Outlook.com claims my account has been doing creepy things, so to verify that you may or may not be a creepy person who knows how to use a phone, we need your phone number.
(Never mind that the only thing I’ve done with the account is send a test email to one of my other addresses and the password is a mile long thanks to 1Password)
Ok, fine.
Outlook.com needs to send my number—which in no way, shape, or form could be a throwaway from Google Voice or a trillion other services—a verification code. Sure, send it.
Never arrives.
Send again.
Nope.
Once more.
Sorry you’ve sent too many codes, now you’re double extra locked out with a cherry on top.
“Ratings have been disabled for this video.”
Because people don’t get it? Because the Apple fanboys are out in full force? Because it’s a bad ad?
Or because the “Surface Pro sells out” reports are likely because many outlets only received one or two units?
Now the Microsoft Surfaces make sense. One’s for play and work, while the other… wait.
photo via Jonathan Hoover
I picked up a used Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8, erm, phone to review. I’ve liked the don’t-call-it Metro experience all the way back when it first debuted on the Zune and I reviewed the Zune Marketplace for Ars Technica. I’m happy to see it live on, it really is a great mobile experience.
But I have to call out this crufty holdover from Windows (and who can forget the “please insert your Windows installation disc” bit). Are there seriously engineers and managers at Microsoft who tested this first-run setup process and said “yeah, ship that”?
“Welcome to your new Windows Phone! Here are a couple setup buttons to tap.” [so far so good]
“Now, hang on a sec, we’re installing apps…..” [Uh]
“…… still installing, thanks for your patience……” [I don’t even]
“Ok! your apps are done installing. Go rock on with Windows!” [This should’ve been done before I pressed the power button]
Do they really think the vast majority of users give half a crap about seeing that? Here, Microsoft, have some free R&D on what people care about: pressing a button to turn something on, and then it goes.
That could certainly be one way Microsoft could bolster what is so far an uninspiring foray into hardware. Then again, Dell isn’t exactly known for having the design chops to meet the new bar Apple raised; that’s largely why Dell got into this predicament in the first place.
Microsoft’s latest software isn’t wowing or arguably even catching on with the masses, and Dell’s hardware was passable a long time ago in a market far, far away. Talk about a winning combination.
Microsoft can rip off the aesthetic of Apple’s retail stores all it wants, but the actual experience of taking incredible care of the customer defies ripoff artists. Either you have people who get it, or you don’t.
via The Loop
The Microsoft laptop acting as the register immediately crashes. She looks up at me and says “Sorry my computer crashed. Just give me a second to reboot.”
She reboots, rings me up and asks me if I’d like my receipt. I ask her to email it to me. She says they can’t do that. So I tell her sure, I’ll take the receipt. She hits print, the computer crashes again and I walk out.
Not sure what’s funnier: that the PC register crashed twice, or that they can’t email a receipt.
Bonus question: Do Microsoft’s PC registers run Windows 8 yet?
For a second there I thought Microsoft was actually excited about selling Office Mobile to consumers and businesses. You know, the thing it does for a living?
