37 replies to this topic 8 votes

[BajiRav]

LogicalApex, on 28 November 2012 - 16:40, said:

How does per user pricing not have merit?

Or is this being interpreted as another Anti-Windows 8 thread. As it isn't one...



For large enterprises this update story is nothing new. They have had "free upgrades" since 2006 (so Windows XP era) via Software Assurance licensing.

true and I am no expert in enterprise licensing but haven't they been paying twice already for Windows (once for OS and then CALs or whatever they are called) - how is this new?

[deinabog]

Shane Nokes, on 28 November 2012 - 16:16, said:

A lot of businesses would have to upgrade to Win7 first in order to stick with it.

I love Windows 7...but a ton of companies have yet to still upgrade due to how most enterprise upgrade cycles work. Odds are the rest will start rolling out 7 soon enough...and 8 will start seeing heavier deployment within the next 24-months. That's typically how the cycles work.

True indeed. We just upgraded all of the workstations in the division where I work to Window 7 after running a mixed environment of Win7 and WinXP for a few years (we also did it because we moved to Active Directory at the same time and didn't want to migrate any XP workstation).

[LogicalApex]

nik louch, on 28 November 2012 - 17:03, said:

Um, not anywhere near that timescale!


I don't. I feel that the driver support was terrible, and SP1 then SP2 REALLY made things a lot better. But SP0 was just fine for what it was - a line in the sand and a new OS.

Why is the timescale off? Microsoft releases Windows versions every two years (Vista was a lone exception) and there is talk of them pushing that cycle down to once a year. If you take 5 years and look at how many 2 year cycles you have you'll get 2. If you take 8 and add 2 to it then you get 10. That makes an estimation of Windows 10 in 5 years pretty normal...

BajiRav, on 28 November 2012 - 17:07, said:

true and I am no expert in enterprise licensing but haven't they been paying twice already for Windows (once for OS and then CALs or whatever they are called) - how is this new?

CALs are limited to server licenses from what I understand. So they paid for the server OS then a license for each user to access certain features of it (certain base features were included depending on the product). They weren't required to essentially have CAL on the client side of the equation.

CAL = Client Access License, client was used to represent a separately licensed client OS.

[Dashel]

BajiRav, on 28 November 2012 - 17:07, said:

true and I am no expert in enterprise licensing but haven't they been paying twice already for Windows (once for OS and then CALs or whatever they are called) - how is this new?

I couldn't read the full article but it sounds like the main new issue (beyond the 15% rate hike) is that they are now calling for device AND user CALs instead of device OR user CALs.

Before in a typical scenario you'd pay for licenses for the following and you'd choose if you want user or device CALs (depending on which is 'lower' in your environment':

OS, Exchange, SQL, Sharepoint, Office, etc

Now it sounds like you'll need a device and a user CAL per product, significantly increasing the cost of self-hosted services. Instead of a single Exchange user CAL that can be used by the employee on their desktop/laptop/phone/tablet it appears they would now have to buy five(!) licences for the same scenario.

Sounds like a way to make cloud pricing look more attractive (per the prior post) to those wayward CIOs.

[Spartan Erik]

Ehh.. we'll see what happens.

As for Windows 8, I have mixed feelings about it. They really improved the startup process, the new task manager is nice, and the UI for the most part is pretty decent. I don't miss the start menu one bit, but it is definitely still quirky to access the power options.

I also really haven't found any particular use for the Metro apps.. they occupy the full screen (which is too much space on a 1080p 23" monitor), or a mini-side bar (which is too little :\ ). I'm in the desktop environment 99% of the time, and the only time I see Metro is at boot, or when I hit the windows key and start typing to search for a program that isn't pinned to my taskbar.

Hoping the next service pack/"Blue"/whatever is an improvement. I'm sure Metro is here to stay, I'm just hoping they re-work the Charms bar or maybe even integrate it with the taskbar. It bugs me often since I dock my taskbar to the right, and sometimes when I'm accessing my top-right pinned program it triggers the Charms bar

[+-T-]

Why is a CIO asking why they'd need Microsoft. I'd presume the answer would be because all of their damned software runs on it, including any proprietary software written for their company. Typically it'd be more costly to start again from scratch with alternatives.

I wish I could get a job as an analyst and just spout nonsense regularly

[Rickkins]

Way to get the fanbois' panties all in a bunch....

[Farstrider]

Rickkins, on 01 December 2012 - 14:00, said:

Way to get the fanbois' panties all in a bunch....

Ha ha, so true! Some people here absolutely amaze me, anything said against "their" precious Microsoft is taken as a personal affront and then go off like it's going to affect their actual lives! Guess what, MS does not know you or actually give a hoot.

[hagjohn]

Yawn!

[Growled]

deinabog, on 28 November 2012 - 16:14, said:

Interesting read but I'm not sure they'll be consigned to the "recycle bin of history"; their board of directors would probably remove Steve Ballmer before that happens. I think most businesses will bypass Windows 8 and stick with Win7 since it is satisfactory for their needs (the same will be true for many home users I'm sure).

The thing is, computers are too reliable these days. Most people never upgrade their computers until something happens to them. They just get a new OS when they do finally upgrade their computers. I know people who have been running their computer for years with zero problems. Heck, at work we have 10+ year old computers running XP just fine.

[Major Plonquer]

LogicalApex, on 28 November 2012 - 16:08, said:

What do you mean? I'm confused.

Dear I'm Confused,

You're talking about pure conjecture. Nothing has been announced and no policies are "hard". Patience.

MP

[Major Plonquer]

Dashel, on 28 November 2012 - 16:18, said:

So they would be in effect stacking the user/device CALs now?

Was just speaking to that consumer gambit in another thread. I think there is certainly some merit there. One other constant I've noted is that MS seems content to alienate professionals/decision makers to make that consumer push. The perceived greed of this push to consumerization is what I find the most appalling. Its making long time MS proponents start re-evaluating if this is the horse we want to be hitched to if it goes off the rails.

Congratulations, you win Mixed Metaphore of the Month Award. Even Chinese peasants like us know that horses don't run on rails. The have "hooves", which would be difficult to integrate with the steel tracks, even if the changed the gauge. I stood behind a horse once and I got the impression they may run on methane. Trains run on steam, deisel and electricity Horses aren't as big as trains and they leave a trail of dung everywhere they go.

2/10

[Shane Nokes]

Major Plonquer, on 02 December 2012 - 07:38, said:

Congratulations, you win Mixed Metaphore of the Month Award. Even Chinese peasants like us know that horses don't run on rails. The have "hooves", which would be difficult to integrate with the steel tracks, even if the changed the gauge. I stood behind a horse once and I got the impression they may run on methane. Trains run on steam, deisel and electricity Horses aren't as big as trains and they leave a trail of dung everywhere they go.

2/10

Normally I wouldn't correct someone on this matter, but here I feel that I should say something small.

The term off the rails while frequently referring to the concept of a train going off the track is also a phrase that is used to describe what can happen with a horsecar is the horse is spooked.

Then again it is unlikely that a 'Chinese peasant' of the era would have ridden on one...so that's quite an understandable mistake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsecar

[AnotherITguy]

To everyone whining about Windows 8 not ready for the enterprise, there is a simple, and low cost solution.... "CLASSIC SHELL" beneath the metro user interface, its there, once you have that, its good to go. and how do i know this, i have my main desktop running Windows 8 Pro right now..

[Dot Matrix]

AnotherITguy, on 02 December 2012 - 08:03, said:

To everyone whining about Windows 8 not ready for the enterprise, there is a simple, and low cost solution.... "CLASSIC SHELL" beneath the metro user interface, its there, once you have that, its good to go. and how do i know this, i have my main desktop running Windows 8 Pro right now..

Enterprise is never, ever, going to deploy third party junkware like that.