On Jan 13, 2:58 am, Thufir <hawat.thu...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:16:39 -0800, Rex Ballard wrote:
> > Even Linux users found that the XP license had benefits. By purchasing
> > a PC with an OEM XP license, Linux users could use Linux to access the
> > desktop interface of other XP systems and Windows 2003 servers. They
> > could call the Windows XP libraries from the WINE library, and they
> > could use XP as a virtual client.
> You need a copy of XP and a license for this?
Yes, you do. The XP EULA and Windows 2003 EULA specifically require
that any machine used to remotely access the desktop interface be
licensed for Windows XP. The irony is that Microsoft added these
clauses to the Windows XP license (compared to the Windows 2000
license) in direct defiance of Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling
and interim remedy. They continue this license clause defiance of a
clause in the settlement which forbade Microsoft from interfering with
OEM attempts to market Linux.
The clause was originally an attempt to prevent white-box Linux users
from remotely accessing Windows PCs that might be hidden under the
desk or even in a back room somewhere. Instead, it make it more
desirable to order new PCs with XP licenses even if the ultimate
intent was to install Linux on the PC. Since OEMs already had to
order bulk quantities of Linux, usually substantially more than they
actually needed, to get reasonable discounts, the OEMs didn't actually
have much of a problem with this. The big reason for the OEMs liking
this new license was that most White Box producers were making
machines that didn't have Windows licenses, and as a result, were much
less expensive as Linux PCs. If you could only use a Linux machine
that was licensed for Windows XP, that meant that corporations would
be more inclined to buy OEM produced machines from Microsoft partners
rather than from companies who sold White Box computers that had only
Linux installed, or no operating system at all.
OEMs could still alert Linux users that their top products supported
Linux by announcing that these PC lines could be purchased with Linux
preinstalled, which let anyone who wanted a machine that could be
configured Linux easily.
The strategy kept Microsoft happy because it allowed them to sell lots
and lots of XP licenses, even to people who didn't actually want XP.
It kept the OEMs happy because it gave them a competitive advantage
over White Box makers. Judge Kollar-Kotelly couldn't really act
because nobody who was important was complaining, and the DOJ and the
states weren't asking for any ruling.
Microsoft made a big mistake with Vista though. They decided to
prohibit many additional uses, and attempted to forbid any use of
Vista Home Edition as a secondary system to Linux. Microsoft appears
to be trying to force Linux off the desktop, but the result seems to
be that the market for Vista Home Edition has collapsed. On the other
hand, Microsoft is cleaning up on Vista Business Edition, which gives
OEMs the ability to ship PCs with XP Professional, under the original
XP license terms.
> -Thufir
Rex
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