Category: News and Views
A Sneaky Change In Windows Licensing Terms
by
Marc Erickson
on October 12, 2006 at 12:30 pm ·
Comments
Categorized by
Microsoft Mania /
Related Information
Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report
writes:
I read through the
license agreement for Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate
(PDF) and saw lots of new language. Much of it just formalizes what Microsoft has been doing under separate agreements for some time, such as the Validation
requirements introduced with Windows Genuine Activation.
But I have yet to see anyone point out one significant change in retail licensing terms. Think you can transfer that retail license to any machine you want?
Think again. In Section 2, “Installation and Use Rights,” the text reads:
block quote
Before you use the software under a license, you must assign that license to one device (physical hardware system). That device is the “licensed device.”
block quote end
Sections 15 and 16, “Reassign to Another Device,” and “Transfer to a Third Party,” are new. You can go read the exact terms for yourself. The sort version
is that you may “reassign the license to another device one time” or “make a one time transfer of the software, and this agreement, directly to a third
party.” [emphasis added]
That limitation on retail licenses is a remarkable change. Previously, a retail license could be removed from one computer and reinstalled on another with
no limits. Now, you get to reinstall one time and one time only.
I looked at the
license agreement for Windows XP Professional
(PDF) for comparison’s sake. The difference is … interesting. Section 1, “Grant of License,” says, “You may install, use, access, display and run one
copy of the Product on a single computer, such as a workstation, terminal or other device (”Workstation Computer”). Section 4, “Transfer,” describes what
you can do with the underlying license:
block quote
Internal. You may move the Product to a different Workstation Computer. After the transfer, you must completely remove the Product from the former Workstation
Computer. Transfer to Third Party. The initial user of the Product may make a one-time transfer of the Product to another end user.
block quote end
With a retail version of Windows XP, there are no restrictions on the number of times you can transfer the software from one computer to another in your
household or office. That’s about to change for the worse in Vista, with only one lifetime transfer allowed. It makes the
outrageous price difference between retail and OEM copies
even more difficult to justify. [Source:
Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report]
I have one comment on the change: GREEDHEADS!
God! And they wonder why there's so much piracy...
hahahaha, well, they will be cracks, or just get a mac! that's me, that's where i'm going, to a mac! screw microsoft!
feh, the mac prices on hardware are shitty. Well everything but the CPU. But I guess they can dothat wih propietary hardware.
Proprietary hardware? not anymore. Everything's off-the-shelf, and there are actually forums on what components Macs have in them if you care to build your own. However, you will find that building your own is actually more expensive than buying one from tem, and even competitors' computers specked out similarly are more expensive.
Hmm, I haven't bought one myself, but where I was working this past summer, I heard more than one rant on how they charged a good deal more for the keyboard than a normal keyboard would've cost. Still I am glad to hear that they're making it ealsier to get and use your own hardware.
My gsoh, that is rediculous, but hey, that's microsoft.... Does this mean that if you install Vista, have to format your pc, due to a major virus which anti-virus software can't get rid of or something, and reinstall. That you can only do that one time?
Yeah and theres some other stuff about networking where you can only interface with 6 comps if you have vista home but i dunno how they can control this sceen as all the network stuff is mainly done by the router.
Vistas going to be a complete flop, the specs that it needs to run at its best on are like total overkill for xp. For example, if you go onto the sony vaio site, they only say computers that have 2 gb of ram are "vista ready" nuff said.
Regarding the poster who said they were going for a mac:
O and regarding post 7 - there has been arguments about how much infomation microsoft is giving away about vista as in the workings of it which is making it hard for the anty virus companies to make software for it.
This means that... suprise suprise, your limited to windows defender, which i'm guessing will handle anty virus ontop of spyware. And whats the betting that this won't work?
Regarding the licence, it only took like 1 month of constant customer complaints for them to remove the part of wga that phoned home so to speak (communicated with microsoft) so there terms will be relaxed.
They won't be able to inforse the 1 computer rule, for example, 40% of legal copies of windows failed wga, they give you a new key if you phone up and say it failed.
BEN.
I agree with you Ben.
I have a beta copy of windows defender, and, frankly it's a lightweight in computer protection.
For those would-be mac users don't forget that eighty percent of the computers today carry windows on it. That many people can't be that wrong.
There are times when a mac will fill the bill, but not for general use. It boils down to availability of software. How many times have I read that such-and-such software "will be available for mac users in the near future".
Bob