Windows XP license: how do they get away with it?

fwor

Garz wrote: »

I always look at it from a different angle. If I were to code a program as large as an operating system myself then I would probably want a nice fee for all my time and effort.

Garz - you are right, in that XP is a great OS and Vista will no doubt be soon(ish). But you can't ignore the way that M$ have tried - successfully in many cases - to kill off competition through anti-competitive practices.

When people start to realise that some of the Linux distributions are just as good as XP and Vista, they will start to lose market share, but they have lots of cash available to help them fight back...

vaio

Doublespresso wrote: »

I agree 100%.
I also think that we get in dangerous territory if we as consumers, allow a corporation to dictate how a product should be used by the buyer, and IMO it is even more dangerous when people accept this as a "fair" or "legitimate" practice, when in fact the whole business model of MS is designed to monopolise the market, not to reduce prices as some implied above.

Strange to find myself defending Bill Gates but if you buy a cheap cut down tied to a particular machine OEM version I don’t really see how you can complain that it is a cheap cut down etc etc

fwor

vaio wrote: »

Strange to find myself defending Bill Gates but if you buy a cheap cut down tied to a particular machine OEM version I don’t really see how you can complain that it is a cheap cut down etc etc

Agreed - it must be strange to find yourself defending Bill Gates.

M$ - allegedly - maintain their (near) monopoly by ensuring that if you (as a retailer) sell anything else (e.g. Linux-based PCs) then you lose your OEM status and have to pay full price for their OS.

No volume retailer can afford to do this, so their monopoly continues (allegedly).

Conor_3

fwor wrote: »

IMO... having an OEM licence means that you are the victim of Microsoft's (very successful) practices which have allowed it to dominate the market and suppress competition.

Rubbish. You can choose not to agree to the EULA and ask for a refund of the cost of the OS.

fwor wrote: »

Also, it's likely that the OEM licence terms would be considered unfair if ever tested in a UK court, which is why IMO Microsoft will not in the foreseeable future try to test it in a UK court!

AFAIK, it was tried and they aren't.

fwor wrote: »

Then again, you could just go with Linux. It can do pretty much anything that Windows can do anyway...

Yeah, right....

Conor_3

fwor wrote: »

Agreed - it must be strange to find yourself defending Bill Gates.

M$ - allegedly - maintain their (near) monopoly by ensuring that if you (as a retailer) sell anything else (e.g. Linux-based PCs) then you lose your OEM status and have to pay full price for their OS.

More rubbish spouted from the mouths of the clueless. If you're right, surely this couldn't exist...
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/ubuntu?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&dgc=EM&cid=21690&lid=511380
or this:
http://h20331.www2.hp.com/Hpsub/cache/286522-0-0-225-121.html
or this:
http://www.linspire.com/lindows_news_pressreleases_archives.php?id=188
or this:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7754614#Item+Description

Strangely I don't recall HP or Dell losing their OEM status. Could it be that you're talking out of your rectum? Care to provide some actual proof of this? I doubt you'll find anything mentioned about it that's less than 5 years old and I doubt you'll find any companies that are named as having this happen to them. There was a lot of hearsay and speculation but no actual factual verifiable proof.

banger9365

jelly bean are good i like red ones,put the code should be on the old pc,if you find that program do not us the code it gives you as it will not activate , your code will be on your old pc that looks that look like these http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/content.aspx?pg=coa&displaylang=en

wakandem

CONOR QUOTE : You can choose not to agree to the EULA and ask for a refund of the cost of the OS.

If I were to buy a pc from say dell and declined the EULA when I got it, would windows uninstall itself? would I be entitled to a refund from MS?

There is also something about the arrogant & rude tone of conor's posts that make me think he has some connection or interest with the great MS

fwor

Conor wrote: »

<Stuff about me being clueless>

Are you saying that M$'s practice of selling highly restrictive OEM licences at a fraction of the price that I would have to pay as an ordinary punter does ~not~ distort the market and suppress competition? If you look at the business model, it's hard to see it any other way.

What is it about their high volume sales to Dell et al that makes each one ~so much~ cheaper than selling one copy to me?

I should have qualified my comment that Linux can do pretty much anything that Windows can do: This is true for the average person in the street who just wants to browse and email. For professional applications that may not be true, but then they are probably all on dirt-cheap M$ corporate licences.

And of course, you can find a Dell with Linux on it if you try hard enough. But go through Dell's online "front door" and you won't see it anywhere. If you "customise" your PC you won't get offered any OS other than a M$ one. Why would that be? Because M$ have made sure that it's not in Dell's commercial interests for Linux to be there.

Doublespresso

the sentiment implied with many posters here is that if MS reduces the price of their products it is tehreofre "ok" to restrict the use.. (in this case teh restriction is actually designed to re-inforce the stronghold MS has on the market)

Well, I disagree with this trading principle entirely!

Imagine Marks&Sparks selling you a pair of trousers for £30 but it would be only £20 if you agree to a license that says that you can only wear them with a matching M&S jacket ...and only on Satrurdays...

Or DFS selling you a nice leather sofa but charging you by the number of times you sit on it!

Crazy, isn't it?

IMO IP laws have been manipulated for far to long by the big coprs using technology to their advantage.

wolfman

Doublespresso wrote: »

Imagine Marks&Sparks selling you a pair of trousers for £30 but it would be only £20 if you agree to a license that says that you can only wear them with a matching M&S jacket ...and only on Satrurdays...

Or DFS selling you a nice leather sofa but charging you by the number of times you sit on it!

I can't quite see how those relate, it's a very different situation.

Some like it, others don't. I think it's not such a bad model.

How often do you switch the OS to another pc? Typically you buy a pc and it lasts you 2+ years. Maybe even 3-5 years. To reduce the price of the PC an OEM license is included.

By the time you come to buying a new pc there'll be a new operating system out, which again you'll get at a cheaper cost.

It's much cheaper than buying a full blown license each time. And worst case there are ways of getting round the OEM restrictions.

As mentioned you can also reject the EULA and ask for a refund for the price of the OS.

Or you can try Linux. That's what I use, although it's still a long way from being usable/compatible compared with windows, especially for the average user.