Of course, the software in the Action Pack is updated and revised by Microsoft, and the contents change as new products are introduced. The Action Pack no longer comes with Windows XP Professional upgrade licenses, but instead comes with Windows Vista upgrade licenses. As such, the question was brought up on the Small Business Community blog as to whether or not subscribers have "downgrade rights" (rights to use a prior version of a product) when their Action Pack renews. Quoth the Small Business Community blog, who was, in turn, quoting the "Action Pack Team":
The complaints in the comments of this posting are so amusing to me. Have a look at a couple of them.
Welcome to subscription-based software licensing! If you thought of "purchasing" an Action Pack as anything other than "paying the yearly software bill", then you thought about it incorrectly. (Giggles abound...)I worked for a small firm, years ago, that was a Microsoft Certified Partner, and the owner refused to accept that the entitlement licenses were time-limited to the subscription term. He just decided that they were perpetual grants of license, and that they were "additive" from year-to-year ("Now we've got twenty (20) seats of Windows 2000 Professional!"). I always secretly hoped that Microsoft would come audit him and set him straight...
It strikes me as intelligent, though I would guess serendipitous, on the part of Microsoft to get "partners" used to subscription-based software, since that's the direction they're going to need to move if they hope to continue growing their revenue stream (and to insure that no one can buy a computer and use it in perpetuity w/o paying them again and again and again). Get the people who sell your products into the habit of paying for software this way, and then they'll help indoctrinate their Customers!
To those of you who are asking "Who thought of this?", I'd think the answer would be obvious. I'm quite convinced that Microsoft sees their "partner" and certification programs as revenue opportunities, just as much as they do their regular sales channels. I decided a long time ago that my Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer credential was nigh useless, and never bothered to update it beyond where I did. In fact, touting loudly that I was "Microsoft Certified" cast aspersions on my ability to evaluate software and solutions for my Customers in a neutral manner. When we started our new company, my business partners and I decided that we would not pursue any manufacturer affiliations like many of our "competitors", so the company could maintain a shred of credibility as a neutral third party. Of course, it also helps that we are strictly service revenue based, too, and haven't fallen for the seductive but dangerous route of selling physical goods.
I'll have to rant another time about why commercial software is a service, and one that probably should be subscription-based... but that is for another time.
