- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
A very good article and striking right at the heart of the matter. I agree that if I am expected to pay a ridiculous sum I should "OWN" the software. Or more to the point, I should own the right to use it, for the lifetime of the product. I should have the right to resell it if I so choose. No software other than Windows that I know of has such a restricting policy. I understand that Microsoft wants to fight piracy of it's products and they have that right. But using that as an excuse to basically "rent" the software out is ridiculous. Especially at the prices it wants for a rental(albeit a rental with an extremely long time frame).
If they wanted 6 bills to truly own it(ie.. to be able to reinstall as often as I want, with unlimited reactivations, regardless of hardware changes), I would pay it. But $400 for what amounts to a two computer(or major upgrade) rental is just too much.
Unfortunately, this is going to be one of those times when we are going to get drug along by the inertia of the OEM market. As long as there are more sixpacks buying dells than enthusiasts buying of the shelf parts, we can't win. Microsoft no longer has to worry about us. They can sell what they need through the OEM's and make us pay for our habits. Since we account for less than 5% of the market, our screams of protest amount to the buzzing of mosquitos.
If they wanted 6 bills to truly own it(ie.. to be able to reinstall as often as I want, with unlimited reactivations, regardless of hardware changes), I would pay it. But $400 for what amounts to a two computer(or major upgrade) rental is just too much.
Unfortunately, this is going to be one of those times when we are going to get drug along by the inertia of the OEM market. As long as there are more sixpacks buying dells than enthusiasts buying of the shelf parts, we can't win. Microsoft no longer has to worry about us. They can sell what they need through the OEM's and make us pay for our habits. Since we account for less than 5% of the market, our screams of protest amount to the buzzing of mosquitos.