Here’s the deal. I purchased two Windows Vista Home Premium product keys way back when Vista was shipping. They were $50/each, under their Family Upgrade Discount deal. I purchased the keys from a special Windows e-store that is since defunct.

Fast forward to 2009. I only wound up using one of the keys (which, was still a good deal, considering Home Premium ran $119 at the time). The other key went unused.

Well, now I want to use that second key. And, unfortunately, I didn’t know many Family Upgrade Discount keys were invalid. There’s no support number to call, and no department that appears to field these invalid keys.

Any better suggestions than to get pass the buck treatment at 800-MICROSOFT?

The reason is that Vista SP2 and Windows 7 are not compatible with the older Sprint SmartView included on the demo CD. That version of SmartView is custom-coded to these Sprint 4G Franklin U300 cards. And, to add to that, these U300 cards carry a different firmware (likely so they can all be deactivated at once when the trial period is over at year’s end).

I have been told that they are working on a solution, but it is difficult since these cards are “in the wild now.” Sprint did tell me that it is also difficult to solve because they have to coordinate with Clearwire and Franklin on a fix.

The best advice I have been given is to call the WSTS team in a few weeks, using the phone number included in your Sprint 4G demo kit. I would suggest calling now as well as in a few weeks, if you are in that situation. The more people that report to Sprint that their apps require Vista SP2/7 (or have already upgraded all their systems… like me…) the more likely they’ll implement a fix.

And, of course, if you can, hold off on updating to Vista SP2 and/or Windows 7 until this gets solved. Updating SmartView to 2.27 from sprint.com will not fix the issue, as the public version of Sprint SmartView will not communicate with your demo card.

Presumably, after the trial period ends, this will be solved anyways as the cards will no longer be on a demo period. I expect Sprint will issue an updated SmartView that flashes the firmware on these cards to the same firmware as a standard-issue U300.

In case you didn’t hear, Sprint was handling out Sprint 4G cards (with free service until the end of the year) like candy at the Open Developers Conference… much better than Halloween treats.

Unfortunately, when you hit the Read More link, the article was nothing more than an editorial… and even concluded that its initial premise (of getting to the bottom of this) wasn’t really found. Great way to lure in readers, Entrapet?

Even that said, I don’t buy the premise which they were making. That premise was that TV Pack 2008 was meant to train OEMs in the United States on what Windows 7 Media Center would entail, and give European customers DVB-T tuning support. And, also that OEMs were informed that they would want to avoid shipping TV Pack 2008 to customers, because of its unreliable state.

This is the point where I put my hand on my face and sigh a lot. First, OEMs must never have gotten that memo, if Entrapet HD is to be interpreted correctly… because everyone from HP to top-tier premium HTPC manufacturers have been shipping TV Pack 2008 since when it started shipping. Two, bad behavior doesn’t justify good intentions. TV Pack 2008 is buggy, everyone knows that… that’s why Microsoft starts to stutter when you ask about it. It doesn’t mean that it was a beta or developer preview.

Why? Because Microsoft releases developer previews and betas all the time. If they wanted OEMs to not ship a product, they’d do that like they always do. And, unlike Entrapet’s assertion that only enthusiasts are ticked about TV Pack 2008… that’s quite false. Many average people bought into the Vista Media Center and CableCARD waves, looking to replace their TiVo. Now they get nothing but FUD about the solution, well until recently. Now they’re told to just wait (and pay) for the bug fixes in Windows 7.

Here’s my take. And, this is only my take, not something I’m going to write off as “getting to the bottom of it.” I think that at some point, Microsoft realized Vista had failed. So, the team began working on Windows 7.

But, at the same time, they realized that they promised Europe DVB-T, and Hauppauge wanted to offer the HD PVR with Media Center. Oh, and the CableCARD people were fuming about their $3,000 systems not working right. An update had to be made.

And, so it was made. Unfortunately, like the rest of Vista, it too was a failure, due to countless bugs and problems (those are the bugs and problems that we TV Pack 2008 users suffer/suffered with… and Microsoft still has yet to fully admit to… and probably won’t until legal obligations/memories are long in the past). So, faced with splitting the difference, the HD PVR support was gutted (removing the H.264 components) and TV Pack 2008 went to the OEMs in Europe. Everyone else got the code bits to look at, but only because Microsoft wanted something to show for three years of work.

My advice to Microsoft: Give any CableCARD owner a free upgrade to Windows 7. That will start to heal the awful track record of TV Pack 2008, even for those still waiting for its features.

Live Mesh will be a big help for solving one of the inconsistencies in the Windows Home Server offering. As I’ve noted in the past, Live Mesh users are able to remotely access any modern version of Windows. However, Windows Home Server can only grant remote access to professional versions of Windows.

Hopefully, Microsoft will implement this in a transparent manner. Meaning, the Home Server Connector will simply install Live Mesh, and assist with creating your personal Mesh network. Finally, logging onto the Windows Home Server webpage (your Home Server’s webpage) will list all your computers, and re-route you to the Mesh Remote Desktop system.

My big concern at this point is in ease of use. Setting up Live Mesh is easy… for me. But, it may be confusing for the basic users that Microsoft is hoping to win over.

I haven’t heard official word from Microsoft, but I can confirm that TV Pack 2008 is absent from SP2. It’s not clear why the Media Center team didn’t add this. Microsoft has confirmed to me that TV Pack 2008 will not be included in Service Pack 2, see update at the end of the article.

As I’ve noted in the past, TV Pack 2008 adds a lot of cool features, ClearQAM support, the ability to mix and match analog, CableCARD, ClearQAM, and ATSC tuners all in one system. In fact, it’s an excellent way to get around the CableCARD DRM problem that Media Center still haves. A user with TV Pack 2008 can have ClearQAM tuners record content from most channels, while the CableCARD tuners will still (needlessly) add DRM to CableCARD-only channels.

The only problem? Microsoft refuses to offer a public download of TV Pack 2008. It still isn’t clear if you’re breaking the law, in Microsoft’s opinion, if you download TV Pack 2008 elsewhere. It is clear that they’re only offering it directly to OEMs, with the purchase of a new computer.

Microsoft still says they’re getting back to me on this, and many other questions that you submitted. When they do, I’ll be sure to follow-up on this.

Also, I have no idea if Microsoft will about-face and add TV Pack 2008 to the final release of Vista Service Pack 2. I am simply reporting on what I have seen from the first wave of beta releases.

Update: Microsoft just confirmed to me that they have no plans to add TV Pack 2008 to Windows Vista SP2. I’m still waiting to hear back why this update is any different than the Bluetooth and Storage feature packs, which are being added to SP2. Doubt I’ll hear anything you’ll want to read.

Not that this would really tip my decision either way… but Microsoft added support for Bluetooth 2.1 in the Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless. There’s just one problem…

Like TV Pack 2008 for Windows Vista, you can’t have it! Microsoft is only making it available to “select OEMs.” Meaning, Dell can ship new systems with Windows supporting Bluetooth 2.1, but Apple can’t (because, they don’t sell Windows).

I view this as an abuse of monopoly powers. How is one version of Windows Vista different from another? What makes a Dell user more entitled to the Wireless Feature Pack, than a MacBook owner who bought the retail version of Vista?

Microsoft says that they will integrate this into Windows Vista SP2. But, that’s cold comfort for those trying to have the latest-and-greatest today. Thanks Microsoft.

Moral of the story, Microsoft… stop limiting updates to customers, based on where and when they bought their computer. It’s just wrong.

Worse, my Inspiron 530n is plugged into my HDTV… making troubleshooting a royal pain.

Here’s the problem. With Vista SP1, this computer keeps corrupting my user account. This is the third time it’s happened, on a third reinstall of Windows. Eerily, the first two time it was the identical problem. This time it’s a new spin on the same problem.

The first two times, my user account would refuse to load. Windows would then create a temp account, with the annoying “Your user account could not be loaded” error. I would proceed to run chkdsk, and each time, it would find the error and fix it. Reboot, and back to my account. The problem? The next time I turn on my PC from a cold boot, the same error would arise, requiring the same fix. After about 30 times, this gets really frustrating…

Third reinstall. This time, my PC now thinks my account is a Guest account. No, not the Guest account, a generic guest-privileges account. And, since I’m now a guest… I can’t access administrative tools to do anything. Can’t run chkdsk, can’t run User Accounts… nada.

The one thing in common with all these errors? They all started after power was cut to the PC abruptly. Once was because of a power outage, and the other two were due to a particular idiot switching off the power strip (that would be me).

What it does point to, is serious problems with Vista SP1′s journaled NTFS file system. I really hope Microsoft takes a good look at file systems with Windows 7… I’m afraid that’s something for which they may overlook while working on the many things that need to be fixed, in order to woo over the XP crowd.

So, if you want to install WordPress on your new $199 Windows Server box, it now only takes a few clicks.

Why is this important? One, it’s from Microsoft. Two, it’s on Windows Server. Both are important… for different reasons.

Windows Server has started to lose favor with the Web 2.0 generation. While IIS is preferred for in-house apps, the open source community has actually found it more difficult to use than LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL & PHP). This, of course, is because a standard Linux distribution comes with all four… whereas with Windows Server, you have to install MySQL, configure MySQL, install PHP, and finally, configure PHP. If that sounds daunting, it is. I’ve had to do it.

So, Microsoft has made this process painless. Great. But, more importantly, Microsoft is doing it themselves. They’re embracing web apps, and making it easier to setup than Linux. This is something they need to do, to woo over dot-com startups… like MechaWorks.

I’ll tell you, I’m really excited about this. If the tool is robust enough, it may allow us to bring web hosting duties in-house. That would save us thousands of dollars per year.

Also, it will enable consumers to run web apps out of their house. You can bet that this will be in both consumer versions of Windows 7, and the next release of Windows Home Server. Plus, you can use it today on XP Pro, Vista, etc… all you need is IIS, and premium versions of Windows have had that sitting around for years. Until today, it wasn’t good for much… that’s about to change.

Is this the silver bullet to fix Windows Server? Probably not in the first release, but if these kind of no-brainer setup protocols are in place, and backed up with no-brainer maintenance protocols… I think Windows Server may be ready for a comeback. And yeah, it does feel wierd to say that… but it doesn’t feel bad either.

One big downside: The tool requires Windows Server 2008 or Vista SP1. That means Windows Home Server users are out of luck as of right now (Home Server v1 is based on Windows Server 2003 SBS).

Now, here’s the catch… the installer may be out of date. So, you may need to enable UAC in Vista, reboot… then install Live Mesh. Finally, let it get up and running and then disable UAC. I haven’t tested a complete uninstall and reinstall yet.

Also untested: If Windows Server 2003 and 2008 were added yet.

P.S. It would be really nice if Microsoft would let people know what is being changed when Live Mesh is updated. At the very least, post a blog entry simultaneously with every update. That way, people can… be better informed about Live Mesh.

Update: Late yesterday, the team sent out an email. Here are the official major changes:

· Live Mesh is now available in all English-speaking countries (not just the U.S.)

· Removed the User Account Control (UAC) requirement when installing and using Live Mesh with Windows Vista SP1

· Index for Desktop Search now works with Live Mesh folders

· Fixed bug where an underscore in a Hotmail account name returned an “Invalid Hotmail Address” error

· Fixed bug with Silverlight 2 Beta 2 failing to load in Silverlight Media View

· Fixed bug where the notifier tooltip incorrectly indicated that Live Mesh Remote Desktop was unavailable for a computer running in non-admin mode

· Fixed bug where the Live Mesh folder icon was not displayed in the e-mail inviting someone to share a folder

· Fixed one of the bugs that caused Live Mesh to fail to start

· Fixed problem with Live Mesh returning errors when waking from sleep/hibernate

Now, I actually have far fewer complaints than most about Vista. In fact, all my primary PCs run Vista.

But, this marketing line is definintely a new one. In their latest TechNet email, Microsoft decided to use it pitch Vista to IT Professionals. And, here’s the one line that really stood out:

“More than 140 million copies of Windows Vista have been sold, making it the fastest selling operating system in Microsoft history. Even Macs run it.”

Two errors in fact on that. Or rather, errors of omission. First, Intel-based Macs run Windows XP flawlessly. It’s not like Windows Vista enables or improves that. Second, Mac users don’t get Windows bundled with their systems. Until the end of the month (when Microsoft halts most sales of Windows XP)… Mac users are in a unique position to actually chose what version of Windows they want.

It’s an interesting argument from Microsoft.

What I’d like to see, is Microsoft embracing XP a bit more. Keeping customers happy, and holding things over to Windows 7, is the goal. Of course, Microsoft is doing that passively with Vista-to-XP downgrades… you just have to read between the lines (or just listen to their CEO).