Microsoft is no stranger to controversy regarding its products. This time, one particular part of the Windows Vista EULA is garnering some negative press. Scott Granneman and Ed Foster both raise some interesting points.

The particular part in question is regarding how benchmarks may be used by licensees of Vista. Microsoft states that licensees may not publish any benchmarks of the .Net Framework unless it meets the criteria at a particular web page at the Microsoft website.

9. MICROSOFT .NET BENCHMARK TESTING. The software includes one or more components of the .NET Framework 3.0 (”.NET Components”). You may conduct internal benchmark testing of those components. You may disclose the results of any benchmark test of those components, provided that you comply with the conditions set forth at http://go.microsoft/fwlink/?LinkID=66406. Notwithstanding any other agreement you may have with Microsoft, if you disclose such benchmark test results, Microsoft shall have the right to disclose the results of benchmark tests it conducts of your products that compete with the applicable .NET Component, provided it complies with the same conditions set forth at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=66406.

The concern here is that Microsoft can change the contents of the page to which that link points to at any moment. This will force people to check each time to see if anything has changed before publishing any benchmarks.

The limitations, currently, prohibit any benchmarks unless they comply with stringent controls which may or may not be in line with the aims of the benchmark in question.

be performed using all performance tuning and best practice guidance set forth in the product documentation and/or on Microsoft’s support Web sites, and uses the latest updates, patches, and fixes available for the .NET Component and the relevant Microsoft operating system.

What if a web site administrator, such as myself, wanted to publish results of a benchmark comparing performance of a web site before and after the inevitable patches to .Net Framework 3.0, or the first service pack to Vista?

The controls in the Vista EULA cover the Home versions of Vista as well. This has led to much speculation involving draconian control over even the average home user. Ed Foster raises an interesting question in his piece:

Perhaps as written now it’s OK for you to tell your neighbor over the back fence that Vista seems to take twice as long to boot up as MacOS XI, but what if Redmond changes the conditions at some point in the future to prohibit such activities?

At first glance, the possibility seems ludicrous. However, as far as I can tell, this is basically what they are doing to the professionals.