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."

The Register's coverage

[T.Hobbes]

The Register some critical coverage [theregister.co.uk] of the same matter. Seems this may be just a PR ploy

M$ sticking it to the customers again.

[LibertarianCrackSmok]

From the article: And here's another catch: You can't purchase additional family-use licenses based on a license of a Windows XP preloaded on a new PC. To take advantage of the family license, you'll need to buy a full packaged copy of Win XP. That's always been the plan, because most preloaded discs are already tied to a single PC, and that disc couldn't be used to install the OS on another system, according to Microsoft.

All this is is M$ once again sticking it to the customers, for corporations this makes since because there are a lot of computers that they would have to load Windows onto but for the home user this is crazy. Microsoft knows they have the home market in a choke hold and that's why they do this, you'll never see a second rate software maker like Apple do this.

Re:Big deal

[fishebulb]

yes this would save money but with there activation code bs it will become hard and harder. granted that code has probably been cracked or some workaround for it. but they are basically trying to kill the casual copying or loaning of disks. that really is irritating because i hate those Restore disks hp and gateway give you. i just want to install winders on my friends machine (well I would want linux, but they want windows) they dont want all that garbage. they paid for a copy of windows, so why cant i use my install disk, and their legal cdkey?

Re:Ooh, Ten Dollars.

[Tuxinatorium]

There's no additional cost to them whatsoever for someone to install another copy of windows, and they already make ten times what they need for R&D. The greedy bastards at MS are just gouging the market because they have a monopoly and many, many people are forced to use their OS. $90 instead of $100 for something with $0 marginal cost is still a bloody ripoff.

Re:CD manufacturing cost

[kimihia]

So you would have preferred a $0.87 discount instead of a $10 discount?

Oh no sirree, don't give me it that cheaply! Charge me the full $9.13 difference.

Emperor's New Clothes Syndrome

[NatePWIII]

At least that is what I call it, ok what are you really getting here, your getting the "right" to use their OS on another machine. Wow...

Come on, if your going to pay another $80.00 bucks at least M$ could provide you with a nice box, CD and manual and perhaps some little stickers etc...

I can hardly think of any industry where you pay 90% full price of a product and you see really no tangible "product". Granted this is the software business, but who is really saving money here, not the consumer really, only microsoft. The consumer is actually not saving anything, M$ is jacking them out of the CD, box, etc... so yeah... the price should be $10 less. Personally, I would rather pay full price for a totally new copy so I can have another backup CD of the OS in case I damage the first one.

I'm sticking with Win2k for now.

Re:A Case for Household Licenses?

[mgkimsal2]

Does anyone in your house take any college courses? You should be able to get very low Office copies there - last verbal report I got from someone was that an 'educational' version of Office could be had for something like $50 (might be a slight exaggeration, but I don't think by much).

This XP stuff WILL NOT CUT DOWN ON PIRACY MUCH, IF AT ALL. I don't know too many people that copied Windows or Office from their friends - it was most often from their employer. Take home 2-3 CDs at night, bring them in in the morning, no one knows anything about it. And since they're not putting this 'activation' crap on copies for large businesses, I'm certain large scale piracy will continue virtually unabated.

Mmmmm just like the big boys

[Anonymous Coward]

So Msoft has now decided that they are a a big computer company and can act just like any other vendor (you know sun/ibm/dec/etc)

Yup right to use. Ever dealt with DEC? Two parts existed there (Compaq modified it a bit) The right to use, and the right to the media. You pay a separate charge for both.

The right to use can be perpetual or annual. and is usually per cpu.

The right to use is often tied to the number of simultaneous logins. (and enforced via the os).

So big deal! it sucks. Big unix vendor still do this. I think it is a good thing that it is happening to home users. It makes the MS route look just like any other OS vendor route.

Funny that the big boys have pretty much all added some sort of "hobby" license over the last few years. Why? Cheap MS perpetual licenses (and more recently linux).

OOO the irony