My HP notebook came with a trial version of Microsoft Office installed. It expired today, so either I pay or stop using it. Seems simple enough, right?
I clicked the upgrade feature to go online and buy the registration key like it to do. Got a dead screen, it was blank. Googled around and found others had gotten precisely the same error. A Microsoft tech forum said, with no explanation, to try a different URL, so I did.
Guess what. Nothing on that page told me how to buy the registration key. Instead I was sternly told I needed to know precisely what version I have because the keys are different, then it directed me to a list of vendors who would mail me a CD. Ah, no. I just want to buy the registration key. Like you said I could.
I bought my first computer in 1984, and develop websites and write database applications. And I could not determine how to purchase the registration key for Microsoft Office after 20 minutes of trying.
Screw them. My word processor of choice now is Open Office Writer. It’s free, does about everything Microsoft Word does, and installed in 5 minutes.
A process that should be simple and easy apparently is impossible for Microsoft Office to accomplish.