Microsoft's Guide to Accepting Donated PCs

An anonymous reader links us to Microsoft's Guide to Accepting Donated Computers for Your School, which contains humorous statements such as "If a company or individual donates a machine to your school, it must be donated with the operating system that was installed on the PC. " It's just an amusing little read that basically amounts to keeping the license with the PC. Also neglects to mention the Naked PC discussed in this slashdot story.

Comments

Typical FUD (even baldfaced lies)

[CaptainPhong]

Some of the statements are factually wrong (unless you live in a Microsoft world where there is no such thing as a free operating system). Others are wrong even in the Microsoft world!

If I build my own PC and install Windows on it, I can give it to someone else and keep the copy of Windows as long as I remove it from the PC. This article implies that it is illegal for me to keep my copy of Windows if even if I give away the PC without it. If I install Linux, I can keep my copy and give away the PC with the OS still installed. Their statement is only true for pre-installed Windows (i.e. Dell installed it) where the license is tied to the particular PC.

All copies of the software on original disk or CD, including back-up and/or recovery materials
Manuals and printed materials
End-User License Agreement
Certificate(s) of Authenticity

This is misleading, and encourages institutions to only accept computers where these items all exist (i.e. MS operating systems). Such is not necessarily the case if, say for example, I installed Linux over the Internet.

Yes, once the machine and installed operating system is transferred to your school or institution you own the PC and the licensed software. You can upgrade via Microsoft Academic Licensing Programs...

Oddly, they neglect to mention that this also only applies to Microsoft software. What if the donated computer is a Mac?

These sorts of things are like Halloween documents that MS makes public INTENTIONALLY! You'd think they'd raise some eyebrows at the DOJ.

Click the feedback link and...

[Sheridan]

...send them a correction. e.g.

Dear "Microsoft Education",

Regarding the page:-

http://www.microsoft.com/education/?id=DonatedComp uters

This page contains absolutely incorrect information.

The relevant portions are quoted below:-

"...make sure that the hardware donation includes the original operating system software. Keeping the operating system with the PC is not just a great benefit - it is a legal requirement. "

and

"Q. Why should a donor include the operating system with their PC donation? A. It is a legal requirement that pre-installed operating systems remain with a machine for the life of the machine. If a company or individual donates a machine to your school, it must be donated with the operating system that was installed on the PC."

There is no such legal requirement. The only legal requirement is that the OS on the donated PC at the time of the donation must be a legally licensed copy and that the licence (and any media etc.) are transferred with the PC.

It is perfectly legal to deinstall the pre-installed operating system and replace it prior to donating provided that the donation includes any necessary license for the OS (and other software) included on the PC. Your page is (deliberately?) misleading on this point. I presume that this is to discourage the use of non-Microsoft (since who elses OS currently gets pre-installed by OEMs?) operating systems within schools.

I look forward to the page being corrected.

Regards

Re:Alternative guide!

[curunir]

I have a computer with a pre-installed version of Windows. It's a package deal. This Is Significant And Important (TM). I donate the PC to a school. The Windows license must accompany it.

If that were what Microsoft was saying, they might have a point...but when they say:

It is a legal requirement that pre-installed operating systems remain with a machine for the life of the machine. (first sentence of the first answer in the Q & A section)

They *are* being intentionally vague. It would be one thing for them to say, "A pre-installed operating system cannot be used on a different computer if the original computer is donated." The way that they've stated it makes it seem that installing a non-MS OS on a donated computer is illegal.

Microsoft is more than capable of constructing sentences that are anything but vague (ever read one of their EULAs?). The fact that they're not doing it here shows that they are intentionally trying to mislead people.