With the launch of Windows Vista, there has been some confusion regarding license entitlements and the use of multilingual interfaces (MUIs). With Windows Vista, MUI, which is the ability to build and deploy an image that includes multiple languages that users can switch between, will be available exclusively by purchasing Software Assurance (SA) on the Windows client. Specifically, clients have been asking how their ability to use MUI would be affected if they decided to discontinue their Enterprise Agreement (EA) or not cover future desktop purchases with SA.

For example, suppose that you have an EA for 1,000 desktops that expires in December 2006. Once it expires, you would get the rights to deploy Vista at a later date, which would allow you to use the MUI on those desktops. However, once an EA or SA expires, the Vista license (which includes rights to MUI) gets tied to the PCs that was covered at the time the EA or SA expired. So, as those original 1000 PCs are retired or removed from service, your rights to MUI will not extend to new purchases unless you buy SA.