4 ms·
Don't they still charge a $100+ license for Windows? I have Windows 10 for games, but I haven't booted into it in months since Steam has been fantastic on Linux
by jjice 4y ago
Don't they still charge a $100+ license for Windows? I have Windows 10 for games, but I haven't booted into it in months since Steam has been fantastic on Linux (relative to it's past, it has some ways to go).
I'll be the classic Linux desktop optimist: the improvements over the last four years along have been fantastic and I really hope for a future when it can meet everyone's needs.
My OS shouldn't advertise to me. It shouldn't sell my data, or shouldn't do anything like that. It especially shouldn't harass me to log into the owning company's account. I shouldn't need any internet account to just use the OS (missing features relates the said account is obviously reasonable).
- whalesalad 4y agoThey do and it is absurd. I bought Win11 Pro from here for about $20, the price has since gone up a bit: https://www.vip-urcdkey.com/key/microsoft-windows-11-pro-oem-cd-key-global.html https://www.vip-urcdkey.com/key/microsoft-windows-11-pro-oem...
- michaelmrose 4y agoThis does not look at all legitimate
- whalesalad 4y agoI’ve purchased a handful of keys over the years. It’s legit.
- kube-system 4y agoThey’re OEM keys which are against EULA to use in this way. It might work now, but they could ban those keys later if they want to.
- Bellend 4y agoSerious question, unless you are some kind of business, does anyone fear the EULA for anything software?
- acherion 4y agoCan't fear the EULA if it's not even read <insert head tapping gif>
- Bellend 4y agoI mean that's it. Is it even something based in reality to expect a simple person to scroll through unknown and almost endless legalese and then expect to go to court because I broke the EULA and the judge would look at my life and tell me that I broke clause 44.24? It's never going to happen.
- kube-system 4y agoThey’re unlike to waste any resources on one unlicensed PC. But they might just pull a Google and disable everything and not answer the phone.
- Kye 4y agoThey don't need to send a compliance auditor out to your house if they can block the key.
- kube-system 4y agoEven if you don’t fear any legal consequences I guess you might still care about denial of service.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- dspillett 4y agoThey allow it though, because a cheap licence is better than non, and once you are using Windows you can be sold Office and various online subscriptions. Much like they turned a blind eye to a lot of piracy, particularly in some parts of the world, in the 90s and 00s. Though as I said in a post above, I bet they'd like to do away with Windows and concentrate on those subscription services (Office, everything Azure, etc) instead. Windows is no longer one of MS's cash cows on its own and has not been for a long time. I've used keys like that to upgrade Windows home on laptops to pro to get access to Hyper-V. I doubt they'd ever void those licences, the fallout would be too great, and they don't want that sort of ill will pushing people away from what really makes MS money.
- taspeotis 4y agoDepends what they are installing it on? If they built the computer themselves, I believe it's permitted as a "system builder." That said I did just Google it and apparently "system builder" is open to interpretation as to whether it includes home users building from scratch.
- gruez 4y agoI don't think they're even OEM keys (ie. the "system builder" ones that newegg sells). They're probably a combination of academic/bizspark/msdn/volume licenses that aren't permitted for everyday use.
- taspeotis 4y agoWell I have bought several OEM from other vendors before and I just ran slmgr to tell me: Name: Windows(R), Professional edition Description: Windows(R) Operating System, RETAIL channel Product Key Channel: Retail So grey market retail I guess.
- kube-system 4y agoAs I understand there are different types of OEM keys, system builder is one of those, but these really cheap ones are often not those.
- gruez 4y agoIt's "legit" insofar as "it's gets you a string that you can enter into windows and will activate". I doubt it would satisfy any legal requirements, although to be fair a home user probably wouldn't be very concerned about that.
- npteljes 4y agoIn Hungary you can get them as cheap as $7-$10, because of the EU regulation that you can't exclusively bundle hardware and software. Meanwhile the retail version is $91, for the cheapest Home version. Ridiculous.
- grujicd 4y agoProfessional is more like $200, and has all that crap as home version.
- dspillett 4y agoThe difference between home and pro is very small these days. Hyper-V, BitLocker, and Group Policy, are basically it. You can grab a cheap OEM licence to upgrade Home to Pro very easily for far less than $200.
- tsgagnon 4y agoDon't forget Remote Desktop.
- dspillett 4y agoGood shout. That and hyper-v are why I upgraded to pro (on the very cheap) on my main windows machine & laptop.
- tremon 4y agoWasn't it also true that the Home version can't connect to regular SMB/CIFS shares? There's a very faint bell ringing in the back of my mind about that.
- deely3 4y agoErm. No? I use it and I don't remember ads that I can't disable (honestly I don't remember ads in windows except in Edge but thats different story), or some tricky interruption on windows load. Upd: Im about win10.
- gtop3 4y agoI have a distinct memory of seeing an advertisement for a windows store game in the start menu of my copy of windows 10 professional in the year 2015. The widows license was $200. I hadn't used windows in years before, and I only used it briefly in 2015.
- ashwagary 4y ago>It shouldn't sell my data, or shouldn't do anything like that. It especially shouldn't harass me to log into the owning company's account Consumers didn't react harshly enough after the prism leaks. Microsoft has gotten the inch and is taking a mile.
- cdr 4y agoYou can get a technically-legal Professional license from shady websites for $20. Retail price is ~$140 for Home.