As usual, the SKUs for Windows make very little sense. How are they going to restrict this version to make it less Windows than the full retail version? From the article it appears it will be one machine only. Which would be silly because that market is the one most likely to want to transfer that license to a new computer. People who get the full retail version tend to do so by buying a new computer and probably never transfer the license to another computer, even if they could in the first place.
Isn't this them just admitting that almost everyone has been buying the OEM version for this very reason and their just now slapping a more appropriate name to it?
I understand that Apple makes their money from the hardware so they can afford to practically give away the OS but I think they have the right idea on selling the OS. Cheap upgrade and it's valid on all the computers you own. None of this non-transferable, expensive license per computer in your household crap. It's why OS X people are more than happy to update as soon as possible while Windows people are more than happy sticking to an OS ten years old. It isn't worth it to upgrade.
I make my own machines (assemble would be a better term). What exactly would count as a new computer? I go around changing keyboards, drives, displays, processors, RAM, video cards etc, but very rarely all at once.
The last time I paid for Windows (outside of being forced to pay for it when getting a laptop) I got the "family" pack of Windows 7 which was 3 licenses so I was able to upgrade a laptop, workstation and a virtual machine. (Of course it was also considerable effort to install because Windows 7 can't upgrade XP and Microsoft installers assume that you are a thief.) I also only started doing the upgrade because I needed to produce 64 bit Windows binaries for my open source software (I'm a Linux user). Microsoft are going to have to try a lot harder to convince me to spend money and the considerable amount of time to touch Windows 8.
I think most of the time "new computer" means new motherboard. Which, if you change the motherboard for any reason then it'll likely end up in a call to Microsoft. The last time I had to do that it was a fairly painless procedure other than having to write down numbers and letters from a recorded voice.
Every time I have had to call up Microsoft I have gone through the automated process and it is pain since the voice recognition doesn't work. Then at the end it dumps me to a human operator where I have to answer questions (largely accusing me of being a thief), read out all the damn numbers again, and then eventually get a set to type in.
This is especially a problem if you end up with a faulty motherboard or similar, and so can end up doing several (re)installs trying to work out what the heck is going on. Thankfully it has been a while since I last encountered a faulty board.
>People who get the full retail version tend to do so by buying a new computer
nope, new computers come with OEM licenses, which have the same single-physical-machine restriction.
I can't think of a single situation where a full retail license of Windows is the actual license that somebody would need. It's for somebody who isn't building their own computer, isn't buying a new computer, and isn't upgrading an old windows computer. Mac Boot Camp users, maybe? I think the primary point of the $199 SKU is to tell people how much they're saving by purchasing a different version. they might as well price it at $999.
You are probably correct, I should have phrased that better. I do believe that in some cases you do get the full license but from the big names like Dell or Gateway you're probably getting the OEM version.
Isn't this them just admitting that almost everyone has been buying the OEM version for this very reason and their just now slapping a more appropriate name to it?
I understand that Apple makes their money from the hardware so they can afford to practically give away the OS but I think they have the right idea on selling the OS. Cheap upgrade and it's valid on all the computers you own. None of this non-transferable, expensive license per computer in your household crap. It's why OS X people are more than happy to update as soon as possible while Windows people are more than happy sticking to an OS ten years old. It isn't worth it to upgrade.