Don't want to activate MS reader!!!

[two_wheels]

Does anybody know of a way to get rid of that activation dialog in MS Reader w/o actually registering the program? I don't intend to buy commercial content, but do want to read free content frequently.

Thanks!

[Janak Parekh]

No. The simplest thing to do is to activate it. It's actually quite easy, and is not the same thing as "registering". :)

[two_wheels]

...it's a matter of principle... it's bad enough that I had to call MS and beg pretty pretty please for permission to move Outlook 2002 to my office computer after having played with it at home for a while and decided it'd be more useful to sync at work. Who knows what they'll say when I get a new computer or change jobs...

[two_wheels]

Does anybody know if the registry key is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\eBooks\eBooks

If so, could somebody see if there is a value there that seems to indicate that it shouldn't show that dialog? (other than the activation key of course).

Thanks!

[rave]

But you DID get your way with the Outlook 2002 thing, right? I don't think MS will screw their honest customers. It's just that they have to make sure.

Besides, I think you called them with a hot temper from the start, and that's what may have fired them up, if they have. ;)

Besides, the activation limit for a single Hotmail address is 8 (?) different PPC's (re-activating the same unit won't add to the number of activations). I don't think an average user will go beyond that limit. :)

[ECOslin]

'MS-reader?, yeah man, I know what that is. Wasn't that a children's television show back in the '80s?'

I tried it once, activated it and converted a text file to it, downloaded a free story, read half.

I'm happy to say that since I last reset my Maestro, I've had no reason to re-activate the thing again. I'm a firm believer in Txt and RTF files. I use the built in version of Word.

Edward

[Janak Parekh]

Besides, the activation limit for a single Hotmail address is 8 (?) different PPC's (re-activating the same unit won't add to the number of activations). I don't think an average user will go beyond that limit. :)
I also believe you can call Microsoft and get resets if you happen to bypass the total device limit.

I'm a firm believer in Txt and RTF files. I use the built in version of Word.
OK, but good luck finding ebooks in that format...

--janak

[two_wheels]

Besides, I think you called them with a hot temper from the start, and that's what may have fired them up, if they have.


I didn't call them with a hot temper. Yes, I *STRONGLY* dislike product activation features that prevent me from using my software within my legal rights, but yelling at the poor minimum wage guy on the phone doesn't help anything. I'm not being petty.

My concern is this... what happens if in 6 years I have this obsolete computer that won't run Outlook 2008 and I want to sync my PPC with it. I try to activate it over the network, and it can't find the server. So, I call MS up begging for permission to install it and...

doo dee deep We're sorry... the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please check your number and try your call again....

OK, so I finally find a working number after hours of searching and call and am told:

We're sorry, we stopped supporting that version of Outlook in 2005. You'll have to *PAY* to upgrade to the newest version, which is no longer compatible with the PPC 2002 OS.

Pay? You mean, they have total control over when I stop using the software I've already paid for? -- and pay again!?! Not a position that I want to be in!!!

Outa luck, huh? Don't say it can't happen. It does. I have old software that requires you to call in and get a code to unlock some advanced features whenever you install it, but the company is no longer around, or refuses to support the product. At least 6 packages that I can think of off the top of my head.

[Janak Parekh]

My concern is this... what happens if in 6 years I have this obsolete computer that won't run Outlook 2008 and I want to sync my PPC with it. I try to activate it over the network, and it can't find the server. So, I call MS up begging for permission to install it and...
In my opinion, the utility of this is debatable. But if it's important to you, then you're going to have to stop using MS software. The company has begun to service-ify their product line, and as such being reasonably up-to-date with MS software is a prerequisite.

This is part of the reason MS now publishes end-of-life documentation for each of their products. NT4, for example, will no longer be supported as of June, 2003. For activation products, I don't know how much longer it will be activatable, but I'm sure it'll be well-documented.

Oh, and by the way, your PPC's battery will be completely dead in 2008 and you won't be able to get replacements anyway ;)

--janak

[two_wheels]

But if it's important to you, then you're going to have to stop using MS software.

I'm working on it! :) I've got Linux on my laptop at home and am finding replacements as I go along. The PPC was actually a step backwards in that regard, but I'm not very happy with Palm right now either.

and as such being reasonably up-to-date with MS software is a prerequisite.

NT4, for example, will no longer be supported as of June, 2003. For activation products, I don't know how much longer it will be activatable, but I'm sure it'll be well-documented.

You don't see a problem with this? I have a Pentium 90. I still run Windows 95 on it. It is just as useful as the day that I bought it as long as you aren't tempted to run the latest and greatest software. For day to day tasks its fine (especially for young children). Had MS had their current polices in place back then I'd be out of luck and this old computer would be of absolutely no use any more as I recently had to reinstall the OS.

Oh, and by the way, your PPC's battery will be completely dead in 2008 and you won't be able to get replacements anyway ;)

Well, I used the PPC as an example to keep the discussion somewhat on topic, but I still pull out my Newton sometimes for nostalgia sake, and I'm sure I could get some battery to work in the PPC, even in 2008.


Back to my original topic... some people seem to be thinking that I want to bypass the activation in MS Reader in order to get around the protection. In reality, I just don't want to be bothered by that stupid warning every single time I open the program. Yes, I'm fully aware that I'd have to activate it to use for-pay materials. That's fine, I can understand why (even if I don't like it), just give me the option to acknowledge that I know this and not be told again and again and again and again. I am using MS reader to read FREE materials from PG and other sources.

Maybe a better question would be: Is there a free ebook reader for PPC that has autoscroll like CSpotRun on the Palm? It must have an easy way to create source material from .TXT files

[ECOslin]

I'm a firm believer in Txt and RTF files. I use the built in version of Word.
OK, but good luck finding ebooks in that format...

--janak

I don't have a problem finding ebooks in those formats(and HTML). I just haven't seen anything I liked in Reader. RTF, TXT and Html work with me. I'm not impressed by what's out there to buy a new device or play someone else's game just to find a nice story to read.

Baen.com
Gutenberg.com
Clocktower Books
Computer Crows Nest
DiskUs Publishing
various writing workshops
more than a dozen non-brand vendors

Edward

[Janak Parekh]

You don't see a problem with this? I have a Pentium 90. I still run Windows 95 on it. It is just as useful as the day that I bought it as long as you aren't tempted to run the latest and greatest software. For day to day tasks its fine (especially for young children). Had MS had their current polices in place back then I'd be out of luck and this old computer would be of absolutely no use any more as I recently had to reinstall the OS.
Well, while I see some problems with it, my immediate family and work environments tend to be very progressive. Most of us are relatively power users, and so a P90 is not really an option. I could see sticking Linux on a P90 and using it as a webserver/firewall, but I am generally reluctant to do that, as when I build those I need a really reliable machine, which generally implies new.

OTOH, I'm running Debian on a little NetWinder 275MHz ARM. However, the win here is that it's a really low-power, low-heat, small-size unit. The P90 doesn't really fit into that category at all.

Activation does bother me, no doubt about it. But it doesn't bother me to the point where I don't activate Reader. I don't buy DRM5 books, but I still don't like that nag screen popping up. I do work with corporate versions of XP and Office XP, as I don't like to have to deal with activation either. But not for obsolescence; it's due to the fact that I upgrade too frequently. :D

In reality, I just don't want to be bothered by that stupid warning every single time I open the program. Yes, I'm fully aware that I'd have to activate it to use for-pay materials.
But that's my point - activate it, don't use the activation, and you'll get rid of the nag screen. It's not like it's going to encrypt your non-DRM5 ebooks. I buy books from www.fictionwise.com among others, and they have a decent selection of books that are not "Owner Exclusive".

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

I don't have a problem finding ebooks in those formats(and HTML). I just haven't seen anything I liked in Reader. RTF, TXT and Html work with me. I'm not impressed by what's out there to buy a new device or play someone else's game just to find a nice story to read.
Good to hear. I personally have found content that I like for Reader. Not Owner Exclusive, as I mentioned, but still good stuff.

--janak