Subj : Re: SSH on BBSes
To   : Spectre
From : poindexter FORTRAN
Date : Tue Apr 26 2022 06:28:00

-=> Spectre wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

 Sp> I'm not sure now off hand how it worked, but there was a time M$ got a
 Sp> license fee for every PC going.  After this ran for some time, and
 Sp> people were starting to use Linux as an alternative, there was a bit of
 Sp> a to do, and a court case I think that stopped that and if you didn't
 Sp> want Windows you'd get a "refund" on that license.

Microsoft claimed they were the victim of piracy, and because of it, as a 
requirement to sell DOS and later Windows licenses, forced OEMs to buy a 
copy of either for each PC they built. That gave Microsoft a leg up on 
alternative DOSes and OS/2, since you'd already paid for DOS/Windows.

Don't want to pay them for unneeded licenses? Fine, they'd pull your ability 
to sell Microsoft products AT ALL.

There was a way to get a refund, but it was as difficult as Microsoft could 
make it. It was one of the first "shrinkwrap" license issues to come to 
court. By opening the package you agreed to the license terms before, if 
memory recalls, being able to read the full licensing terms.


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