Computer licensing hurts school scheme

By ADAM GIFFORD

Microsoft's aggressive licensing tactics are putting at risk a scheme to put computers in schools, says the head of a computer recycling company.

Bob Lye, the managing director of Ark Recycling, said the world's largest software company had already captured a big chunk of the budget by double dipping on operating system licences.

"Microsoft says when you buy a computer you must have an operating system licence. Fair enough," Mr Lye said.

"When you replace a Machine, they then say that licence stays with machine, so you have to buy a new licence for the new machine.

"When they dispose of the old machine, the new owner is told they can't use the licence and have to buy a new one. This country is being screwed blind."

It has become a major issue because Microsoft has announced it will cease selling new licences for the Windows 95 operating system.

Many of the computers Ark puts into schools do not have the memory or hard disk capacity to run a newer operating system, but are capable of running all the applications a student needs on Windows 95.

Mr Lye said the corporates who donated or sold old computers to Ark had often paid for licences several times through forced upgrades needed to keep pace with Microsoft's application upgrades - a forced obsolescence policy.

"Word processing is still functionally identical to version two, but people are being forced to pay for tinsel."

Under a scheme promoted by Computer Access New Zealand (CANZ), Ark sold schools a refurbished Pentium for $395, he said. It included a copy of Windows 95, for which the Education Ministry paid Microsoft $225.

"These are machines for which someone paid for an existing licence," Mr Lye said.

Microsoft New Zealand OEM manager Brett Roberts, who is in charge of licensing issues, said operating systems could be reused if the recyclers had the original certificate of authenticity.

Mr Lye said that was impractical, as the licence documents were usually stored away from the computer and often got lost or thrown out.

Mr Roberts said it was more likely the licences were transferred to other machines, or sold on the black market. "It's rare people would deliberately destroy product. There's a thriving trade on [auction site] Ebay in secondhand licences."

Mr Lye said no such trade existed in New Zealand, and as there was no upgrade path from Windows 95 to Windows 98 it was highly unlikely the licence was still in use.

The problem seemed to be confined to New Zealand, he said.

"In the United States the re-cyclers just reinstall Windows 95 Version B on all Pentiums."

CANZ chairman Lawrence Zwimpfer said overseas recyclers were appalled their colleagues here were forced to pay Microsoft.

"I suspect the Microsoft team here are more vigorous defenders of their licences than elsewhere," Mr Zwimpfer said.

CANZ had been negotiating with Microsoft about the Windows 95 obsolescence issue, and agreement had been reached with New Zealand head Geoff Lawrie for recyclers to continue installing Windows 95 if they paid for Windows 98 licences.

Mr Zwimpfer said Microsoft's new practice of making the authentication certificate a sticker to be placed on the machine would make recycling easier.