louis salerno said:
ok i work for a compony and my boss said if i wanted Xp
for my home computer i could have it. but i dont know, its
the corp version. do i need a special cd key or is there
even a cd key. or for that matter does it even matter? is
legal or can i get in trouble for using our componies
version? plz answer me i dont want to make a mistake and
get in trouble.
That depends on who your boss is, and if the has knowledge of what the
company's licensing agreements are, is willing to risk the fines if this is
in violation of the agreement, and whether he has permission to give away
licenses to the OS.
If your boss just happens to have access to the CDs and isn't someone with
the proper authority, he could be costing the company thousands of dollars
if they get audited and things don't work out right. If he's the guy who has
to pay that fine, it's his own problem. But if your boss is just a manager
with access to the disks, he'd be likely to be in really hot water, and he'd
surely manage to pass that blame on to whoever he could. Probably say that
employees were stealing disks without his knowledge...
Since he didn't give you very clear instructions on what you could do with
the OS and how it has to be installed, it may be that he doesn't have
permission, or maybe he's just clueless. I think the fines for violating
that agreement is something like $50-100k per instance, by the way. Not that
you'd have to pay it; the company would. But they'd likely not be real happy
with you after they paid a fine like that because of you. What they could do
to you or your boss afterward is anyone's guess, but I'd guess you'd be
unemployed.
On the other hand, some companies buy licenses so that their off-site
employees can put the OS on home computers. Which is perfectly fine.
If you aren't clear on whether you have permission to use the OS at home,
you'd be best off doing a little checking before you install it. Chances are
Microsoft wouldn't do anything to you; they'd rather go after the company.
But the company could go after you in a variety of ways: fire you, sue you,
accuse you of theft. Whatever. You work there. You should have a better idea
than anyone here if you have *real* permission, and whether you'd get in any
trouble over it. And whether the trouble would be worth it.