so im sitting down and putting together a proposal again (the the billionth time) on getting things up to snuff with licensing on the m$ platform. so its fresh in my mind, and one of those things that just eats away at me.
why do i hate them? is it because of the endless barrage of viruses? maybe its the shoddy programming? how about malware? spyware? it has to be the crashing, right?
yes... all of those things... but the #1 item on my list: licensing fee's
case in point: you purchase a $700, nothing fancy, basic server license from microsoft. you get it, install it, and everythings great, right? wrong. if you want to connect to it and actually USE the license... theres a few more things you need to buy... first, you have to have client access licenses... then if you are planning on using it as a remote application server via ts... you have to purchase terminal server licenses... etc etc etc. "oh... you purchased our license? GREAT!.... wait.. whats that? you actually want to USE it??? oh... thats going to be more."
it makes me sick. by the time its all said and done... on a decent (relatively small... less than 100 terminals) sized network, you are looking at easily over $3,000 just to get a single server up and running. (and that doesnt include hardware)
at what point will the public at large wake up and realize just how badly they are getting fucked in the ass by this company? nickel here... dime here... it starts adding up. god forbid they should ever create a product that didnt cost an arm and a leg, and was actually FULL FEATURED WITHOUT ADDITIONAL LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.
and that is why i love linux and apple. with linux... its of course free. if you want support, its a minimal amount... but thats it. there is nothing else. with apple... if you have 5 macs in your home... you can legally buy the newest operating system for ALL of them for $199. want to run a small server for your house? its only $499. want to run a server cluster that would rival the telco's and have 50,000 users connect to it for services, applications, and everything else? its only $999. thats it. nothing more to buy. and guess what? you get support with it from someone who speaks english as a first language! |
