Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!iuvax!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!midway!msuinfo!news
From: riordanmr@clvax1.cl.msu.edu (Mark Riordan)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: Windows-related software upgrades
Message-ID: <1990Aug3.171818.597@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>
Date: 3 Aug 90 17:18:18 GMT
Sender: news@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu
Organization: Michigan State University
Lines: 27

Here are some tidbits I've learned in the past few days regarding Microsoft
upgrades.  Based on tips from Usenet (thanks, guys), I stopped waiting for
my update notices for Excel and the Windows SDK.  Instead, I called the
Windows hotline at (800)323-3577.  

The first time I called I used some other Microsoft phone number and got
a bit of a runaround.   The fellow told me he'd mail me an upgrade letter
for the SDK.  I waited two weeks, received nothing, and this time called the
Windows hotline.  (I heartily recommend the hotline; in several calls so
far, I've always gotten an immediate answer from a live person.)  I was able to order
the SDK upgrade over the phone with a VISA card.  The upgrade arrived
2-3 days later--pretty good for having to cross 3 time zones.  The only 
funky part of the upgrade is that the first time I called, I was told I'd have
to provide my serial number, which I didn't have handy at the time.  But
next time I called (after rooting around in my cluttered spare bedroom),
I wasn't asked for the number.

Today I called to upgrade Excel and found that the upgrade to the latest 
version is free (no shipping and handling fee as I had once heard).  The 
latest version is 2.1d, which must be very recent.  Evidently 2.1c was the
most recent as of a few days ago, according to recent postings.

Incidentally, the Microsoft C compiler cannot be upgraded over the phone.
Despite the inconsistencies, I must say that Microsoft handles software 
upgrades better than most companies.

Mark Riordan   Michigan State University    riordanmr@clvax1.cl.msu.edu