Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

maloo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:27:38 GMT

Nick says: 'The packaging has been completely revised and, we hope, foreshadows the great experience that awaits you once you open it. Check out the photos below.'

No photos below, just red x's. Nick says it's because of server replication problems. That was three years ago.

It's late '09 and we are still looking for help and a place to complain about the 'idiot box'. We bought the software 9 months ago. Now when I need to reinstall Windows like you do every 9 months or so, Office bugs me for the serial number that can only be found inside the box. The red tab is long gone if it was ever there and the molded-in grip lines on the tabs saying 'press here' don't release a thing. Horribly frustrating design Nick, I'll cc your 25-year-old boss but you're probably both out for a latte.

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

ravindra106 — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:56:13 GMT

very informative post indeed,keep sharing dude!

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

cathdgillespie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:07:31 GMT

I received my copy of Office Pro 2007 this morning and actually had to google instructions to open this ridiculous box. Mine didn't come with the plastic overwrap showing instructions (although if packaging requires instructions, that ought to be enough to tell you that's it's badly designed). I'll take the good old cardboard box and a discount, thanks.

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re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

AlexES — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:59:12 GMT

Hello everyone: I am glad that I am not the only one that had a problem with this "packaging", see my blog of Dec 2007. When I worked as a design engineer in an electronics eqpt manufacturing plant we used to test every packaging and user product by having people from the production factory open the pacakages, use the equipment and give their comments. Had I designed such a package and released it to market I would have been called in the president's office to explain and the result would have been my dismissal. Don't they have design reviews at Microsoft, to weed out poor designs? Thanks and best regards, Alex S. :-)

:-( for the "packaging"

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

JDubman — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 06:10:23 GMT

I worked at Microsoft for over 10 years and I couldn't figure out how to open this box without Googling for instructions.

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

biblescribe — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:17:09 GMT

Ok, I spent about two hours with the screw drivers, my brother kept insisting that we cut through the plastic with exacto knives, this from a major publisher of computer books. All I know is that this is going to come back at Microsoft in a very bad way!

Then I started searching for information on how to open the box and realized that microsoft was probably bragging on this invention and so I found all of you. Thank you wendy it is open and I am looking around for a set of spare cases to put the discs. Thank you microsoft for doing it again, we can always count of you to screw up everything.

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

JohnZ — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:20:53 GMT

I too couldn't open the dumb box. I did enjoy the puzzle and really enjoyed the blog. Thank you Wendyq for your concise instructions. They worked great.

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

Wendyq — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:55:17 GMT

The package is big - like a VHS tape! I couldn't get it open either. There are no instructions anywhere on how to open this. Funny comments though so I had to comment too since I wasted so much time googling on how to open it.

Here's how:

with a knife, cut the clear sticky on both sides of the seams at the top. Then pull the red tab.

Bad packaging ruins the whole experience!

citym.org/ue — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:00:48 GMT

So I got my Master's. Huh, I don't feel any different. But I have learned a lot. Last couple of emails to my Mom, I've been signing as Love, John Umbaugh, M.S. The first time she replied, she congratulated me....

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

pemurray — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:30:46 GMT

Ugh!! I laughed when I saw the post about a wife and husband taking a hammer to the packaging. I thought my wife was going to accidentally skewer herself with a knife trying to open the package. In short, it blows. As other posters have pointed out, it is a waste of plastic. Now that we have ripped the bloody box apart, I have to find other CD boxes to put the CD's in.

The packaging sucks!!

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

LightBulb — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:50:28 GMT

Wow, what a bad package. After looking at it for several minutes, I (like others before me) googled the topic and found (with much laughter)that I was not the only one who found this packaging to be bit of a puzzle. Yes, I finally broke into the package with scissors too. I'm not sure who thought this up but it is a terrible package and needs a redesign.

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

mbabbitt — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:52:32 GMT

The case design is another idiotic design by Microsoft geniuses who think they are so damn smart. Apple may just beat you guys because they think like users not like self-important geek heads.

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

reasonsjester — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:12:52 GMT

After 20 minutes of pondering I finally defeated this box. I took a pair of scissors, and cut the seal at the top. Then I cracked the lid at the top of the box and slid the scissors under the box. Make sure to be careful not to use any jerky motions, so you don't cut yourself. Now pry up near the thumb hinges and gently pop the top off the hinge. Now slide the scissors down to the bottom and pull upward until the plastic pin comes out. Pull the pin out. Then pull ever so gently like

you are going to open a really interesting book and then RIP THE BOX APART. Pull the advertising cardboard out (it gets in your way) get your booklets and what-not and ENJOY the pleasure that is the Microsoft Corporation. Good luck folks!

re: Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

Mike Sandman — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:04:22 GMT

I haven't called any company for tech support since Windows 3.1 (a pretty horrible experience), although I do use the Internet to find solutions and workarounds to the bugs in just about all of the software and languages I buy (not just Microsoft products).

When looking for someone to do web development several years ago, we had someone respond to a newspaper ad.

One of the questions we asked was "If you're stuck and can't figure out how to do something, where would you go to find the solution?"

This particular applicant said she would go to the "Sears Help Desk" (she was being laid off from Sears). Good thing she had a whole bunch of certifications.

So here I am. Not totally retarded, but I've been able to open everything I've ever bought in a store, before this copy of Powerpoint 2007 (which I bought to use in our TV studio because you can use outlined fonts as easily as regular fonts, which helps prevent bleeding on red text).

I stared at the box for 20 minutes while trying to open it, which made my blood pressure shoot up since I was in a hurry. At the end of 20 minutes, no matter how I pushed, pulled and prodded the plastic box, it was still tightly closed. I'm glad I wasn't paying an employee to do this.

So here I am, searching the Internet. Not for the solution to a strange software problem. Just to figure out how to open a f*cking box of software.

We already have a TV studio. I also have an 80 year old mother who hates Microsoft since they turned off the Compaq Internet Appliance that she could actually use, and since they keep screwing up hotmail so she can't use it any more (she can't see well and there's no way she can figure out the captchas to forward stupid jokes to her friends).

I'm going to put her in front of the camera with the Powerpoint 2007 box and a small sledge hammer, and ask her to open it for me.

I'll post the video to youtube when she's done. If you have some boxes you need opened, I'm pretty sure she'll happily do it for you for a couple of bucks per box.

I like parody web sites. This blog is as good as it gets.