Buying only license illegal?What does Validation needs?

unifex · 30 Dec 2009

pparks1 said:

1Bowtie said:

Sorry no offence we just disagree with the purpose of the program.

The purpose of the program is also the interesting part. I'm a little shocked that MS would not include something in the agreement around the $30 EDU copy that precluded people from reselling it or using it if they are not the valid student with the valid e-mail address. I'm sure if you hunted you might find it...but then again I'm sure MS stayed vague and is just gathering whatever revenue they can find. The other program which is often debated as to purpose is Technet and the validity of using a copy of Technet to run an entire home full of PC's for the cost of a single technet subscription.

It's probably hard with student licenses since they are sold as "one student ID - one license" sort of a deal, so to collect many you've got to have friends and/or relatives to buy them for you. So not too many people will be able to do this. But suppose someone has done just that. Or subscribed to Technet, getting 10 licenses at once. This is simple, anyone can do this.

Now, I would be very skeptical about selling such licenses (all those EULA are rather hard to decipher), but using them on a bunch of computers at home? It might violate the purpose of the program - but is it really illegal and moreover is it actually enforceable?

I mean, it looks similar to a woman going from one department store to another collecting samples of cosmetics products and using them instead of actually buying the stuff. I would not want my wife to do something like this, sure. But it's not strictly speaking illegal and therefore nobody would ever be prosecuted for doing something like this.

I think that the purpose of any such program is for the manufacturer to decide upon - namely they have to decide whether certain abuses of such programs are worth keeping them up. This is not a legal issue in my opinion.

Qdos · 30 Dec 2009

Jonathan_King said:

Let's just remember to keep this friendly.

It's a lot like football fans, buying tickets from a tout... they're taking the risk of not being allowed to see the game, and they know the person they're buying the tickets from is blatently profiteering, and almost certainly broke a number of rules to obtain those same instruments originally...

Fair enough analagy, n'est-ce pas?

Sorry you imagine anything I may have said is unfriendly, it's not personal in any way, however I believe there's a right to free speech and fair criticism in all such things as well as the need to remain civilised...

Jonathan_King · 30 Dec 2009

Qdos said:

Jonathan_King said:

Let's just remember to keep this friendly.

It's a lot like football fans, buying tickets from a tout... they're taking the risk of not being allowed to see the game, and they know the person they're buying the tickets from is blatently profiteering, and almost certainly broke a number of rules to obtain those same instruments originally...

Fair enough analagy, n'est-ce pas?

Sorry you imagine anything I may have said is unfriendly, it's not personal in any way, however I believe there's a right to free speech and fair criticism in all such things as well as the need to remain civilised...

No, I was not accusing you or anyone else of being unfriendly. But as is the way of debates, sometimes they can turn nasty.

unifex · 30 Dec 2009

Qdos said:

It's a lot like football fans, buying tickets from a tout... they're taking the risk of not being allowed to see the game, and they know the person they're buying the tickets from is blatently profiteering, and almost certainly broke a number of rules to obtain those same instruments originally...

Hmm, that I have actually done myself

. Don't see any problem there. There is no risk involved - unless you are buying fakes, namely worthless pieces of paper instead of actual tickets. But this is a different thing - there is always a risk that you are being scammed or cheated. But if you are buying a real ticket - well, they are not collecting your ID number at the sale point, they don't care at all how you got it, but you only can see the game if you have one.

bigmck · 30 Dec 2009

Jonathan_King said:

I actually bought one copy myself. My sister had problems, so she gave me her account info (credit card number, email address, etc). I called MS myself and explained the situation, and they actually sent her a key, even though I was very clear I was ordering on her behalf.

Promotion Eligibility: This offer is good only to eligible students who attend an educational institution geographically located in the United States. This offer is non-transferable. Only one product may be purchased per eligible student (but not required).

Can't agree with you Jonathan. It is for students, not to be purchased and sold by others.

Jonathan_King · 30 Dec 2009

bigmck said:

Jonathan_King said:

I actually bought one copy myself. My sister had problems, so she gave me her account info (credit card number, email address, etc). I called MS myself and explained the situation, and they actually sent her a key, even though I was very clear I was ordering on her behalf.

Promotion Eligibility: This offer is good only to eligible students who attend an educational institution geographically located in the United States. This offer is non-transferable. Only one product may be purchased per eligible student (but not required).

Can't agree with you Jonathan. It is for students, not to be purchased and sold by others.

This Offer and this promotion, not this licence key. The offer is the sale. The key is separate.

1Bowtie · 30 Dec 2009

Jonathan_King said:

bigmck said:

Jonathan_King said:

I actually bought one copy myself. My sister had problems, so she gave me her account info (credit card number, email address, etc). I called MS myself and explained the situation, and they actually sent her a key, even though I was very clear I was ordering on her behalf.

Promotion Eligibility: This offer is good only to eligible students who attend an educational institution geographically located in the United States. This offer is non-transferable. Only one product may be purchased per eligible student (but not required).

Can't agree with you Jonathan. It is for students, not to be purchased and sold by others.

This Offer and this promotion, not this licence key. The offer is the sale. The key is separate.

I'm sorry you are trying to split straws to justify your actions. The key goes with the os, they are not seperate.

Smitty

bigmck · 30 Dec 2009

Jonathan_King said:

This Offer and this promotion, not this licence key. The offer is the sale. The key is separate.

I offer you a challenge. There have been many that have disagreed with you. Can you find one that agrees with your viewpoint?

Jonathan_King · 30 Dec 2009

bigmck said:

Jonathan_King said:

This Offer and this promotion, not this licence key. The offer is the sale. The key is separate.

I offer you a challenge. There have been many that have disagreed with you. Can you find one that agrees with your viewpoint?

I'm not sure. I came to my conclusion after much consideration. Not sure I understand your point. Do I need to find someone that agrees with me in order for my opinion to be valid?

bigmck · 30 Dec 2009

Jonathan_King said:

bigmck said:

Jonathan_King said:

This Offer and this promotion, not this licence key. The offer is the sale. The key is separate.

I offer you a challenge. There have been many that have disagreed with you. Can you find one that agrees with your viewpoint?

I'm not sure. I came to my conclusion after much consideration. Not sure I understand your point. Do I need to find someone that agrees with me in order for my opinion to be valid?

Normally when coming to a conclusion from a group, the majority decision is valid. Not the decision of the minority. I am only saying if you can not find anyone that agrees with you, the chances that you are right are very slim.