At 09:48 AM 20/01/2005 +0800, you wrote:

>From my understanding. Arthur is right about the "user connection".

Read the EULA more carefully.

>I think this is the part of EULA that we are interested in:-
>
> 1. GRANT OF LICENSE. Microsoft grants you the following rights
>
> provided that you comply with all terms and conditions of
>
> this EULA:
>
>
>
> * Installation and use. You may install, use, access,
>
> display and run one copy of the Product on a single
>
> computer, such as a workstation, terminal or other device
>
> ("Workstation Computer"). The Product may not be used
>
> by more than two (2) processors at any one time on any
>
> single Workstation Computer. You may permit a maximum
>
> of ten (10) computers or other electronic devices (each
>
> a "Device") to connect to the Workstation Computer to
>
> utilize the services of the Product solely for

>File and Print services,

Not applicable

>Internet Information Services

Not applicable unless you are running an intranet or allowing Internet
users to connect directly to Firebird.

>, and remote access (including

>connection sharing

--will be an issue if you are pooling connections directly (as a lot of
.NET and Java apps do to work around the limitations of their connectivity
standards)

>and telephony services).

-- applies if you use telephony to connect clients to databases.

>The ten connection maximum includes any indirect connections made through
>"multiplexing"

TCP/IP client server connections are not multiplexing

>or other software or hardware which pools or aggregates connections.

This is an application architecture issue. Firebird does not require
pooling or aggregating to support multiple clients.

>Except as otherwise permitted by the NetMeeting, Remote Assistance, and
>Remote Desktop features described below, you may not use the
>Product to permit any Device to use, access, display or run other
>executable software residing on the Workstation Computer,

This is a problem for MySQL, but not for Firebird. Both Classic and
Superserver services are run by the host machine, not by clients.

> nor may you permit any Device to use, access, display, or run the
> Product or Product's user interface, unless the Device has a separate
> license for the Product.

Applicable if you are accessing the database through VNC, PCAnywhere, etc.,
not applicable to TCP/IP client server in any ordinary LAN, or an intranet
that uses any webserver other than IIS.

./heLen