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About LinkBacksI'm going to post them back marked as a gift, which is technically what they are
I'm going to post them back marked as a gift, which is technically what they are
You owe it to yourself to click here really.Originally Posted by Blitzen
Clunk, I know you think I am being paranoid, but once you take money from strangers here for those coppies of Vista they are not gifts. If you ask for a contribution for your air fare then in the eyes of customs you are making a profit.I'm going to post them back marked as a gift, which is technically what they are
Also, if you post them from the states, the cost of a courier with insurance and tracking will be as high as the import taxes. Just bring the copies back in your suitcase, declare them at the airport & pay the the import duty, then post them to people here using RMSD for a fiver per packet or so.
I would hate for you to get prosecuted for smuggling or VAT fraud.
doesnt make a difference marking them as gifts, you can still be chargedI'm going to post them back marked as a gift, which is technically what they are
Even with vat and import duty, its £240, which is still a shedload cheaper.
Its probably best to say no more about it here
You owe it to yourself to click here really.
i think the maximum value for an item to be a gift and thus exempt from duties is £20
visit hmce.gov.uk for more info...
Is there a link anywhere to the OEM EULA? I've searched and can't find one.
I've been using Business for the last month and a half thanks to the MSDNAA, but I want Ultimate (or at least something with Media Center in it). OEM is sounding good value, but I'm hearing conflicting things about the future upgradability of the PC it goes on. Some people say it can be done, some are saying it can't. I think it needs clarifying.
Also, I don't think anyone has pointed out that the OEM versions only give you either 64 or 32 bit. The retail gives you both.
So if you want 64 bit now, you'll have to spend the next few months or even longer fighting with drivers. If you go for the 32 bit, you'll be fine but you'll need to spend the same amount again later to move to 64 (still works out cheaper for Ultimate though!).
Anyway, as I said, I've been using Vista for coming up to 2 months now, and I'm really enjoying it. I haven't had it crash on me yet (explorer.exe has a few times, but it recovers from it well, unlike XP). My Performance and Reliability monitor lists no Windows or Hardware failures. I love the indexing tools and search bars in the start menu etc. I think ShadowCopy is a useful feature. The thumbnails that pop up from the taskbar are fantastic. There's so much that is better than XP I think it's well worth the money (the OEM price).
Note: I will say though that Aero Glass, while attractive, really doesn't offer anything. The see-through windows are useless, as it's a tiny area that is translucent and you can't really see anything through it anyway!
In the light of what Silent Shark has just said, can anyone confirm that the retail version of Vista lets you use both supplied versions (32-bit and 64-bit), even if it's only one at at time?
Or is it the case that you pick either the 32-bit or 64-bit version and then have to stick with it?
As I understand it the retail and upgrade versions of Vista contain *everything* - 32 and 64bit version of each of the various releases - the kicker is the licence key you are supplied with will only work for a specific version, including 32 OR 64 bit - so you need to make your call now regardless of OEM or not.
Personally I'm quite pleased with the OEM prices - the increase over the XP OEM price (about £95) is reasonable IMHO and I really want to move to Vista - I've been using it on my old machine for a few months and really like it. Unfortunately that machine is no more and driver support for my new machine (680i motherboard, 8800gtx videocard) is damn near nonexistant so for the time being I'm holding off.
The EULA for Ultimate (not sure about other versions) states:
"The software may include more than one version, such as 32-bit and 64-bit. You may use only one version at one time."
I interpret that to mean you can install either, and switch versions any time you like, as long as you don't use both at the same time. I've also heard from Vista-specific forums that you can install 32-bit, and later 64, but once you use 64, you can't go back.
Link to EULA : http://download.microsoft.com/docume...9cf5105718.pdf
EDIT: I've checked all the EULAs and they all contain this clause (except for Enterprise, as there is no EULA available for that, but as you can't buy it, I'm sure it doesn't matter). I also like the part of the EULA that says you can make a backup copy.
Last edited by Silent Shark; 24-01-2007 at 10:55 AM. Reason: Update
But hopefully it will be possible to get 32-bit activated over the telephone if not automatically.
I take it to mean only one version can be activated at a time - so sure you can switch, but you'll probably have to activate it as when you activated the other one MS probably de-activate the one before that. I'm guessing the idea is that you are meant to be able to install whichever version you need at the time - so switching from 32 to 64 and vice versa as much as your hardware dictates.
Well, I'm very close to buying OEM Ultimate 32-bit right now, despite me already owning Business. For £100, which is that highest I was willing to pay for an Anytime Upgrade from Business anyway, I can get a copy of Ultimate. I already have a 64-bit disk (from my MSDNAA access), so I might even be able to upgrade without having to buy another copy.
Microsoft seem to be willing to ship disks to people cheaply for upgrades (it's just the license that you have to pay for), so they might be willing to ship cheap 64-bit disks to people.
Only 2 things stopping me right now... I'm saving money for a Playstation 3 at the moment, and the Anytime Upgrade price might be cheaper, in which case I'll go for that.
What we really need is to talk to someone at Microsoft about these questions. Any chance that Hexus can get someone on the line...?
EDIT: I've found a part of the Vista help that lets you pose questions to Microsoft. I've asked about some of the issues and hopefully we'll get a reply soon.
Last edited by Silent Shark; 24-01-2007 at 11:25 AM.
NewEgg
is a good source.
Note something interesting:
US price for Vista Ultimate OEM 32bit: $199
Scan's price for Vista Ultimate OEM 32bit exc VAT: £103.16
The huge markup seen for the retail boxes has magically disappeared! How can this be? Surely the 'increased costs of business in Europe' are still there? Gosh, what happened? ...
Nice one!
Nice one again!
It's a minor financial miracle and, thus, nothing that you or I should worry our pretty little heads about.
Just don't forget to bend over when the nice company says so.
Some replies I've had:
> Are users allowed to switch between 32 and 64 bit versions as they desire (Retail or OEM), so long as only one version is installed?
"Yes, regardless of retail/OEM status."
>The OEM version ships with either 32 or 64 bit versions, and not both like the retail. Is this a limitation of the license, or can the product key be used to install a copy of the other version if you obtain a copy of the disk?
"The product key you purchase should be able to install either version. The retail disk will only include both disks with Ultimate, others will have an option to order the 64-bit disk, probably for a small shipping fee. As in the past, the product keys and retail/OEM disks will not be interchangeable, your disk must match the type of key."
He's not a Microsoft employee, but a member of the MVP scheme. (http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/) He couldn't offer me anything on license transfers to different machines because he wasn't aware of any OEM versions being on sale. He did offer this though:
"Generally no, though it's not hard and fast. Preinstalled OEM versions of Windows are generally BIOS locked, whereas generic ones are not. Frequently, you are capable of transferring OEM versions, though the intent of the license is that you aren't supposed to. This may change with Vista, but no one knows for sure as the generic OEM versions are not available yet."
Bear in mind that those updates will also contain updates to the windows DRM that will deactivate your graphics card, monitor, or High def optical drive because some Romanian hacker has found a way to extract the key and use it to pirate movies.
As a Vista user, I plan to be quite selective on which updates I accept, and if someone else sets up an update service that filters out those updates, I will use it in preference. It is my computer and I should have the right to decide what it does. If Microsoft decides to remotely deactivate my hardware without my express permission they will be breaking the law (not that it will stop them).
Edit:
See this lengthy article about how Vista's DRM will screw up the rest of your system
Last edited by chrestomanci; 02-02-2007 at 08:43 PM. Reason: added link
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