Congratulations to Microsoft’s Windows Weekly Giveaway Winners!

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you might have seen that I shipped the Surface PCs—two Surface Laptop 3s, two Surface Pro 7s, and two Surface Pro Xs—to the winners of Microsoft’s 2019 Windows Weekly Giveaway. Separately from that, I’ve also emailed the 10 Office 365 Home and 10 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate product keys to the respective winners. (Well, most of them. I still haven’t heard back from one product key winner. More on that in a moment.)

Thanks to everyone who participated: We had over 4000 entries across the three giveaways, but we must be getting pretty good at this, because it went pretty smoothly overall. In particular, I wanted to get the hardware out more efficiently than I did last year, and that seems to be the case.

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Here are the winners.

Surface Laptop 3

Ron and mtsmedly

Surface Pro 7

da1Bear and tralfaz

Surface Pro X

g52l and drwatson

Office 365 Home

Gary_Winter, stephenf, rh05, onsdona, winlonghorn, eddiegct, aloteda, geschinger, figuracion, and hchwa

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

chriswong13, Haaza, dkrat, slopokeoh, mercado, mcalmus, SimJeff, raufrecht, and bookgrub

As you may have noticed, there are only 9 winners listed above for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate product keys: I haven’t heard from one reader yet, so I will try a final time this weekend, and if I don’t hear back by end of day on Monday, I will randomly select a different winner. Either way, I will list them here when I hear back.

Finally, thanks again Microsoft’s Chris Capossela, who once again graciously donated some great hardware and software for us to give away. Very much appreciated.

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Conversation 23 comments

  • xalos68

    04 January, 2020 - 1:34 pm

    <p>Will try again next year, thanks for the opportunity Paul and Microsoft</p>

  • RobertJasiek

    04 January, 2020 - 2:08 pm

    <p>While I can understand that Paul does not want to spend the time on possibly sending to winners outside USA / Canada mail addresses, we living in other countries might be a bit sad. The easiest would be Microsoft providing hardware lottery presents via any Microsoft store in the world. Sure, 3 months of free membership is very kind, and congratulations to the winners!</p>

    • datameister

      04 January, 2020 - 4:09 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#509917">In reply to RobertJasiek:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Alternatively, read from and support a news publication based in your own country. Encourage them to be good enough for Microsoft to donate licenses or hardware for them to give away. If one doesn't exist, be an entrepreneur and start one.</p><p><br></p><p>That's not to say Thurrott.com can't operate world wide, one day.</p>

      • SvenJ

        04 January, 2020 - 5:31 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#509920"><em>In reply to DataMeister:</em></a><em> </em>Thurrott.com is worldwide. Shipping and export rules and regulations are not consistent worldwide. It really is quite an ordeal to ship technology overseas.</blockquote><p><br></p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      05 January, 2020 - 10:58 am

      Having to have this conversation every single time I do something like this is a bit sad. We’ve explained many times why Microsoft can’t give away this hardware to contest winners, regardless of location. That’s why I get stuck doing it.

      And I’m sorry. I really am. But shipping internationally is a huge problem, and it’s not just the cost. I’ve had multiple hardware devices I gave away or sold in the past just disappear in transit, and I am not going through that again. This is what we can do.

      • RobertJasiek

        05 January, 2020 - 7:43 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#509994">In reply to paul-thurrott:</a></em></blockquote><p>Lost in transit is sufficient explanation, although winners might be given the option of advance full transport insurance. (Although I live in a wrong country, I appreciate your great effort of distributing the packets.)</p>

        • Paul Thurrott

          Premium Member
          06 January, 2020 - 8:00 am

          We can’t even ship a car key to Europe, which we try to do each year for home swaps, without it being lost (most recently for over four months; they actually did eventually did it). BTW, I also have to pay taxes on the value of the products I ship internationally, which varies by country.

          I’m done talking about this. You badgering me isn’t helping.

          • RobertJasiek

            06 January, 2020 - 10:05 am

            <blockquote><em><a href="#510091">In reply to paul-thurrott:</a></em></blockquote><p>Now I perfectly understand, thank you! I did not expect taxes for sending gifts or so many lost items. Of course, we do not want you to incur either.</p>

  • chuck willemsen

    Premium Member
    04 January, 2020 - 4:02 pm

    <p>Congrats to all and thank you to the Thurrott team for this event.</p><p><br></p>

  • SvenJ

    04 January, 2020 - 5:33 pm

    <p>Thanks for doing this Paul. If one of the winners of the Surface Pro X decides they don't want it, I'll be happy to take it off your hands, and I'll pay the shipping 😉 (it's a shot)</p>

  • evennotodd

    04 January, 2020 - 7:09 pm

    <p>Hope the Xbox Game Pass winner responds… but if they don’t I’m crossing my fingers for luck in the possible re draw. </p>

  • jcbeckman

    Premium Member
    04 January, 2020 - 7:27 pm

    <p>Thanks for running this, even if you have a "defective" random number generator (since it didn't pick me&lt;g&gt;). From your descriptions in the past this sounds like a lot of work so thanks to you for doing it.</p>

  • bluvg

    04 January, 2020 - 11:22 pm

    <p>Thank you, Paul and Chris!!</p>

  • tralfaz

    Premium Member
    05 January, 2020 - 12:09 am

    <p>A big, public THANK YOU, once again, to you, Paul, and to Chris Capossela. </p>

  • ns17

    05 January, 2020 - 1:34 am

    <p>I didn’t win, but happy for the winners ? thanks WW/MS</p><p><br></p>

  • Ed

    Premium Member
    05 January, 2020 - 4:58 pm

    <p>Thanks for doing this Paul, very cool!</p>

  • hopmedic

    06 January, 2020 - 8:42 am

    <p>I didn't win the giveaway, but I'm a winner because I listen to Windows Weekly. Thanks Paul, for doing this, and thanks (to Mary Jo as well) for doing the podcast. I look forward to it each week.</p>

  • Allen Markham

    06 January, 2020 - 2:12 pm

    <p>Thanks for the chance, maybe next time</p><p><br></p>

  • bgoodbody

    Premium Member
    06 January, 2020 - 2:20 pm

    <p>Thanks Paul and Chris</p>

  • PcGuy8088

    06 January, 2020 - 2:41 pm

    <p>Thanks Paul for all the time and effort you put into getting this done. Appreciate it.</p>

  • da1Bear

    06 January, 2020 - 2:47 pm

    <p>I received my Surface Pro 7 just this morning. Many thanks, Paul.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

  • mtsmedly

    06 January, 2020 - 5:49 pm

    <p>Thank you so much Paul. I'm looking forward to the Surface Laptop 3! I appreciate what you, Brad, Mary Jo and the folks and TWIT do with Windows Weekly. Thank you Chris Capossela as well!</p>

  • jhlundin

    06 January, 2020 - 7:00 pm

    <p>…what fun… Thanks Paul, J</p>

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