By Andy McCue, 6 November 2006 16:50
NEWS
Microsoft has backed down over a controversial clause in Windows Vista licensing that would have restricted the ability of users to reinstall their copy of the operating system if they upgraded or changed their PC.
Under Windows XP licensing terms, users are able to uninstall and reinstall their copy of the operating system for their own use an unlimited number of times by entering the re-activation key code each time.
But Microsoft's initial licensing terms for Vista, which will be released on 30 November, had proposed users would only be able to reinstall the operating system once before having to purchase another copy.
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Now pressure from the hardware enthusiast community, which would have been hardest hit by the new licensing terms, has forced Microsoft to do a U-turn and relax the terms and conditions.
The new terms of the Vista licence now read: "You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this licence between devices."
Nick White, Microsoft product manager, said in a post on the official Windows Vista blog: "Our intention behind the original terms was genuinely geared toward combating piracy; however, it's become clear to us that those original terms were perceived as adversely affecting an important group of customers: PC and hardware enthusiasts."
One respondent to White's blog said: "It is nice to know that Microsoft has been listening, and hopefully this will ease the concerns of many in the enthusiast community who were concerned how this licensing might impede their upgrades."
Comments
There are 3 comments. Join the discussion
1. Roger Huffadine
So fire the market researchers - they should have known what the reaction would be, or fire the manager who refused to listen to the market researchers. This debacle just entrenches MS's position as arrogant, money grabbers.
2. anonymous
Perceived adverse effect? Are they all f****** insane? Of course it would have had an adverse effect! Lets say that you purchase a PC and over a period of a couple of months it develops 2 faults that necessitate the reinstallation of the OS. No hang on, you cant do that.. Your paid for and fully licensed copy of Windows-Victim is no longer valid. I bet they thought about driving up sales before they thought of the piracy spin.
3. D Fletcher
Everything $soft does has to be oriented towards keeping market share. Its existence depends on sucking tribute from computer users who either don't know better or who can't be bothered with learning to use another operating system.
In my opinion Linux adoption is an exponential curve. Right now we're still on the flat section of the curve at the bottom. If Bill had continued with that licensing policy, all the computer users out there who build their own machines and tinker with them all the time, therefore having to reinstall the operating system much more frequently than most of us, would have stopped using $soft and turned to Linux, pushing adoption along the curve which accelerates harder the further it goes.
Bill has only delayed the inevitable here – it will happen. For instance on Sunday morning at the gym I was approached by another club member who's going to build a new computer and wanted to know the venue and next meeting date of the Wiltshire Linux Users Group, so that he can get advice on which distribution will be best for him. The curve gets just a little steeper. It's O'Neil's Irish Bar, Swindon, Monday 13th November, 21:00 for anybody who's interested.