If Microsoft no longer sells full retail versions of Windows starting with Windows 8, as rumored, don't expect many tears to be shed.
There's a rumor going around that, with Windows 8, Microsoft is doing away with the full version of Windows sold at retail.
If this pans out -- and so far, I have heard it from only one source (as I noted on the Windows Weekly podcast with my co-host Paul Thurrot this week) -- I doubt there will be anyone lining up in protest.
In Microsoft parlance, a full product typically means a non-upgrade, fully licensed version of Windows sold in a box via brick-and-mortar and/or online retailers. With Windows, full product tends to be quite expensive -- and not very popular, as most users get their Windows either preloaded on new PCs, via volume-licensing deals, or as an upgrade to an existing version of Windows. Very few users want or need a complete, new copy of Windows for a machine on which Windows has not been previously installed.
Those who typically have wanted and needed full Windows product -- among them, do-it-yourself PC assemblers -- will now be able to buy a system builder license for Windows 8. Microsoft officials have said the DIY crowd and those installing Windows 8 in a virtual machine or separate partition will be able to purchase a Windows 8 Pro System Builder version. There's no official word so far on the price of that SKU.
There's a bit of confusion among some system builders because hints regarding the new do-it-yourself (DIY) system builder license for Windows 8 seem to imply that those purchasing Windows 8 this way will only be able to obtain five copies per system builder for commercial use. For smaller PC makers, sometimes called white-box vendors, this limit is impractical. This limit also could hit companies whose IT departments may want to build their own custom PC systems.
Microsoft representatives are not commenting on anything to do with Windows 8 packaging, pricing, licensing and distribution plans beyond what they have disclosed publicly already.
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