Microsoft's Licensing Policy

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

Just came upon this article in the Chronicle; excerpts are included FYI. 
Refer to your print or online sub for the complete story. This relates to
an aspect of licensing that not many of us library customers have to
contend with.  

Ann Okerson
Ann.Okerson@yale.edu
________________________

    [The Chronicle of Higher Education: Articles]

    INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    December 12, 1997

    [Image]

    University Officials Criticize Microsoft's New
    Licensing Policy

    By JEFFREY R. YOUNG

                             LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA.

    It was back to school for some Microsoft
    officials here last week, when university
    leaders explained why a new licensing policy
    would make some of the company's software too
    expensive for widespread campus use.

    The sometimes heated discussion took place at a
    meeting called by university officials upset
    with Microsoft's decision last month to cancel
    a licensing program that is popular in academe.
    The meeting took place at the annual conference
    of CAUSE, an association of college computing
    officials.

    The Microsoft program had allowed universities
    to pay for software based on how many people
    would use it at a given time, rather than on
    the total number of computers that would have
    access to it. For instance, a university might
    buy 100 copies of Microsoft Word, a
    word-processing program, and place them on a
    central "server" computer on the campus
    network. Students, professors, and staff
    members could use the program from any computer
    on the network, but the server would allow only
    100 users to open the program at a time.

    Under the new policy, the company will charge
    universities based on the total number of
    machines that can run the software. Some
    institutions estimate that they could end up
    paying five times as much under the new program
    as they do now.

	[SNIP]

    The decision has stirred widespread concern
    among computing officials on the campuses, and
    has been discussed at length on a mailing list
    for colleges' chief information officers
    (http://www.cause.org/member-dir/cg/cio.html),
    and in the hallways of the hotel here, where
    CAUSE held its annual meeting.

	[SNIP]

    Ms. Spain said Microsoft had decided to
    eliminate the old licensing program because
    there was "very, very low interest" in it. She
    said that business customers had called on the
    company to simplify its licensing plans, and
    that the decision on the licensing program was
    "not a way for us at Microsoft to gain more
    revenue."

    So why not keep the plan, administrators asked,
    for those who need it? Ms. Spain replied, "We
    are moving toward a per-P.C. licensing model in
    all industries, education included."

	[SNIP]

    ------------------------------------------------
    Copyright (c) 1997 by The Chronicle of Higher
    Education
    http://chronicle.com
    Date: 12/12/97
    Section: Information Technology

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