As with every new version of Windows, Microsoft try to make it more and more secure and protect it against fraud. Pretty much every version of Windows has been cracked by hackers at some stage or another. But Microsoft are determined to make things as difficult as possible for the hackers this time around, but apparently it’s going to cause some difficulty and increased costs for OEM’s or ODMs.
ODM’s (Original Design Manufacturing) are saying that Microsoft’s new verification system for Windows 8 – OA 3.0, will add complications toward the upstream ODM’s production lines and relatively generate significant extra cost. There’s controversy being raised between the ODM and OEM (Original Equipment Manufactures) as to who is going to pay the extra costs.
For the OA 3.0, Microsoft plans to pre-install the Windows 8 operating system into PC’s BIOS and will have consumers key-in the authorization key to activate the software through an Internet connection and will completely abandon its previous method of using a COA label.
At the moment it’s very easy and straightforward for manufactures to simply install Windows on a hard drive. Production lines can assemble 1,000 PC’s in quite a short space of time. However this new install method for Windows 8 will mean that a longer install time is required as each machine will need to be individually attended to during installing. In the past simply sticking a COA label onto a PC helped technicians tell if a machine was already installed. But this new method doesn’t require a COA label so installation overlap could easily occur, wasting time.
Not only will more man power required in the production lines, but ODM’s will have to pay extra just to provide their technicians with the appropriate training so they know how to install Windows 8 properly.
The source ODM’s claim that Microsoft is playing a two-faced game. On one hand, Microsoft said that ODM vendors will pay the increased costs, but they then told ODM vendors that OEM’s would incur the extra costs.
Of course neither the OEM’s or ODM’s want to have any additional costs in this very competitive industry.
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