Microsoft lets ‘Net cafes buy cheaper Windows licenses
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net
MICROSOFT Philippines will allow Internet cafes to purchase the cheaper, original commercial equipment manufacturer (COEM) license for Windows, but for a limited time only, officials announced on Friday.
Microsoft said that this move was in response to the clamor from Internet shop owners who recently had difficulty purchasing the original Microsoft Windows operating system due to an alleged shortage of supply in the local market after a government crackdown on unlicensed software.
Microsoft Philippines licensing specialist Jasmin So said that the COEM for the Windows operating system will be available to Internet cafes and other consumers until November 30, 2005.
"The COEM licenses can now be bought by the public without the need to purchase the bundled hardware. This is in response to the clamor for Windows software by the public. This is one way we can help them," added Mae Rivera-Moreno, Microsoft Philippines PR and community affairs manager.
Microsoft Philippines has been going around the country for feedback from Internet shop owners after the government crackdown, Rivera-Moreno said.
Philippine distributor Wordtext Systems Inc. said last month that it saw a surge in demand for the Microsoft Windows operating system in September, when a government deadline to force local establishments to legitimize their software expired.
"We saw a 300-percent increase in sales order[s] in September due to the government crackdown," said Juan Chua, president of Wordtext Systems Inc. (WSI), a local distributor of software and hardware products in the Philippines.
The shortage of Microsoft's Windows operating system was felt in the last two to three weeks, Chua said.
The National Bureau of Investigation, Optical Media Board, and Philippine National Police entered a partnership with the Business Software Alliance for the enforcement campaign against violators of the intellectual property rights of its members, among them large software firms like Microsoft.
The anti-piracy campaign gave local businesses a grace period to stop using unlicensed software, starting August 15. The deadline expired September 15.
Last September, a newly-formed alliance of Internet shops initially known as the Progressive People's Net, asked government for a moratorium on the ongoing crackdown, considering the shortage of Microsoft software.
A statement by the Business Software Alliance said that it was up to law enforcement agencies whether to consider a moratorium on its ongoing crackdown on software pirates.
Meanwhile many Philippine Internet shops took down their billboards and closed shop in September when government began its crackdown on local establishments using unlicensed software.
With unconfirmed reports of ongoing raids of Internet shops in the provinces and cities, several Internet shop owners have expressed fear, frustration, and confusion over the government campaign.
One local Internet shop owner and president of a local association of Internet cafes in the Philippines said that the majority of Internet shop owners have been forced to close down because they simply cannot afford to buy new software licenses.
MICROSOFT Philippines will allow Internet cafes to purchase the cheaper, original commercial equipment manufacturer (COEM) license for Windows, but for a limited time only, officials announced on Friday.
Microsoft said that this move was in response to the clamor from Internet shop owners who recently had difficulty purchasing the original Microsoft Windows operating system due to an alleged shortage of supply in the local market after a government crackdown on unlicensed software.
Microsoft Philippines licensing specialist Jasmin So said that the COEM for the Windows operating system will be available to Internet cafes and other consumers until November 30, 2005.
"The COEM licenses can now be bought by the public without the need to purchase the bundled hardware. This is in response to the clamor for Windows software by the public. This is one way we can help them," added Mae Rivera-Moreno, Microsoft Philippines PR and community affairs manager.
Microsoft Philippines has been going around the country for feedback from Internet shop owners after the government crackdown, Rivera-Moreno said.
Philippine distributor Wordtext Systems Inc. said last month that it saw a surge in demand for the Microsoft Windows operating system in September, when a government deadline to force local establishments to legitimize their software expired.
"We saw a 300-percent increase in sales order[s] in September due to the government crackdown," said Juan Chua, president of Wordtext Systems Inc. (WSI), a local distributor of software and hardware products in the Philippines.
The shortage of Microsoft's Windows operating system was felt in the last two to three weeks, Chua said.
The National Bureau of Investigation, Optical Media Board, and Philippine National Police entered a partnership with the Business Software Alliance for the enforcement campaign against violators of the intellectual property rights of its members, among them large software firms like Microsoft.
The anti-piracy campaign gave local businesses a grace period to stop using unlicensed software, starting August 15. The deadline expired September 15.
Last September, a newly-formed alliance of Internet shops initially known as the Progressive People's Net, asked government for a moratorium on the ongoing crackdown, considering the shortage of Microsoft software.
A statement by the Business Software Alliance said that it was up to law enforcement agencies whether to consider a moratorium on its ongoing crackdown on software pirates.
Meanwhile many Philippine Internet shops took down their billboards and closed shop in September when government began its crackdown on local establishments using unlicensed software.
With unconfirmed reports of ongoing raids of Internet shops in the provinces and cities, several Internet shop owners have expressed fear, frustration, and confusion over the government campaign.
One local Internet shop owner and president of a local association of Internet cafes in the Philippines said that the majority of Internet shop owners have been forced to close down because they simply cannot afford to buy new software licenses.
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