On Mon, 8 Oct 2001, Nadav Har'El wrote:
> > > Anyway, one education official was interviewed for the paper, and what suprised
> > > me the most was that he said that one of the worst things about your school's
> > > computers being stolen is that the insurance only covers hardware, not
> > > software, and they end up needing to get money to buy all the software again!
> > > One would assume that software companies would simply allow you to reinstall
> > > the same software on replacement computers (the installation CDs can be kept
> > > in a seperate safe place), without paying again - but apparently they refuse
> > > to allow that!
> >
> > This has nothing to do with the software companies. A software company has
> > no problem witha register user reinstalling without paying for another
> > license.
> > It's the "technicians" installing it who provide the mis-information, and
> > the customer not understanding that they are paying for a license to use
> > the software rather than for transfer of ownership of anything.
>
> I don't think you are correct. Remember, the school system is a big system,
> with a lot of money, lawyers, and so on. If "reinstalling" was legal they
> would have already figured it out, and refuse to pay the large sums of wasted
> money (which they cry about in the paper) to the "technicians".
Nadav,
I am correct, I followed the url given by someone else on this thread who
also though I was wrong, and found there the following link (to a 762k
rtf file):
http://www.microsoft.com/israel/piracy/license_nov98.rtf
It says explicitly that it's ok to buy just one set of installation disks,
and any number of licenses (license+disk costs more than just the
license), as long as the number of installations does not exceed the
number of licenses.
Education licenses are cheaper, and they are also non-transeferable to
non-educational organizations, in contrast with a private license, which
is trasnferable.
A non-transferable OEM license is for the OS only, so for the OS you would
be right, they need to buy another copy. There si no such restriction for
application.
For office applications, the primay user may install an additional copy,
on his/her own private laptop.
So having actually read MS's documentation on this:
1. For the OS itself - you were right.
2. For office applications - I was right.
and that whole no-insurance for software thing is a load of BS.
Thanks,
Uri
http://translation.israel.net
>
> IANAL, but I think that legally, when you buy some software (e.g., Microsoft
> Bob) you buy the privilige of installing it on one computer. As long as that
> computer is still running the software somewhere - regardless if it was given
> away, stolen, or whatever - you cannot legally install the software again on
> another computer. I assume the education ministry's lawyers already tried
> to find a loophole which will allow them to install software on replacement
> computers, but couldn't find one. If it was up to me (again, not a lawyer),
> I'd say that the thief is now running a pirated copy and I'm running the
> legal copy - but I guess the BSA goons probably don't agree.
>
> BTW, the situation is even more complicated by Microsoft monopolistic sales
> methods. Microsoft knows that (in Israel, but to a lesser degree also in the
> U.S) if people were given the choice they'd buy a computer without an O/S,
> copying Microsoft Windows from a friend (and saving a few hundred dollars).
> This is why they have the following deal (scam?) with computer sellers: they
> give the sellers MS-Windows for half (or whatever) price, if they sign a
> contract that more than 95% of the new computers they sell will have MS-Windows
> pre-installed on them. These sellers will then flat-out refuse any buyer's
> request to buy a computer without Windows on it, so if you buy a new computer
> from them you're stuck with having to buy Windows again.
>
> --
> Nadav Har'El | Monday, Oct 8 2001, 21 Tishri 5762
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] |-----------------------------------------
> Phone: +972-53-245868, ICQ 13349191 |If you lost your left arm, your right arm
> http://nadav.harel.org.il |would be left.
>
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