1) I can only assume that it must lock out the display, keyboard and mouse
on the client PC, essentially disabling access to the host PC locally until
the remote session is done. This is what Microsoft does with their Remote
Desktop Connection.
2) Read the last two lines of the license passage quoted in the original
message below. There is actually nothing illegal about using any kind of
remote access software including VNC, PCAnywhere, etc. All their saying is
that you need to have a separate license for "the Product" on each
"device". Therefore, if you have two XP licenses, you can use VNC to take
over the screen of your XP machine. Upon further reading, it would also
seem that you need additional licenses for every software package you
intend to run remotely too. If you want to use Office from a remote
location, you will need a second license for each location. This is the
same kind of license that Microsoft has been trying to enforce since they
introduced the first version of Terminal Server, the underlying technology
behind their Remote Desktop Connection. All things considered, it seems
that Microsoft has actually eased up on their licensing by allowing you to
use the build it Terminal Services from any other machine without actually
requiring you to purchase a second license. As long as you use their
products. As long as you use their products.
Do I agree with all of this? Of course not. In my opinion Microsoft is
playing both sides of the fence.
On one hand, they are saying that each user needs to have a license to use
their software. This is like saying that each user of the family Ford (the
PC) will have to pay a user fee to Ford (Microsoft). And when Microsoft's
.Net come out (already included in a lot of XP by the way), it sounds like
their new policy will be "Sorry, we don't sell the car anymore. Now you
will have to pay for it for ever and upgrade when we need more of your
money". Now I understand why I might need 5 MS Office licenses for a
machine that can only have one user at a time... NOT!
On the other hand, Microsoft is also saying that each machine needs to have
a non-transferable license. This is like saying, ok, I bought a house (the
PC), I filled it with all my furniture (the OS) and now I want to move into
a new house (a new PC) but they won't let me move my furniture (the OS) to
the new house. What exactly is the point? It's not like the PC has a life
expectancy of 30 years. Even cars have a life expectancy which is at least
double that of a PC. Eventually I will most likely want to run software on
my machine and find that it is no longer compatible with my operating
system or the operating system is not compatible with some hardware upgrade
I want to do. Then and only then should I have to upgrade my operating system.
What does this all mean? An extra XP license is required to remotely access
your PC using any applications other than the "Excepted" Microsoft products
listed. Not only that but will need an extra XP license for *each* machine
you use to access your PC remotely. I kid you not. I was shocked to I
learned this. Lets say you want to access your PC from work and then you
want to access your PC on the road from a laptop. You will need two extra
XP licenses, one for the PC at work and one for the laptop. Hopefully the
company always lends you the same laptop otherwise you will need an XP
license for *each* one they lend you. Of course Microsoft will try to show
you the bright side and tell you that once you have the XP license, YOU can
access as many XP host machines as you want. But don't you dare lend your
buddy the laptop or else he/she will need XP licenses too. The licenses are
per-user per-device. All this is as such unless you are running XP on all
your machines. Then you are covered as long as you are using it for single
user access. I haven't even begun to touch the issue of having multiple
people remotely time share a single PC nor the licensing of the
applications themselves.
It gets easier and easier to believe how there could be and are consultants
who actually make a decent living just helping corporations figure out
Microsoft licensing. It's a whole industry of its own and easily a full
time job as Microsoft seems to make changes when ever they feel their cash
flow is slowing down. Small changes, taking it one step at a time, slowly
turning the world into their personal wallet ;).
_________________________________
The Bottom Line
From Microsoft perspective, unless you are using a 100% Microsoft
throughout your system, if you have to ask the question, you probably can't
afford the solution.
So what operating system do I use? As with many in the world, I use
Windows. I may not agree with Microsoft policies but its hard to get away
from their products. However, at least for now, I still have control of
when my operating system and applications get upgraded.
Michael Milette
At 07:14 AM 2001-12-11, you wrote:
>on http://www.symantec.com/pcanywhere/Consumer/
>they write pcanywhere can be used on XP. Is this legal?
>
> > "Except as otherwise permitted by the NetMeeting, Remote Assistance,
> > and Remote Desktop features described below, you may not use the
> > Product to permit any Device to use, access, display or run other
> > executable software residing on the Workstation Computer, nor may
> > you permit any Device to use, access, display, or run the Product
> > or Product's user interface, unless the Device has a separate
> > license for the Product." (from: Microsoft Windows XP Pro EULA)
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>To unsubscribe, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the line:
>'unsubscribe vnc-list' in the message BODY
>See also: http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/intouch.html
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the line:
'unsubscribe vnc-list' in the message BODY
See also: http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/intouch.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
