Eula complaint and suggestion

[bkoach2]

I sent this to the wrong database earlier ...bkoach2

The Office EULA seems unfair to those of us with more than one pc, but no
laptop for an allowed second installation, and no business laptop to work
from home with.

To wit, laptops and pc's are used interchangeably and concurrently these
days -- some personal (i.e., non-business) user households have either one or
the other, others have two of one type, or two or the other. Not to mention
the fact that many people use their corporate laptops from both work and home
(with additional licenses paid by their business) which again is a net
disadvantage for users without access to a group license and seems curiously
to result in multiple license purchases going into the MS coffers.

What would make sense and actually seem fair for MS to do is to charge a
reasonable fee for ancillary licenses (say $100) which could be ethically
downloaded and installed for up to say two additional laptops or PC's.

Is all of this as simple as me being too literal (because "I'm so old I
actually follow rules while everyone under 45 chuckles") in my
interpretation of the Eula? Should I read "a portable device" to mean that
because I have carried my formerly upstairs pc to the basement it is
"portable?"

I know, I know, nobody will answer the above honestly. Suppose I assume
that if I get fewer than 10 replys telling me to just "read the Eula" I can
assume the hypothesis in the above paragraph is correct?

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

If you read the EULA a bit closer, you will see that the desktop-portable
clause is for the same user. Now you are asking that two people get the use
of the software for less than twice the cost. How can Microsoft make sure
that you aren't going in "halfsies" with a friend? Once again, the people
you need to be upset with are those who pirate the software. Just like
blaming thieves for the price you pay at your department stores is partially
blamed on theft.

 

[bkoach2]

Thanks JoAnn,

It still is not realistic to think a given computer in a home, with software
licensed to one person, will be labeled "unusable" to anyone else in the
home. Computers are not sold for homes on an "each person must have her/his
own" basis, anymore than TV's, or telephones, or the utility services are.
There is a whole class of guilt laden "law breakers" created based on this
assumption.

There really should be a "home license" available at extra cost. No home
operates as a "mine-yours" system, despite the rationalization of the
licensure issue. Again, there should be an ethical way to purchase more
licenses. No amount of standing on one's head will change this. Nothing
personal.

If you read the EULA a bit closer, you will see that the desktop-portable
clause is for the same user. Now you are asking that two people get the use
of the software for less than twice the cost. How can Microsoft make sure
that you aren't going in "halfsies" with a friend? Once again, the people
you need to be upset with are those who pirate the software. Just like
blaming thieves for the price you pay at your department stores is partially
blamed on theft.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

I sent this to the wrong database earlier ...bkoach2

The Office EULA seems unfair to those of us with more than one pc, but no
laptop for an allowed second installation, and no business laptop to work
from home with.

To wit, laptops and pc's are used interchangeably and concurrently these
days -- some personal (i.e., non-business) user households have either one
or
the other, others have two of one type, or two or the other. Not to
mention
the fact that many people use their corporate laptops from both work and
home
(with additional licenses paid by their business) which again is a net
disadvantage for users without access to a group license and seems
curiously
to result in multiple license purchases going into the MS coffers.

What would make sense and actually seem fair for MS to do is to charge a
reasonable fee for ancillary licenses (say $100) which could be ethically
downloaded and installed for up to say two additional laptops or PC's.

Is all of this as simple as me being too literal (because "I'm so old I
actually follow rules while everyone under 45 chuckles") in my
interpretation of the Eula? Should I read "a portable device" to mean
that
because I have carried my formerly upstairs pc to the basement it is
"portable?"

I know, I know, nobody will answer the above honestly. Suppose I assume
that if I get fewer than 10 replys telling me to just "read the Eula" I
can
assume the hypothesis in the above paragraph is correct?

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi B.,

For Office 2003 MS does offer home use licenses as an optional feature of volume licensing to businesses, which gives businesses
copies of Office at reduced pricing. In many cases the limitation here is requested by the businesses because they want to
configure Office CDs specificially to match the corporate standards, features and needs both for accountability (of licensing) and
for being able to have consistent (to support) work spaces. The home use licenses are priced pretty low for volume license holders.
For Office 2007 one of the 'work at home' targets is the 'Ultimate' (sigh) named edition:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/suites/ultimate/overview.mspx

MS Office 2007 licensing for the home user expands the Office 2003 Student/Teacher product (basically 3 licenses of MS Office
Standard Edition at $149) to be the 'Home and Student' Edition (i.e. removing the requirement to meet 'student/parent' criteria)
that is targeted to using Office at home on up to 3 computers for non-commerical use.

http://microsoft.com/office/preview/suites/home/overview.mspx
You can play with it online (high speed connection recommended) rather than installing the Office 2007 beta product on your PC.

There are also, if you're enrolled in any courses at a college/university (and many folks take 'fun' or 'personal growth' classes),
academic licensed editions through the school bookstores that are usually priced fairly inexpensively.

As far as the 'his/her own' computers (and phones), wellll, many parents don't allow their kids (or spouses or 'significant others)
anywhere near *their* computers or cell phones and the kids (especially older ones) usually don't their parents touching 'their
stuff' either <g>. Personal data, electronic or otherwise, is still sensitive to many folks


==========
Thanks JoAnn,

It still is not realistic to think a given computer in a home, with software
licensed to one person, will be labeled "unusable" to anyone else in the
home. Computers are not sold for homes on an "each person must have her/his
own" basis, anymore than TV's, or telephones, or the utility services are.
There is a whole class of guilt laden "law breakers" created based on this
assumption.

There really should be a "home license" available at extra cost. No home
operates as a "mine-yours" system, despite the rationalization of the
licensure issue. Again, there should be an ethical way to purchase more
licenses. No amount of standing on one's head will change this. Nothing
personal. >>
--
I hope this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office system products MVP

LINKS to the 2007 Office System

1. Free MS Office 2007 book from MS Press, 213 pages:
http://microsoft.com/learning/office2007/default.mspx#booksfrommspress

2.. Office 2007 Beta 2 Online Test Drive, Downloadable beta,
e-learning courses, doucmentation and movies:
http://microsoft.com/office/preview

3. Send 2007 Office System Beta 2 feedback directly to the MS Office 2007 product team with this feedback tool:
http://sas.office.microsoft.com/

4. Try the 2007 OfficeOnline preview website , without Office2007

a. Install the ActiveX access control
http://office.microsoft.com/search/redir.aspx?AssetID=XT101650581033

b. then visit
http://officebeta.iponet.net

 

[Beth Melton]

It's not licensed to one person, it's licensed to the computer. It's
similar to insuring each vehicle you own. If I rent a car then my
policy extends to my rental car, just as a retail version would extend
to my laptop for use when I'm away from home. But I can't extend my
policy to someone else's car or share the coverage for one vehicle
with another. There are also family plans and there is the Student and
Teachers Edition for Office 2003 which can be installed on three
computers.

A new edition for Office 2007: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/suites/home/highlights.mspx

I couldn't find licensing information but I suspect licensing will be
similar to the Student and Teachers Edition for Office 2003.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Office 2007 Preview Site:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/default.mspx
Office 2007 Community Articles/Tutorials:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/community/article_archive.mspx

TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

Thanks JoAnn,

It still is not realistic to think a given computer in a home, with
software
licensed to one person, will be labeled "unusable" to anyone else in
the
home. Computers are not sold for homes on an "each person must have
her/his
own" basis, anymore than TV's, or telephones, or the utility
services are.
There is a whole class of guilt laden "law breakers" created based
on this
assumption.

There really should be a "home license" available at extra cost. No
home
operates as a "mine-yours" system, despite the rationalization of
the
licensure issue. Again, there should be an ethical way to purchase
more
licenses. No amount of standing on one's head will change this.
Nothing
personal.

If you read the EULA a bit closer, you will see that the
desktop-portable
clause is for the same user. Now you are asking that two people get
the use
of the software for less than twice the cost. How can Microsoft
make sure
that you aren't going in "halfsies" with a friend? Once again, the
people
you need to be upset with are those who pirate the software. Just
like
blaming thieves for the price you pay at your department stores is
partially
blamed on theft.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

I sent this to the wrong database earlier ...bkoach2

The Office EULA seems unfair to those of us with more than one
pc, but no
laptop for an allowed second installation, and no business laptop
to work
from home with.

To wit, laptops and pc's are used interchangeably and
concurrently these
days -- some personal (i.e., non-business) user households have
either one
or
the other, others have two of one type, or two or the other. Not
to
mention
the fact that many people use their corporate laptops from both
work and
home
(with additional licenses paid by their business) which again is
a net
disadvantage for users without access to a group license and
seems
curiously
to result in multiple license purchases going into the MS
coffers.

What would make sense and actually seem fair for MS to do is to
charge a
reasonable fee for ancillary licenses (say $100) which could be
ethically
downloaded and installed for up to say two additional laptops or
PC's.

Is all of this as simple as me being too literal (because "I'm
so old I
actually follow rules while everyone under 45 chuckles") in my
interpretation of the Eula? Should I read "a portable device" to
mean
that
because I have carried my formerly upstairs pc to the basement it
is
"portable?"

I know, I know, nobody will answer the above honestly. Suppose I
assume
that if I get fewer than 10 replys telling me to just "read the
Eula" I
can
assume the hypothesis in the above paragraph is correct?