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Office 2011 for Mac requires activation

P

PKGuy323

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 25, 2008
30
1
Ok, so I read first that MacBU is roling out Outlook's features "in stages" as it won't sync with Google Calendar right off the bat. THEN I read David Pogue(a respectable Opinionist on all things Mac) trashing it and lists valid reasons why....then I read THIS! Activation..on a Mac.

Figured it was only a matter of time before M$ got their grubby little activation process on the Mac platform. I was almost leaning toward upgrading from 2008 until the recent news listed above. With ACTIVATION now a part of it...forget it. I have enough trouble keeping Windows 7 activated in Parallels and the the weekly phone call to get it working again is more than I care to do with Office....no thanks.

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http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/10/22/license.limited.to.one.mac.can.be.reassigned/

Office 2011 for Mac requires activation?
updated 11:00 pm EDT, Fri October 22, 2010License limited to one Mac, can be "reassigned"

Among the many changes in Microsoft Office 2011 is the arrival of product "activation" done via internet or by phone -- a first for Office on the Mac, a recent blog post from Office for Mac Help has revealed. The site, which is an unofficial resource for Mac Office users, cites the Office 2011 End User License Agreement (EULA) as its source. The activation ties the use of the software to a specific device and reveals other information (such as the IP address and hardware configuration), but can be reassigned to another device any number of times, limited to once every 90 days.
The Home & Student Edition of Microsoft Office 2011 (Family Pack version) still has three licenses, but in the 2008 edition each license was good for one desktop and one laptop install, meaning up to six Macs in a household could run the software. The 2011 license limits each activation to one device, cutting the number of allowable machines in half. Home & Business editions offer a 1-license and 2-license version.

Information sent to Microsoft during the activation process includes the version, license version, language and product key of the software as well as the IP address and hardware profile of the device. The post did not specify the details of what's included in the "hardware configuration" report.

Licenses can be reassigned to different devices, but are restricted from doing so more often than once every 90 days. If a device is "retired" (ie will not be used again due to sale or failure), users can contact Microsoft to reassign licenses sooner. [via officeformachelp.com]


Read more: http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/10/22/license.limited.to.one.mac.can.be.reassigned/#ixzz13Eh0ZuHD
 
PKGuy323 said:
Ok, so I read first that MacBU is roling out Outlook's features "in stages" as it won't sync with Google Calendar right off the bat. THEN I read David Pogue(a respectable Opinionist on all things Mac) trashing it and lists valid reasons why....then I read THIS! Activation..on a Mac.

Figured it was only a matter of time before M$ got their grubby little activation process on the Mac platform. I was almost leaning toward upgrading from 2008 until the recent news listed above. With ACTIVATION now a part of it...forget it. I have enough trouble keeping Windows 7 activated in Parallels and the the weekly phone call to get it working again is more than I care to do with Office....no thanks.

------
http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/10/22/license.limited.to.one.mac.can.be.reassigned/

Office 2011 for Mac requires activation?
updated 11:00 pm EDT, Fri October 22, 2010License limited to one Mac, can be "reassigned"

Among the many changes in Microsoft Office 2011 is the arrival of product "activation" done via internet or by phone -- a first for Office on the Mac, a recent blog post from Office for Mac Help has revealed. The site, which is an unofficial resource for Mac Office users, cites the Office 2011 End User License Agreement (EULA) as its source. The activation ties the use of the software to a specific device and reveals other information (such as the IP address and hardware configuration), but can be reassigned to another device any number of times, limited to once every 90 days.
The Home & Student Edition of Microsoft Office 2011 (Family Pack version) still has three licenses, but in the 2008 edition each license was good for one desktop and one laptop install, meaning up to six Macs in a household could run the software. The 2011 license limits each activation to one device, cutting the number of allowable machines in half. Home & Business editions offer a 1-license and 2-license version.

Information sent to Microsoft during the activation process includes the version, license version, language and product key of the software as well as the IP address and hardware profile of the device. The post did not specify the details of what's included in the "hardware configuration" report.

Licenses can be reassigned to different devices, but are restricted from doing so more often than once every 90 days. If a device is "retired" (ie will not be used again due to sale or failure), users can contact Microsoft to reassign licenses sooner. [via officeformachelp.com]


Read more: http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/10/22/license.limited.to.one.mac.can.be.reassigned/#ixzz13Eh0ZuHD
Click to expand...

If it is a one-time registration/activation, I do not share your outrage. If you have to call M$ once a week about your win 7 install then you have an unresolved problem as your situation is quite atypical.

The registration software I object to are not the "one time" packages, but the ones that require periodic license checks that may render the software useless if there is a network problem.
 
I'm not outraged, just displeased with their new direction requiring activation. This wasn't necessary in Office 08 or prior.

As experiences may vary, my experience has been less than Mac-like regarding Windows/Microsoft software on the Mac.

Office 2008.....I wish M$ would give me my money back.
 
I just got this new mac exchanged with old one. My friend has an office 2008 disc. I used his disc and installed office with the product key on the box it came with but since i exchanged the mac i no longer have office 08. If i install it again using the same product key would it be valid, or would it be rejected.
 
Sky Blue said:
Great news, hopefully this will cut down on piracy.
Click to expand...

I give it a week until someone releases a crack. If not, there's a reason Little Snitch exists.

I personally despise the idea of activation, because I myself have had numerous problems activating software in the past, it's one of the things that made me switch to the Mac. Activation is one thing, Microsoft's activation process is another.

-Don
 
problem with downloaded version and activation

Received a key from Microsoft after purchasing it online through the software. Key does not work. It will not activate online. There is no phone support or phone activation number listed. I had to track down a customer support number. Spent two hours on the phone with support. No one actually had any concept of how the Mac installation worked in their activation help desk. They had to transfer me to customer support, and kept talking about how they will help me resolve the issue without a fee. Now I have paid for the software but cannot use it because of the key issue. Never have seen anything like this before. I work on PCs as well as Macs and have NEVER seen an issue like this activating software on the PC. There have been damaged keys from time to time but MS resolves it usually instantly when you are talking to the rep. Mac users definitely are getting shafted.

The most shocking thing to me is this activation has already been stripped from the pirated version.

I would only buy the boxed version after this issue. The convenience of downloading the software and getting the key directly from MS is complete poison.
 
Last edited:
Sky Blue said:
Great news, hopefully this will cut down on piracy.
Click to expand...

Cougarcat said:
You can already find it with the activation removed. Pirates get a better product than paying customers.

DRM is never great news.
Click to expand...

osagnostic said:
The most shocking thing to me is this activation has already been stripped from the pirated version.
Click to expand...


Microsoft never intended Product Activation to stop this sort of piracy.

It's designed to make people aware of, and enforce the terms of the licence agreement.

They were concerned that people were buying one copy of Windows/Office and installing it all of their computers, lending it to their friends etc. All of those copies appeared to be legal and valid from the point of view of Microsoft and the customer. No crack was needed, the customer didn't have to worry about getting caught out, updates still installed fine.

So, they introduced the product activation system. It doesn't stop anything other than casual piracy as intended.
 
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