Office on iPad: OnLive Cloud vs Microsoft Dispute Resolved?

By samdizzy

onlive-service-desktop

Microsoft had claimed that OnLive Desktop violates Microsoft’s software licensing terms, with regard to offering Windows 7 desktops on hosted servers. OnLive Desktop is somewhat akin to VDI (virtual desktop integration). That is, OnLive Desktop delivers a Windows desktop experience via the cloud. OnLive Desktop also delivers the Microsoft Office desktop experience out to iPads and Google Android tablets.

Back on March 8, a Microsoft blog claimed:

Case Closed?

Fast forward to the present and an OnLive community, called OnLiveFans.com, claims that Microsoft and OnLive have likely resolved the dispute. The community points to evidence that OnLive has shifted its cloud software to Windows Server 2008, and apparently addressed Microsoft’s licensing concerns along the way.

Talkin’ Cloud could not reach Microsoft or OnLive during the weekend, and will follow-up with both companies when U.S. offices reopen for business on April 9, 2012.

The Microsoft vs. OnLive dispute highlights a bigger issue in the cloud services and VDI markets. Some SaaS providers and hosting providers have struggled to promote hosted Windows 7 and Office 2010 desktops because Microsoft’s licensing terms are either cost-prohibitive or too complex to navigate.

Still, a growing number of cloud services providers — including mindSHIFT, a division of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) — have been successfully pushing into VDI…