I just tried the beta of Office 2010 and can't do much of anything at
this point. Can/will anyone tell me if the importing is a major--and
temporary--problem for the beta? Following the instructions EXACTLY
neither the Gmail calendar sync program works nor will Outlook import a
comma separated value file of my contacts.

Another question: I see nothing online about newsgroup account settings.
Does this mean the ability, whether directly or via some add on, to
handle newsgroups has been removed?

I loved 2007 but, sadly, have bought four computers since buying it so,
to continue to use it will mean a phone call to India or Pakistan to try
to get it activated and since I have Home and Student Office with
Outlook as a standalone, it means two phone calls of from ten to twenty
minutes each and, as I don't mind Thunderbird, it's simply not worth it.
I had decided to give 2010 a try but it looks more and more like I might
be gone for good. Oh, in case anyone doesn't understand about the four
computers, it doesn't matter if one removes Office from a machine or
not. Three machines and you're done with the easy, online activation.
I spent over a month with phone calls and e-mail trying to get the magic
counter re-set, even pointing out that because of activation they KNOW
it's not actively operating on ANY computer and, thus, I must be telling
the truth, I simply want to be able to install and run it on my two new
units. They actually said they believed me but there was no way to fix
my problem!

Thanks,
Tim

What exactly doesn't work for you?
What happens when you try to import?
Any error messages?

I can't share your phone activation experience. For me it really was only a
matter of minutes (wasn't even put on hold on any occasion) and the contact
was a native speaker. Maybe you just got someone in a grumpy mood?

FWIW; In many occasions the activation history is removed after a year. So
as long as you do not need to re-activate your product more than 3 times a
year, you should always be able to use the on-line activation method.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"Tim Mathews" wrote in message
...
I just tried the beta of Office 2010 and can't do much of anything at this
point. Can/will anyone tell me if the importing is a major--and
temporary--problem for the beta? Following the instructions EXACTLY
neither the Gmail calendar sync program works nor will Outlook import a
comma separated value file of my contacts.

Another question: I see nothing online about newsgroup account settings.
Does this mean the ability, whether directly or via some add on, to handle
newsgroups has been removed?

I loved 2007 but, sadly, have bought four computers since buying it so, to
continue to use it will mean a phone call to India or Pakistan to try to
get it activated and since I have Home and Student Office with Outlook as
a standalone, it means two phone calls of from ten to twenty minutes each
and, as I don't mind Thunderbird, it's simply not worth it. I had decided
to give 2010 a try but it looks more and more like I might be gone for
good. Oh, in case anyone doesn't understand about the four computers, it
doesn't matter if one removes Office from a machine or not. Three
machines and you're done with the easy, online activation. I spent over a
month with phone calls and e-mail trying to get the magic counter re-set,
even pointing out that because of activation they KNOW it's not actively
operating on ANY computer and, thus, I must be telling the truth, I
simply want to be able to install and run it on my two new units. They
actually said they believed me but there was no way to fix my problem!

Thanks,
Tim

On 07/01/2010 7:38 PM, Roady [MVP] wrote:
What exactly doesn't work for you?
What happens when you try to import?
Any error messages?

I can't share your phone activation experience. For me it really was
only a matter of minutes (wasn't even put on hold on any occasion) and
the contact was a native speaker. Maybe you just got someone in a grumpy
mood?

FWIW; In many occasions the activation history is removed after a year.
So as long as you do not need to re-activate your product more than 3
times a year, you should always be able to use the on-line activation
method.


Microsoft higher up says it's not the number of times but the number of
machines which, to me, doesn't make sense. Owned laptop and desktop
when 2007 arrived. Shortly thereafter, replaced machines so I've
activated four times. Two years later, two more machines and, voila,
can't activate online and they--MS--say it can't be done online on more
than three machines. It'll be interesting if I try again in a year. ;-)

Back to the import failure, this is from memory, I just got a failure
box without specifics. First one, Calendar, I didn't pay a lot of
attention to as I just chalked it up to the beta but when contacts also
failed to import, I decided to ask the experts. ;-)

Regarding the grump possibility, it took me nearly three weeks of mail
and calls to finally get to someone in North America and then I got the
"current" answer regarding the activations. I even asked if I couldn't
return the two packages and get one replacement--for a reasonable
fee--so that at least I'd only have to activate once should a hard disk
failure, another new computer or anything else befall me. A firm NO.
Perhaps, they were just trying to ensure that I'd buy 2010.

The Student/Home version has more limitations than the full retail version,
since it can be legally installed on 3 computers at once and costs a lot
less. In the past, retail versions of both office and windows could be
reactivated online after a year, but I don't know if it applies to the
student version. If you had 2 yrs since the first activations, it sounds
like they are more stringent with it, possibly with all versions.

On the import problem, its hard to say what the problem is with the csv, the
full error message would help. Gmail, like some other addins, may not work
with the beta - they'll need to release an updated version. If you installed
the 64bit version of Office, no addins will work with Outlook until they are
recompiled for 64 bit.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:


EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:


Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

"Tim Mathews" wrote in message
...
On 07/01/2010 7:38 PM, Roady [MVP] wrote:
What exactly doesn't work for you?
What happens when you try to import?
Any error messages?

I can't share your phone activation experience. For me it really was
only a matter of minutes (wasn't even put on hold on any occasion) and
the contact was a native speaker. Maybe you just got someone in a grumpy
mood?

FWIW; In many occasions the activation history is removed after a year.
So as long as you do not need to re-activate your product more than 3
times a year, you should always be able to use the on-line activation
method.


Microsoft higher up says it's not the number of times but the number of
machines which, to me, doesn't make sense. Owned laptop and desktop when
2007 arrived. Shortly thereafter, replaced machines so I've activated
four times. Two years later, two more machines and, voila, can't activate
online and they--MS--say it can't be done online on more than three
machines. It'll be interesting if I try again in a year. ;-)

Back to the import failure, this is from memory, I just got a failure box
without specifics. First one, Calendar, I didn't pay a lot of attention
to as I just chalked it up to the beta but when contacts also failed to
import, I decided to ask the experts. ;-)

Regarding the grump possibility, it took me nearly three weeks of mail and
calls to finally get to someone in North America and then I got the
"current" answer regarding the activations. I even asked if I couldn't
return the two packages and get one replacement--for a reasonable fee--so
that at least I'd only have to activate once should a hard disk failure,
another new computer or anything else befall me. A firm NO. Perhaps, they
were just trying to ensure that I'd buy 2010.

On 08/01/2010 5:57 PM, Diane Poremsky [MVP] wrote:
The Student/Home version has more limitations than the full retail
version, since it can be legally installed on 3 computers at once and
costs a lot less. In the past, retail versions of both office and
windows could be reactivated online after a year, but I don't know if it
applies to the student version. If you had 2 yrs since the first
activations, it sounds like they are more stringent with it, possibly
with all versions.

On the import problem, its hard to say what the problem is with the csv,
the full error message would help. Gmail, like some other addins, may
not work with the beta - they'll need to release an updated version. If
you installed the 64bit version of Office, no addins will work with
Outlook until they are recompiled for 64 bit.


Oddly enough, I just saw an item about pricing for the new versions and
it sounds like they're really lowering it AND have a download version.
I think I'll just wait for that and be sure to get the small business
version. I had gotten stand alone Outlook 2007 deciding I didn't really
need the newer Word, Excel etc. Then, I changed my mind and as I
already owned Outlook, saved a few bucks by getting the cheapo version.
From what you say, that was a HUGE mistake!! Actually, I'm thinking
of checking around to see if there are huge sales on 2007 once 2010 is
released and, if so, I'll buy the small biz version of that as, at this
point anyway, I MUCH prefer 2007. I'll give the newer version a decent
test though before deciding.

Thanks so much for the info.

It's my understanding 2010 won't have upgrade pricing, which saved previous
owners a lot of money. The qualifications were so low that almost everyone
could get the upgrade pricing- maybe the new pricing reflects this.

There will be a technology guarantee closer to release- buy office 2007
during a period before the release and you'll get 2010 free (probably a
shipping/handling fee). Watch for that and you can get both for one price.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:


EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:


Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

"Tim Mathews" wrote in message
...
On 08/01/2010 5:57 PM, Diane Poremsky [MVP] wrote:
The Student/Home version has more limitations than the full retail
version, since it can be legally installed on 3 computers at once and
costs a lot less. In the past, retail versions of both office and
windows could be reactivated online after a year, but I don't know if it
applies to the student version. If you had 2 yrs since the first
activations, it sounds like they are more stringent with it, possibly
with all versions.

On the import problem, its hard to say what the problem is with the csv,
the full error message would help. Gmail, like some other addins, may
not work with the beta - they'll need to release an updated version. If
you installed the 64bit version of Office, no addins will work with
Outlook until they are recompiled for 64 bit.


Oddly enough, I just saw an item about pricing for the new versions and it
sounds like they're really lowering it AND have a download version. I
think I'll just wait for that and be sure to get the small business
version. I had gotten stand alone Outlook 2007 deciding I didn't really
need the newer Word, Excel etc. Then, I changed my mind and as I already
owned Outlook, saved a few bucks by getting the cheapo version. From what
you say, that was a HUGE mistake!! Actually, I'm thinking of checking
around to see if there are huge sales on 2007 once 2010 is released and,
if so, I'll buy the small biz version of that as, at this point anyway, I
MUCH prefer 2007. I'll give the newer version a decent test though before
deciding.

Thanks so much for the info.

Tim Mathews wrote:

I just tried the beta of Office 2010 ...

Microsoft Office 2010 forums
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/...ory/office2010