What NT users want Microsoft to know
This month's Reader to Reader departs from the usual because we've received
so much correspondence about the controversy surrounding Windows NT Workstation
(NTW) and NT Server (NTS) 4.0 licensing issues and the similarity of NTW and
NTS. (Trip Stiles first raised this issue in the August item, "NT
Workstation/Server.") We're dedicating most of this month's Reader to
Reader section to email we've received about that topic. In addition, Mark
Smith's editorial, "Licensing Woes and Confusion," on page 7, gives
you a perspective on this complex controversy, and Mark Russinovich's article, "Inside
the Difference Between Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server," on
page 101, explains the implications of the distinction.
Dear Mr. Gates:
This is an open letter about the following clauses within the Windows NT 4.0
license agreement:
...you may permit a maximum of ten (10) computers to connect to the
Workstation Computer to access and use services of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, such as
file and print services and peer Web services. The ten connection maximum
includes any connections made through software or hardware which pools or
aggregates connections.
You seem to include this wording to prevent us from using NTW 4.0 as the
operating system on an Internet server platform. I have called both your
Canadian and US product support lines to verify this assumption. Both told me
that these clauses indeed prohibit me from using NTW 4.0 as a Web server
platform, but they were unable to explain how. Repeated attempts by both support
services to connect me with your legal department for an explanation failed.
Because a third-party Web server would provide file and peer Web services and
NTW doesn't offer print services, I remain confused as to just how this
restriction applies.
In any case, I feel that I must bring to your attention the fact that this
restriction has an impact on a much larger segment of the computing community
than just those of us running Internet servers: Under the current licensing
agreement, we cannot surf the Net with NTW 4.0 as our operating system! These
clauses apparently also apply to browsers running on an NTW 4.0 platform. A
browser uses the same system services as servers. Both a browser and server use
the same system resources for communications through the Internet.
If this analysis seem a little extreme, I'll inform you that your
licensing scheme strikes me as just that. I urge you to let users decide whether
this product is suited for their purpose and what upgrades they require.
Mr. Gates, many of us out here are struggling to produce Windows-based Web
sites at our own expense. When we succeed, we may require NTS 4.0. Until then, I
for one could really use NTW 4.0 for its stability and security. I have eagerly
awaited the release of this product because of the reputed performance of its
predecessor, NTW 3.51, and the ease of use of my current OS, Windows 95. I was
very disappointed to learn that you had crippled NTW 4.0 with your licensing
agreement.
--Antonius J. M. Groothuizen
Webmaster, New Age Ceramics
Worth the Price?
Microsoft simply should sell client licenses for NTW and for NTS. NTW's
10-client limitation has been a bad decision from the day it was made, and no
amount of Microsoft posturing will ever erase it as an issue. Microsoft needs to
rescind the limitation and open up NTW to its full potential, which will
ultimately make for even more Server sales.
Vitriol is spewing from people who have seemingly just discovered the
similarity between NTW and NTS. However, with the addition of Internet
Information Server (IIS), Domain Name Service (DNS), etc., to NT Server is
worth the price difference between NTS and NTW, and these additions will account
for many sales of NTS as people who started with NTW as their server find they
want those tools.
--Roy Sinclair (via CompuServe) 76500,2620
Workstation into Server
A well-known Web site details the identical nature of NTW and NTS and shows
how to make NTW into NTS. My new, freshly hacked NT Server is very stable, seems
to be fully functional, and runs O'Reilly's WebSite software seamlessly.
A clear problem faces Windows NT Magazine and all
Microsoft-dependent publications (if Windows NT did not exist, Windows NT
Magazine would not exist): Publish information about this issue, and
Microsoft will be angry with you; fail to publish it, and readers will know for
sure that you're in Microsoft's back pocket. Many well-informed users will be
watching. Heck, I'm making a list of magazines that take on this issue.
--Anonymous
Editor's note: Although we understand your concern and your need to see
the press deal with it, we do not encourage readers to turn NT Workstation into
NT Server. Such hacking is a clear violation of the license agreement.
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