Is Microsoft criminalizing users?
The Internet has been buzzing over the last few months with discomfort about various new controls and impositions placed on the user in the different versions of Vista.
We realised that like many users, we really hadn’t spent much time (OK any) looking at the End User License Agreement (EULA).
What we did find when we read the EULA of the home premium version (the version most home/Soho power user will use) was a surprise.
As users of Apple’s new Intel computers we were happy that we could use virtualization software like Parallels to run windows software at the same time as our favourite Mac programs.
Well that’s no problem when you buy a copy of Windows XP, but if you want to install the latest Vista Premium software (costing $270) there are problems.
No problems installing, it installs on Parallels like a dream. No problems with performance – as long as you have the latest, fastest Intel chips (as on the PC) its fast enough.
No – the problem is that – IF – you read the EULA, you will realise that you are committing a crime – you are in violation of the EULA. Specifically the EULA states (on page 11 of 14) that
4. USE WITH VIRTUALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES. You may not use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system.
Next question is what to do? Well according to Microsoft the answer is simple, you’ll need to buy the Business Version of Vista ($299) which does allow you to use the software on Parallels or any other Virtualization product, but comes with stern warnings about accessing data on any Microsoft DRM’d data.
f. Use with Virtualization Technologies. You may use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system. If you do so, you may not play or access content or use applications protected by any Microsoft digital, information or enterprise rights management technology or other Microsoft rights management services or use BitLocker. We advise against playing or accessing content or using applications protected by other digital, information or enterprise rights management technology or other rights management services or using full volume disk drive encryption.
We looked into Open Source solutions a few weeks back, specifically technology such as Linux – we suspect that Microsoft’s very heavy handed control of what the user can or can’t do will drive more end users and corporate MIS managers into the arms of Linux and GPL software over the next few years as these people look to update from Windows XP.