seriously OT: Bill Gates still greedy after all these years.

[Bay Area Dave]

While shopping in a faraway Costco I got intrigued by an optical cordless mouse for $36 (Microsoft), so after making sure it fit my hand, I repackaged it and threw it in the cart.

As I went to install it I see a warning tag on the connector to install the software first. I rip the CD package open, insert the CD, shutdown other apps and prepare for my new toy. Double click on "setup.exe" and it all turns to sh*t. The mouse only works on XP, 2000, etc.; not Windows 98! Jeez! It's just a frickin' mouse!

I go online to see what's up and damn if EVERY Microsoft mouse I checked on won't work with 98. Thanks a bunch, Billy boy!

I check out Logitech optical cordless mice and sure enough, as expected, they will work with 95 and 98, as well they should. Don't ya just love capitalism at it's finest?? sigh.

dave

[GRL]

Uh, just when exactly did Bill point his .45 ACP at you to force you to buy his mouse?

Didn't think so.

And yes, capitalism is (mostly) swell.

[Brian]

MSFT announced quite a while ago, that 98 was officially no longer supported.

Brian.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

I don't know what's stopping you from upgrading operating systems, unless your machine is so far out of date as to not be upgradable. Win XP is 1000 times the operating system that 98 was, and I used 98 for a long time.

Go ahead; bite the bullet and make the upgrade. You're fighting a losing battle trying to keep 98 alive.

[Greg]

Go to the Logitec site and get the latest "mouseware". I bet it will work. Microsoft never had an original idea, I bet they got the mouse from Logitec. My MS scroll mouse works fine on mouseware.

[Bay Area Dave]

yeah, I guess you can't get more official than dropping mouse support for Win98.

I got the last laugh though; I got the mouse to work on my pc. so Billy boy, if your listening (although I know you aren't)...[Bronx cheer]. The mouse is cool but your support (or lack thereof) blows! The left/right scrolling doesn't work, but I don't care about that.

dave

Brian wrote:

[Greg]

It all depends on what you do. I still have 4 machines running DOS, it is all they need to do their job. (MP3 players) If you just play a few simple games, surf the net and maybe run all the bookkeeping for a fairly large company, W9x will be all you need. Gates, et al have been very successful in convincing people bigger is always better. It really just depends on the quality of the cartoons you need in your GUI.

[Morris Dovey]

Capitalism at its finest provides you with the widest possible range of choices in what to buy, from whom you buy, and how much you pay for what you buy. I'm not sure that it's capitalism that's at the heart of your problem.

Why did you choose not to inform yourself until /after/ purchasing a product that doesn't satisfy your requirements?

Have you learned anything that would help you avoid similar mistakes in the future?

Yes, I do love capitalism at its finest - in part because it provides me with alternatives to sources like Microsoft.

[Bay Area Dave]

too many programs would have to be upgraded on my dime. The pc is from 97, IIRC. it works fine for the 'net, Excel and photoshop. It has Firewire so I can edit videos. USB is

1.1 and all my peripherals work on that. 2 scanners and a card reader, Visor cradle, etc. I'm not gonna ditch a pc that does what i need just to get the "latest and greatest". I've spent enough dough on bleeding edge technology. :)

dave

Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:

[Bay Area Dave]

I got it to work, Greg. only the left/right scroll button feature is inop. no biggie there.

dave

Greg wrote:

[Bay Area Dave]

Morris, the front of the box says PC and MAC. I wouldn't expect a mouse to require XP, for craps sakes. you can lay this off on me if you choose, but the fault as I see it is corporate greed. New Logitech mice still work on Win95.

dave

Morris Dovey wrote:

[todd]

I understand that the mouse is working to some degree (I'd expect basic functions to work with no software installed at all). But I'll clue you in on something. There's lots of programs and drivers from companies other than Microsoft that don't have explicit support for Win98. So, Microsoft isn't forging new territory here. And since Logitech stuff works with Win9x, it looks like capitalism is working just fine, thank you. I'll stop here since I gave up calling people morons for Lent.

todd

[Morris Dovey]

Dave...

I've been a systems software cat since the fifties and Microsoft has been a prominent part of my world since the seventies. In all those years I've never once heard an impartial, knowledgable professional praise either Mr. Gates' nor Microsoft's integrity, business ethics or practices, product quality, or concern for delivering fair value for price paid.

What you experienced, and your discovery of Gates'/Microsoft's "corporate greed" is not new, is consistant with past history, and was readily available information. One of the most common complaints made about Microsoft has dealt with exactly the kind of compatibility/support problem you "discovered".

I'm not trying to "dump" on you. Rather, I'm encouraging you to be an informed consumer so that at least the next time you're ready to spend on , you'll do what you need to do /in advance/ to ensure getting full value for your hard-earned dollars - especially if it appears that the most readily available product comes from a vendor with a questionable history and ethic.

I hate to beat this point to death; but in a capitalistic system it's important to understand that the consumer bears the responsibility for choosing well. Blaming capitalism for poor choices was an indication that you didn't understand this most important fact. There's even a name for those who don't, can't, or won't understand it. They're called "prey".

[RWM]

After working in the MS hardware group for many years, I can assure you that MS didn't get the mouse from Logi...

[RWM]

What did it say for System Requirements on the mouse packaging?

Bob

[Rick Chamberlain]

The mouse doesn't require XP, as you've proven. The software requires it.

Logitech's main business is input devices - they'd be SOL if they only supported W2K and higher. Microsoft's is software.

Corporate greed? That's rich coming from you Davey boy. I can just see Bill in his smoking jacket, sipping some Grand Marnier while enjoying an Opus XX, thinking of ways to pad the MS profit margin by limiting optical mice to only those operating systems they continue to support.

And all the while, in the back of his mind, he thinks of you at Costco... fondling the mouse and taking it home, and adding another $10 to the corporate coffers.

[Barry Lennox]

"Bite the bullet" aka making microsloth even richer? Why? I still run

95 and it does all I want. I'm not fighting any battle that I'm aware off, nor am I losing anything. I would be losing $$$$$ by "upgrading"

Barry Lennox

[George]

Dave? Read? When you're the center of the universe, you don't have to read anything. Just ask a teenager ... or Dave.

[Angelo Castellano pos]

[ddinc]

It is amazing to me how people will drop $3000 into "updating" their computers every year ($5000 just a few years ago) and will hesitate and complain in buying a decent solid wood table that is the same price, and will last their lifetimes.