Slashdot Mirror
Windows 8 Gets Personal Use License For Homebuilt PCs
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Geek.com: "Microsoft has never really acknowledged or supported those among us who choose to build their own PCs. Windows licensing is usually offered in three forms: full retail product license, retail upgrade license, and OEM license. If you want to build your own machine at the moment, Microsoft expects you to buy a full retail copy of Windows. With Windows 8 that all changes and Microsoft has decided to actively support individuals who want to build their own machines or run Windows 8 as a virtual machine. That support comes in the form of a new license option called the Personal Use License for System Builder (PULSB). With PULSB, Microsoft is dumping the full retail license used in previous versions. Instead it is offering a version of Windows 8 to be installed as the main operating system on a single system meant for personal use, or in a virtual machine running on an existing PC (running any legal OS such as Windows 7, Mac OS X, or your favorite flavor of Linux)."
Or is Microsoft really desperate to get windows 8 to work?
I don;t know that this is as wonderful as the post would like to suggest. It's never been a problem to purchase and use the deeply discounted OEM versions for home-built PCs. SO, my first question is what does a PULSB license cost as compared to OEM. The second question is; will we still be able to purchase OEM?
Between this and the full product license?
so what's the difference then?
What do they mean by "legal OS", and how do they enforce that particular point ?
Hey! Here's an idea -- MS could bless WINE and sell each of the Linux users a license to run a full-on win32/64 library. Yeah!
Silly AC, only a religious organisation could bless wine. It'd have to be Apple...
This is a substitute for a clever sig that fits within the maximum number of characters.
If it's not free (beer) then it's not going to make much of a difference converting unlicensed copies into licensed ones. Home built PCs often use unlicensed copies of Windows, among people who are building PCs to run Windows and games at least. You're not going to convert those people to legitimate users unless you can meet the current price they are paying now--which is zero.
For personal use I don't know why anyone would pay for a copy of Windows, especially when it means taking money away from spending it on hardware. When faced with the choice of a "legitimate" copy of Windows or the next highest graphics card or CPU, people will always choose the hardware that provides tangible improvement. A licensed copy of windows is bit-for-bit identical to the unlicensed one and offers no improvement other than some vague (false) sense of moral correctness. And that's entirely based on the user's subjective opinions on software licensing and the morality of imaginary property.
So whom is this licensing option really going to be for? I don't see it going anywhere, unless the price is so low as to be negligible, but then they'd be undercutting their other more profitable licensing options.
If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
Since when is the system builder's license new? Am I missing something, because I could swear I have two of these (XP and 7)? They're usually about half the price of the full retail.
Although final pricing for Windows 8 hasn’t been announced yet, the PULSB license will definitely be cheaper than purchasing a full retail license and probably on a par with OEM pricing. It is also expected that pricing in general for the new OS will be lower than what we currently pay for copies of Windows 7.
Hmmm... "not announced yet", "probably", "it is also expected"
Sounds like a lot of maybes.... I'll wait for the real prices to see if Microsoft actually is on to something.
What is "assembling"? Instead of buying a shiny boxed retail/update version, I suppose I can unscrew a screw from my old pc, re-screw it on, and then get the reduced "self-assembler" price?
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
Oh, I can see why Microsoft would offer a new license:
- Personal -> they tie that your Windows-account, so you can't never ever sell it
- Single System -> they tie that to your PC configuration, so you can't change your GPU without upgrading to full version
I thought one of the biggest advantages to building your own computer was the ability NOT to pay microsoft for the privelidge of owning a computer. Sure there are one or 2 small places that allow you to buy a windows free, pre-built system, but usually with fairly limited selection of specs, and often no cheaper than a PC with windows installed (which tells me the company is probably paying Microsoft for the license, even though you aren't getting one (likely a bulk agreement where they pay microsoft per system sold instead of per license installed))
Building your own computer has, for years, been the only way to ensure you got your ideal machine, without having to also buy a windows license to run an operating system you already own, or are allowed to get for free.
I've built my own computers exclusively for nearly 20 years... though I must admit that I've slipped a bit here, I'm starting to look to a new computer now, and I haven't kept up with the latest news on components, It's not as easy as it once was to figure out which part is better than which other one, and without having kept up it's a bit of a daunting task to select the right parts this time... I'm debating just buying a pre-built system, but I don't really want to go that route after nearly 20 years of doing it myself.
The issue has always been with a lot of piracy. The fallacy is the company is competing with free, that isn't the case, the problem is the company is competing with easier to get. Microsoft with its different licenses where the rates that people are willing to pay they are technically not support to pay. Even the guys who do not want a pirated copy but an original would get the OEM off eBay (something we really shouldn't be doing)... However if we can get a good price for the OS a lot of us will be willing to get the fully legit version.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
That's why the ladies don't call you back the next day.
most shops would sell you the OS for purchasing any 1 piece of equipment which goes inside your case. [...] I upgraded the RAM in my laptop
Which isn't so good for people who want to run Windows on a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, which has almost no socketed parts. See the recent story about sealed-box computers
"But why would anyone want to run Windows on a Mac?" Developers who already have a Mac for developing Mac or iOS apps might need to dual-boot to Windows to test a web site in IE, port a Mac application to Windows, port a Mac game to XNA for Xbox Live Indie Games on Xbox 360, or port an iOS application to Windows Phone 7.
If I choose to run Windows as my primary OS I want the full monty, not something stripped down, and you just know MS has stripped SOMETHING out
Like the box and manual? That was the difference between the retail and OEM versions of Windows, and from the article it seems like this new PULSB release is just the OEM release by another name, as most system builders (if not using their work's volume licence key anyway ;) probably bought the OEM version this makes a lot of sense.
The point is apparently using the OEM version on your own PC wasn't technically legal, now it is.
Building your own computer has, for years, been the only way to ensure you got your ideal machine
Maybe your ideal machine. My ideal machine, on the other hand, can be used while I ride public transit. I don't see a lot of stores in my home town selling kits to build a laptop.
doesn't matter, had sex.
[A Mac user] might need to dual-boot to Windows to test a web site in IE [or] port a Mac application to Windows
The rMBP along with all other sealed or unsealed computers will be able to use the PULSB licence, which is supposedly going to cost about the same as the OEM licence. So where's the problem?
If one tests an application or web site only on Windows 8, then one can certify compatibility of an application only with Windows 8 or a web site only with those versions of Internet Explorer that run on Windows 8. I can see abandoning Windows XP in some markets, as security updates for that operating system will end in 20 months. But as of the second half of 2012, would it be acceptable to tell customers that Windows Vista and Windows 7 are not supported? I don't think so; I think it would constitute unacceptably limiting one's market.
But again - why the special mention of the Retina?
Because it's the case against damien_kane's recommendation of "purchasing any 1 piece of equipment which goes inside your case", and the article I linked claims that sealed boxes like the rMBP are likely to become more common.
Am I the only one
Probably. This is just an example of capitalism run amok. First they announce that you will have to have UEFI for new PCs with Windows "for security reasons". Then they offer a possibility to run Windows without it. Clearly, the only security M$ is interested in is the security of their wallet.
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
I've reinstalled my OEM copy of Win7 Pro probably 4 times now, and one of those was after a motherboard upgrade (and 2 of the others were hard drive swap outs). Also I believe my fiance reinstalled with my copy on his machine after he lost his copy. They really don't care.
I have always used OEM. Reinstall works perfectly, and you can upgrade anything you like. The only thing is if you upgrade something big like the motherboard, you won't be able to internet activate any more. You can still activate over the phone, however. The only times I had to speak to an MS rep instead of using the automated system, I explained that I upgraded my hardware and they said "OK", then helped me out. MS is actually really good about that stuff in my experience.
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
So far as I can tell from the hype, Windows 8 is supposed to be a dumbed down version of 7 optimized for the touch screens of tablets and phones.
People who build their own computers do not build tablets or phone, and typically want MORE OS than you basic user. They are more likely to want the Pro, or the Enterprise version of the OS, not the Home basic, and certainly not something limited beyond even that.
Sure some builder and makers play with some touch screens, usually for the front of some massive tower to control fans and lights and stuff like that, but not as an OS.
So MS is making a special version of the Windows 8 OS for "Personal Use". To me that tells me that it will probably be limited in someway that the others are not, particulary if it is cheap.
So a OS that is designed to be limited, and a version of that, that will be even more limited, for users who want more than normal? I might be guessing, but the demand for such a thing might be non-existant, which is maybe why they are doing it.
Though my interest is piqued for the personal licence anyway. The fact that they arn't ignoring us is something at least, even though perhaps their thinking may be wrong. We shall see.
doesn't matter, hand sex.
FTFY
To be honest, I don't understand why Microsoft doesn't just give away Windows for free as a loss leader. It sounds like they're headed toward selling software via the Microsoft store a la Apple's app store and Google Play, in which case they'll be getting a cut of all software sales. I can understand selling some kind of "business connectivity" package that contains the domain connectivity bits that companies require at a premium. They're even getting into the hardware retail business, as well as hammering hard on search (thus data mining and advertising), online services, console gaming, etc.
With their main operating system competitors a company that sells its OS as part of its hardware package (Apple) and a loose conglomerate developers that give away their operating system--and most of their productivity software--completely free (as in speech and beer), it just seems like it would be a smart move by Microsoft to completely embrace its alternative revenue streams and make a play to get legal copies of its core OS--and its connectivity to its software store where the real money is now--on every desktop, laptop, and tablet in the world. How many users, presented with the option of buying the MacOS upgrades for $20 or $25 a pop, would be mighty tempted to install Windows 8 on their Macs for free instead, especially if they know they won't have to pay for any more MacOS or Windows upgrades down the line? Microsoft could very well steal a chunk of market share from Apple on their own hardware.
The most frequent justification I see from Linux users (myself included) for using Linux is, "You never have to pay for upgrades to get the latest and greatest version again." Yeah, the free software is nice, but you can get free software (many times the exact same software--Firefox, LibreOffice, GIMP, Audacity, etc.) for Windows. Yeah, the principles behind open source are admirable--and make no mistake, I would continue to support them--but most average schmoes really couldn't care less that they can download and compile their own OS source code, and wouldn't have a clue how to go about it even if they did care.
From a purely business standpoint, I really think that giving Windows away for free is the best long-term strategy for Microsoft, and it would be perceived as a bold and welcome move by the industry as well as draw in a bunch more users who would then earn Microsoft money via software sales, advertising, and online services.
This isn't reddit folks.
Hope I'm wrong, but I think I might have found the catch.
It seems like this is a replacement for "full retail" and what they've really dropped is the "Generic, shrinkwrap OEM license" package which is what personal system builders used to buy (with debatable legality).
Unfortunately, I suspect that's also what the handful of nice PC makers who currently sell PCs with Windows as an optional extra offer. So maybe MS's plan is to throw a spanner in that - perhaps they'll have to sign up to a 'proper' OEM licensing deal with MS, and sell PCs with a "proper" vendor-customised Windows pre-installed (...and be 'discouraged' from selling bare PCs).
That would explain the otherwise convoluted wording "You may not install the software as an operating system on any computer except one that you are building for your own use or as an operating system running on a local virtual machine or a separate partition." when they just could say "You can install this on one computer, owned by you, for your personal use". (see the ZDNet article) and the demise of the Full Retail version. I can't believe that they want to stop people replacing the whole OS on their Mac or Linux PC with Windows, but it does make it clear that a PD maker couldn't sling one of these licenses in with an otherwise bare, but ready-made, PC.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.