A
Alias
Mike said:There is no distinction really.. the generic OEM XP CD in its cute cardboard
packaging exists such that a 'mom and pop' computer store can supply a
'recovery' CD that enables their custom builds to be 'brought back to
factory' as it were, in accordance with pre-installed software being sold as
part of the package.. very few organisations of this type will be able to
afford or have the need to own equipment that allows 30 HDD's to be imaged
all at one time, so the individual generic OEM CD is a godsend..
The fact that these CDs are put on sale by such stores, computer fairs etc
as a cheap way for a user to get XP on an existing system is most likely a
breach of the OEM agreement, especially if the customer is not made aware of
the OEM limitation at the point of sale.. I believe that it states on the
packaging that it should be sold with hardware.. "here, buy it with this $5
mouse.. that's hardware"..
Not where I live. You would be hard pressed to find a retail version in
any store. I have only seen upgrades and only Home upgrades. I haven't
found one single store that sells retail professional or home. Why is
that? I am sure that MS Spain is aware of what's going on. A Home
Upgrade goes for 365 US Dollars at the largest department store in
Spain. OEM Home goes for 97 US Dollars. You don't have to be a CPA to
figure out that for the price of one retail upgrade, you can get three
OEMs with 74 US Dollars change. Nobody sells OEMs with hardware.
nobody can convince me that sellers of the
generic OEM CDs don't know exactly what they are doing.. again, we come to
the morality issue..
How many times have you seen the suggestion in these newsgroups to buy an
OEM generic because it is cheaper..
Not "cheaper", MUCH cheaper.
and how many times do you see any follow
up pointing out why OEM is cheaper?.. some do it, and some don't..
personally, I always recommend that people buy the full version, and I
explain why they should do that..
Would you recommend retail with the above price structure?
Alias