Microsoft revises Windows Vista retail licence

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 3 Nov 2006 at 18:00

It's an important change from Microsoft for computer enthusiasts who customise and rebuild their PC's - Redmond has changed tack on allowing users to re-install Windows Vista without requiring them to purchase another copy.

Following pressure from user groups, Microsft's Windows division has now revised the retail license terms for Windows Vista. It will now allow a copy of Vista to be uninstalled and re-installed multiple times - as opposed to limiting it to one transfer.

Specifically, the terms regarding license-to-device assignment of the retail software have been changed with regard to the Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate Editions. You can read the new wording here.

The change is flagged by the Microsoft product manager Nick White in his Windows Vista blog.

'Our intention behind the original terms was genuinely geared toward combating piracy; however, it's become clear to us that those original terms were perceived as adversely affecting an important group of customers: PC and hardware enthusiasts,' he writes.

'You who comprise the enthusiast market are vital to us for several reasons, not least of all because of the support you've provided us throughout the development of Windows Vista. We respect the time and expense you go to in customizing, building and rebuilding your hardware and we heard you that the previous terms were seen as an impediment to that - it's for that reason we've made this change.'

The move will, he hopes, remove a potential barrier for those considering a Vista upgrade: 'I hope that this change provides the flexibility you need, and gives you more reason to be excited about the upcoming retail release of our new operating system,' he concludes.