Re: Use my original COA ( CD-KEY) in my Toshiba laptop

Allan,

I built my own system, so my costs were fairly low, my entire system was
around $600. When building your own system and buying an OEM copy of MCE,
you are buying the same license that any PC makers buys. The difference in
cost is merely a question of volume (buying a single OEM copy and not the
thousands that Dell might buy). In essence, you are the builder and are
assuming responsibility for support, MS has never sold a "retail" version of
XP MCE.

Even when going this route, you still are saving money; in the U.S. a single
OEM MCE license sells for around $120. Since there is no such thing as a
"retail" version of MCE to compare the price against, you can contrast this
price to a retail copy of XP Pro (around $300). Now that Vista Home Premium
is out, you could buy a retail copy and get support for the Media Center
features from MS or get Vista pre-installed on an off-the-shelf system and
get your support from the PC maker. Although not exactly the same: if you
buy a new Audi and it comes with their pre-installed Blaupunkt sound system,
you probably can't call Blaupunkt for support, you have to go through Audi.
The same applies to original tires on a vehicle, the automaker assume
responsibility for the original set (and they get them at a deeply
discounted rate because of that arrangement).

What a manufacturer ultimately charges for their system is not driven by the
OS cost very much. Aside from the added cost of a tuner/remote addition (and
possibly beefed-up specs), the PC makers are simply playing the supply and
demand game when pricing their MCE system. In fact, their OS cost is
probably cheaper per copy of MCE than for XP Pro (which is essentially the
same OS).

I completely agree that you should get better support and options for fixing
problems (and that should come with any PC). The quality of tech and other
after-market support is something to consider when buy a PC (or a car, cell
phone, etc.). Again, my point is, this is beef with your particular PC
maker. If you buy a Dell PC, for example, with MCE or whatever OS, you get
an honest-to-goodness CD with the OS on it. Granted, the COA is still tied
to the Dell system and can't be used to load Windows on another system (per
the license), but you can stick it in the CD drive, boot from it, do a full
install, to a repair install, use the recovery console, partition, expand
individual files, etc. just like it was right from MS. I also have cheapo
E-Machine PC's here at work that came with bootable Windows CD's that allow
the same features. Recovery partitions and all-or-nothing installation are
not an absolute with pre-built PC's, although more and more makers have gone
this route unfortunately.

I'm not necessarily defending MS or claiming they should not offer some
other/better route for help and support, I'm merely saying that the
situation you have run into is not endemic to all MCE systems or mandated by
MS.
--
James
Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), Florida



"AllanF" <not.known@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OiK$oqPfHHA.1216@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jaime,

I don't know how much you paid for your Media center PC if you have one.
Mine was the most expensive Laptop on the General Consumer Market at the
time. Over US$300 more than others with similar specs. Admittedly, mine
had a TV Tuner and IR Remote.

Are you trying to justify that none of the money I spent went towards some
form of Support? Apart from the lack of functionality such as
Slipstreaming, OS Repair, Partitioning, etc, Support seems to be the
principal difference. There was a One-Year Warranty from the Computer
Manufacturer which was pretty meaningless when all the faults were
OS-related and the only response was to Reinstall the OS from the Recovery
Disc.

AFAIK, there is no Support provided with the only other alternative, the
so-called OEM Version. So where is the difference in cost?


"Jaime" <nospamfor-jaimelobo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uwKzBSPfHHA.5044@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Allan,

I did point out earlier that one key difference in Licenses is cost. An
OS license puchased with a pre-built PC is literally pennies on the
dollar compared to the $300 you might pay for a full a retail copy. So
why would you expect to have the same rights, that you would with the
retail copy.

Maybe if enough people felt that they would like a full license with
their new Dell or Sony or whatever, the manufacturers would make the
option available with their new PC, but I thnk very few people would be
willing to pay $100 more for their system.
--
James
Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), FL

"AllanF" <not.known@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uWvlIQOfHHA.5052@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Nigel,

The substantial difference in Licenses has not been pointed out. You did
respond to an earlier enquiry, but the OEM License must accompany
hardware (at least in theory)... no different to the EULA. I assume that
there must be a difference in terms, and I'm glad you picked up on my
rant. Perhaps you can point me in the direction of a copy of the Licence
issued separately that you mention. In my searching, I've hit a few
locks:
http://www.microsoft.com/oem/sblicense/Licensing_AntiPiracy.mspx



"Nigel Barker" <nigel@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:gvpr13tc73cjepiifcffk9iel2vba4ptmr@xxxxxxxxxx
On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:27:55 +1000, "AllanF" <not.known@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

It is disgraceful that MS and the
Manufacturer force you to pay for a Brand-New Licence, even though you
paid
for the Exact-Same Licence when you purchased the Media Center
Computer.

It's probably been pointed out by others but you did not buy the
'Exact-Same Licence' when you buy
the license with a computer as when you buy the license separately.
--

Cheers

Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur
MCE MVP








.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Use my original COA ( CD-KEY) in my Toshiba laptop
    ... And BTW, this is not unique to MCE, this is same arrangement that exists ... It just boils down to simple economics, if you want the support, ... support from MS and a $2,500 price tag, in part because of the cost of the ... you are buying the same license that any PC makers buys. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
  • Re: linux Users = Pompous Assholes
    ... Linux is much more robust, secure, and it does not cost me ... >> OfficeXX, etc.). ... OEM editions are non-refundable and in fact are ... No official support with the free option, ...
    (comp.os.linux.misc)
  • Re: linux Users = Pompous Assholes
    ... Linux is much more robust, secure, and it does not cost me ... >> OfficeXX, etc.). ... OEM editions are non-refundable and in fact are ... No official support with the free option, ...
    (alt.os.linux.suse)
  • Re: RealThinClient SDK > OEM license (-50%); non-commercial license (direct download link)
    ... there will ne no support for OEM users. ... closed, a new Forum will be opened, available only to licensed RTC SDK ... Yes, upgrade from a commercial OEM license to RTC SDK Basic, Silver and Gold ...
    (borland.public.delphi.thirdpartytools.general)
  • Re: License question
    ... do was perfectly within the bounds of the EULA. ... According to its End User License Agreement, an OEM ... As the OEM license's support is solely the ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics)