HEXUS.opinions :: Microsoft Vista EULA spits in the eye of self-builders worldwide

[chuckskull]

Nice one, good to see MS seeing sense.

[Bob Crabtree]

Microsoft have just announced a change inteh licence terms for Vista :http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/wi...ing-terms.aspx

Looks like Microsoft listened

Thanks VERY much for the heads-up (I've been head-down all day and missed it).

It's really rather splendid that Microsoft did take note of the storm that the previous EULA generated.

HEXUS was just one of MANY sites that made a loud noise about the previous EULA but, in my view, the clincher wasn't what we or any other site said, it was what the folk in forums across the world said that will have really raised the eyebrows at Microsoft.

So, me thinks that all the people who posted here and on other sites need to give themselves a pat on the back - and tip their hats to Microsoft, too.

[Bob Crabtree]

On the downside:

* The restriction on partitions looks to remain, so you still, seemingly, won't be able to have different versions for different tasks on different partitions or drives on the same PC

* The Basic and Premium versions remain unable to run on virtual hardware, such as Parallels Workstation or VMware Workstation, even if that's running on top of the original Vista installation. Ultimate will still be the only one of the three retail versions to allow you to use Vista this way.

[chuckskull]

I can see the logic in the second argument as it is home premium. Virtualisation isn't really mum and dad buying a PC to surf the internet with territory, but equally still a kick in the nuts for anyone who wants to do it.

I wonder if it wil be unable to do it or just not allowed

[redlight]

If only Linux wasn't so foreboding to the casual user who just wants an operating system that works. That is what is needed to give Microsoft a kick up the arse.

I think Microsoft have thought of that. Just in case it does get easier to use maybe. A finger in every pie.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article...html?mod=blogs

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35525

[Gordy]

Well you both neatly sidestepped my point and then brought it back up again later in your post (kind of ) Anyway, yes, they do have copy protection it's linked to that ikkle TPM chip in your Apple hardware. It's that which the hackers fudge to get it running on generic hardware. It isn't that Apple are safeguarding _you_ by doing so, moreover it's driven by commericial considerations - i.e. they want to sell you their hardware _and_ software.
Price? More difficult than you think - people often point to the fact you have to pay for yearly upgrades - five of those for five years of XP being on the market shall we say? You elduded to why the 5 machine's price was so low - it's because you're buying the Apple hardware in the first place (often at a premium) and have already paid for licences for whichever version of OSX came with it..
Swings and roundabouts really, I don't think there's a lot in it either way (although we could argue the point ad infinitum pointlessly).

Perhaps I'll clarify - if Apple produced a version of OSX that wasn't linked to their hardware, would they be any less restrictive than MS? Again, I nudge you towards their history with DRM-ed music..

They have done away with the tpm chips now I believe, not sure on that though.

5 updates in 5 years is high I know but seeing as os x users have been given an os frankly far better than vista well before vista's launch suggests it was worth it.

As you said though it all swings in roundabouts, personally for some uses I prefer windows for others I prefer os x they both have their good and bad.

I use both everyday side by side.

[Synergy6]

i think you misunderstand. microsoft aren't penniless in the streets because of piracy - on the contrary, they're only as big as they are BECAUSE of piracy.

take office as an example. microsoft office: £300. lotus smartsuite: £75. pirated microsoft office: £0. no, the prices aren't current. they can't be - smartsuite's gone the way of the dodo, courtesy of the cheaper competing product (i.e. pirated office).

everyone's hooked on microsoft software now - meaning microsoft are free to raise prices and implement draconiam restrictions as they see fit, and it's too late to do anything about it.

remember, the first hit is always free

If you so desire, all hits from MS are free. In the last decade, how many major MS products haven't been pirated? How many are likely to remain unpirated in the next decade? (Answers: 0). The very point I was making in my post was that actually, the draconian restrictions are irrelevant. If you've pirated the software, you'll just bypass them anyway. If you've bought it legally, you're jumping through hoops to ensure you've done what you've already done. I know MS has benefited in a sense from piracy. My disagreement would be that MS can ever, or at least for the foreseeable future, actually bring out a product those who want to pirate will pay for. Personally, I don't see it anytime soon.

Synergy6