Don't pay Sun for RTU License upgrades -- save $700!

[gnu at toad.com]

When Sun wanted to charge me $700 to "upgrade my SunOS Right-To-Use
license from 4.0.3c to 4.1", in addition to the $350 for media and $600
for manuals, I started checking around.  Customer Support Product
Marketing assured me that the charge was usual, though it happens I'd
never paid it before due to hardware upgrades that came with new SunOS
releases.

But when I actually pulled out my RTU license (two pages of legalese that
came in a plastic pouch on the outside of the box containing the monitor,
for my SS-1), it said I was licensed for "those data processing programs
set forth in the Sun US Price List...and any derivative works thereof,
including modifications, enhancements, and extensions, made by or for
Sun...".  It sounded to me like SunOS 4.1 was a modified, enhanced and
extended version of SunOS 4.0.3c, and after checking around, Sun Legal and
Sun management agreed with me.

Doug Nelson in Sun Legal is spreading the word within the company that the
alleged RTU License Upgrades are not necessary and that Sun policy is that
if you're licensed to run SunOS, you're licensed to run *any version* of
SunOS.  If your sales rep or your customer support contacts don't believe
it, send them to Doug.  He's at +1 415 336 6118.

Note that if you buy the SunCD drive before August 31, they throw in SunOS
4.1 media free.  They also gave you a discount on the RTU upgrade.  You
never did need to buy the RTU upgrade, so don't pay an extra $350 for
nothing if you take the CD deal.  The price comparison is now $995 for
drive+4.1 on CD versus $350 for 4.1 on tape.  Note the CD holds all four
versions of 4.1 (Sun-3 and three different SPARC releases), so you could
actually save money if you need more than two of the tapes.  For single
tape customers, $645 is better than $1200 for the drive, but is still not
very close to the $200 you can buy a good audio CD player for.  And this
one doesn't even have a PLAY button!

The order number for the RTU upgrade was quoted to me as USX-00F.  This is
the thing you DON'T need to order.  If you find it on your orders, cancel
it immediately to save $700.  You might talk to your Sun account rep about
any previous RTU upgrades you paid for, too...

	John Gilmore		gnu at toad.com
	Cygnus Support		commercial support for free software