Retail software is computer software, typically installed on PC-type computers post 2005, delivered via the Internet (also known as cloud-based). Traditionally this software was delivered via physical data storage media sold to end consumer but very few companies still provide their software using physical media. The software is typically sold under restricted licenses (e.g. EULAs) or in the case of cloud-based software sold as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model.
Cloud-based software: this is software that is not installed on a user's device but delivered on-demand via the Internet to the end user's device(s) either through web-based apps or native apps (iOS and Android). Most new software companies provide both or a combination of web, and native apps which may provide different functionality depending on the actual user in a client company.
OEM Pack -HOW This is a licensed copy of software given by the software manufacturer to a computer manufacturer to pre-install on a computer being sold to a customer. A backup copy may or may not be provided on a CD to the end-user along with the computer.
Box Pack - This is a licensed copy of the software that an end-user buys off the shelf from any authorized retail outlet. They may sometimes be more highly-priced than OEM versions as you generally get additional software along with the main software within the pack.
Paper License - This is a scheme provided by the software manufacturer to companies or businesses that require many copies of particular software to be installed on multiple computers within the organization (Volume license key). Say, for example, a company requires installing software on 50 computers in its office. Instead of buying 50 CDs and managing those 50 individually, the company can buy one copy of the software and request the software vendor to issue a paper license authorizing them to use it on 50 computers. The software vendor then charges them accordingly. This method is also much cheaper than buying 50 individual packs.
An important historical event that led to the expansion of the market for retail software was the Open Letter to Hobbyists by Bill Gates in 1976.
Until the 2000s with the emergence of the Internet, retail software represented the vast majority of all end consumer software used and was referred to as shrinkware because of software almost always ships in a shrinkwrapped box.
The most famous examples of retail software are the products offered on the IBM PC and clones in the 1980s and 1990s, including famous programs like Lotus 123, Word Perfect and the various parts that make up Microsoft Office. Microsoft Windows is also shrinkware, but is most often pre-installed on the computer.
The rise of the Internet and software licensing schemes has dramatically changed the retail software market e.g. by Digital Distribution. Users are capable of finding shareware, freeware and free software products or use Web services as easily as retail. [1] Producers of proprietary software have shifted to providing much of their software and services via the Internet, including Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Apple Inc. Software is also becoming available as part of an integrated device, as well.
In 2011 Apple declared the discontinuation of many of its boxed retail software products. [2]
Microsoft Windows is a product line of proprietary graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and sub-families that cater to particular sectors of the computing industry -- Windows (unqualified) for a consumer or corporate workstation, Windows Server for a server and Windows IoT for an embedded system. Defunct families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. The term is also used in several other ways, which causes ambiguity. It sometimes means the maker of a system that includes other companies' subsystems, an end-product producer, an automotive part that is manufactured by the same company that produced the original part used in the automobile's assembly, or a value-added reseller.
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Product activation is a license validation procedure required by some proprietary software programs. Product activation prevents unlimited free use of copied or replicated software. Unactivated software refuses to fully function until it determines whether it is authorized to fully function. Activation allows the software to stop blocking its use. An activation can last "forever", or it can have a time limit, requiring a renewal or re-activation for continued use.
Microsoft Exchange Server is a mail server and calendaring server developed by Microsoft. It runs exclusively on Windows Server operating systems.
Criticism of Microsoft has followed various aspects of its products and business practices. Issues with ease of use, robustness, and security of the company's software are common targets for critics. In the 2000s, a number of malware mishaps targeted security flaws in Windows and other products. Microsoft was also accused of locking vendors and consumers in to their products, and of not following or complying with existing standards in its software. Total cost of ownership comparisons between Linux and Microsoft Windows are a continuous point of debate.
In computer hardware, a white box is a personal computer or server without a well-known brand name.
In software licensing, volume licensing is the practice of using one license to authorize software on a large number of computers and/or for a large number of users. Customers of such licensing schemes are typically business, governmental or educational institutions, with prices for volume licensing varying depending on the type, quantity and applicable subscription-term. For example, Microsoft software available through volume-licensing programs includes Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.
Push email is an email system that provides an always-on capability, in which when new email arrives at the mail delivery agent (MDA), it is immediately, actively transferred (pushed) by the MDA to the mail user agent (MUA), also called the email client, so that the end-user can see incoming email immediately. This is in contrast with systems that check for new incoming mail every so often, on a schedule. Email clients include smartphones and, less strictly, IMAP personal computer mail applications.
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Umar Javeed, Sukarma Thapar, Aaqib Javeed vs. Google LLC and Ors. is a 2019 court case in which Google and Google India Private Limited were accused of abuse of dominance in the Android operating system in India. The Competition Commission of India found that Google abused its dominant position by requiring device manufacturers wishing to pre-install apps to adhere to a compatibility standard on Android.