Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

J. Trent Vines — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:36:12 GMT

No, I expect it to arrive asap, but I was not sure because one of the MS Tech support people told me that MS only ships it out 4x per year and basically that you would recieve the welcome kit whenever the next quarterly update was available but I thought that was wrong. Thanks for clearing it up and Thanks for your time.

JTV

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:51:51 GMT

Your understanding is correct - you should receive the welcome kit asap and then the update shipment in January as per normal. Why do you think this is not the case?

thanks

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

J. Trent Vines — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:49:45 GMT

If I ordered the Action Pack over this past weekend it still won't arrive until January? I thought this was for the updates only?? I thought they sent you quarterly updates and sent your welcome kit within 10-15 days of ordering?? What's the deal with that or does anyone know??

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 23:49:42 GMT

Gerald,

your comments have been noted, however with a new PC you should be getting a Windows OS if you intend on loading an Action Pack copy onto it now. You can dual book Vista with other OSs. As discussed on this blog, to do a clean install, follow the instructions at uksbsguy.com/.../how-to-do-a-clean-install-using-the-action-pack-windows-vista-media.aspx for the official answer.

ttfn

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Gerald McMullon — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 03:15:41 GMT

I wiould also like to add my vote on the disapproval of the Action Pack upgrade with regard to a clean installation.

None of my hardware will run Vista, so I got a new PC. XP will not install on it - it blue screens. I can't add devices because XP can't see the hard drives (500+750 SATA) and can't find the SATA DVD to read the CD-ROM with extra drives. All manuals are on CDs, so without a working system at hand it is impossible to find out anything. As it is the hardware I want to install I can't because there are no Vista drivers yet. I could dual boot, I assume. But I have been doing Win95+Win98+NT+2K+XP multiple boots on machines (thanks to SCSI drives) for years and wanted a clean start.

I have other reasons for wanting a clean system - the automated updates on XP have locked my out of my machine (Admin password not accepted), crashed it, and corrupted the hard disc. Each time the last files updated where the updates from Microsoft. Having to double install Vista if this happens will add hours to the installation process. As Vista can't find drivers for most of the hardware this has to rate as the hardest install since the days of DOS3.1.

BTW I have to post this from an NT machine, still the most stable of all the versions of Windoze, just a shame I can't install all the new hardware.

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Derek Daly — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:20:43 GMT

MAPS and Terminal Server,

I agree with the comments above regarding Office 2007 and Terminal Server, I have been pushing MS Terminal Server to all our clients since Server 2000 and Office XP (anyone remember the dreaded transform file).

We where one of the first people to get Sage Acounts running on a terminal server in the UK. It was so successful that probably 95% of our clients have a terminal server.

We have a demo terminal server setup with Sage Accounts, Office 2003 Professional and some other solutions loaded up which we allow clients to loginto to showcase the technlogy, I was in the process of setting up a new server with Office 2007 enterprise to show some clients when I came accross the error that it can not be used on a TS. I have contacted MAPS and they sugessted that I take out a msdn premium subscription to get round this problem. The only problem is that costs $10,000 so it is a no no.

Hopefully this will be rectified soon.

Derek

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Alex Lush — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:45:38 GMT

For those having problems with the MS Project 2007 software being an upgrade and not a full product.

You can email the MAPS Helpdesk on:

maps@msdirectservices.com

They shipped us out a new CD and license code within 2 working days of me raising the query.

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:51:41 GMT

Zbynek,

Please, remember to log a compaint via your local support center so this gets registered.

thanks

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Zbynek Hora — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 11:24:33 GMT

Another big sigh for MAPS Office 2007 not working with Terminal Server...

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Maikel Kool — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 23:05:02 GMT

Hi David,

Any update on the terminal server / office 2007 situation ?

We also want to use it on our terminal server installation.

thanks maikel

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Sat, 05 May 2007 20:47:28 GMT

HTech,

I have passed your comments on to both the TS and MAPS teams.

thanks as always

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Sat, 05 May 2007 20:47:26 GMT

HTech,

I have passed your comments on to both the TS and MAPS teams.

thanks as always

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Sat, 05 May 2007 20:46:53 GMT

HTech,

I have passed your comments on to both the TS and MAPS teams.

thanks as always

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

HTech — Fri, 04 May 2007 17:54:52 GMT

We are a consulting firm that runs 95% of our work & client deployments on terminal servers and citrix. In our efforts to continue to offer our clients the latest in technology - we are required to use this technology in our labs to be able to deploy, change, script etc and recommend to our clients these Microsoft programs for revenue generating business both for us and Microsoft.

We are attempting to deploy the office 2007 suite provided by MAPS only to find out it does not even work on terminal server w/o the enterprise licenses (or VLK). This is very disturbing as our sales group cannot make money if we cannot even test this on our own setups.

What a poor choice by Microsoft on this one..shooting themselves in the foot. If we are not able to run this on a terminal server, the MAPS kit pretty must lost 1/3 its value along with Microsoft. If we cannot test this, we cannot deploy this and 2003 will live for years more.

I hope this is an error on MAPS decision and will offer up the right key to let us get down to testing this in the thin world. It takes us months of testing before we say it is worth reselling to client.

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:10:25 GMT

Vanessa,

You are absolutely right with regard to admin. Being able to install Office inside a TS session is now a Volume License benefit (VL is available from 5 licenses) and therefore not something that the Action Pack caters for. I know this can be a bit of a pain - I have asked for it to be looked at internally.

thanks - keep them coming.

ttfn

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:07:55 GMT

Derek,

Exchange 2007 is only available in 64-bit version. If they have not shipped the 64-bit OS I will be a bit annoyed as this was a flag I made back in January. I asked for this to be checked last week, but have not had a chance to see the responses. I will do so this week.

thanks

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Vanessa Williams — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:38:36 GMT

I'm taking issue with the suggestion that running Office 2007 on a virtual PC or demo PC is a viable alternative to using Office 2007 in Terminal Services. These are completely different user and administrative experiences. Not only that, part of the draw of the Action Pack is that this is supposed to be software for production use, not just demonstration purposes. I think Microsoft has it wrong for this issue. I get 10 TS CALs and 10 Office 2007 licenses. Why should MS care if I'm installing Office 2007 on physical PCs, virtual PCs, or accessing via Terminal Services? Using TS in an office with 5 to 10 people makes a lot of sense from a desktop management perspective.

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Derek Licciardi — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 05:16:20 GMT

Any reason why the 64 bit version of Exchange 2007 is included in the MAPS for April 07? I'm hoping this is a typo because MAPS does not include a 64 bit version of any server OS. Where do we install this wonderful new Exchange or is MS planning on including Server Standard 64 bit as well?

I'm confused by this.

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Clay — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 15:03:33 GMT

David,

I'm trying to demo Terminal Server, not Office, and OpenOffice will suffice. I would just rather demo with a complete Microsoft Solution. I set up Terminal Server in the office and would like to demo it as a remote/road warrior solution. I cater to the heavy/civil construction industry and it's loaded with road warriors. The demo loses its effectiveness when running on a local virtual PC.

Clay

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:53:48 GMT

Clay,

I'm glad you like the AP.

Why not run Office on your PCs and demo direct from your PCs? Also, why not use Virtual PCs rather than Terminal Services?

I've taken your comments and put them into the feedback process, but you are the 1st person to mention this to me in the 4 months this has been out there.

As I say, Virtual PC or using you own laptop is probably the short term solution.

thanks

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Clay — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:28:37 GMT

Hi David,

I'm a new AP subscriber and I think the value of this pack is amazing! I know nothing of "the good old days" with oem versions of XP. :) The point of this pack for me was to familiarize myself with the new products and procedures for migrating customers, so the upgrade CD actually makes the most sense for the Action Pack. (A better/cleaner "Upgrade" would be nice but that's not the fault of the AP team...)

Now, after all this sucking up... :) I DO have an issue with the Action Pack. Office 2007 Enterprise Edition will not run on Terminal Server. Why would we not get the ability to do this? How can we successfully demonstrate or familiarize ourselves with the value of Terminal Server without running any apps on it? Ironically it seems that I'm forced to put OpenOffice and other non-Microsoft products on it so that I can demo to customers.

Does this not seem odd?

Clay

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

ryan — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 05:07:01 GMT

um with regards on how to do the clean install from the uprade CD last time i checked it was actually pretty easy. I am not sure if it is objectionable for me to post how but if its ok I will as I tested it and it does work.

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Fedor Steeman — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:03:23 GMT

Hi,

The company I work for has the Action Pack subscription and received the latest package with MS Office 2007 amongst other things. However, Sharepoint Designer (SD) does not seem to be in the package. I installed everything Office-like, but of SD I had to download a trial at the website. Whenever I try to find information on how to buy SD, I am redirected to buying the whole Office 2007 package, which we've already got! Did I miss something here? Is SD not included in some Action Packs and how can an indivicual license then be obtained!?

Kind regards,

Fedor Steeman

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

David Overton — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:10:59 GMT

Jason,

Please read the blog posting at http://uksbsguy.com/blogs/doverton/archive/2007/02/12/windows-vista-windows-xp-office-2003-and-office-2007-action-pack-update-my-faq.aspx as this answers most of your questions. How to do a clean install, that 64-bit is coming, how to cost effectively get Ultimate. When we shipped Windows XP we stopped shipping 2000 in the pack, so this is standard practise and has been for a long time.

As for the logic around Bitlocker - if people want an encrypted disk, rather than simply encrypted files (which is in Business Edition) then they need Enterprise or Ultimate. If things are highly valued by a select group, why charge for them in the lower products? You are a business - do you give things away because you think more people will use them, or do you try to value price yourself?

As I have said many, many times, if you honestly feel that you and your customers can get moire business value our of non-Microsoft solutions then you need to do that. You are not in business to be nice to Microsoft, but to look after your business and your customers. Microsoft always listens to the feedback and if you read the FAQ will see that we have reacted to several points you and others have raised, but we don't have to agree with all of it.

If you think that the Action Pack is a poor investment at £200 for your business and you don't get a good ROI on it, then don't buy it, but personally I do not know of any other software firm that has such a good offering and I personally think the value of the Action Pack is amazing.

Finally, while you might not find everything in the kit useful, many other partners do, so things like the marketing materials will stay for now. If you do want your voice to be formally lodged and heard, you need to call or mail Microsoft so it gets counted in our normal reporting channels. Details again at the FAQ page.

thanks for your comments.

David

re: Windows Vista, Office 2007 and the Action Pack - coming very soon

Jason — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 05:10:27 GMT

I was really disappointed with the contents of the Welcome Kit in January. I recommended the subscription to a collogue only for him to find the contents are half of what they were the previous year. The kit previously contain 32 & 64 bit WinXP Pro plus Media Center which is basically the equivalent of Vista Ultimate. This new kit includes a very NICE (sarcasm there) Vista Business Edition Upgrade ONLY disk.

We all understand you can do a clean install of Vista with the upgrade disk however, who wants to burn time installing XP Pro first! And the fact the Welcome Kit didn't include the WinXP Media was just a slap in the face. I e-mailed MAPS and received the normal cookie cutter reply e-mail. The following day I received a similar cookie cutter e-mail from management. Something about them trying to control piracy... blah blah blah...

That’s just fine and dandy until MSs start effecting the people that are trying to do things right! I wonder if this is the very thing that encourages Piracy in the first place! I am also attempting to comprehend MS's logic by not having the Bit Blocker feature in the Business edition! That’s where it’s needed most. Lastly, increasing the renewal fee and taking a way half the “goodies” was a even bigger mistake. I don't mind the price increase until MS started reducing the contents. Obviously this little blog shows once you start giving something to someone, you don't dare take away. Of course thats not the case with MS, they can do what ever they want. Or atleast thats the attitude I perceive. Makes a Microsoft guy like me want to fire up the latest Linux Distro for sure.

Now with all that said what’s MS decided to do about the enormous amount of complaints? What’s included with the April kit? If MS wants to cut cost/corners, stop sending MS subscribers all the propaganda, software, and updates we can download off the web. Such as Virtual PC, Virtual Server 2005, Service packs, “YOU NEED TO BUY THIS” marketing material, and etc…!