Re: Outlook Express Corrupt dbx files

From: ed (anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 07/11/04 

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 13:50:08 -0700

Well, I guess 5 bucks ain't so bad. I just tried a few
that wanted 39 or 49 bucks. That's a bit much for a
(hopefully...sigh) rarely used function. Problem is, I
think it oughtta be like the old days, when shareware was
initially free and you paid only if:
a. you decided you wanted to keep the program since it WAS
useful
b. made sure the damn thing WORKED before you pay and find
out yours is the ONE instance in which it can't fix the
problem.

I have registered many shareware programs, like Windows
Commander, Adaware, MIRC etc. I think most people really
are honest, and pay when they find something that really
helps. I hesitate to pay up front, only because I have
paid for too many things only to find out they don't work,
or work poorly. Then there is no way to get your money
back, so you are just screwed, and the programmer gets
richer. Let's face it, why should there be an
implied "trust" with someone you don't even know? If you
were a large bona fide company that I could go back to if
it don't work, fine. But I have no idea who you are, or
how ethical you are. Don't take it personal, but that's
the fact. I do realize many cretens out there simply use
the program and never pay, but if it is really good I bet
they pay. Look at ProComm in the old days. Everybody had
it, and most registered. I don't mean to impune your
dignity, but a lot of shareware distributors out there are
just as unscrupulous as the shitheads who steal the stuff.
Maybe I'll try yours after all. Thanks for the reply.

BTW, I was not blaming you really, but MS. They ARE the
scum that gives us this ***. Can't wait to see Bill Gates
in the middle of dark road on a rainy night. Ooops! I'm
not even gonna HIT the brakes. Alas, my dream will never
be fulfilled cause he's too rich to walk anywhere, but we
can dream!

>-----Original Message-----
>DBXtract is only $5.
>
>It was free for 5 years, and had over 1,000,000 downloads
due to the
>propensity for dbx files to become corrupted. Economic
circumstances
>prevented me from continuing to make it free. I'm not
an "opportunistic
>programmer" trying to get richer. I'm trying to survive
the economy and be
>able to eat.
>
>If you have a dispute against MS for the dbx problems,
don't blame the
>people who have a solution and want something back for
it. Blame MS, which
>has refused to do anything about the known problem for
the last 6 years and
>continues to refuse to do anything until the next OS
comes out.
>
>steve
>
>"Ed" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message
>news:2ad1201c46648$0f292650$a301280a@phx.gbl...
>> Is there any way to fix a corrupted .dbx file for free?
I
>> am tired of being linked to sites that say they are free
>> but only let you find out how screwed you are unless you
>> pay them money! Why does Microsoft not provide a .dbx
file
>> fixer, since, like many MS products, they screw up all
the
>> time. Seems like if you want to use a *** format
just
>> so no one else has access you should provide the tools
for
>> when it screws up! Judging by the hundreds of messages I
>> found across the internet about OE doing a Bill Gates
>> (screwing up) every so often, seems a little arrogant
and
>> unresponsive to leave us pay ANOTHER $40 bucks or so to
>> fix your stuff (this goes with the hundreds of dollars
of
>> other software we need to buy to KEEP it working).
Stupid
>> damn system if you ask me, since one byte can trash your
>> whole email history and NO WAY to recover except to make
>> some opportunistic programmer richer. Would be different
>> if OE had some reasonable way to backup the email
folders
>> without using exchange. Let's see, we need Antivirus to
>> keep your POS activeX architecture from ruining our pc,
>> adware soft to keep your BHO strategy from driving us
>> nuts, and various "tools" to constantly "tweak"
and "fix"
>> windows via coaxing into working again. Ya think someday
>> we could get an OS that doesn't need 3 SP's BEFORE we
use
>> it for the FIRST TIME?? I'll settle for a utility (free)
>> to fix the stuff you guys programmed so badly in the
first
>> place. We'll worry about the rest later.
>
>.
>