On Fri, 2008-08-22 at 09:20 +1200, Daniel Lawson wrote:
It might be worth checking directly with Microsoft NZ and verifying this before jumping to conclusions. My understanding (from reading MSFT documentation about volume licensing in general, and from having been given some ex-educational computers in the past) is that the licence is only valid for employees / students of the organisation with the volume licence. If the computer is sold or donated the software licence is no longer valid. I'm not certain that the same applies if the student / employee leaves and takes a computer with them, but that would seem logical.
Further to this (and, I guess, contrary to my previous post):
http://www.msdnaa.net/emea/FullEnglish_documentation.aspx ... 2. Do students need to uninstall the software at the end of the course? No, students are allowed to keep the software they have installed, but they may not check out or download additional MSDNAA software unless they continue taking courses from a member department. Regardless, they are still bound by the terms of the MSDNAA License Amendment. The department is responsible for informing students of the usage limitations governed by the MSDNAA License Amendment, and the department should periodically remind students of those conditions.
Graham: I'd trust MS's documentation over the policy of an individual school.
True, and thanks for that link Daniel, it will be useful. I just grabbed the first one in my search that fitted. I think the critical factor is that a user can only continue to use it as a learning tool. If the user is no longer an eligible user then it is unlikely that it is being used as a learning tool.... Of course being an advocate of Lifelong learning.... :)
However, the terms of the MSDNAA do say you can't use the software for commercial purposes. So James, if you're wanting to install windows to have access to software you need for work, then this is still in breach of the agreement.
I think this thread is pretty well and truly done by now.
As much as anything it shows the mess that MS licensing policies cause. -- Graham Lauder, OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html INGOTs Assessor Trainer (International Grades in Office Technologies) www.theingots.org Open Opportunities ltd. Open Technologies Training and Migration Consultants http://www.openopportunities.co.nz http://openoffice.org http://www.opensuse.org OOoGear: For the Well dressed OOo Advocate http://ooogear.co.nz