Last August, Macworld senior contributor Rob Griffiths complained about the licensing changes, arguing that Microsoft was penalizing customers with multiple Macs. The EULA ( download PDF) for the $150 Home and Student 2011 Family Pack states, 'You may install one copy of the software on up to three licensed devices in your household.' Office for Mac 2011, however, switched to a single activation code and to an install-based licensing plan, effectively halving the number of Macs on which a customer can install the program. Each license granted the user permission to install Office on both a desktop and a laptop, for a total of six installations.

The EULA for the $150 Office for Mac Home and Student 2008, for example, granted the user three licenses, each accompanied by a separate serial number. The company has also scaled back the number of Macs on which a customer can legally install Office, and uses activation to keep people from violating the terms of the software's end-user licensing agreement (EULA). Microsoft debuted Office activation in 2001 with Office XP, but this is the first time it has added the technology to the Mac productivity suite. During the activation process, Microsoft also collects other information, including the Mac's IP (Internet protocol) address and the default language of the operating system. Users have often scoffed at that explanation.Īccording to Microsoft, the goal of the anti-piracy technology is reduce 'casual copying' by tying the software to a specific Mac's hardware configuration. Microsoft has aggressively promoted product activation by arguing that it's one way customers are assured they've purchased genuine software. 'Microsoft Product Activation tries to reduce counterfeit software, and to make sure that Microsoft customers receive the software quality that they expect,' a company support document stated. Wednesday, Microsoft defended product activation on the Mac with the same reasoning that it has used in the past for Office on Windows. A copy of Office 2010 in reduced mode will not let users edit or print documents, however. Instead, Office 2010 drops into what Microsoft calls 'Reduced Functionality Mode,' which lets users open the applications and view previously-created documents. Nor does the Windows suite go DOA if it has not been activated.

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