Why are Office beta testers outside the US being discriminated against by Microsoft ?

[IanRC]

I received an email that provided the following link

http://www.microsoft.com/business/launch2007/signup/default.mspx

According to this, as I have attended a 2007 launch event (in Qatar), I am entitled to a free copy of Office 2007 Professional and Groove 2007. However on using the contact information I was advised that this only applies to individuals in the US.

This only reinforces the impression that Microsoft cares more for its US customers than to those in the rest of the world. Seems a less than sound strategy for ensuring ongoing popularity even before you consider the restrictiveness of some of their other offerings.

[check]

discrimination would suggest there is no rational reason for them to dissallow you entry to the program. I would think they simply do not want to go through the legal hoops required to release software in multiple legal jurisdictions.

[zilog jones]

Jerks. At the launch event in Dublin they were only offering free licenses for Vista, and I sure as hell don't want that.

Office 2007 is actually good - I've been using the Beta since the summer and I found the interface so much more intuitive and useable compared to previous versions. However, the retail prices are still insane.