Windows Live OneCare for Server Cost

I’m configuring my new workstation this evening, which is running Windows Server 2008.  It’s a pretty sweet machine:

• Quad-core 2.4GHz
• 6GB RAM
• 512MB video RAM
• 250GB HDD

This machine is definitely the fastest machine I’ve ever run.

So I tried installing OneCare just to see what would happen.  I actually selected the client version of Windows Live OneCare, but to my surprise Windows Live OneCare for Server actually ended up getting installed.  That’s kind of neat.  Even if you select the wrong installation link, the right thing ends up getting installed.

Now I had noticed that the Windows Live OneCare site doesn’t have any prices on it yet for the server product.  However, after installing the product, I was redirected to a subscription page with the following offerings:

So that’s pretty neat — pricing is out.  I was kind of disappointed to see that they’re charging almost $200 for the same product that you get for $50 on the desktop.  Seriously — there’s no advantage to OneCare for Server from what I can find.  In fact, it’s the client version with certain features DISABLED.

But what I’m excited about is that site license option.  That’s pretty cool — $400 for a site license for all computers.  That’s a heck of a deal.  I wonder if there are any limits on the number of clients.  They don’t seem to offer any additional details, so I guess it really is a license for all clients at the site.  That’s really neat.