The news
Microsoft has reacted
swiftly - and positively - to remove one of the restrictions in Windows Vista's end
user licensing agreement (EULA) that has caused worldwide
condemnation
by PC enthusiasts. A change of wording in the EULA - and, presumably, of the
copy-protection technique used by the forthcoming operating system - now means that it will be
possible to install the retail version of Vista on more than
two PCs in succession.
Consequently, PC hardware enthusiasts will be able to move a single
copy of Vista through a series of new or upgraded PCs, not just from
one PC to one other.
The announcement was made on the
Windows
Vista Blog by Product Manager Nick White - his
statement is carried in full on page two - and the new wording is to be
found in the
EULA
under part a of section 15, which is headed, REASSIGN TO
ANOTHER DEVICE.
This now reads,
a.
Software Other
than Windows Anytime Upgrade. You may uninstall the software and
install it on another device for
your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices.
Beforehand, it read,
a.
Software Other
than Windows Anytime Upgrade. The first user of the software may
reassign the license to another device one time. If you reassign the
license, that other device becomes the “licensed
device.”
On the downside, though, having read Nick White's statement
closely and done a word-for-word comparison between the
original
EULA and the new, it's clear that two of the three original
mean-minded limitations in the EULA detailed in our recent
HEXUS.opinion
are unchanged:
* The restriction that
sees partitions on a single hard disk treated as
separate
devices remains. So, seemingly, you still won't be able to set
up
a single copy of Vista on different partitions or drives on the
same PC. Consequently, you'll have to buy a copy for each
boot partition or boot drive if, say, you wish to have one of version
of Vista carefully optimised for heavy duty tasks such as video or
sound editing and another set up for more general use.
* The Basic and Premium versions remain unable to work on
virtual hardware - such as Parallels Workstation or VMware
Workstation - even if that application is 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.
HEXUS was one of many sites that made a loud noise
about the previous EULA - see the HEXUS.opinion,
Microsoft
Vista EULA spits in the eye of self-builders worldwide.
However, in our view, it won't be what we or other sites have said that
will have really raised the eyebrows at Microsoft, it'll
be what
the PC enthusiasts have said in related forum threads across the world.
So, all the people who made postings to our
HEXUS.right2reply
forum
- and on other threads elsewhere - need to give themselves a
pat
on the back and then, as a little thank-you, tip their hats to
Microsoft.
But, we reckon the job's not quite over yet. It's also our view that
Microsoft should have removed the two
other restrictions
we've mentioned - and still needs to do so before the operating system
goes on sale in the new year, the more so when the three
retail
versions of Vista are all going to be so unreasonably expensive.
Amazon UK is taking
advance
orders for Vista,
quoting £155 (US$296) for Home Basic; £190 (US$363)
for Home Premium; and a quite outrageous
£325 (US$620)
for Vista Ultimate.
Actually, and stating the bleeding obvious, what Microsoft also needs
to do is make significant cuts to the proposed prices of those
Vista retail products.
If you agree (or indeed, disagree), then do make a point of letting
Microsoft know by posting to
this
thread in the HEXUS.right2reply forum
and to any relevant threads on other sites you normally visit.
And
don't forget also to comment to Nick White's
Windows
Vista Blog, which you can read on page two...
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all
Microsoft articles
External.links
Windows Vista Blog -
News:
Revision to Windows Vista retail licensing terms
Microsoft -
EULAs
for all software
Parallels -
Parallels
Workstation home page
VMware -
VMware
Workstation home page
Amazon UK -
advance
orders for Vista
HEXUS.right2reply
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