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Microsoft strengthens product activation on Mac Office 2011

#1 User is offline   Macworld 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:01 AM

Post your comments for Microsoft strengthens product activation on Mac Office 2011 here
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#2 User is offline   SFrawley 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:08 AM

I am not a Pirate and I pay for the software I use, but Microsoft will not see another dollar from me.

Go to Hades, Microsoft!
Steve Frawley
Tax, Accounting & Computers Svcs
Since 1984
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#3 User is offline   mattt 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:10 AM

And I was actually _this_ close to caving and getting the upgrade. Is there any evidence that these measures actually work? Or do they just make life difficult for honest customers?
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#4 User is offline   smundich 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:24 AM

I agree, this definitely will stop me from buying the new version. I'll simply wait for the mac app store and download "pages" for fifteen bucks which I'll be able to use on all my macs...
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#5 User is offline   neilmcg 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:24 AM

As I've read in the news all the time, MS Office and Windows is so very heavily pirated, even by state companies and institutions (Russia, China, etc, etc.) - the cost of pirating is not victimless. Normal consumers end up subsidising the piracy. So now we have strict activations and less flexibility. The windows version will likely be the same next cyxle release.

We switched to OpenOffice in my company about 2 years ago, I have to say I'm not missing MS Office. I thought I would, but in actual fact - it has not impacted my productivity.

If he is the only user of Office in his household - why does Rob Griffiths need Office installed on all 5 of the machines? It makes no sense.
It is limp.
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#6 User is offline   George76 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:31 AM

So, if Rob is the only one in his household that uses MS Office, why does he need it installed on 5 different Macs? Does he really use all 5 Macs for it to matter?

Really, it just sounds like he wants something to complain about since it's Microsoft. I was glad to see so many people calling him out on that in the original article's comments.
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#7 User is offline   Verboten 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:34 AM

View PostSFrawley, on 28 October 2010 - 08:08 AM, said:

I am not a Pirate and I pay for the software I use, but Microsoft will not see another dollar from me.

Go to Hades, Microsoft!


I, too, will stick to using Office 2008, iWork and Open Office. MS can go hang.
I always tell people with PC's not to send me MS files if possible.
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#8 User is offline   Quix 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:42 AM

I returned an unopened copy of Windows 7 Professional after reading about the activation scheme. I run Windows using either Parallels or Fusion on my Mac, depending on which version is faster at the time. I may even decide to run on a BootCamp partition instead for specific needs. All on a single machine, mind you. Microsoft's onerous activation scheme would make switching between VM tools a nightmare for me. I'm not going to call Microsoft customer support to explain my situation and beg for a new activation instance every time I switch to a different VM.

I won't be buying Office 2011 either due to these ridiculous policies, which only punish honest users (as dishonest users will find a way around them anyway).

Goodbye, Microsoft. Your iron-fisted rule will be your demise.
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#9 User is offline   Chris Breen 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:44 AM

View PostGeorge76, on 28 October 2010 - 08:31 AM, said:

So, if Rob is the only one in his household that uses MS Office, why does he need it installed on 5 different Macs? Does he really use all 5 Macs for it to matter?


Probably. I'm in the same boat. I routinely use four or five Macs as part of my work. And it is a drag to have to move from one Mac to another simply because a license requires you to. Fortunately, I'm rarely required to use Office apps any longer.

This kind of goofy restriction makes it all that much easier to stick with an older version when I absolutely have to use Word or Excel and, when I don't have to use them, favor an alternative. Given the growing popularity of the Mac, this seems like the absolutely wrong direction to take. But then not many of Microsoft's recent moves has made much sense.

#10 User is offline   Casademike 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:45 AM

So they launch the business product with NO UPGRADE PRICING. Then they add in this? When you couple this with the mediocre reviews it's been getting, what's the point?
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#11 User is offline   plazamac 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:48 AM

I've not used MS Office since Pages and Numbers came out and don't miss them the slightest and productivity is just fine.

As for needing Office on 5 Macs, I'm betting the situation is the same as mine - my main Mac, my laptop, the Mac for the teen kids to share, my wife's Mac, and the Mac for the college student child. Depending on who is doing what during the day, I may find myself sitting down at any one of these Macs to work as someone else may be using another.
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#12 User is offline   Craig_A 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:49 AM

I rather miss the Borland no-nonsense license agreement. "Treat it like a book."

Install as many copies as you need, but you can only use one at a time.
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#13 User is offline   PoopaAnski 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 09:08 AM

Why all the fuss? WordPerfect X5 for Home and Sutdent(installed via Fusion) is has the same features as MS Office Business and saves to 80 different file formats and costs on $80.
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#14 User is offline   mrbach 

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 09:15 AM

Why do you complainers complain about MS activation, when Apple physically ties your iPod, iPhone and iPad to the computer and only lets you use iTunes as a portal to buy and activate ALL software?
I'm no fan of Microsoft, but seriously, Apple is far stricter. Try installing Pages on your iPad without activating with Apple.
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