I hear that, if you have, say the Mac OS X Tiger DVD install CD, you can use it on more than one Mac? Is this true? I was surprised when I heard about this. Although I suppose there is no product activation? Or you (in a technical sense, not the legal sense) NEED the family pack to install one CD on more than one computer?
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I didn't know Mac OS X could be installed on more than one computer
- Thread starter Gary King
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As above, the EULA states one copy of Tiger, one Mac installation. The family pack gives you 5 licenses for 5 Macs in the same household but is technically identical to the single installation. Thankfully, we don't yet have product activation a la XP
Tiger requires no S/N, no activation code or method, or anything... there is technically nothing other than your conscience preventing you from installing it on 1,000 computers.
but support Apple... one license, one computer.
but support Apple... one license, one computer.
Tiger Family Pack for commercial networks, such as design studios and service bureaus, is also a no-no.
stridey said:It is only legal to install the Mac OS X Tiger DVD on one computer.
I hate people who lie about software EULAs. You don't have to lie about installling on more than one computer, its normal.
I have one copy of Tiger and 3 Macs in my home and guess what, they all have it. I'm not ashamed to say it. I bought it, I will use it as I see fit.
No I don't flash it on torrent sites. I think its perfectly OK to install multiple copies of one title of software within your home. However, I do have a problem with people just letting strangers take it.
Example. MS Office will cost you upwards of $300. Me and a friend both put in for it and pass it around to our close friends.
BTW: Stridey, I'm not accusing you of anything.
Actually there is... but it is not the standard license string type of thing that you would type in.Gary King said:
The activator for Mac OS X is Apple computers. Your Mac is, in a very real since, the hardware key for using Mac OS X.
Anyone wondering why Apple is most likely not going to make Intel based Macs PC compatible, this is the reason. If the hardware is to close to that of a PC, then people might find a way to get Mac OS X to run on something other than a Mac.
If (or when) someone is able to do that, Apple will start taking the same steps as Microsoft to protect it's software... only in this case Apple will be protecting their hardware sales (which is more important for Apple).
As for installing Mac OS X on multiple systems, Apple looks down on the practice when it is home users. And they have tried to make it easier for home users to stay in compliance (i.e. the family pack).
As for professional users, Apple is a little more hard line on the subject. Where they discourage the practice with home users, they are willing to take legal steps against professional users.
Daveway said:
You can tell yourself it's "normal" but it is in violation of the license. Are you going to get caught? No. Are you going to have any repercussions? Probably not.
But there are plenty of things in life like this--rolling through a stop sign, running a red light at 3am, dinging someone's car and not leaving a note, picking a few grapes at the grocery store, taking an extra newspaper from the machine--and presumably worse, that's "normal", but not legal. It's unfortunate that there's a general degradation in society from complying with the law because it's the right thing to do to "it's illegal only if I get caught".
BTW, why does Apple not offer commercial licenses at a discount? E.g., 10-user packs for less than 10x the price of Tiger?
Daveway said:
no one is lying about the EULA's. They are absolutely correct, the EULA clearly states you are only allowed a single installation when you buy a copy fo the OS, unless you bought a family pack. The fact that you can easily break that EULA does not negate its validity and legality.
Do what you like, and do so with a clear conscience if you feel like you're in the right. But don't try to pass it off as if what you're doing isn't illegal, because it is.
The more enlightened EULAs will allow one to install an application on two computers, provided the software is not used at the same time on both computers. For me, having a laptop and a desktop machine, this is a very welcome license agreement. I think it's unreasonable that a sw publisher would expect that I buy a copy for my desktop machine and a separate copy for my laptop, when I'm the only person using those two computers and never at the same time.
I have no moral difficulty disregarding a EULA and installing software in this configuration.
I have no moral difficulty disregarding a EULA and installing software in this configuration.
Moof1904 said:
And other EULAs say that you can install software on as many computers as you like, provided that you're the only person that uses them (ie. a per-user licence rather than a per-computer licence). Some will even let you go both ways - you get to choose whether to license it per user or per computer.
Nermal said:
In Apple's case it's neither a per-user nor a per-computer license...it's actually a "single use" license which limits you to installing and using it on only one computer at a time but doesn't tie the license to a specific user or a specific machine
Macky-Mac said:
This is why I sometimes think 'well hold on, I'm the only one that use my desktop and my laptop and I can only ever use one at any one time, hence I'm only using one installation of the OS at a time, so is it really that bad to only pay for one copy? After all, if you pay for two you'd only be paying for the permission to have the OS installed on the machine you're not using whilst your using the otherone.'
I guess if you're really pedantic then you could create a bootable dvd-rom with your OS X installation on it and switch it between your laptop and your desktop depending on which one you're using.
Daveway said:I hate people who lie about software EULAs. You don't have to lie about installling on more than one computer, its normal.
I have one copy of Tiger and 3 Macs in my home and guess what, they all have it. I'm not ashamed to say it. I bought it, I will use it as I see fit.
No I don't flash it on torrent sites. I think its perfectly OK to install multiple copies of one title of software within your home. However, I do have a problem with people just letting strangers take it.
Example. MS Office will cost you upwards of $300. Me and a friend both put in for it and pass it around to our close friends.
BTW: Stridey, I'm not accusing you of anything.
I agree with you. Think about clusters with dozens and hundreds of computers! If you had to install the same software on ALL it would cost A LOT of money!
Conceptually, I've always understood but chaffed a little at the notion that I was only paying for the right to use the software, I wasn't actually buying the software, even in the sense of the limited right to use it multiple times in my own home. But be that as it may, I abide by it. I bought the five license family pack for my two Macs.
It's similar to the way you buy the right to listen to music, but you're not actually purchasing the song. However, I always liked the CD model more where you could put it on your iPod, make a mix tape, etc., more or less use it within your home as you saw fit once you bought a copy. But, the software license is what it is.
It's similar to the way you buy the right to listen to music, but you're not actually purchasing the song. However, I always liked the CD model more where you could put it on your iPod, make a mix tape, etc., more or less use it within your home as you saw fit once you bought a copy. But, the software license is what it is.
eXan said:I agree with you. Think about clusters with dozens and hundreds of computers! If you had to install the same software on ALL it would cost A LOT of money!
I'm sure if you had that many computers you either can get a good deal or money isn't an issue.
Threads like these make me sort of wish Apple would adopt some level of anti-piracy technology for their OS. I mean many of the same people who say Microsoft sucks also admittedly (see above) fail to support Apple by purchasing the correct number of licenses of OS X.
I wonder how much money Apple loses to piracy and EULA violations.
Anyone else catch those recent stories about the "Entitlement" Generation - how all these young people feel they are entitled to everything. Just because you may have bought A license doesn't entitle you to install it 100 times.
I wonder how much money Apple loses to piracy and EULA violations.
Anyone else catch those recent stories about the "Entitlement" Generation - how all these young people feel they are entitled to everything. Just because you may have bought A license doesn't entitle you to install it 100 times.
kingjr3 said:
I second that emotion.
I wonder if 10.5 will introduce that as an additional "safety" measure against OS X on random x86?
I don't want to drag this thread further off topic, as if we needed yet another debate about EULAs and installing OS X on multiple computers.. but..
Well, I definitely expect there to be an attempt at a hardware security solution, but I wondered if a serial number would be an additional security feature.
Well, I definitely expect there to be an attempt at a hardware security solution, but I wondered if a serial number would be an additional security feature.