🚀 go-pugleaf

echuang@cco.caltech.edu (Ernest Y. Chuang) writes:

>I just bought a new computer which came with MS-DOS 5.0 and Win 3.1,
>but they weren't just preloaded on the hard drive -- they were in
>shrink-wrapped boxes complete with manual and floppies.  What confuses
>me is that they don't appear to be the genuine Microsoft products.
>(I already have the MSDOS 5.0 and Win 3.1 that I bought for my previous
>computer.)

>Although both boxes say "Microsoft" MSDOS and Windows, there are also
>other names on the boxes -- "MTD" on the DOS5 box, and "Electron" on
>the Win3.1 box.  The names are prominently displayed and the box
>designs are distinctly different from my "real" Microsoft boxes, so
>it doesn't seem like they're trying to disguise their origin, but I
>wouldn't have thought that Microsoft would license anyone else to
>produce their software.

>I haven't opened the shrink-wrap, since I was wondering if I could
>sell these, so I don't know if the manual or registration card would
>tell me anything more about them.  Anyone know if these are legit?

>- Ernest Chuang
>  echuang@cco.caltech.edu

These are probibly legal. Many companies re-sell DOS and Windows with
their hardware. They pay Microsoft a fee for each copy they sell.
The only disadvantage is that Microsoft does not cover these products
for support or upgrades. You have to go to the re-seller for this.


-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Wiegand - Motorola Inc.
uunet!motcid!wiegand
Disclamer: I didn't do it - I was somewhere else at the time.