The problem I have is that you can get the same exact CD content on multiple CDs. For instance, your example of Outlook. You can get the same Outlook client on each different version of Exchange (Standard and Enterprise) then you'll also get it on the blue CDs, for Office, and I'm guessing, each different version of Office. Easy to see that you can get the same exact file in lots of different locations. I really think it's sad, to be honest. There should be one CD for it, not upwards of 6-7, or more...
Joe Heaton -----Original Message----- From: Ben Scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 11:04 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Trying to read Microsoft Licensing CD labels On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 1:06 PM, Joe Heaton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Exactly, sometimes there's parentheses, which really does help, since > whatever is in the parentheses is actually what is on the CD. In my experience, what's in parentheses is the *only* thing on the CD. I get the feeling that the initial part of the title is really just the division, product line, family, or whatever, that is responsible for the media. For example, the Outlook CDs that come with Exchange server say "Exchange" on them. The part in parenthesis is what's actually on the media. But even that is unclear. In your case, does "SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition - Service Pack 1" mean SQL server with SP1 integrated, or just SP1? I've encountered both uses of that terminology. I suspect the root cause here is that ultimately, Microsoft's immediate customers are their resellers. As end-customer IT types, we are customers of the resellers. We are not Microsoft's direct customers. Resellers will find it to their advantage for us to need a reseller to explain all this. Even if the reseller has our best interests in mind and honestly wants to help, having to contact them means more sales opportunities. So the resellers have no incentive to request clearer media labeling. Thus Microsoft isn't getting complaints from their direct customers about it. Thus Microsoft has little incentive to make the labeling clearer. Please understand that I'm not saying anybody is deliberately trying to make things difficult. In the world of business, things simple do not happen unless there is a business incentive (profit motive, return on investment, whatever you want to call it). There's currently no incentive to make the labeling clearer. As long as that situation persists, things are unlikely to change. Probably the best thing to do would be for us (end-customers) to complain to our Microsoft resellers about the unclear labeling. I'm not sure how much that will help, though. I know I've voiced complaints about other Microsoft behaviors to our local resellers, and eventually get told by our reseller (though not in so many words) there isn't much they can do to change Microsoft's behaviors. And if I call Microsoft directly, they tell me to contact the reseller. All too common a situation, I'm afraid. Smaller organizations (such as my employer) have no voice with large organizations. I'm on the phone with HP right now in a similar situation. -- Ben ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~ ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~
