Licenses OS X 10.4

[digitaldeity]

I'm curious as to how licenses work on OS X because I never had to enter a code to install OS X 10.4. (I'm sorta of a mac newbie, switched from Windoz YAY). Sooo like what is keeping someone from install OS X 10.4 on other computers with the same disc? I'm not saying anything illegal I'm just curious on how the license thingy works

 

[skunk]

Sooo like what is keeping someone from install OS X 10.4 on other computers with the same disc?

Nothing except honest-to-goodness honesty. Mine doesn't even give a serial number in About this Mac...
That's one very cool thing about Apple.

 

[grapes911]

I think part of it is that anyone can build a cheep PC and download windows for it. If you want to use OS X, you have to buy a Mac. Everyone who buys a Mac gets the newest OS with it. They hope that you'll like it enough that you will support them when in comes to their next OS. They make most of their money on hardware, not software. Thus, they don't have to worry about Activation or Serials. If Apple every started making OS X for PC (I doubt they ever will) it would proably have some type of serial.

 

[iMetalG5]

Sooo like what is keeping someone from install OS X 10.4 on other computers with the same disc? I'm not saying anything illegal I'm just curious on how the license thingy works

Well if you are honest you would buy a copy of Tiger for each of your macs or the family pack. There are no KEYs to activate installation like M$ products so there is nothing stopping anyone from installing the same Tiger DVD on multiple macs - however this is illegal and should not be done.

There is a debate going on all over the 'net with a single user owning two Macs. Seems some people are using the signle user DVD on both of their Macs.

I know of a person that is doing this. He lives in his apt. alone and feels no guilt in installing tiger on both his iMacG5 and PowerbookG4. He says he's the only one that uses both computers and he can't afford to purchase the Family Pack for just two Macs.

This is a very grey area but hey, you do what you feel is fit.

 

[skunk]

HOWEVER. If you are an Education user, you can't get a Family Pack....

 

[iMetalG5]

that is correct. i think software with the EDU discount is different than EDU discount on hardware. I know of a teacher that wanted to get Tiger at the discount but he could not at the store. He had to call it in an they needed to know where he worked. I think the school has to pay for it first???? I didn't get to talk to him yet but that's the impression i got.

 

[piracy]

HOWEVER. If you are an Education user, you can't get a Family Pack....

Sure you can. It will just cost you the normal $199 retail price. Which is still much cheaper than the $345 five educational licenses of Tiger would cost you.

 

[andrewfee]

Mine doesn't even give a serial number in About this Mac...

That's nothing to do with Tiger - that means you've had your midplane/logic board swapped out. (I think that's the terminology for mac motherboards?)

Replacement ones are sent without any serial numbers.

 

[skunk]

That's nothing to do with Tiger - that means you've had your midplane/logic board swapped out. (I think that's the terminology for mac motherboards?)

Replacement ones are sent without any serial numbers.

Well that's peculiar, because it's the same on all three Macs, none of which has had that done.

 

[skunk]

Sure you can. It will just cost you the normal $199 retail price. Which is still much cheaper than the $345 five educational licenses of Tiger would cost you.

Now you're just being silly...
All my apps (all paid for) are backed up on all my Macs. I can only use one copy at a time. That's fair use as far as I'm concerned.

 

[andrewfee]

Well that's peculiar, because it's the same on all three Macs, none of which has had that done.

Are you running a retail copy of Tiger?

Both my Powerbook and iMac showed their serials, but when the logic board / midplane on them were replaced the serial went. I called up and that's what I was told.

My current Powerbook still shows its serial number, as it's not had that done.

 

[skunk]

Are you running a retail copy of Tiger?

No, Education. Don't know if that makes any difference.

 

[piracy]

Now you're just being silly...
All my apps (all paid for) are backed up on all my Macs. I can only use one copy at a time. That's fair use as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know how the topic got here...

...but that's not what "fair use" is. "Fair use" only applies to the use of copyrighted materials under very specific conditions, furthering "the Progress of Science and useful Arts", e.g., in education (no, this doesn't mean it's ok if you're a student or go to school), parody, and other specific instances. "Fair use" seems to have gotten twisted around to what some people themselves *think* it is, not what it actually is.

Apple's Mac OS X license allows you to make backup copies of the CD and/or DVD media, and have it physically installed on one machine at a time. This can include internal or external backups on cloned volumes, etc., but still only includes one CPU. If you install Tiger for use on *another* physical CPU/system, even if you only use them "one at a time", this is a clear violation of Apple's license agreement, and as such, is likely in violation of some provisions of US law.

Whether or not you think EULAs can be enforced, whatever your opinion of copyright law, whether or not you're in the US, etc. etc. etc., are all beside the point. Apple, as the copyright and content owner, has made clear decisions about how it wishes the product to be used. You must purchase a license for EACH physical Macintosh computer Mac OS X is installed on. Now, if you feel okay buying one copy of Mac OS X and installing it on multiple computers, well, that's up to you.

But let's be clear: talking about the family pack is not at all "silly". Some people do feel an obligation to honor a good-faith agreement with a merchant; Apple has made a 5-license pack available for $199, and I don't think that's a bad deal at all. But deciding yourself that you're poor / it's ok because I already bought a copy / it's ok because I only use them one at a time / etc., it is still piracy from a technical standpoint, just on a different level. If you can justify it to yourself, hey, don't let me stop you. Knock yourself out.

 

[piracy]

No, Education. Don't know if that makes any difference.

It doesn't.

Mac OS X education and retail copies are bit-for-bit identical. And yes, Mac OS X will always show the serial number of the physical hardware unless your logic board or midplane has been replaced and the AppleCare facility chose to not reset the serial on the new logic board, which 9 times out of 10 is the case. The only other possibility is that some unknown or arcane utility was run at some point on all of those machines, because I can categorically guarantee you that they should all otherwise show the hardware serial number. (Are you sure you're looking in the right place? It doesn't just show it immediately, you have to go to About This Mac and click the version number twice to show the serial.)