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Windows Server 2008 as Desktop?

I could see doing that if you had a Technet subscription or heavy student discount, or something... But $500~$1K for server is pretty steep.

For the difference in cost could just buy Vista Ultimate, a couple extra gigs of RAM, and take the Wife/SO out to a pretty nice restaurant.
 
Cost aside, I was just curious if anybody has done this or would consider it. I'm thinking of installing it on my new home server I just built. Problem is, I just configured it the way I like it, and would hate to get it all loaded with server2008 and not like it or not work.
 
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Who here has actually paid for any windows OS? Don't have to say on forum, but lets be honest here. 😛
Click to expand...

I've either payed for mine, or they were freely and legally given to me.
 
Originally posted by: ultra laser
I highly doubt that anyone using Server 2008 on their desktop actually paid for it. Software piracy is rampant.
Click to expand...

Microsoft gives this away to college students.
 
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Who here has actually paid for any windows OS? Don't have to say on forum, but lets be honest here. 😛
Click to expand...
I sorta pilfered several copies of Windows 95, 98, and 98SE, not for my own use but systems I built or upgraded for someone else. I always informed them if they were not legit (usually they requested it) and never charged for an OS, just the installation and setup (i.e. labor). The installation media I used were genuine OEM System Builder, retail full and upgrade discs I legally purchased for my own use.

Come to think of it, I don't believe I've ever pilfered an OS for use on my own computer. Damn, Microsoft has gotten a lot of my money over the years. I may have to give myself a reward on Microsoft's behalf for being such a good Microsoft customer. 😛
 
Originally posted by: ultra laser
I highly doubt that anyone using Server 2008 on their desktop actually paid for it. Software piracy is rampant.
Click to expand...
I see a lot of systems, in both homes and offices, and I haven't seen a pirated Microsoft OS in a couple of years. WGA detected the last one, in an office. The owners were cheated over by their former IT provider, who charged them for XP, but installed a pirated version.

Around that same time, I spend a week restoring a doctor's office server system. It was overly complicated because all of the server software were pirated versions (SBS 2000 and SQL Server 2000). A restoration that should have cost $1000 cost $4000 because of pirated software. Again, I don't think the office knew about it. They were charged full price for the software by their former IT provider.

Of course, most folks get their Windows OS with their new PC, and if they get the Home version and buy from somebody like Dell or HP they pay very little for it.
 
Originally posted by: Alienwho
Cost aside, I was just curious if anybody has done this or would consider it. I'm thinking of installing it on my new home server I just built. Problem is, I just configured it the way I like it, and would hate to get it all loaded with server2008 and not like it or not work.
Click to expand...

I got a copy of 2008 from a microsoft launch event. It's nice but can be a pain with some software. A lot of software recognizes that it is a server version and requires you get the more expensive version. Anti-virus for instance can be a problem. For the most part everything runs great, I use Vista drivers for everything, play games, photoshop, etc. I also got a copy of vista64 from the same event so I will eventually get around to installing that as well to see if there is much of a difference.
 
As pointed out, MSFT give it to students by way of seeding the market because these IT students will hopefully become IT Professionals and will buy what they know already. Remove the cost differential, add in a little technical knowhow so you can get server configured the way you want, and yah - No reason to skip it.

But I'd opine that's not case for everyone.
 
Well, I installed it on my home server, and so far i'm really liking it. It took a few minutes to install all the necessities, but it worked great. My biggest gripe thus far, is that microsoft crippled the windows media player 11, so I am unable to stream my music. Does anybody have any alternatives for this?
 
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Who here has actually paid for any windows OS? Don't have to say on forum, but lets be honest here. 😛
Click to expand...

I have four legit vista licenses. Two were bought, two were free from Microsoft through promotions/programs.

Stealing an OS is soooo 1990s.
 
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Who here has actually paid for any windows OS? Don't have to say on forum, but lets be honest here. 😛
Click to expand...

I'll be honest: I paid for 3 copies of XP MCE, two copies of Vista, and one copy of Win95 (well, my parents bought it... that was 13 years ago!) The rest of my OSes were OEMs that came with systems. Oh and 3 copies of Vista Ultimate I won from the live search club.
 
Originally posted by: ultra laser
I highly doubt that anyone using Server 2008 on their desktop actually paid for it. Software piracy is rampant.
Click to expand...

I have! Usually at student prices or by MSDN, but I have
 
Originally posted by: Raduque
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Who here has actually paid for any windows OS? Don't have to say on forum, but lets be honest here. 😛
Click to expand...

I'll be honest: I paid for 3 copies of XP MCE, two copies of Vista, and one copy of Win95 (well, my parents bought it... that was 13 years ago!) The rest of my OSes were OEMs that came with systems. Oh and 3 copies of Vista Ultimate I won from the live search club.
Click to expand...

Other than the OEM OSs that came with my system, I've paid for every OS that I've personally installed ever since MSDOS 3.3. I skipped 4.0, but paid for and installed 5.0. Heck, I even paid for OS/2 2.0, 2.1, and 3.0. I can't rember if there was a 4.0, but I was on NT at that point.

I have to admit it was an expensive option when I was a college student (I saw the mac discounts at the time, but don't remember any MS OS discounts).
 
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Who here has actually paid for any windows OS? Don't have to say on forum, but lets be honest here. 😛
Click to expand...

Paid for windows separately? Nope. But my old desktop came with XP, as did my laptop, so that's technically paying for it in the overall price. I also have student copies of XP and Vista, which were free (and legal).
 
Originally posted by: nerp
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Who here has actually paid for any windows OS? Don't have to say on forum, but lets be honest here. 😛
Click to expand...

I have four legit vista licenses. Two were bought, two were free from Microsoft through promotions/programs.

Stealing an OS is soooo 1990s.
Click to expand...

I have 5 here. Two retail copies I purchased at regular price. One through the family upgrade program MS had for a while, One I got super cheap when CompUSA closed it's doors and one as a promotional giveaway from a MS launch event.

That said, I run 2008 server and Vista Ultimate on a single machine (Dual Boot) and desktop performance between the two OS's are identical on that machine. Vista is, however, infinitely more user friendly with far less tweaking. Vista does take less time to boot though.

IMHO people running 2008 as their desktop environment aren't gaining a thing. One of the benchmarks showing 2008 to be faster than Vista is the legendary Officebench by devil mountain software which also "proved" that XP was 3x faster than Vista.

If you want to run 2008 server, more power too you, but at the end of the day, you'll be running the same kernel and get the same basic performance as you would under Vista, but only after many hours of tweaking it to become a reasonably usable desktop OS.
 
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