Forum Moderators: phranque
You actually own the software. Some things, such as SQL Server, are developer only editions, though. I quote from the web site, "Includes a limited license for development and testing only. Windows NTŪ Server licenses limited to ten (10) simultaneous connections. Some software may have usage restrictions imposed via time limits."
I have not found those limits too limiting.
Take Win2000 Server, Microsoft Office Enterprise Edition, and Visual Studio Enterprise Edition and already you are over $2000. I just searched buy.com again and didn't see it, but found it on pricewatch.com from various vendors.