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| IWSG |
Okay today is what I will term a b***h session. I am officially done with Microsoft. I have used Word (Microsoft365) for over 20 years, subscribing after having bought it back when you still could. I love Word. I loved the whole package, and my husband uses excel all the time in his work. So, up until now this has been a win-win situation. Now I am locked out of my account AND there is no way to get back in. Before you ask if I’ve done this or that or whatever, yes, I have. I have tried changing passwords. I have filled out the recovery forms. I have gone on the community boards to no avail. I have called every single number for help that Microsoft has. I have gone to a computer store where they told me they don’t bother calling Microsoft because they can’t talk to a real person either. There is NO way to talk to a real person to get my account unlocked. I won’t even go into my thoughts on their use if AI on the phone or chats. I can’t even get in to stop paying for my subscription. I will have to contact my credit card to have them refuse payment because I’m not paying for something I can’t use anymore. So, what is a writer to do when her favorite writing program is no longer available?
If any of you have suggestions, I am happy to hear them. The guy at the computer store said there are free use programs like Libreoffice. I am currently researching my options. In the meantime I am so very frustrated and angry with Microsoft. I feel let down and taken advantage of. They’ll take my $$ but not give me any help. Now my rant is over. Not my frustration, just the rant.
On to honoring our IWSG co-hosts for May! Please visit their sites and thank them for their efforts today!
Feather Stone, Janet Alcorn, Rebecca Douglass, Jemima Pett,and Pat Garcia!
I'm not going to answer the question of the month this time, as I feel I've already spent enough time moaning on this post! I will say that I'm glad spring has finally arrived, and along with it the showers April didn't give us. I have also spent a lot of time in my garden which has given me moments of touching, feeling, smelling earth, and, as does happen sometimes, scenes. Scenes leading me back into my story. Happy May.
From my springing garden...
I'm so sorry! I would die if that happened. When we were prepping my new computer, my husband offered to install a Linux system with a different word processor. I told him no because I've been using word for too long, but in recent years I have used google docs quite a bit -- especially when judging contest entries and sharing docs. It's been a decent tool. Getting better all the time.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping someone gets back to you and this nightmare becomes a footnote in your writing history!
That is frustrating! That's the problem with these big companies - no humans in customer service and no way to reach a real person.
ReplyDeleteI left Microsoft when they came out with that disastrous OS in the 80s. Can't even remember the name. I jumped into Apple. It has it's downside for sure, but at least I can go to a local store and see someone if I need to, or I can call for help and get a real person. As to software for writers, I don't use anything except Apple Pages. But I have friends who adore Scrivener.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on Pages, Lee!
DeleteI'm so sorry about your Microsoft problems. Spring has finally arrived here too. I love your flowers.
ReplyDeletePretty flowers.
ReplyDeleteThat's scary because getting locked out could happen to any of us.
Word never got that bad for me, but Microsoft did, and fortunately I left one machine running XP so I could save everything to my BT cloud before I left it...for Apple. Despite the odd 'how do they do this' and the honest truth that Pages does not have the options for proper writers (even of reports) that Word of my generation did, it does the job perfectly adequately, and reads and converts your stuff to Word files others can read without too much loss of functionality. It also saved to a decent ePub years before Word thought of it or Amazon considered it for Kindle. Others I know have gone with Open Office quite happily.
ReplyDeleteHope that helps and that the rest of your problems get solved without too much stress.
Jemima @jemimapett.com
I'm so sorry to hear about your problem. It sounds infuriating! I hope you find some kind of a solution. I can't wait for our gardens to bloom here in Buffalo, NY.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, that sounds so frustrating! And unacceptable. It's disappointing to see how many companies we rely on and have used for years are more interested in profit than protecting the interests of their customers. I hope all of your work is still intact and everything gets sorted as soon as possible!
ReplyDelete