Ballmer: Don't Expect Simpler Licensing Soon 260
nk497 writes "Steve Ballmer has admitted Microsoft's licensing is too complicated and contains too much fine print, but has no plans to change it at the risk of angering shareholders — and even customers who benefit from the confusion. "I'm sure we have fine print we don't need. We're not saints," he said, adding that customers have a way of figuring out how to pay the least amount of cash possible to use Microsoft's software. "Customers always find an approach which pays us less money.""
Absolutly (Score:5, Informative)
Steve Ballmer is a whiner (Score:1, Informative)
Steve Ballmer is such a whiner.. Oh poor us, customers don't want to pay us /cry. Make a product customers actually want to buy and you won't have this problem!
Re:WTF? (Score:5, Informative)
He's talking about bulk-licencing customers. Corporations and educational institutions.
Re:Obligatory Open Source comment (Score:4, Informative)
Hell Yeah, Have you ever tried to buy a computer without windows on it? It is always cheaper to by a windows machine and wipe the OS then it is to buy a NoOS machine.
Retail Customers (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Ballmer: "We're not saints" (Score:5, Informative)
When was the last time Microsoft did something the customers wanted, instead of forcing them to "take it or leave it".
I've never been forced to. I upgrade/install on my own. Work/corporate environment is a different story, but at home I choose my OS.
When was the last time any Office application didn't brake file compatibility with previous versions.
Saving or reading? I just save in XP/2000/2007 format. Works fine, including with openoffice, which is what I use anyway.
When was the last time you felt like you actually own a Microsoft software product, and don't have to rent it AND justify yourself every time you need to install it on a new computer?
I've installed and re-installed XP many, many times. I have always felt like I owned it. I've installed Vista (and Windows 7, actually) multiple times with no problem. Yes, I "register" or activate it. No issues with it. Even the phone activation is quite simple. Some of my other software, like Sibelius [sibelius.com] gives me a much, much, much harder time with activation and whatnot. But it's good software and I like using it, so I deal with it.
Last time some Microsoft protocol didn't break compatibility with competing, or even older own protocols?
Like what?
I don't know, it feels like forever.
When was the last time you USED a Microsoft OS (or Office)?
Even MS can't understand it (Score:5, Informative)
It's remarkable really. Even MS support can't tell you consistently what you actually need to be legal for a given situation. Call three times with the same scenario and get three different answers.
Talk about business risks, you're just begging to have the BSA commandos sweep in and decide that whatever you guessed (or what MS told you to do) isn't correct and you are now a dirty thief who owes a pile of cash. No, thanks!
If they're going to get all bent out of shape about license compliance, the onus is on them to make it possible to know with certainty what you must do (and spend) in order to be compliant. Given that their own support people aren't sure, I'd say they failed miserably.
Re:Building PC's (Score:5, Informative)
Same here, until my last computer - that is.
Prebuilt consumer computers are really crappy. Take my latest HP Pavillion Quad Core as an example, after 1 month, the keyboard stopped working, after 3 months the wireless module went to wifi-heaven where little wifi things go (All wifi's goes to heaven, the movie), and after the 5th month, the DVD stopped accepting pretty much any DVD & games even though there where no dust. I'm just waiting for the next thing to break for no reason. At work it's the same thing, the pre-built one breaks down, not the ones I built - they still stand!
Re:Obligatory Open Source comment (Score:4, Informative)
DIY = CUSTOM build
The reason to DIY is because you need a config that DELL doesn't offer. Oh, like building a MythTV box with SATA Raid and hot swap cage for the HDs. Or even the proverbial "Gaming Rig".
However, if what you want is a computer for your house, then DELL (or HP or ...) is a completely viable choice.
The problem isn't DIY being "cheaper" it is that you can get a customized rig built the way you want for the purposes you need.
Re:Building PC's (Score:3, Informative)
Ditto here, from experience. My home brews just keep on going, and going, and going, while the pretty store bought machines that the wife likes fall apart. I don't buy the most expensive, highest quality parts either - just good, solid items with good reviews. The wife finally took a stab at her own home brew machine, without asking my advice. The result was only very slightly better than a store bought, because she didn't know which numbers to look at, and didn't take the customer reviews into account. Ehhh - she's learns slowly, but I think she's finally convinced that she should ask my advice next time around.
Step one: google for overclocking forums, visit them, and see what all the super nerds are using for mainboards. Choose popular mainboard that you can afford, then choose the fastest CPU you can afford for that architecture. Load it with memory, and proceed from there. Together, we've been burnt by a cheap mainboard more times than all other components combined. The uber-geeks have those boards figured out two days after the prototype hits the news! Using any of their top 10 favorites guarantees a good solid machine that will last a long, long time.
Re:Obligatory Open Source comment (Score:3, Informative)
Re:WTF? (Score:3, Informative)
Considering their fear of a non-MS generation of graduates, I suspect MS would pay YOU to use their stuff if your budget couldn't find that $4k.
Most corporations are considered "captive" and get very little in the way of discounts unless they have an Enterprise Agreement. MS has a wide variety of programs that look like volume discounts, but are in fact not discounts at all. For example, my company would routinely buy OEM copies of MS Works and keep the media kits in a storage closet. That enabled us to buy MS Office at the "upgrade" price instead of paying full retail for new machines. Try as we might, nothing short of an EA could come close to the pricing we could get via plain-old "bait-and-switch" retail products, purchased as quantity 1. OEM Office licenses are almost good enough, but there are hidden gotchas. Sometimes we would get PCs bundled with Works, and that made it even easier. Not sure if the loophole is still open, but MS' resistance to discounting (after all, why should they?) is what leads to creative purchasing.
The secret of software pricing is that the vendors have to find a way to soak the customers with deep pockets. There will always be someone with a big budget who would rather write a check than manage the cost of software. There are even some that think ANY price is worth paying so long as the productivity is there. Therefore, it is essential to extract maximum revenue from those who have a loose money policy. But there are some who threaten to disrupt the balance of power by shifting to Linux or OS X. Nowhere is this more critical than in higher education People who prove unwilling to pay top dollar have to be kept the fold without letting the big fish off the hook.
If you can't afford the Kool-aid, it will be discounted (or even donated). But whatever you do, drink up!
Re:Building PC's (Score:3, Informative)
Ditto here, from experience. My home brews just keep on going, and going, and going, while the pretty store bought machines that the wife likes fall apart.
They definitely can, but don't necessarily. I've had my share of dead components in homebrew machines over the years, that's for sure, and from reputable manufs. I've had ASUS and Intel boards just conk out. Not often, not all the time, but it happens, and it's no less annoying then, either.