Microsoft Runs Out Of Windows XP Family Licenses

TrAvELAr writes: "'There is a backlog,' says Mark Croft, lead product manager for Windows XP. According to this article on IDG, Microsoft has underestimated it's popularity of the new Windows XP family license. In an effort to slow piracy within single households, Microsoft has introduced the family license which will allow the user to install multiple copies of it's Windows XP operating system at a slightly discounted price of a $10 savings. Croft also states that the savings reflects the cost of Microsoft not having to produce another disc."

Ooh, Ten Dollars.

[The Raven]

I don't think a ten dollar savings is going to stave off piracy on a 90+ dollar OS. Leaving off production costs is the START of sane pricing, not the END of a plan to give a price break for multiple purchases.

Re:Ooh, Ten Dollars.

[Anonymous Coward]

Obviously it is when people have bought all the licenses up already.

Re:Ooh, Ten Dollars.

[guusbosman]

I assume this 10$ discount wouldn't make a huge difference for many people deciding to buy or not buy. However, Microsoft makes a more 'friendly' impression offering a license like this one. I think there are many people who actually don't mind paying for licenses, and they would get a good feeling: 'wow, I just saved 10 dollar!'. So it's a matter of customer friendliness, not so much as anti-piracy policy.

So What?

[m_evanchik]

Why is everyone always bitching when Microsoft tries to milk its customers? The more people get milked, the more they consider their alternatives.

Let Microsoft double its price for the second installation and make software piracy a capital offense. I assure you that would increase the use of open-source software.

How could this be a hit??

[shankark]

Most families have 2-3 PCs tops. Why on earth would they want to have a family license when they can actually obtain individual licenses (+discs) for a mere 10-20$ more. Am I missing something here?

hmm

[mother_superius]

You know, this may very well true; but you have to wonder: is this true? It would be good PR for Microsoft. People love buying Microsoft even more than people guessed! The average person when reading this will probably think, "wow, people love buying the wonderful new Microsoft operating system! Maybe I should go out and buy it." Many companies have had press releases like that. If it backfires, they apologize and blame a scapegoat, and everyone forgets.

Ooh, Windows XP...

[digitalunity]

Why bother? I've found Windows XP to be less than 100% compatible with games. For the home user, compatability and useability rules. I've found Windows XP to be easy to use, but has some serious issues with a few games. These issues often require software developer issued patches to correct the issue. That's a lot of work for the casual non-technical home user. I simply don't recommend it. Why not stick with Win98? It is fairly stable, plays games like a champ, has much greater driver support, and is easily obtained.

Like the article stated, the average geek isn't going to like reactivating XP every time the change 6 components. There certainly could have been a better way to do it. It's just not the preferred OS in anybody's house.

Just my 2.

licensing poorly thought out

[47PHA60]

I am not sure why they could not could not have tied the activation scheme into a credit card system to allow you to purchase additional licenses at install time.

Just tell the SSL web page how many computers you want to install on, pay $10-$15 for each additional license (not $80), and receive an activation code that you transmit to the central server each time you install on a new machine (and will work up to the number of licenses you bought).

I seems foolish to charge $90 for the upgrade, then another $80 for each additional, since MS only needs to sell one CD per household. With the lower price, MS still makes more money than they would off of a pirated copy, and the customer gets a licensing cost that is only slightly more torturous than the MacOS or Linux.

Regardless of what one thinks of MS' predatory behavior towards other software/hardware makers, it's in any company's interest to carefully think out and plan their consumer sales channel. MS' scheme looks pretty half-baked, indicating that it waqs not well-planned, and that nobody who actually works for the company has ever actually been a customer, and seen what it's like.

Sounds like spin to me - Go Nintendo!

[192939495969798999]

How on earth do you run out of a (presumably) auto-incrementing license number? So you sell 10... give the next guy #11!! It's not that difficult. Heck, you could even do it with... MICROSOFT ACCESS! Wow! But does Microsoft know how to use its own software? Of course they do. So this can't be a software issue... it must be spin of some kind. I went to a popular electronics store, and they seemed to have a whole lot of Microsoft XP's sitting around... right next to the x-box'es. Go Nintendo!

PR Stunt?

[pen]

Does it seem weird to anyone else that MS would have a limited number of licenses on an OS? Isn't this just a serial number generated by a script/program within a few seconds?

"Wow, Windows XP is so popular, Microsoft ran out of licenses!"

Re:Ooh, Ten Dollars.

[TrAvELAr]

Heh.. had I ever spent $189 on a piece of software, I know I would chose the copy for $10 more that contains the media.

Importance of Piracy...

[Princess Firefly]

Especially for a monopolostic company, you need to understand how consumers use your software. As usual MS missed the boat. Back in the day (before I was enlightened) and I actually used Windows, one of the important things was that I could share it with my family and a few things, or vice versa. Or that when windows totally screwed up I could bring over a windows disk and fix their system. Even if I was still uninitiated into open source I'd be looking for a new OS if I had to phone MS to "activate" my software everytime I tried to fix it, reinstall it, or whatever (or else I'd be pirating a cracked version like crazy to everyone I know). Piracy allows a whole bunch of people to use something right away, if they like it, they give it to their friends or tell them to buy it or their friends just hear about them using it all the time. It builds up momentum and sets up this environment where a bunch a people are using the software and more people see that and then buy it. Some nice priates even choose to buy the stuff they pirate and like. I dare say a large number of games have gotten enormously popular riding fame based partly in piracy (unreal tournament?), not just making sure no one at all can use the software without paying. pf

Not $10 off $99. $10 off $199.

[kfg]

The family pack license is ONLY available on the full retail version of Windows XP. It cannot be purchased for the upgrade version.

Thus, to buy a family pack for two seats you must spend a minimum of $388.

Compare this to buying two over the counter upgrades for $198.

The family license itself, and the so called demand for it, is a pure marketing and PR ploy. It wasn't too hard for sales to be greater than expected, MS didn't expect too many people to actually go for this bugger at all!

Also note that demand isn't *consumer* demand, it's *retailer* demand. No telling how many of these are sitting on back room shelves, unasked for, and unloved, by actual retail customers.

As someone else has already pointed out The Reg has a good article on this.

KFG

Re:Enough of this Economic Model

[Eric Smith]

Wasn't Capitalism designed for the distribution of scarce resources?

Did it ever occur to you that one of the most scarce resources of all is the creativity to produce works that people want? Just because the incremental cost of reproduction of a work is negligible does not mean that the work has no value, or that it didn't cost anything to create.

It may be the case that someday all of the people who create digital works get compensated through some means other than per-copy payments (as some do today), but that's going to take a while.

In the mean time, if MS wants to charge money for XP, let them. MS has tried hard to keep you from having any other choices, but thanks to the combined efforts of thousands of people, there are some alternatives.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Intra-Family Piracy?

[kha0z]

Well, you bring some good points. I guess I should have calmed down and explained myself a bit better before shooting off my thoughts.

I understand that MS has every right to license their product however they please. I just personally don't agree with their licensing principles. Being a programmer myself, I choose to license my software under the GNU Public License. However, the company that I work for also has the right to license their products however they please.

Because I dislike how MS licenses their products, I personally choose not to purchase or use their products. This is simply my choice.

I thank you for your perspective. I apologize for pushing my emotions on the facts. The fact remains as you stated that they have the right to license their product however they chose; I have a right to chose not to use their product.