Text 13271, 91 rader
Skriven 2006-10-12 19:45:18 av Robert G Lewis (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: A sneaky change in Windows licensing terms
======================================================
From: "Robert G Lewis" <r.g.lewis@comcast.net>


"/m" <mike@barkto.com> wrote in message
news:16mti212j7me0m3n6ubsd96iuh4mqpieep@4ax.com...
>
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=156
>
> ===
> I've seen several sites point to Microsoft's new Software License Terms
> page, which contains PDF versions of the license agreements for many
> Microsoft products. Most sites that have commented on the new Windows
> Vista licenses have picked up on this blurb from the Windows Vista Team
> Blog:
>
>   Two notable changes between Windows Vista license terms
>   and those for Windows XP are: 1) failure of a validation
>   check results in the loss of access to specific features
>   (this is the SPP news you've likely been reading about
>   this past week); and 2) an increase in our warranty period
>   from 90 days to 1 year, which brings Windows in line with
>   most other Microsoft products.
>
> 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:
>
>   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."
>
> 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:
>
>   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.
>
> 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.
>
> Will this affect a lot of people? Not really. Those most likely to be
> affected are hobbyists who constantly rebuild, replace, and upgrade
> systems. Presumably, the new two-machine limit will be enforced by
> Windows Product Activation.
>
> I wonder why this change didn't make it into a press release?
> ===
>
>
> Sure makes me happy I stopped upgrading at Windows 2000....
>
> /m

That's not good. I bought retail XP instead of OEM  just so I could move it to
a different box if I wanted to. Nice little stealth price increase. I remember
when they changed the terms of Office. I recall at one time I could use the
same version of office at work and home. They changed that after 97 ( I think
but it could have been the prior version). Doubled the cost of office as far as
I'm concerned.

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