Thursday, June 9 12:00 AM ET

Microsoft Announces New "Longhorn Advance Licensing"

Redmond, WA - Microsoft announced today a new licensing scheme to help customers with issues regarding long delays in the arrival of Longhorn, the next generation Windows operating system. The new licensing scheme allows customers to pay for Longhorn licenses now, ahead of the arrival of the software itself.

A company long lambasted for lack of innovation has answered critics in the strongest possible manner with the new licensing scheme that shows lateral thinking combined with their undeniable talent for license enforcement.

Bill Landefeld, vice president for worldwide licensing at Microsoft said the new license system would allow customers to start paying for the new features even though they are not yet available.

Mr. Landefeld explained the rationale behind the move. "We do not see why customers should miss the excitement of licensing just because the operating system is not ready yet."

"At Microsoft we understand that our customer's needs are paramount. Customers are far more aware of their need to have legitimate licenses than they once were. This licensing scheme allows our customers to get ahead of the technology curve and hand over the cash now," said Mr. Landefeld.

Often criticized for hyping products years before readiness, Microsoft believes this scheme will silence their detractors. "You know a product is real when you are paying for the licenses," said Mr. Landefeld. "This system will help customers understand that Longhorn is here and now."

Come Monday customers will be able to buy their Longhorn licenses from their local supplier. When they have done so they will receive a "Longhorn Advance License Activation Disk" which contains a program that you can run under Windows XP to activate your Longhorn Advance License.

Asked whether the "Longhorn Advance License Activation Disk" software contains any of the advanced Longhorn features Mr. Landefeld said "No."

Longhorn Advance Licenses go on sale next Monday at the special Microsoft Longhorn Advance License launch events being held around the country.

(Editor's Note: As we were going to press it was announced that there is a severe security vulnerability with Longhorn Advance License Activation software – users are advised to apply LALA service pack 1 before running the software.)