5 ms·

I guess it depends on their segmentation strategy. If you have not read it already there is a great article by Joel Spolsky on this topic: https://www.joelonsof

I guess it depends on their segmentation strategy. If you have not read it already there is a great article by Joel Spolsky on this topic: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2004/12/15/camels-and-rubber-duckies/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2004/12/15/camels-and-rubber-... In this case it seems pretty justified to include this feature in the enterprise edition only.

cesarb 7y ago
Also relevant is this article (which links to that one) by Jeff Atwood: https://blog.codinghorror.com/oh-you-wanted-awesome-edition/ https://blog.codinghorror.com/oh-you-wanted-awesome-edition/
CamperBob2 7y ago
Great. How do I, a sole proprietor, buy this "enterprise edition?"
- vbezhenar 7y ago
  On ebay for $10.
  - CamperBob2 7y ago
    Ah, yes, the Virus Of The Month club.
    - vbezhenar 7y ago
      Virus in the product key? That's something incredible.
      - CamperBob2 7y ago
        True, I was thinking of software distributed on DVDs or ISOs. A stolen or misappropriated product key is almost as bad as a virus, though. It will work great... but only at first, until Microsoft notices that 50,000 customers are using it.
        blaser-waffle 7y ago
        I bet on some level they know and don't care. If you're buying a cheapo key off of ebay then chances are you were never going to pay the full price. Meanwhile they're still using the software, learning how it works, and growing the Windows ecosystem further. Vaguely like a loss-leader that gets people in the door.
    - klingonopera 7y ago
      Have you ever had that actually occur to you with software bought on eBay that's non-physical? I've bought numerous Windows 7 and a couple of Windows 10 keys, plus a few MS Office keys, never had any issues. Sometimes, the keys would require phone activation, but that was ages ago. Nowdays they just work. The providers give you a key that you can use to activate, and a link for the ISO, but that part is optional. The keys work with untouched ISOs, too. FWIW, I once downloaded the seller's ISO and compared the hashes, and they matched up. I may have to add, I live in Germany, which is part of the EU, and the courts here have decided key resale is completely legal and MS has to tolerate it. ["Volume license software may be sold individually"]: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.golem.de%2Fnews%2Fbgh-urteil-software-aus-volumenlizenzen-darf-einzeln-verkauft-werden-1412-111124.html https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https... [original]: https://www.golem.de/news/bgh-urteil-software-aus-volumenlizenzen-darf-einzeln-verkauft-werden-1412-111124.html https://www.golem.de/news/bgh-urteil-software-aus-volumenliz...
- jsjohnst 7y ago
  Sign up for a Microsoft small business account. Via that, you get a MSDN (or whatever they call it these days) subscription. Then you can download any version of the OS and get a license key from the same webpage to activate it.
  - sixothree 7y ago
    Any chance you have a link to this offering? Not seeing MSDN being listed as included with anything buyable.
    - jaywalk 7y ago
      Not sure if this is what the poster above was referencing, but here's an offering: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/pricing-details/ https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/pricing-details/
    - jsjohnst 7y ago
      Apologies, it seems the program was discontinued in 2018. Lookup details on Microsoft’s BizSpark program for more info. This program replaced it, but I have zero info besides knowing it replaced BizSpark so might not be comparable: https://startups.microsoft.com/en-us/ https://startups.microsoft.com/en-us/
  - vetinari 7y ago
    While you can download it from MSDN, and it will activate, check your licenses. In most cases, these licenses are intended for development and it is forbidden to use them in production.
  - CamperBob2 7y ago
    In the past, you weren't allowed to use MSDN distributions for everyday business purposes. Is that no longer the case?
Mirioron 7y ago
The problem is that there is no easy way for somebody to pay more to access this feature. You have to jump through hoops to buy it and you probably won't even get official support. Meanwhile the alternative to Windows doesn't cost anything monetarily. But at the end of the day, both of these aren't important factors yet. It's mostly a question of what OS the application you bought this CPU for runs on (or runs better on - Blender). The hardware is still expensive enough that people won't buy hardware like this "at random", but this is likely to change quickly.

cesarb 7y ago

Also relevant is this article (which links to that one) by Jeff Atwood: https://blog.codinghorror.com/oh-you-wanted-awesome-edition/ https://blog.codinghorror.com/oh-you-wanted-awesome-edition/

CamperBob2 7y ago

Great. How do I, a sole proprietor, buy this "enterprise edition?"

vbezhenar 7y ago
On ebay for $10.
- CamperBob2 7y ago
  Ah, yes, the Virus Of The Month club.
  - vbezhenar 7y ago
    Virus in the product key? That's something incredible.
    - CamperBob2 7y ago
      True, I was thinking of software distributed on DVDs or ISOs. A stolen or misappropriated product key is almost as bad as a virus, though. It will work great... but only at first, until Microsoft notices that 50,000 customers are using it.
      - blaser-waffle 7y ago
        I bet on some level they know and don't care. If you're buying a cheapo key off of ebay then chances are you were never going to pay the full price. Meanwhile they're still using the software, learning how it works, and growing the Windows ecosystem further. Vaguely like a loss-leader that gets people in the door.
  - klingonopera 7y ago
    Have you ever had that actually occur to you with software bought on eBay that's non-physical? I've bought numerous Windows 7 and a couple of Windows 10 keys, plus a few MS Office keys, never had any issues. Sometimes, the keys would require phone activation, but that was ages ago. Nowdays they just work. The providers give you a key that you can use to activate, and a link for the ISO, but that part is optional. The keys work with untouched ISOs, too. FWIW, I once downloaded the seller's ISO and compared the hashes, and they matched up. I may have to add, I live in Germany, which is part of the EU, and the courts here have decided key resale is completely legal and MS has to tolerate it. ["Volume license software may be sold individually"]: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.golem.de%2Fnews%2Fbgh-urteil-software-aus-volumenlizenzen-darf-einzeln-verkauft-werden-1412-111124.html https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https... [original]: https://www.golem.de/news/bgh-urteil-software-aus-volumenlizenzen-darf-einzeln-verkauft-werden-1412-111124.html https://www.golem.de/news/bgh-urteil-software-aus-volumenliz...
jsjohnst 7y ago
Sign up for a Microsoft small business account. Via that, you get a MSDN (or whatever they call it these days) subscription. Then you can download any version of the OS and get a license key from the same webpage to activate it.
- sixothree 7y ago
  Any chance you have a link to this offering? Not seeing MSDN being listed as included with anything buyable.
  - jaywalk 7y ago
    Not sure if this is what the poster above was referencing, but here's an offering: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/pricing-details/ https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/pricing-details/
  - jsjohnst 7y ago
    Apologies, it seems the program was discontinued in 2018. Lookup details on Microsoft’s BizSpark program for more info. This program replaced it, but I have zero info besides knowing it replaced BizSpark so might not be comparable: https://startups.microsoft.com/en-us/ https://startups.microsoft.com/en-us/
- vetinari 7y ago
  While you can download it from MSDN, and it will activate, check your licenses. In most cases, these licenses are intended for development and it is forbidden to use them in production.
- CamperBob2 7y ago
  In the past, you weren't allowed to use MSDN distributions for everyday business purposes. Is that no longer the case?

Mirioron 7y ago

The problem is that there is no easy way for somebody to pay more to access this feature. You have to jump through hoops to buy it and you probably won't even get official support. Meanwhile the alternative to Windows doesn't cost anything monetarily. But at the end of the day, both of these aren't important factors yet. It's mostly a question of what OS the application you bought this CPU for runs on (or runs better on - Blender). The hardware is still expensive enough that people won't buy hardware like this "at random", but this is likely to change quickly.