LicenseTransfers
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Cox seeks 700MHz spectrum transfer to AT&T, U.S. Cellular
Spectrum is the new oil. Or, so it would appear given all the backbiting that's overtaken the wireless industry as of late. One company, however, is perched advantageously to benefit from these squabbles and that's Cox. In separate filings to the Commission dated today, the cabler's begun the official process of seeking approval to transfer portions of its 700MHz holdings in the A and B blocks -- acquired during an FCC auction back in 2008 -- to U.S. Cellular and AT&T, respectively. Barring any (Big Red) opposition, this exchange would put eight licenses in AT&T's fold and four in U.S. Cellular's that would enhance existing voice and data service, while also aiding in LTE buildout across southern CMAs. All three parties still have a ways to go before these deals pass regulatory approval, but if the recent state of the wireless union's any indication, one of the three primary carrier colors is bound to rear its nay-saying head.
Microsoft changes Vista EULA to appease modders; pirates still screwed
Don't ever say that Microsoft doesn't listen to its customers: Following intense backlash against the license transfer stipulations in Vista's EULA -- first we'd heard that only one reactivation was allowed, and then it was clarified as ten -- the software giant has decided to reword the pertinent passage, which now reads "You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices." Bam, that's it -- no limits on the number of transfers and none of that silly major upgrade versus minor upgrade distinction; now you can reinstall Vista ten times a day if that's your thing. As expected, you still have to purchase multiple copies of the OS if you want to run it on more than one machine, but at least now you can tinker with your PC without worrying about running out of reactivations or having to humiliate yourself by begging a Microsoft CSR to give you just one more install. Next step: everyone bitch and moan in the comments about how Vista is too expensive, until Redmond finally relents and starts handing out copies for free when you order a value meal at your favorite fast food joint.[Thanks, Master Devwi]
Vista license transfers not as restrictive as initially reported
Those of you planning on upgrading to Windows Vista in January -- and yes, despite the supposed delay in shipments to hardware manufacturers, the commercial version of the OS is still on track for the stated rollout -- will be happy to learn that the seemingly unfair limitation on license transfers will not be nearly as severe as we first reported. According to a spokesperson in Microsoft's Licensing Department, simply swapping out a component such as a CPU or graphics card will not require you to re-activate Vista; only replacing a hard drive plus another piece of your rig at the same time will necessitate a re-activation. And instead of the single license transfer stipulation that we'd heard before, Redmond has now gone on record saying that you can re-install Vista up to 10 times without penalty -- and possibly more, though that will apparently be decided on a case-by-case basis. Of course, you still won't be able to pay for one copy Vista and run it on multiple machines simultaneously; but hey, that's to be expected, and trying it will get you every bit of functionality-crippling frustration that you deserve.
