Bellyaching About Planned Obsolescence

I've been digging around why my Windows Live 2012 email account is acting up. Here's what I found.

According to Microsoft, "Windows Live Mail 2012 application will no longer synchronize emails, contacts, and calendar events from these accounts – because the Windows Live Mail 2012 application does not support the modern synchronization technologies used by the new Outlook.com."

Well golly gee isn't that swell. Indeed it will still send and receive messages (although not all of them time to time). However deleting or moving emails around will not sync it to the official webmail site. For that I have to go online. Thus I spent an hour on the same damn 589 emails still existing on there no matter how they appear on my Windows Live email client after I thought I took care of that a few day ago.

Ah but they have two workarounds. The first suggest I click on my Windows 8.1 email icon. I tried that and it notified me it's a no can do because the "User Account Control Is Turned Off". Yep, sure is. When I first upgraded to Windows 8.1 I spent hours trying to update or find a workaround for my surveillance cameras. The bottom line is the "User Account Control" must be turned off or it won't operate. This is because the cameras need to constantly create new video files. With that turned on Windows won't allow permissions for them to do that. In fact with it turned on my camera software absolutely refuses to load.

So with that out of the question here's Microsoft's second option. "You can switch to the Outlook.com for Windows email application to connect to your account, by taking advantage of a free one-year subscription of Office 365."

YEAH BUT... "Offer valid for a free one-year subscription of Office 365 Personal. Must redeem by October 15, 2016. Payment instrument required, and will be automatically charged the current subscription price after one year unless you cancel your subscription."


So Here We Go AgainFirst it was my carrier informing me my cell phone would brick in a few months because it isn't 3G. It's obvious my surveillance cameras manufacture wants me to toss out a $500 system in order to get their latest and greatest to work on Windows 8.1. Now this. Course I could hand over my credit card directly to Microsoft so it can charge it at-will in order to keep my email going like it once use to for years.

Here's a message for all three of ya'. I'm not going to be held hostage throwing out $2,000+ worth of computers, phones and cameras every 3 or 4 years or pay yearly subscription fees because of you guys wanting to stick it to this consumer. It ain't never gonna happen.

They may not call it blackmail,
but it sure seems like legal blackmail to me.


Another Off Topic GripeEpiPens: For my daughter they are a must have. Many of us heard how they've gone up 400% in a few years to $600+ for two. What many may not realize the expiration dates that once lasted two years now only last for one. So therefore it's not a 400% increase rather a 800% increase.

BTW: Under Canadian government's control these very same EpiPens cost $125 in Canadian dollars ($96.11 US).