"If your clients have many, many thousands of clients, they already have an enterprise license -- and read my lips -- the enterprise license doesn't have an activation requirement."Hmm.......well, yes, they do have enterprise licenses.......with NT or Win2K. NOT with XP. XP, as we have been told, has to be loaded system-at-a-time. You can no longer load it on a server and blow it down the network to the other systems. That's a huge change for Microsoft, and one that has gotten a LOT of negative press. If you work for Microsoft, which I suspect, then ask around. Read the industry press rather than your own press releases.
As for Linux..........you brought it up. I was responding to your negative comments about it. You haven't seen me "shoving Linux down everyone's throat" on this or any other thread. Such comments not only shoot your credibility to hell, they also prove my point about your attitude (and THIS you aimed at someone who likes Microsoft OS's and is a long-time user; hope you're not in Marketing).
My understanding is that the Corporate version of XP Pro does not have product activation; it's designed for mass network installs.
XP, as we have been told, has to be loaded system-at-a-time.
Not true. You aren't allowed to use the
retail version to install multiple copies; however, you can use the
volume-licensed media to do so. Read and educate yourself:
How Does This Affect You?
Licenses acquired through one of Microsoft's volume licensing programs are NOT required to be activated. Microsoft Product Activation does, however, require volume license customers to input a Volume License Product Key when installing from volume license media (includes Select CD, Volume License Worldwide Fulfillment, or Volume License MSDN®) for the following products: Windows XP Professional, all Office XP components (suite and stand alone products) and Microsoft Visio®. IMPORTANT: Select and MSDN media will no longer include a pre-configured Product ID, and Worldwide Fulfillment (WWF) media will no longer include a Product Key on the CD packaging. The appropriate volume license product key must be used for desktop or network admin installs.
Additionally, retail product CDs (for example, boxed product purchased from a retail outlet) can no longer be used for multiple installations. If you currently use CDs from a retail product kit for installations, these processes will affect your installation procedures. Select, MSDN, and Worldwide Fulfillment (WWF) media are the only media available for multiple installations. These media will require the use of a Volume License Product Key that will be assigned to your company or institution. Get more information on how to deploy Office XP using a Volume License Product Key.
As for Linux..........you brought it up.
That's a blantant fabrication. I have no reason to even discuss Linux on a Windows XP thread. It doesn't even belong here.