Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

Wow! The Windows XP license contains this fine blurb:

Except as otherwise permitted by the NetMeeting, Remote Assistance, and Remote Desktop features described below, you may not use the Product to permit any Device to use, access, display, or run other executable software residing on the Workstation Computer, nor may you permit any Device to use, access, display, or run the Product or Product\'s user interface, unless the Device has a separate license for the Product.

This is according to the linked InfoWorld article (which talks about other bandwidth concerns in XP and throws this in as almost an afterthought at the bottom.)

This means that you cannot use VNC or PCAnywhere? Again, Wow. I used to work for IBM and one of my great achievements (ok, small achievements) there was to save a particular very large client a great deal of time and money by recommending and then implementing a remote control support option using VNC. It was installed with a common password and NOT SET TO AUTORUN on every PC in the organization including the mobile users around the world. It then enabled support personnel to talk with a user on the phone and say \"Ok, please start VNC for me.\" Then the support person could take over the machine and address any problem directly. (VNC for the record, kicks arse, works great to control UNIX or Windows desktops, and provides a no cost x server interface for those without Exceed, etc.)

The XP license it would appear would render all of that illegal. Sorta. It states the remote controlling device has to have a license. It reads to me as if, technically, the remote controlling machine could have an EXTRA license and then could legally control the remotely controlled machine. This would need to be the case for every machine to be used as a controlling machine (but you could make that one central workstation, I suppose.)

The linked InfoWorld story has a small section about another network administrator doing exactly the same type of thing I was doing at IBM. He is concerned about this item in the license, and rightfully so.

So, all of you out there using XP, make sure you DONT install PCAnywhere on it without buying another license, er, wait, just dont use XP, even better.

Thanks to /. for the lead on this one.
  XP brouhahah: infoWorld