MADRID--Magazine Mistakenly Gives Away 120,000 Copies of Windows 2000

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MAGAZINE MISTAKENLY GIVES AWAY 120,000 COPIES OF WINDOWS 2000

Story Filed: Thursday, March 16, 2000 6:12 PM EST

Madrid, Mar 16, 2000 (EFE via COMTEX) -- A Spanish computer magazine that costs five dollars mistakenly included a complete version of Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system - which carries a retail price of about 300 dollars - in the cd-roms that it gives away to its readers with the purchase of the magazine.

The error, which still has not been completely clarified, was revealed by Internet users through the " www.eldebate.net" user forum and picked up by a Madrid newspaper, causing the magazine's entire publication run of 120,000 issues to rapidly disappear from local newstands.

However, neither the magazine in question - the Spanish edition of PC World - nor Microsoft's affiliate in Spain admitted that it was a full commercial version of the program, as some computer experts and web surfers claim.

As luck would have it, the program cannot be installed using the cd-key (registration number) provided with the cd-rom, but many Internet users were quick to post valid cd-keys on the Internet.

What was originally meant to be a promotional version distributed by the magazine that would be usable for 120 days turned out the be an unexpected five dollar windfall for many of the magazine's readers.

On the forum where the news came to light, various cyber-nauts are attributing the mistake to an error in the duplication of the cd-rom's, but responsibility for the mistake remains unclear.

According to the " www.ibrujula.com" web site, which repeated reports about the Windows 2000 windfall, clearly stated "the version included on the cd-rom is a complete and fully functional version, although in some cases it cannot be installed."

Microsoft Spain limited itself to commenting that because of an unforseen error, the cd-key that appears on the cd-rom package is not the one that corresponds to the software that was distributed, and as a result, the installation of the operating system cannot be carried out.

Microsoft, the global software giant founded by Bill Gates, invited the magazine's readers to exchange the cd-rom for a working version through the magazine, or through the Microsoft offices in Spain, even as they emphasized that the use of the software must be carried out within the term of the license agreement.

Microsoft also added that any installation that is carried out outside of the terms of the license agreement cannot be considered a legal installation of the operating system. EFE

ayv/cg/bp

Copyright (c) 2000. Agencia EFE S.A.

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