Our Centre bought 10 licences to XP from Microsoft -- their
service for charities is advertised via Tech Soup, but it is
not formally Tech Soup. Could that be the source of this
confusion? (the copies of XP work fine...and seem to have
all features functional)
David
David Langille, Director
CENTRE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
489 College Street, Suite 303
Toronto, Ontario M6G 1A5
Tel: 416-927-0777 x225 Fax: 416-927-7771
Toll free: 1-888-803-8881
Email: langille socialjustice.org
Website: www.socialjustice.org
-----original message-----
>>I know that technically the copies from Tech Soup
are supposed to be upgrades only but over the last
year I've installed over 50 copies of Tech Soup's
Windows XP and any one of them allowed booting to
the CD and performing a format and install. Now, we
also have our own copy of volume licensed media so
I may have used that instead with the proper Windows
license so can anyone confirm that it's possible
to boot into the Tech Soup copies of Windows XP?>>
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-----original message-----
>>Could that be the source of this confusion? (the
copies of XP work fine...and seem to have all features
functional)>>
Unfortunately Microsoft licensing is so difficult to
comprehend that it takes a graduate degree in intellectual
property to make sense of it all. :-/
Here's a brief primer on Microsoft's software distribution
model.
License versus Software
The "license" is the contract with Microsoft
which describes the way in which you may use the
"software". If the software works just fine
every day of the week, but the license says you may only use
it on Tuesday afternooons, then you are only permitted to
use it on Tuesday afternoons.
Sometimes the software has features to enforce the terms of
the license, and other times it is up to the purchaser to
know and abide by the terms of the license.
Three Types of License
There are roughly three ways to obtain Microsoft software:
OEM - "It came on my computer."
The software is already installed on a computer when you buy
it. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer.
Sometimes the license stipulates that the software is tied
to the particular computer it shipped on. So if the computer
comes with a CD for reinstallation, you are not permitted to
install the software on another computer. If you want to
install the software on another computer, you must purchase
a separate license to do that. Microsoft OEM software
usually has a license activation feature to help enforce the
terms of the license.
FPP - "I bought it in a box somewhere."
FPP stands for "Full Purchase Product",
sometimes referred to as "retail". When you buy
a box at a store like Best Buy or from an online vendor, you
get a license, a CD, maybe a booklet. One box usually equals
one license. This type of software also usually requires
activation online to prevent the software from accidentally
or intentionally being installed on more computers than the
license permits.
Volume License - One CD, many licenses.
Microsoft has several volume licensing programs, aimed at
different markets. The volume license program used by
Microsoft to donate through its partner TechSoup Stock is
called Open License. It is so named because the terms of the
license agreement are (usually) "open" in that
you may add more licenses to your agreement at any time.
This is sometimes confusing because the license agreement
obtained through TechSoup Stock is not actually open in this
way.
With Open License, you receive one copy of an installation
CD, and a corresponding installation key. This CD contains
the enterprise edition of the software, and does not have an
activation feature to enforce the terms of the license
agreement. The installation key can be used an unlimited
number of times, but Microsoft intends it only to be used as
many times as the accompanying license permits. Which means
it is quite easy to intentionally or unintentionally install
the software on many more computers than one has licenses
for.
Upgrade CD versus Upgrade license
The software most of us have the greatest familiarity with
is OEM software (it came on my computer) and FPP software (I
bought it in a box).
If you buy an upgrade version of Microsoft Windows XP in the
store, the installation CD has a feature that prevents it
from being installed on a blank computer. Usually there
needs to be some earlier version of Windows already
installed in order for you to apply the upgrade. Similarly,
the installation CD for an OEM copy of Windows XP cannot be
used to perform an upgrade--because it may only be used to
install Windows on a new computer offered for sale.
The installation CD you receive with a Volume License order
for Windows XP does not have these restrictions. You can use
it to perform an upgrade, or use it to perform a full
installation of the software. It's a generic installation
CD--it has no idea what the terms of the license are with
which it shipped.
TechSoup Stock's Windows XP Upgrade
The version of Windows XP offered through TechSoup Stock is
called an "upgrade" because the terms of the
license stipulate that in order to install the software on a
computer, that computer must be associated with a fully
licensed copy of an operating system which is eligible to be
upgraded.
That matching up of a full license and an upgrade license is
not a technical process. It doesn't happen on the computer.
It's an administrative procedure. Each organization
licensing software through any volume license program is
responsible for keeping track of how many times the software
has been installed, what the type of the license is, whether
it was an upgrade license and if so, what full license the
upgrade is associated with.
Information about which operating systems are eligible for a
Windows XP Professional upgrade under the volume license
program is available in the document titled "Microsoft
Volume License Product List," which is regularly
updated. The document is in Microsoft Word format and can be
downloaded here: http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resour
ces/downloads/default.mspx#EBB
The salient bits:
Customers who wish to acquire the Windows XP Professional
Upgrade license
> through the Select License and Open License programs
must first license a
> qualifying operating system for their personal computer
or workstation. The
> qualifying operating systems are:
> • Windows XP Professional (32 bit or 64 bit)
> • Windows XP Professional Blade PC Edition
> • Windows XP Professional Reduced Media Edition
> • Windows XP Professional N
> • Windows 2000 Professional
> • Windows NT Workstation 4.0 or 3.51
> • Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows Millennium
Edition, and Windows XP
> Home Edition
> • Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups 3.x
> • IBM OS/2
> • Apple Macintosh
> • UNIX: SCO (Xenix, UnixWare), Hewlett-Packard
(HP-UX), IBM (AIX,
> 4680/90), Digital (Ultrix, OSF/1, Digital UNIX), or SGI
(IRIX).
> Any operating system not listed above is not a
qualifying OS, for
> example:
> • Embedded Systems (e.g. Windows 9.x for embedded,
Windows XP embedded)
> do not qualify for the Windows XP Professional Upgrade.
> • Linux does not qualify for the Windows XP
Professional Upgrade.
> • Windows 2000 Terminal Services Client Access
License does not qualify
> for the Windows XP Professional Upgrade.
>
But nonprofit organizations shouldn't feel bad if all this
is confusing. Even big corporations have a hard time
understanding Microsoft's licensing terms. As this somewhat
snarky 2002 article from The Register illustrates.
"MS plays volume licensing upgrade card against Naked
PCs" http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/08/2
7/ms_plays_volume_licensing_upgrade/
This is particularly ironic (in a sad way) because the very
organizations Microsoft is trying to help by donating
software are exactly the same organizations which are least
prepared to deal with complex volume licensing requirements.
:-(
I hope this this is all helpful and does not muddy the
waters even further.
Best regards to all,
Zac
--
Zac Mutrux Consulting
(415) 359-3781
Note: I use this email address primarily for email
newsletters and
discussion groups. If you wish to contact me directly,
please email
zacmutrux.com.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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