MS Licensing

[pollux0]

I was reading an article that conatained info about licensing issues:

http://news.com.com/2008-1082_3-5065859.html?tag=lh

; particulary this section:
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How did that happen?
We pass our old computers down. The guys in engineering need a new PC, so they get one and we pass theirs on to somebody doing clerical work. Well, if you don't wipe the hard drive on that PC, that's a violation. Even if they can tell a piece of software isn't being used, it's still a violation if it's on that hard drive. What I really thought is that you ought to treat people the way you want to be treated. I couldn't treat a customer the way Microsoft dealt with me...I went from being a pro-Microsoft guy to instantly being an anti-Microsoft guy.
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Can someone please explain what he is talking about? What exactly was the violation in terms of "if you don't wipe the hard drive on that PC, that's a violation"? If I buy a pc with MS Windows installed on it and I give the computer to someone else..Is this a violation?

 

[hdingman]

I'm guessing, but I think the "wipe the hard drive on the pc" refers to restoring it to its original out-of-the-box condition. If there is other software installed on the machine (a "given" on engineering machines) then it needs to be uninstalled before the machine goes somewhere else.

Since it's usually a hassle to uninstall everything engineers have put on their workstations, it's easier to wipe and start over. Most systems came with a "factory restore" CD that will write the like-new image back on to the hard drive in just a few minutes.

Under the terms of most licenses, if the engineer reinstalls everything onto the new PC but has not uninstalled it from the old machine, it's a violation of the license agreement, even though the next user will never use that software. (How many clerical folks would ever use a Fourier-analysis or a CAD/CAM program?) If it's left on the old machine, it's not supposed to be installed on the new one.

Another hitch is "bundled software." Most software sold as a bundle must remain with the original machine. Even though you may have only 1 copy installed and running, if you installed it on a different machine than it originally came on, it may be another licensing violation. This is a biggie with software you find at computer fairs - much of it is unbundled, and is not supposed to be sold separately. Kind of like the "This item is not labeled for individual sale" sticker you'll see on the ketchup bottles in the warehouse-club pack. OK to sell together, but not one at a time.

Another variation of that is OEM software. You may have a legitimate copy of Win-98 that came on your Compaq, but it's a violation of the license agreement to install that same copy of Win-98 on your homebrew system, even if you have the Compaq and wipe the old disk clean. The bundle was sold with one system, non-transferrable except as installed on the original system.

BTW, if you really want to get heartburn, go to Windows Update and read the entire text of the EULA you accept when you download the updates. If you understand it, you'll feel sick. If you don't understand it, just remember that Microsoft's lawyers took on the federal government . . .

and won.