I've been banned again from the Hobbybroadcaster website. Not sure why, although it could be because of recent satiric comments made here. If so, it's rather amusing.
I also wanted to discuss a recent post over there (read just before the ban), in which the webmaster talked about installing Windows 10 IOT on the Hobbybroadcaster broadcast computers (6 of them). It's unclear that they would have the appropriate licensing in place for IOT.
For those that might be tempted, from reading that post, in following suit, I present this information.
From what I've been able to gather, you can't get Windows IOT through normal reseller channels. It is not intended for end user computer use. It is intended, and licensed, for purpose built appliances, and is only legally available to OEMs that build and then resell those appliances (such as medical devices, POS machines, etc.).
And, in fact, you have to purchase IOT licenses through specially authorized sellers, who determine if you qualify to purchase and use the software. You just can't plunk down your money and get it.
Pricing is also different. With other Windows operating systems, you pay a fixed price for a license, and it can be installed on virtually any computer you own. Windows IOT licenses are priced according to the hardware it is intended to be resold on - the lower the specs of the hardware, the cheaper the cost. Conversely, the more powerful your processor is, the higher the cost (and it can get quite high). Each IOT license applies only to a specific piece of hardware (intended for resale) and the processor it contains.
From the information that was posted at Hobbybroadcaster, I have no idea how these guys could have met the qualifications to obtain IOT licenses. Maybe they can explain just how they did?
Further to my post on Windows 10 IOT, I did find out that Microsoft makes IOT available, via a volume licensing process, to some of its Enterprise clients. For what use, I don't know. Perhaps for those uses that don't require frequent feature updates but do require long term support, such as computer labs.
As far as I can determine, it is a license violation to install it on general use computers, never mind obtaining the license itself (i.e., you can't obtain it through the normal computer reseller channel).
It's too bad, because using Windows 10 IOT would have certainly been a good solution to the issue of a Windows update knocking out a 24/7 broadcasting application.