Microsoft backs down over Vista licensing

Microsoft has backed down over a controversial clause in Windows Vista licensing that would have restricted the ability of users to reinstall their copy of the operating system if they upgraded or changed their PC.

Under Windows XP licensing terms, users are able to uninstall and reinstall their copy of the operating system for their own use an unlimited number of times by entering the re-activation key code each time.

But Microsoft's initial licensing terms for Vista, which will be released on 30 November, had proposed users would only be able to reinstall the operating system once before having to purchase another copy.

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Now pressure from the hardware enthusiast community, which would have been hardest hit by the new licensing terms, has forced Microsoft to do a U-turn and relax the terms and conditions.

The new terms of the Vista licence now read: "You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this licence between devices."

Nick White, Microsoft product manager, said in a post on the official Windows Vista blog: "Our intention behind the original terms was genuinely geared toward combating piracy; however, it's become clear to us that those original terms were perceived as adversely affecting an important group of customers: PC and hardware enthusiasts."

One respondent to White's blog said: "It is nice to know that Microsoft has been listening, and hopefully this will ease the concerns of many in the enthusiast community who were concerned how this licensing might impede their upgrades."