Microsoft recently rewrote its corporate user license agreement in anticipation of windows and office xp. This new agreement forces many companies to comply with Microsoft's new rules or face a software audit to discover if any pirated programs have been installed by the company or their employees. Many corporations are fearful that their employees have installed such software and therefore must comply or face legal actions. The agreement also stipulates that if the end user wishes to enter into the agreement that they must purchase the most recent edition of the software such as Microsoft windows or Microsoft office. The latest upgrade agreement eliminates the most popular and least expensive options. If the companies do not decide to use the new upgrade agreement before October first it will be significantly more expensive to reenter or renew a contract.

The Microsoft Corporation is forcing many users into this new agreement that can easily cost anywhere from 33 to 107 percent more than the current agreement. Many smaller companie

s can not afford the extra cost. The previous license allows users to upgrade when needed and pay at a reduced price for the one upgrade. Under the new license the user will pay an annual fee of twenty nine percent of the original software license cost which gives them a right to all upgrades. Under the current agreement, if Microsoft office 2000 was purchased under a level B discount the buyer would pay $331 then $180 per copy of office xp to upgrade. Now under the new rules the user still pays the $331 for the original software then $96 per year for three years, a total of $288, a 60 percent increase in price. Microsoft admits that this new scheme will only benefit those that upgrade more frequently than every four years, the break-even point is about every 3.5 years. It is estimated that sixty percent of Microsoft users that fall under the new license agreement keep a product four years or more before they upgrade.

The latest move by Microsoft to earn money and gain more power over the software market is hard to oppose. The new system is unwelcome by many and criticized by more. It benefits only the select fe

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Approximate Word count = 755
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)