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Microsoft Office for Mac, can you borrow from a friend?

K

kaelinhngo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2011
4
0
I'm about to buy a MBP for University, and I had a dumb question about whether I can use my cousins "Microsoft Office for Mac" program, on my soon-to-be mbp too! He just bought a macbook air and he bought it from futureshop b/c he had a gift card. What troubles me is that if people could, they would just pass around the program if it was that easy and apple would make no money.

Does this mean I'm going to have to buy the program when I buy my MBP? :confused:

-Greatly appreciated if someone could help me out!
 
No you can't just borrow it. Look for a student discount if you're going to school. Its crazy how much the discounts can be. We get Office for $10!!! through Microsoft's Home Use Program.
 
I'm not sure about the version your cousin has, but I bought Office for Mac, and you're required to enter the product key to register the software, which phones home and checks the product key to see if it's been registered on another computer.

On the plus side, one of the versions I bought came with three product keys to allow it to be installed on three different computers. If your cousin's is the same way, you might be in luck.
 
i bought my Microsoft Office for mac through my College for $40 dollars at my school bookstore.
 
When you buy Office for Mac you are legally entitled to use it as you then have a licence to do so. My copy of Office for Mac allowed me three licenced copies.

However, if you are a student, you should be able to get an educational discount, and these can be quite considerable.

"Borrowing" from a friend does not fall into this category.

Cheers
 
Tomorrow said:
On the plus side, one of the versions I bought came with three product keys to allow it to be installed on three different computers. If your cousin's is the same way, you might be in luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll double check and see which one he ended up getting!
 
Haha awesome. Everyone tells you you can't do it and you glom onto one comment and you're going to check what version he has. Maybe he has the ONE copy of MS Office Friends and Family Unlimited Installs in existence.
 
imahawki said:
Haha awesome. Everyone tells you you can't do it and you glom onto one comment and you're going to check what version he has. Maybe he has the ONE copy of MS Office Friends and Family Unlimited Installs in existence.
Click to expand...

then I'll just have to buy one! no biggie.
 
No problem, it just amused me. I can see not wanting to buy it at $150 or whatever it costs (not that THAT justifies piracy) but luckily there are really good discounts available to a large portion of the population.
 
h00ligan said:
Retail office allows three licenses. Period.

So if your friend is using one, yes.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Period.

You can buy a 1-install version.

The three install Family Pack allows for three installs for a single household. See section 2.c.i. of the software license terms:

License Rights: For software marked “Home and Student Family Pack”, you may install one copy of the software on up to three licensed devices in your household for use by people for whom that is their primary residence. The software may not be used for commercial, non-profit, or revenue-generating activities.
Click to expand...
 
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i got my macbook pro13 this summer and i was worried about office and how much it would cost, since i can't use the software i had installed on my vaio(which i sold).

while i was in South American on Holiday, i found out i could get a copy of Miscrosoft Office 2011 for Mac for about 5 bucks. lol
needless to say, i couldn't be happier with my purchase
 
Tomorrow said:
I'm not sure about the version your cousin has, but I bought Office for Mac, and you're required to enter the product key to register the software, which phones home and checks the product key to see if it's been registered on another computer.

On the plus side, one of the versions I bought came with three product keys to allow it to be installed on three different computers. If your cousin's is the same way, you might be in luck.
Click to expand...

u can re use that product key LOL
 
Ok, fine..you are meant to live in the same place.

What a ridiculous rule. If my friend had the 3 key version (common retail) I would install it with a clear conscience, and knowing the software police weren't looking to screw me based on the fact we didn't live together.
 
h00ligan said:
Ok, fine..you are meant to live in the same place.

What a ridiculous rule. If my friend had the 3 key version (common retail) I would install it with a clear conscience, and knowing the software police weren't looking to screw me based on the fact we didn't live together.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of ridiculous rules. That doesn't mean they're OK to break (especially when its also a legal issue).
 
imahawki said:
No problem, it just amused me. I can see not wanting to buy it at $150 or whatever it costs (not that THAT justifies piracy) but luckily there are really good discounts available to a large portion of the population.
Click to expand...

You can say that again. Between MSDN, MSDNAA, Dreamspark, and associated licensing picked up over the years, I'm literally up to my neck in licenses.
 
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