Microsoft Targeting OnLive over Windows Remote Virtualization Licensing

Over the past couple of months, we've been covering OnLive's efforts to bring remote virtualization of Windows applications to the iPad, offering access to Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, and Flash-enabled web browsing through Windows 7. OnLive may, however, be running into some difficulties with Microsoft over its offerings, with ZDNet pointing to a Microsoft blog post discussing licensing arrangements for remote desktop streaming and its belief that OnLive is not meeting these requirements.

onlive desktop
Companies are permitted to offer some "desktop-like functionality" to users via remote hosting, but Windows 7 itself and Office provided through a hosted Windows 7 installation are specifically excluded. An alternative method allowing for full remote hosting would require that the end user hold a license with Microsoft for the software and that the remote hardware used to host the Windows installation be dedicated to that specific customer. OnLive's services certainly do not seem to meet either of these paths to compliance, and Microsoft notes that it is "committed to seeing this issue is resolved."

Some inquiries about these scenarios have been raised as a result of recent media coverage related to OnLive’s Desktop and Desktop Plus services. Additionally, the analyst firm Gartner raised questions regarding the compliance of these services last week. We are actively engaged with OnLive with the hope of bringing them into a properly licensed scenario, and we are committed to seeing this issue is resolved.

OnLive has apparently yet to issue any public statements on the situation.

Tag: OnLive

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
Clicks Communicator Feature

'Clicks Communicator' Unveiled — Will You Carry This With Your iPhone?

Friday January 2, 2026 6:35 am PST by
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator. The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
Mac Pro Feature Blue

What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Wednesday December 31, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro. Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost...
macbook air march 2020

Apple Says Final Intel MacBook Air and Apple Watch Series 5 Now 'Vintage'

Wednesday December 31, 2025 8:39 am PST by
Apple today added the final 13-inch MacBook Air powered by Intel processors, the Apple Watch Series 5, and additional products to its vintage products list. The iPhone 11 Pro was also added to the list after the iPhone 11 Pro Max was added back in September. The full list of products added to Apple's vintage and obsolete list today: MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) iPhone 8 Plus 128GB ...
Apple Fitness Plus hero

Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More

Friday January 2, 2026 6:43 am PST by
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch. The key announcements include: New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January. "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an ...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...

Top Rated Comments

jontech Avatar
180 months ago
I learned early in my IT career, the only way to pass a Microsoft Certification exam was to choose the option that said "Buy more licenses"
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bilboa Avatar
180 months ago
I love microsoft, but I swear they are too stingy with their license agreements. OnLive is a great company, ive been gaming with them for years, and the virutal windows is a great new product.

I don't know of ANY commercial software vendor who would allow a product sold with an end-user license to be provided to an arbitrary number of other users like this without any profit going back to the vendor. From a financial point of view that would be no different than buying a single copy of Windows 7 and then making the ISO available for download on your website for a fee, since you're now providing it to other users without MS seeing any of the profit. Any commercial software vendor would object to that. In this case, judging by their blog post, MS isn't trying to shut down OnLive, they just want them to buy the appropriate licenses that MS sells specifically for companies who want to provide a service like OnLive.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robeddie Avatar
180 months ago
Microsoft trying to abuse their monopoly again for more money, not a surprise

But wheres the UK launch :(

Bitchplease. If this was Apple instead of Microsoft they'd be suing onlive's ass off.

And you'd be cheering them on.

Apple has become the king of giant corporation suing machines.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
reden Avatar
180 months ago
I love microsoft, but I swear they are too stingy with their license agreements.
So, I take it you'd be alright selling 1 license to a corporation, and them just installing it on every computer in the building. Good business model man.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PabloCreep Avatar
180 months ago
I didn't see that one coming at all :rolleyes:
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nikhsub1 Avatar
180 months ago
I love microsoft, but I swear they are too stingy with their license agreements. OnLive is a great company, ive been gaming with them for years, and the virutal windows is a great new product.
RDP and office have VERY strict licensing rules, I knew this was going to happen. MS isn't being stingy, it is THEIR software that OnLive is profiting from.
I don't own an iPad yet, but the last thing I would want to use it for is to virtually run Windows software on it.
The iPad is amazing at running RDP - If you need to run windows only software (yeah, sounds absurd right?) like people in the medical field, the iPad can be your vehicle to run that software even though it is windows based. I gather you don't get out much into the real world of computing by your comment.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)