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Posted by Donald McDaniel on 05/07/06 21:05
On Sat, 6 May 2006 13:33:57 -0700, Gordon Sande wrote
(in article <2006050617335716807-gsande@worldnetattnet>):
> On 2006-05-06 17:12:57 -0300, Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> said:
>
>> In article <0001HW.C08231C3005A8761F0488530@news.wildblue.net>,
>> Donald McDaniel <orthocross@invalid.net> wrote:
>>
>>> But if I have not, I recognize the possibility that I may be in error
>>> (if it is an error). I am not convinced as of now that it is an error.
>>> I really don't trust Mac fanatics very much. I see no reason they
>>> would have to ever speak the truth, especially to me.
>>
>> It appears that your definition of a Mac fanatic is anyone who knows
>> what he's talking about regarding the Mac, and who counters the
>> falsehoods spread about the Mac by Windows fanatics.
>>
>>> My brother tells me that a Retail version of OS X 10.4 will only
>>> install if a previous version of OS X is already on the HD (or I have
>>> simply misunderstood what he said, which is possible).
>>>
>>> Of course, he could be in error himself, or I could be misunderstanding
>>> him.
>>
>> Either he is in error or you misunderstood him--if he said anything
>> like that in the first place, assuming that he exists.
>>
>>> But just so you will understand where I am coming from,
>>
>> OEM means "Original Equipment Manufacturer"; therefore, in the case of
>> computer software, it is the software that ships with the computer.
>>
>> An OEM version of the Mac OS is the version that ships with a Macintosh.
>>
>> A full retail version of the Mac OS is the version that you buy in a
>> box, and that does not ship with a computer.
>>
>> An OEM version usually will install only on the model machine it ships
>> with (but if more than one model of the Mac is released at the same
>> time, quite often the OEM version will install on all of those
>> particular models). Because it ships with the computer, there is no
>> need to sell it separately.
>>
>> A full retail version of the Mac OS will install on any Macintosh that
>> supports that version of the OS. And because it will install on any
>> Macintosh that supports that OS, there is no need to sell
>> machine-specific versions.
>>
>> It does not matter what OS is already installed on the computer, or
>> whether there is any OS installed on it.
>>
>> Any version of the Mac OS can be installed in any of the following ways:
>> 1. Upgrade an existing, earlier version, of Mac OS.
>> 2. A "clean" install, archiving previous installation (with the option
>> of copying preference files and third-party application files to the
>> newly installed OS, from the old OS).
>> 3. Erase the disk and installing fresh, losing everything that had
>> been on the disk.
>> 4. Installing on an existing disk that does not have Mac OS X on it
>> (e.g., a data disk, or an OS 9 or earlier disk), without destroying any
>> data.
>
> The retail version of MaxOsX seems to install nicely into a newly formatted
> partition. It will also do an upgrade.
>
> The "OEM" versions check for the specific model because thye typically have
> additional software bundled and on the install disks. The iLife packages or
> MacOs/9 ("Classic") of some such bundle.
>
> There are some vendors who supply OEM Windows?XP on a retila basis because
> they include a piece of hardware (usually a cable woth $0.25 or such) and
> those versioninsist on doing a clean install. The fine print of the vendors
> product descriptions expalin this reatriction if you know how to understnad
> it.
>
Your definition of an "XP Retail version" and an "XP OEM version" are a
little confused.
Windows "OEM" products can ONLY be installed CLEAN, and CANNOT do an
"upgrade" of an existing OS, while Windowws RETAIL products may be installed
ANY WAY one chooses, either as a "Clean" installation, or as an "Upgrade" of
an existing OS.
So while many system builders sell "Generic OEM" (always distributed in
shrink-wrap without a box, with the COA inside the shrink-wrap) versions of
XP to the "retail market", and ususally costing about $125 for XP Pro OEM,
ALL OEM versions (no matter whether they are sold "retail" or only with a new
machine) STILL can ONLY be installed "CLEAN", and CANNOT do an upgrade of an
existing Windows OS, while the so-called "Retail" distribution of Windows XP
Pro (the one with the SRP of $299, ALWAYS BOXED in an official Microsoft
package (Blue for Pro, and Green for Home), with the COA placed on the
box-top itself) may be installed ANY WAY one chooses, even if one has no
existing license to Windows.
In addition, ALL "OEM" distributions of XP MUST be sold with an "essential"
piece of hardware. (this used to be a HD or motherboard, but now may even be
just a power cord or mouse).
Now, that is the way WINDOWS USERS differentiate between an "OEM" version and
a "Retail" version.
There is a THIRD type of XP distribution, called a "Retail Upgrade" version.
This one is $100 cheaper than the "Full Retail", and may be used to do either
a "Clean" installation or an "upgrade" of an existing Windows OS. However,
one must be able to PROVE that he has a licensed previous version of Windows.
This is usually accomplished by inserting the media for a previous
distribution of Windows when the installer fails to find a previous Windows
OS on the HD.
In addition, there is a FOURTH type of XP distribution, called a "Volume
License" distribution. This one is almost always sold to corporate
customers, although it may be sold to anyone, including private citizens, as
long as they purchase a minimum of 5 site licenses.
(The so-called "Devil's Own version", commonly called the "Corporate"
version) is a pirated and hacked version of a Volume License distribution,
since no such "Corporate" distribution exists.
The FIFTH type of XP distribution is called an "Academic", or "Students and
Teachers" edition. This one is also an official release from Microsoft.
The SIXTH type of official XP distribution is the MSDN download version.
This one is NOT distributed on a bootable CD or DVD, while all other official
distributions are bootable.
In addition, EACH one of these distributions MUST have a CD key created
EXPRESSLY for each type of distribution media. These CD keys are NOT
interchangeable among themselves. In other words, a "Full Retail"
distribution will have a CD key which can ONLY be used with a "Full Retail"
distribution disc, while an "OEM" CD key can only be used to install an "OEM"
version.
In addition, some "OEM" versions distributed with a NEW computer will ONLY
install on that manufacturer's machine, and usually are "BIOS-locked" to
enforce it.
However, ANY "Generic OEM" (what ya'll call "retail OEM" versions) may be
installed on ANY Wintel machine which meets the current Windows hardware
requirements.
Confusing, ain't it? It almost confuses me, and I've used Windows since
Windows 1.0, so I can understand why it would confuse exclusively-Mac users.
--
Donald L McDaniel
Please reply to the original thread,
so that the thread may be kept intact.
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