Text 9488, 41 rader
Skriven 2005-07-14 22:19:43 av Alan Zisman (1:106/2000.0)
   Kommentar till text 9481 av August Abolins (1:229/2000)
Ärende: Re: MS could very well take a lesson
============================================
-=> August Abolins wrote to Charles Scaglione <=-

 AA> "Charles Scaglione -> TOM WALKER" <chscag@gmail.com> wrote...

 CS> Microsoft could very well take a lesson from Apple and sell a "family"
 CS> pack for XP.  There really is no substantial discount offered
 CS> for purchasing additional licenses from Microsoft.  I guess when you have
 CS> a monopoly you can pretty much do what you wish. :(

 AA> Doesn't MS already have something like that already?    Do they not
 AA> permit Retail version to be installed on 2nd computer (laptop or
 AA> desktop) if both computers are part of the same household?

You're confusing MS Office and MS Windows... the Windows licenses are now-- and
have always been-- limited to a single computer. Period.

The retail version of MS Office, however, continues to be usable on up to 2
computers-- typically a work computer and a home one or a desktop and a
notebook... as long as they are not both used at the same time. Surprisingly
many corporate Office licenses allow this, though most users (and probably most
IT departments) seem to be unaware of it.

The low-cost Student and Teacher version of MS Office (which anyone can legally
purchase if they have a student in the household) can be installed on up to 3
computers, though I haven't examined the license in detail to check the
limitations.

Apple has been selling their operating system for US$129 for a single license
and US$199 for a 'family pack' that can be installed on up to 5 computers. No
reduced upgrade versions however (though people who buy a Mac shortly before a
new OS is released can get the new version for a reasonably small shipping
charge).

Note that Apple's OS packages don't require entering any long serial numbers
and don't have any product activation... unlike Microsoft, Apple seems to be
prepared to trust their users-- or to live with a certain amount of casual
piracy.

... Inet mail to: alan at zisman dot ca
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