FREE Domain registery & hosting from M$ Officelive BETA (US Residents Only)

[MameJunkie]

FYI...

I just picked up MameJunkie.com
Going to set up a site to document my progress and have links to all the MAME goodies.

http://officelive.microsoft.com/officelivebasic.aspx?xid=cmmsnaub0050001599mrt
The free version has limited features but its FREE.

**I do not work for or is associated in anyway with M$.
*** Slight correction...I do Winblow & .NET development...

[ahofle]

Hmmm, on the last page they ask for your credit card:

"We also require a credit card to facilitate payment of services during the beta  (e.g., the purchase of additional domain names) as well as at the conclusion of  the beta period, when customers will be asked if they would like to continue  using our services on a paid, monthly subscription basis. With your explicit  permission, we can establish monthly billing using your credit card information.  You will be able to continue using our services without interruption and without  having to submit additional account information."

But on the main page it says "free during AND after beta".  LOL typical slimy Microsoft behavior.

[MameJunkie]

They do this to make sure one person doesn't register for 100's or 1000's of domain.

If you already have a domain or hate M$.  Please ignore this post.

[saint]

I would be certain that you are in control of the domain and own it, and not Microsoft. I.E. What happens if you decide to take your domain and use another registrar / hosting service?

[Fozzy The Bear]

FYI...
I just picked up MameJunkie.com
Going to set up a site to document my progress and have links to all the MAME goodies.
http://officelive.microsoft.com/officelivebasic.aspx?xid=cmmsnaub0050001599mrt
The free version has limited features but its FREE.
**I do not work for or is associated in anyway with M$.
*** Slight correction...I do Winblow & .NET development...

Not only do they want address information.... But they also want credit card details and insist on you entering a US address even though my net passport is a UK one!!! What Planet are they on!!!

Credit Card!! For a supposedly free domain name and web space!!

Typical that it's the usual Microstuffed crap.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[MameJunkie]

The is BETA...not official so its only open to US residents.  (I'll change topic).
***
Q: Is Microsoft Office Live offered outside the United States?

A: At this time, Microsoft is offering a beta version, or preview, of its Office Live services only to small-business owners and managers in the United States. At the end of the beta period (late 2006), Microsoft Office Live services will officially be released to all U.S. small-business customers with expanded features based on the feedback of our beta subscribers. Also in late 2006, we will begin additional beta programs outside the United States. You can register today for Office Live in selected markets.
***
Q: If I register my domain name through Microsoft Office Live, can I later transfer it somewhere else?

A: Your domain name will be registered with Melbourne IT, our domain name registrar, with you as the registrant (owner). If you cancel the Office Live service, you maintain full control of your domain name through the Web site of Melbourne IT (www.melbourneit.com.au/). However, you cannot transfer your domain name to another registrar for 60 days after signing up with Office Live. Note that once you cancel your Microsoft Office Live subscription, you are responsible for paying the annual registration fee for the domain name.

[MameJunkie]

Most of the questions are answered in the FAQ
http://officelive.microsoft.com/Support.aspx?scpf=faq

Please use your own judgement to decide if you want to sign up.
For someone like me who doesn't need anything fancy and haven't done websites before,
its a good way to get my feet wet.  I don't dislike M$ as much as some of you so
this deal is good for me.

Figure this is a good way for others to post there project progress/images without
using too much of this sites space/bandwidth.

[um3k]

Hmmm, on the last page they ask for your credit card:

"We also require a credit card to facilitate payment of services during the beta  (e.g., the purchase of additional domain names) as well as at the conclusion of  the beta period, when customers will be asked if they would like to continue  using our services on a paid, monthly subscription basis. With your explicit  permission, we can establish monthly billing using your credit card information.  You will be able to continue using our services without interruption and without  having to submit additional account information."

But on the main page it says "free during AND after beta".  LOL typical slimy Microsoft behavior.

Click "Compare Products" under the sign up button.   It looks like the "Basics" version will continue to be free after the beta, but you will be asked if you want to upgrade to the "Essentials" or "Collaboration" editions after the beta ends.  Hence, both statements are correct to some degree (although confusing).

[MameJunkie]

I believe you can also buy the features ala-carte.
More space or more bandwidth...email accounts also.

Thats another reason to get your credit card info up front.

[ahofle]

Please use your own judgement to decide if you want to sign up.
For someone like me who doesn't need anything fancy and haven't done websites before,
its a good way to get my feet wet.  I don't dislike M$ as much as some of you so
this deal is good for me.

It did sound like a good deal to me too, especially reading the banner that it would be FREE, EVEN AFTER THE BETA PERIOD ENDS.  Only when you click on the link to read the fine print when they are asking for your credit card, do you find out that statement was a blatant lie and that they will begin charging you some unknown monthly fee once the beta period ends and you have become reliant on them hosting your website (I have no problem with them taking a credit card to prevent fraudulent activity as you mentioned, etc).  Even drug dealers don't stoop to this level (first one is free but they don't promise it will be free henceforth and then start charging you later anyway). 

[MameJunkie]

The Basic is Free during beta and AFTERS also.
The Premium is free during beta and $30/month afterwards.

I don't know what the market charge for normal hosting but I would expect to be on par.

Also...after 60 days, if you don't like them, you can tranfer elsewhere.

[ahofle]

Where were you given a choice between basic and premium?  I just clicked the 'sign up now!' button (right below the 'FREE DURING AND AFTER BETA' banner), entered the domain name, my passport email, and then it asked me for my credit card info and told me I would be charged after the beta period ended (in the fine print).   

[MameJunkie]

Where were you given a choice between basic and premium?  I just clicked the 'sign up now!' button (right below the 'FREE DURING AND AFTER BETA' banner), entered the domain name, my passport email, and then it asked me for my credit card info and told me I would be charged after the beta period ended (in the fine print).   

You should be able to change it to Basic.

[ahofle]

I see it now...you have to click the little 'compare products' link first (I missed um3k's post) and then click the 'sign up now' for the basic.  Thanks.

[saint]

I'm impressed, usually the offer to sign up the domain name for you means you don't actually own it. Good stuff.

Q: If I register my domain name through Microsoft Office Live, can I later transfer it somewhere else?

A: Your domain name will be registered with Melbourne IT, our domain name registrar, with you as the registrant (owner). If you cancel the Office Live service, you maintain full control of your domain name through the Web site of Melbourne IT (www.melbourneit.com.au/). However, you cannot transfer your domain name to another registrar for 60 days after signing up with Office Live. Note that once you cancel your Microsoft Office Live subscription, you are responsible for paying the annual registration fee for the domain name.

[MameJunkie]

I looked around at other hosting options.

Seems like the amount of space they give you is very low. 

BASIC Account
30 MB web storage.
2 GB e-mail storage per email.
10 GB/Month Bandwidth.

Its more than enought for me but some places offer 100s or 1000s MB web storage for $10-$20 per month.

Can a web expert comment on the this?  Is the space given decent?

[spystyle]

According to this:

http://blatherreview.mu.nu/archives/cat_the_wall.html

There is no FTP option, you have to create and upload your web pages through Front Page 2003.

Has anyone tried that?

I guess you could cheat by copy/paste your html into FP2003

Leave it to Micro$oft to give you web space and only allow you to put Front Page 2003 content on it...

As they say "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is"

Love live Saint!

[AlanS17]

I don't see how so many people can complain about something free. Geez, people. Get over it already. If you want something better, go pay for it.

I actually looked into this the other day and it seems decent for what it is. Where else on the planet can you find free domain registration and free hosting with ASP.NET? I don't know how customizable it all is, but it sure sounds like a good start.

Granted 15MB isn't much space when you start uploading images, but that's plenty of room for text. If you make smart use off CSS and templates, 15MB can go a very long way.

Does this service provide any sort of database on the backend? Now THAT would be sweeeeeeeeet.

[spystyle]

Well, if you really want to know:

I am complaining because FTP is the world's standard way of uploading html to the internet.

I am complaining because no where during sign up does it state you must use FP2003 - that's what you find out after you've already signed up. By then the domain you chose can not be transferred for 60 days.

I am complaining because forcing you to use FP2003 without telling you first is just plain sneaky.

Only M$ would have such audacity

[mvolke1]

I'm not a Web site guru, but an easy way is to use your My Space account. I've seen Saint post them before, and they're free. You can blog about the details of your project and post pics.

Just a thought, because it's much easier than Web page design, for those of us who are Tech-obsolete. 

[AlanS17]

Well, if you really want to know:

I am complaining because FTP is the world's standard way of uploading html to the internet.

I am complaining because no where during sign up does it state you must use FP2003 - that's what you find out after you've already signed up. By then the domain you chose can not be transferred for 60 days.

I am complaining because forcing you to use FP2003 without telling you first is just plain sneaky.

Only M$ would have such audacity

Simple solution - go pay for something somewhere else. I've never seen a better free offer. Of course there will be drawbacks. That's be expected with anything free. If you want everything your way, you're gonna have to pay for it.

By the way, they explain all of that stuff in the FAQ before you ever have to sign up for anything. They explain the whole credit card thing and the FP2003 thing.

[spystyle]

The words "FTP" "HTML" or "upload" are not in the FAQ

As far as I'm concerned that's trickery and it warrants complaints

But M$ is tricky, I am not at all surprised.

On a lighter note - it is what it is, and free is good. Assuming we can find FP2003 trial online or full via P2P, then copy/paste our existing HTML and upload, then it really is free. If they force you to purchase FP2003 in order to use it, it is not.

[torez]

If you use Frontpage, it's very easy to upload with the program.  I used it for many years while back.  The strange thing is that they say that Frontpage is discontinued, so there will not be version 2007.  Frontpage was in some ways constricted, so Macromedia's Dreamweaver (now Adobe, eh  ) is a way to go.

You can find good service for about $7-8, with ftp, php and many other goodies ... and the account is all yours.  May have to pay to register the domain, but you do it straight through the host, so it's a simple process.  Stick with some reliable hosts, so you don't wake up one day and find you have to jump through bunch of hoops, because the host feels like telling you that.

One host that comes to mind right now is:
http://www.lunarpages.com/index.php  (I'm not affiliated with them)
They've been around for ages, so you can trust their service.

[spystyle]

Also for a free, powerful alternative to "pay for" HTML programs see Mozilla Composer. It comes integrated with (free) Mozilla.

I use it to make all my web pages.

Cheers,
Craig
 

[spystyle]

HA!

I told you this was a tricky scheme by M$

I just got a bill in the mail for $65 for my "free domain" (by Listing Corp. of NY)

How is it free if it cost $65?

Leave it to M$ to call it free, charge me, and force me to buy office XP to use my free domain because they don't allow FTP, only FrontPage 2003.

LAME!

M$ blows, if Mozilla or Google made an OS I would would quit using M$ software all together.

[clockwork]

There's always Linux if you want to dump M$. After almost two decades using Windows, I'm finally switching over. My vow is that XP is my last M$ OS, and I hope never to use Vista. Fedora has a very robust graphical interface these days, and there aren't many Windows apps (primarily only games) that you can't get good equivalents for. Firefox, GAIM, Thunderbird, GiMP, OpenOffice, Eclipse. And if you need to run any Windows apps, Crossover runs a great many of them very well these days.

[spystyle]

I stopped my "perpetual upgrade" cycle with 2K, it's good.

XP is BSOD king, along with "Genuine" and all that nonsense. I bet Vista will be even worse.

I only use M$ for OS, for almost everything else I use open source, I'm typing this via FireFox.

I've tested a few "Linux live CDs", it looks like Linux is finally becoming user-friendly, it's a good trend and I hope they overthrow M$ in the future.

Either way, happy gaming :)
Craig

[quarterback]

HA!

I told you this was a tricky scheme by M$

I just got a bill in the mail for $65 for my "free domain" (by Listing Corp. of NY)

How is it free if it cost $65?

Leave it to M$ to call it free, charge me, and force me to buy office XP to use my free domain because they don't allow FTP, only FrontPage 2003.

I know this is an old post, but everybody should be aware of the "Listing Corp." scam.

These guys are not affiliated with Microsoft or with this free domain offer, they are simply a scam company that grabs addresses from the whois registration database and sends out bills for money they're not owed on domains that they have nothing to do with.  

"Listing Corp" is in no way connected with your domain, but they know if they send out a million 'bills' to people that look official (hey, they know your domain name and personal address!) that some people will think that "Listing Corp" is their registrar and that they need to pay.

Under no circumstances should people be paying Listing Corp for anything.   I'm sure a google search of the words Listing Corp scam will result in all kinds of stories of this kind of scam.


That being said, I came back here to see if the link still works and it looks like it does, so I'm going to grab a free .com and transfer it in 60 days.    Since this deal has been around for a while, I'm wondering if those who got in on it back in November had any other thoughts.  Have you all transferred your domains away from M$?  Are you using the hosting space for stuff?