In case you can't seem to find an affordable way to obtain a copy of Windows Vista or Office 2007, Microsoft has started a website that will help you get both pieces of software for free.
The new site, called The Power of Together, contains webcasts and vLabs (virtual labs) which must be completed in order to receive free copies of the software. According to the offering details, a user wishing to receive a free copy of Windows Vista Business must complete three qualifying webcasts or virtual lab sessions within 30 days of registering on the site (Vista's vLabs are not mentioned on the homepage). The same goes for people wishing to receive a copy of Office Professional 2007. The offer expires on February 28, 2007, or while supplies last. After completing the sessions, your copy of Vista and/or Office will arrive by mail in six to eight weeks.
One final thing to note: if you or your employer is a participant in the Microsoft Partner Program or the MSDN, you are not eligible for this offer.
Users like you can add images, links and other relevant information about this topic.
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:17a
Member Summary
Most Recent Posts
Hey....this thread is still going.....my Vista still hasn't been installed and probably won't be until after several good... (more)
Tacoma99 (Jun. 09, 2007 @ 11:09a)
|
Vista's crap. Buy it off you for a buck.
deleted03311 (Jun. 10, 2007 @ 6:09p)
|
Surprised this thread is still here.....what is the shelf life for expired deals?
Tacoma99 (Jul. 10, 2007 @ 11:04a)
|
Preview
Edit on 01/30/2007 - For those asking that you did not get Office 2007 CD - you will have to download it from the site that is mentioned in the CD sleeve and use the product key that is printed in the sleeve as well. Good luck finding the CD!
tmbtc said: If anyone has any questions, I would read this entire post here. A user who's identified as a Microsoft employee answers a lot of questions.
If you don't want to read it, here's the gist:
- You'll receive an email when the Vista Business CD and Office 2007 download link/key "letter" ships to you in the mail. - Shipping should begin pretty soon if everything keeps on schedule at MS. - Both should show up mid to late January, shortly before the release date for everyone else.
Use 2 different accounts and two different names (second one on girlfriend/boyfriend/relative...'s name), that way you won't cross the gift limit and run into tax issues. They make you submit the form only before shipping the second item, since both together cross the tax limit of $600 or whatever it is.
12/01 Vista and Office are both SOLD OUT - no more gifts available.
3 months of free use of T-Mobile hotspots for vista users here
Hopefully someone who has already installed Vista can fill us in on the useragent string so others with FireFox can benefit also.
Thanks in Advance
Staff Summary
Click to copy code and go to .
Thanks for visiting FatWallet.com. Join for free to remove this ad.
munkey1
Addicted Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:20a
BEWARE:
Domain Name.......... powertogether.com Creation Date........ 2006-10-03 Registration Date.... 2006-10-03 Expiry Date.......... 2007-10-03 Organisation Name.... Philip Colebrook Organisation Address. Flat 13, Inner City House Organisation Address. Organisation Address. London Organisation Address. SE14 6QP Organisation Address. - Organisation Address. GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
AAjax
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:23a
munkey1 said: BEWARE:
Domain Name.......... powertogether.com Creation Date........ 2006-10-03 Registration Date.... 2006-10-03 Expiry Date.......... 2007-10-03 Organisation Name.... Philip Colebrook Organisation Address. Flat 13, Inner City House Organisation Address. Organisation Address. London Organisation Address. SE14 6QP Organisation Address. - Organisation Address. GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
Nice catch
telstar
Senior Member - 5K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:31a
It all authenticates through Live.com though (which is a Microsoft-owned domain)
Zenoicus
Senior Member - 2K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:33a
NICE! And what could be easier or safer than this?:
"If you are eligible for and register to receive both gifts, you must complete a W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) form prior to receipt of the second gift."
I have to say, though, the rest of the site looks impressively legit, light years of respectability beyond the spookiness of that whois data....
mnsweeps
Senior Member - 10K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:34a
I think its genuine...
telstar
Senior Member - 5K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:35a
Sketchy domain, but my gut says it's legit. I'm gonna roll the dice.
mnsweeps
Senior Member - 10K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:36a
telstar said: Sketchy domain, but my gut says it's legit. I'm gonna roll the dice.
i already rolled the dice...it logs in thru microsoft website..
deleted03311
Senior Member - 5K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:37a
Awesome!!! What a better way to phish for SSNs?
Zenoicus said: NICE! And what could be easier or safer than this?:
"If you are eligible for and register to receive both gifts, you must complete a W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) form prior to receipt of the second gift."
mainomega
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:38a
puppyfriend said: Awesome!!! What a better way to phish for SSNs?
Zenoicus said: NICE! And what could be easier or safer than this?:
"If you are eligible for and register to receive both gifts, you must complete a W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) form prior to receipt of the second gift."
walk up to you and beat you till you give me your SSN card ?
mnsweeps
Senior Member - 10K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 1:51a
after registering got conf from microsoft ..looks genuine..and it came from Support-VistaSeries@response.microsoft.com..I will check more on this tomorrow..
Dear x:xxxx
Thanks for registering to participate in our Microsoft Windows Vista Webcast Series. Below, you will find a summary of the Webcast(s) you've registered for.
Live Webcast: Using Styles, Content Templates, and Resources in Windows Presentation Foundation (Part 2 of 2) Friday, December 1, 2006 - 9:00 AM PT.
On-Demand Webcast: An In-Depth Look at Mobility Features in Windows Vista
On-Demand Webcast: Introduction to Windows Workflow Foundation
If you're joining us for a Windows Vista Webcast, please note that each live Webcast is a live event - space will fill up quickly. Make sure to log on early to ensure your spot. You will receive an e-mail 30 minutes before each live Webcast begins to remind you to tune in. But if a development crisis pops up, don't worry. Each live Webcast will be available on-demand 24 hours after its broadcast. Don't forget that after you've watched three Windows Vista Webcasts, you will receive a free, fully-licensed copy of Microsoft Windows Vista Business.
* The Power Together Campaign consists of two (2) offers, the Windows Vista Business Offer and the Microsoft Office Professional 2007 Offer, and is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) 18 years of age or older. You are not eligible to receive these offers if you or your employer is a participant in the Microsoft Partner Program or the Microsoft Developer Network. To be eligible to receive Windows Vista Business, you must register at www.powertogether.com and participate in at least three (3) qualifying web casts and/or virtual lab sessions within 30 days of registration. To be eligible to receive Microsoft Office Professional 2007, you must register at www.powertogether.com and participate in at least three (3) qualifying web casts and/or virtual lab sessions within 30 days of registration. In order to register at www.powertogether.com, you may be asked to provide personal information including name, telephone, and address. All personal information gathered during registration will be subject to Microsoft's privacy policy. Limit one gift per person per Offer. These offers are non-transferable. These offers expire on February 28, 2007, or while supplies last, and are not redeemable for cash. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient. If you are eligible for and register to receive both gifts, you must complete a W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) form prior to receipt of the second gift. Any gift returned as non-deliverable will not be re-sent. Please allow 6 - 8 weeks for shipment of your gift(s).
Government Customers: Microsoft intends that use of the services and products offered as part of this promotion comply with applicable federal, state, provincial, and local government gift and ethics rules. If you are a government employee (including an employee of a public education institution), these services and products may be used for evaluation purposes only, solely for the benefit of your agency or institution, and not for the personal use or benefit of any individual. You should consult with your agency or institution counsel or ethics officer prior to use of these services or products. You may return the products to Microsoft® at its expense.
I've flipped on this too, and think it's real. More expanatory info on why you have to provide a SSN on a W9 to receive gifts:
The combined retail value for participants who register and qualify for both the Microsoft Office and Windows Vista offer is $798. IRS rules require that any gift over $600 is taxable which requires us to collect W9 information from participants and to file a 1099 with the IRS for the value of both products. This is why you received an email that directed you to a secure website to provide that information and we must receive it before shipping your product.
I am more interested in Office Professional 2007 than Vista. Can one register for the Office without going through Vista first?
TIA
michaelkenyon
Broke Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:02a
What do they need a ssn for? A non-US entity certainly does not need it for anything, and the website is registered in London and the tech contact is in Sweden. Anybody who gives them their ssn is extremely foolish. Look at what the Social Security Administration says about giving out your number. AllBusiness says the W-9 form is used for independent contractors where taxes are expected to come into play. Yet, at the powertogether site they talk about "gifts". This is really really really fishy.
sevillada
Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:02a
mnsweeps said: telstar said: Sketchy domain, but my gut says it's legit. I'm gonna roll the dice.
i already rolled the dice...it logs in thru microsoft website..
that's how I knew that it was legit. I don't know why red, it should be GREEN
deleted03311
Senior Member - 5K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:07a
michaelkenyon said: What do they need a ssn for? A non-US entity certainly does not need it for anything, and the website is registered in London and the tech contact is in Sweden. Anybody who gives them their ssn is extremely foolish. Look at what the Social Security Administration says about giving out your number. AllBusiness says the W-9 form is used for independent contractors where taxes are expected to come into play. Yet, at the powertogether site they talk about "gifts". This is really really really fishy.
Not fishy at all. If you've ever dealt with Microsoft, it's the Microsoft way. They have some limit, I think it's $500, a year in "free" gifts they will give out to an individual. After that you are considered a contractor and need to pay taxes on the retail value of the "gifts". So if you get both Vista and Office, the combined retail value exceeds the limit and thus you have to pay taxes. Hence they need your SSN for the W9. If the site didn't say this, I would be more suspicious. But because it does I think it is totally legit.
Registrant: Microsoft Corporation 1 Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US
Domain name: MICROSOFTLAUNCHPAD.COM
Administrative Contact: Administrator, Domain DOMAINS@MICROSOFT.COM One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US +1.4258828080 Technical Contact: Hostmaster, MSN msnhst@microsoft.com One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US +1.4258828080
ronald0211
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:24a
im in, thanks op
ronald0211
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:25a
Jeff36 said: System Error occurred on Office side yeah, i get the same error so now i'm listening to webcast on mute for the vista business
AnOtherDay
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:26a
munkey1 said: BEWARE:
Domain Name.......... powertogether.com Creation Date........ 2006-10-03 Registration Date.... 2006-10-03 Expiry Date.......... 2007-10-03 Organisation Name.... Philip Colebrook Organisation Address. Flat 13, Inner City House Organisation Address. Organisation Address. London Organisation Address. SE14 6QP Organisation Address. - Organisation Address. GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
Is there any reason Microsoft makes a such a big campaign deal with an individual in UK?
Suspicious.
kostyanka
Frivolous Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:38a
http://vsd.powertogether.com/Contact.aspx
Contact Windows Vista and Office Kit Order Admin for questions about shipping. mailto:winvistaofficekit@microsoft.catalysis.com http://www.networksolutions.com Registrant: Catalysis Corporation 1601 E John Seattle, WA 98112 US
Domain Name: CATALYSIS.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact: Catalysis Corporation sysadmin@CATALYSIS.COM 420 Boylston Ave E. Seattle, WA 98102 US 206-826-8006
Record expires on 11-Feb-2011. Record created on 10-Feb-1996. Database last updated on 28-Nov-2006 03:32:44 EST.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS2.WIA.COM 207.178.60.8 NS1.WIA.COM 207.66.128.8
Contact Technical Support for all other inquires. mailto:Support-VistaSeries@ascentium.com Registrant:
Ascentium
225 108 Ave NE
Ste 225
Bellevue, Washington 98004
United States
Registered through: FullControl Network
Domain Name: ASCENTIUM.COM
Created on: 01-May-00
Expires on: 01-May-13
Last Updated on: 07-Dec-05
Administrative Contact:
Admin, Domain admin@ascentium.com
Ascentium
225 108 Ave NE
Ste 225
Bellevue, Washington 98004
United States
4255197700 Fax -- 4255197701
Technical Contact:
Admin, Domain admin@ascentium.com
Ascentium
225 108 Ave NE
Ste 225
Bellevue, Washington 98004
United States
4255197700 Fax -- 4255197701
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.FULLCONTROL.NET
NS2.FULLCONTROL.NET
Somehow all this don't look right to me. Pass.
kapper
Thrifty Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:41a
MS site provides links for winning free xbox, ipods, but nothing about giving away free vista and office....this smells bad
michaelkenyon
Broke Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:43a
I deal with MS all the time, too. For over 10 years now and I never ever heard of such an arrantement. What is it exactly that says after $500 in gifts you become an independent contractor? That makes zero sense. I've been to MS conferences and kickoff affairs where I've received more than $500 in freebies. Never once was I asked to provide my SSN.
I think I'll wait and see what my friends at Microsoft have to say first. At the bottom of the pages on that site they say they are hosted by Ascentium for Microsoft. Ascentium is registered in Bellevue Washington, near Microsoft. So how come "power together" is registered to some guy in a flat in London? How come the MS website search doesn't even come back with one hit on this place? How come a Google search on Power Together turns up zero hits?
Right now it smells like a phishing scam. They can log you in through whatever authentication system they want - and they all do seem to go through MS sites - but who is going to be asking for the SSN?
It might turn out to be legit but I'm not taking any chances. I'll come back and change my red to green if I hear the deal is on the up and up. It says it's good until February so there's no rush.
PennySaved
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:43a
I would like more information before handing over my SSN. More and more people are being involved in identity thief.
kronus
Ancient Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:46a
VLC media player opens instead of WMP for the .asx, and the file won't play. Mine shows in-progress though, but I have no idea what the video is about, and I was looking forward to learning how to create gadgets for vista sidebar
Jeff36
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:51a
This happens every year - MS offers Office for free and everyone freaks out about the tax piece. No worries
kapper
Thrifty Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 2:55a
Jeff36 said: This happens every year - MS offers Office for free and everyone freaks out about the tax piece. No worries Where is the link on ms site then?
Tech Name............ CBS Registry Tech Address......... Box 3396 Tech Address......... Tech Address......... Stockholm Tech Address......... SE 103 68 Tech Address......... - Tech Address......... SWEDEN Tech Email........... ********@melbourneitcbs.com Tech Phone........... 46.855340200 Tech Fax............. 46.855340201 Name Server.......... ns1.msft.net Name Server.......... ns5.msft.net Name Server.......... ns2.msft.net Name Server.......... ns3.msft.net Take a look at the DNS servers. They are all nsx.msft.net. A quick WHOIS of msft.net shows: Registrant: Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US
Domain name: MSFT.NET
Administrative Contact: Administrator, Domain *******@microsoft.com One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US +1.4258828080 Technical Contact: Hostmaster, MSN ******@microsoft.com One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US +1.4258828080Then, if you a do a lookup of micrsoft.com, you'll see that it uses nsx.msft.net for DNS, too. So, I highly doubt something that's not legit could be using MS's DNS servers.
beaglette
Charter Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 3:13a
I am doing the Windows Vista thingy and no where did it ask for my SS#. I am watching my first webcast right now. Am I missing something? The Office 2007 link, when clicked on, says "a system error occurred".
Warmly,
Beaglette
eviljim
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 4:09a
You might want to do Office over vista. I believe the Business version of vista won't have a lot of the nifty features of the home version (media sharing, glass, etc). Not sure because there are so many skus...
mcoope3
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 4:14a
So if this is legit, you do both, and give your ssn, do they report it to the IRS and make you pay income taxes on both? That could make the second choice pretty expensive as you are effectively paying double income tax for it.
dennisfranz
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 5:17a
If I can't find a link to it from the original MS site, I am not going for this one.
Seems that MS would link to it from the 'mother' webpage or search as self advertisment or giveaway.
dennisfranz
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 5:29a
Here is a comaprison on source code of the pages: This is a big difference in web page design and labeling.
MICROSOFT:---------------------------------------------------------- <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" >
POWEROFTOGETHER:------------------------------------------------- <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" > <head><title> The Power of Together </title><link media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="StyleSheet.css" /></head>
dairymtu
Broke Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 5:34a
anyone getting error trying to do office?
poohead
Ancient Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 5:36a
Just got a confirmation email after watching my first webcast. It came from Support-VistaSeries@response.microsoft.com, has the "Power Together" logo, and asks me to take a survey on the webcast which links to a http://response.microsoft.com site.
Tech Name............ CBS Registry Tech Address......... Box 3396 Tech Address......... Tech Address......... Stockholm Tech Address......... SE 103 68 Tech Address......... - Tech Address......... SWEDEN Tech Email........... ********@melbourneitcbs.com Tech Phone........... 46.855340200 Tech Fax............. 46.855340201 Name Server.......... ns1.msft.net Name Server.......... ns5.msft.net Name Server.......... ns2.msft.net Name Server.......... ns3.msft.net Take a look at the DNS servers. They are all nsx.msft.net. A quick WHOIS of msft.net shows: Registrant: Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US
Domain name: MSFT.NET
Administrative Contact: Administrator, Domain *******@microsoft.com One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US +1.4258828080 Technical Contact: Hostmaster, MSN ******@microsoft.com One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US +1.4258828080Then, if you a do a lookup of micrsoft.com, you'll see that it uses nsx.msft.net for DNS, too. So, I highly doubt something that's not legit could be using MS's DNS servers.
If you own a domain, you use anything for name server. If my domain name server is msft.com, doesn't mean I am from microsoft. Be carefull people. You need to give this guy your SSN. launchpad.com just redirects you back to his website. Anobyd can use passport authentication if you register with microsft.
Did anybody check the message headers of email they received? Just because 'From' field says microsoft.com', it doesn't mean it is from somebody from ms. Check the message header when this email is sent. Can somebody take a look at header and post it here? (In outlook, right click in the message list and click 'Option')
yzou
New Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2006 @ 6:06a
Be aware, this is fishing.
1. The certificate is created and published by unknown CA. It is created on 1/2006 and expire 1/2007.
2. It DO forward a link to MS passport for login, but if you are using firefox, it popup a warning window "destination web and current web is not same, be aware..." The technology could be that someone created a webpage like proxy, forward the request to geneuine MS passport website and get response to verify login. BUT, that webpage ( not from MS passport website) could record your passport username and password.
Looks legit to me. The confirmation email message headers
Received: from omh.response.microsoft.com (omh.response.microsoft.com [64.5.35.21]) by mx.google.com with ESMTP id 24si14829589nzn.2006.11.28.03.50.24; Tue, 28 Nov 2006 03:50:24 -0800 (PST) Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of Support-VistaSeries@response.microsoft.com designates 64.5.35.21 as permitted sender) Message-Id: <xxxxxxxxxx@ironport.postfuture.com>
Also, the email contains a link to response.microsoft.com for the online version of email. It would be really difficult for someone to put a link to the email on microsoft site.
Skipping 1268 Messages...
Tacoma99
Senior Member - 6K
posted: Jul. 10, 2007 @ 11:04a
Surprised this thread is still here.....what is the shelf life for expired deals?
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.
Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.
Shopping
Earn Cash Back while you shop - just 3 simple steps.
1. Sign Up so we know who to pay! (It's FREE.)
2. Shop through FatWallet for deals from your favorite stores. Your online purchases earn Cash Back that builds in your FatWallet account.
3. Get Paid by requesting a payment via check or PayPal.
FatWallet coupons help you save more when shopping online. Use our Coupons Search to browse coupons and offers from thousands of stores, gathered into one convenient location.
Forums
As part of our FatWallet Community, you can share deals with almost a million shoppers in our forums. Forum content is generated by consumers for consumers. Share deals, money-saving tips, and more. It's FREE, fun, and addicting.
Support
Our customer experience team is here around the clock - real people ready to assist.
Click to copy code and go to .
