you can request to be a part of.
“BTW, to get into the MS beta testing world, set up an account on connect, and anytime you see news for an invite to a private beta (sometimes through actual invitations, others you fill out a survey and send it in, then, most of the time, you will be on the private beta for said product). Then there is the “available connections” which will show you all kinds of different private betas that you can request to be a part of.”
yeah, I know that, and that’s why I’m saying it’s unfair, there’s no payment involved to be a part of the beta, and I never saw the connection on Connect, so, the only difference is that some people clicked on a link, and other don’t. In this particular case, the one who hasn’t filed more bugs than many of the ones who did click on the link.
Bug count should decide the reward, not being a part of connect, wich I do, and I’m on other connections and giving feedback.
Anyway, I’ll get Vista on my tablet refresh cycle.