A simple guide to understanding Microsoft software licensing - The difference between OEM / FPP / Open Licensing

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM)
What is it?
With OEM, you buy the hardware (such as a laptop) with the software already installed. The software license is attached to the computer. That means the software cannot be transferred to another computer. This option is suited to home users and organizations with minimal IT requirements within their organization.

PROs:
- When you buy the computer it comes with the software
pre-installed and ready to use.

CONs:
- OEM Licenses are not transferable.

Who is it for? Usually major computer brands such as HP and DELL will bundle the operating system together with their products. This bundled license is called OEM.

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Full Packaged Product (FPP)
What is it?
Full Packaged Product (FPP) is software that you buy off the shelf from a retailer, e.g. Microsoft Windows® software. Each box contains a copy of the software that you manually install on your computer and one license. This type of license is perpetual. This option is ideal for home use and for small businesses that need less than five software licenses and minimal user rights associated to the software. FPP is the most expensive way to purchase Microsoft products.

PROs:
- Software can be purchased from a retail outlet or online, and can be installed quickly and easily.

CONs:
- You’re limited to installing your software on a single computer only.

Who is it for? FPP is ideal for customers that have between 1 – 5 computers or that need less than 5 software licenses.

* * * * *

Open License / Value License / Volume License
What is it?
Available only with a minimum purchase of 5 units on first purchase. This license is a perpetual (no expiry) and belongs to the company, not the computer or notebook.

PROs:
- License can be transferred from old PCs to new PCs (with no version upgrade).

CONs:
- Users are stuck with the same version 'forever' even after new versions and updates are released. This can be avoided by purchasing 'Software Assurance' which is renewed annually.

10 easy ways to speed up Windows 10

10 easy ways to speed up Windows 10

I have some customers that upgraded or purchase new computers and complained that they are still not familiar with Windows 10 or that it is slow on a startup to medium and to powerful computer machines.

I found this link on the web and would like to share the tips with you. I'm not sure if it will speed up Windows 10 but it looks like it can make it less complicated and more customization to your liking.

1. Go opaque

Windows 10's new Start menu is sexy and see-through, but that transparency will cost you some (slight) resources. To reclaim those resources, you can disable transparency in the Start menu, taskbar, and action center: Open the Settings menu and go to Personalization > Colors and toggle off Make Start, taskbar, and action center transparent.

2. No special effects

Making the Start menu, taskbar, and action center transparent is one thing, but Windows 10 still has a lot of other snazzy, built-in special effects. To really go bare-bones on the special effects, right-click the Start button and click System.

Click Advanced system settings to open the System Properties menu. On the Advanced tab under Performance, click Settings...

This will open the Performance Options menu. In the Visual Effects tab, either choose Adjust for best performance to turn off all unnecessary animations and special effects, or choose Custom: and deselect the visual effects you think can live without. When you're finished, click OK to apply your changes.

3. Disable Startup programs

If your PC is taking a long time to boot up -- and you've enabled Fast Startup and everything -- you may have too many programs starting up when you turn your computer on. To fix this, right-click on the Start button and click Task Manager. Click the Startup tab (click More details if you don't see the Startup tab) and peruse the list of programs that start up with your computer. If you see a program that doesn't need to be there, right-click it and click Disable. You can also arrange the list of programs by Startup impact, if you'd like to see the programs that are taking up the most resources (and time).

4. Find (and fix) the problem

Windows 10 has a built-in performance troubleshooter that can help you find and fix any problems that might be affecting your PC's speed. To open the troubleshooter, right-click on the Start button and click Control Panel. Under Security and Maintenance at the top, click Troubleshoot common computer problems. Next, under System and Security, click Run maintenance tasks.

5. Reduce the Boot Menu Time-out

When your computer starts up, the boot menu is displayed for a certain amount of time before the operating system loads. This gives you time to do things like start Windows in Safe Mode. You can shave a few seconds off your startup time by changing the boot menu time-out, which is set to 30 seconds by default.

To do this, right-click on the Start button and click Control Panel. Go to System > Advanced system settings, and, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.

Next to Time to display list of operating systems:, change the value from 30 seconds to 10 seconds and click OK.

6. No tipping

In an effort to be helpful, Windows 10 will sometimes give you tips on how to get the most out of the OS. It scans your computer in order to do this, a process that can have a slight impact on performance. To turn off these tips, go to Start > Settings > System > Notifications & actions and toggle off Get tips, tricks and suggestions as you use Windows.

7. Run Disk Cleanup

This one's a win-win. It'll improve performance and free up space on your hard drive. Disk Cleanup has been around forever, but this trusted Windows utility can still help clean out the temporary files, installers and other junk littering your hard drive. To run it, just search for Disk Cleanup, run it and click the button labeled Clean up system files. 

8. Eradicate bloatware

If your PC came with pre-installed apps you don't want or need, get rid of them. Same goes for any apps you installed that you later found to be of little or no use. Right-click the Start menu, choose Control Panel and under the Programs header, click Uninstall a program. Peruse the list from time to time and select the programs you no longer need and click Uninstall at the top of the list.

9. Power plan

Make sure you aren't using a Power saver plan if you don't need to. Even desktops will sometimes feature a power-saver option, which doesn't do you any good unless you are trying to conserve battery life. Open the Control Panel and go to Hardware and Sound > Power Options to see which power plan you are currently using. For better performance, make sure you are using a High Performance or Balanced plan (or a plan from the PC manufacturer that says it's balanced).

10. Restart your PC

Is speeding up your computer as simple as...restarting it? Maybe. Restarting your PC clears out its memory and stops any processes that might be taking up resources. Also, shutting down your computer is not the same as restarting it -- shutdown is affected by Windows 10's Fast Startup, which saves a snapshot of your PC and its processes in a hiberfile for faster boot-up. Restart is not affected by Fast Startup, so if you have Fast Startup enabled, restarting your PC is the only way to fully clear the memory and shutdown processes.

Original post by CNET

Microsoft Support Ending Date for Windows products.

Here's a very interesting information. As we know, Microsoft Windows XP has ended its support on April 8, 2014 yet some of the companies still use it as its computer operating system as their computers hardware isn't supportive with the newer operating system.

Here is a information from Microsoft on its Supporting End Dates.
http://www.allyncs.com/docs/lifecyclesupport.html

Other supporting information as listed below links.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/lifeoffice
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/…/save-the-date-end-of…/

So should we start upgrading our computers to support Windows 10? I don't know. There are still some bugs in Windows 10 but some uses are alright. Some aren't. It depends what work and how it is used. Most computers in the market has already been integrated ready with Windows 10. So, I guess its ok to move in straight to it.

http://www.allyncs.com/docs/lifecyclesupport.html