7 ms·

Microsoft Makes Retail Versions Of Office Single Install

48 points by chmars 14y ago

ratherbefuddled 14y ago
Microsoft have done a fantastic piece of marketing for OpenOffice and LibreOffice here.
meaty 14y ago
Straw + Camel's back. I tend to switch machines at least once a year for various reasons. My office license goes with me and is removed from the original machine. If they won't allow that, then I won't be upgrading and will be preemptively migrating to something else. I don't think Microsoft realise how easy it is to just move to another platform/tool these days!
valuegram 14y ago
"place their own customers directly in their crosshairs. Your immediate reaction may be to blast the previous sentence as hyperbole, but you would be wrong to do so." Of course this is hyperbole. Don't be ridiculous.
- jahabrewer 14y ago
  Steve Ballmer literally aiming guns at customers in Microsoft store. Story at 11.
  - CurtHagenlocher 14y ago
    As a Microsoft employee, I can confirm that this is true -- but only when he needs a break from "roaming the halls of Microsoft swinging a baseball bat".
venomsnake 14y ago
My company is migrating away from office. We use google docs and Libre Office for internal documents and only few copies of office for the external. With html and css, and the paperless office gaining traction Word and Powerpoint will have a hard time defending their existence, as is the majority of other apps. For me it seems that the only really good application that is worth the money right now in the suite is Excel.
- rednukleus 14y ago
  > the paperless office gaining traction Really? Is there any evidence of this? Most attempts I've seen at the paperless office have been failures. Also, even in the attempts I have seen, nobody is writing reports in HTML + CSS. Everything is in Word/ppt/Excel, usually on SharePoint.
  - venomsnake 14y ago
    Not paperless but paper reduced, point taken. I know we are changing toner cartridges less often than a decade ago. So we are using less paper than before. What I meant for the html + css is that anchoring your documents to the a4 sheet, while people are consuming more and more content on screens of various sizes and less on paper is somewhat strange. Also google docs are html + css and a lot of javascript :) Office has great advantage and is not going anywhere soon. But while in 1999 it was impossible to not have office, now depending on your company and employees can go from mildly inconvenient to annoying. 5 years from now - will you worry that some content looks great on paper, or that it looks great on the person's tablet or google glass. If your answer is the second - word is in for a rough ride.
    - rednukleus 14y ago
      Depends on the industry. In the financial services industry it is still essentially impossible to not use Windows + Office. Everyone in the industry knows how to use them, no training required, and it ensures everything is interoperable. Theres also not much of an incentive to change. Using open source software won't save that much money, and would require training almost every employee. If open source office software is ever going to break its way into big enterprise, its going to have to get widely used by consumers first.
  - AutoCorrect 14y ago
    what is the deal with that? I hate it: I get an email with a link, to word doc that I have to open,just to see a party announcement. urrrgh!
- roel_v 14y ago
prawks 14y ago
Original article referenced: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/does-your-copy-of-office-2013-die-with-your-computer-20130208-2e3a1.html http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/does-you... My question follows his: Exactly how is this enforced? Is it just "forbidden" or are you actually blocked from using the retail activation code on a new computer? Is it tracked via your Microsoft cloud account? What if you change some of the hardware in your PC, will Office 2013 complain that it's a new computer? I'm very interested to see how Microsoft attempts to prevent spoofing. Does anyone with experience in this type of DRM have a comment on how a device with no real unique identifying property is tracked? As mentioned above, using the hardware configuration would have serious issues, and is certaintly not unique. A "cloud account" I can't imagine can tie itself to a device any easier (IP, obviously not, MAC address, not a good idea, etc.). How can MSoft allow re-installing it on a reformatted device, but not taking it to a new device?
- meaty 14y ago
  They already do this with WGA/Activation. It's a combination of disk IDs, MAC address, graphics card etc.
mxfh 14y ago
I don't see what the fuzz is about for now. a. One Copy per Device. You may install one copy of the software on one device. That device is the "licensed device." b. Licensed Device. You may only use one copy of the software on the licensed device at a time. c. Portable Device. You may install another copy of the software on a portable device for use by the single primary user of the licensed device. from http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/does-your-copy-of-office-2013-die-with-your-computer-20130208-2e3a1.html#ixzz2Kyfkv9DP http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/does-you... The original australian article states two non-definitive answers: A: "A perpetual license of Office 2013 can only be installed on one personal computer. This means that the customer can only install it on one device, either a desktop or laptop, but not both. If the customer has a system crash, they are allowed to reinstall Office on that same computer. If there are problems with this process, customers can contact Microsoft technical support" B: "No, the customer cannot transfer the license from one PC to another PC." I would bet on A and and a confused PR department. Of cause if you wan't to report some kind of "news" you would root for B rather than investigate further.
- chmars 14y ago
  'Can I transfer the software to another computer or user? You may not transfer the software to another computer or user. You may transfer the software directly to a third party only as installed on the licensed computer, with the Certificate of Authenticity label and this agreement. Before the transfer, that party must agree that this agreement applies to the transfer and use of the software. You may not retain any copies.' From the Microsoft Software License Agreement for Microsoft Office 2013: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-software-license-agreement-FX103576343.aspx http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-softwar...
- meaty 14y ago
  Can I just add: 1. Microsoft office technical support is a whopping great big dinosaur sized turdzilla. If you have any activation problems, you usually get "tough shitted". I've been on the end of this. Fortunately I'm a member of a" Gold Partner" (paid goon) and could kick the crap out of them from that side of things. Partner reps have a little more spine than office support people. 2. This does not cover warranty replacement PCs so if you have a hardware failure, it doesn't count.
scholia 14y ago
Why didn't Techdirt just deactivate Office 2013 and install it on another PC? Uninstallation is a one-click Fixit at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2739501 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2739501 Uninstall Microsoft Office 2013 or Office 365
- meaty 14y ago
  That's only OK if your computer is still working.
  - scholia 14y ago
    Which it usually is. If not, I'd expect a phone call to solve the problem, at worst. Either way, it's something Techdirt should have covered....
    - meaty 14y ago
      You've obviously not dealt with Microsoft support then? I have had an activation issue open for 6 months before I got a resolution in the past and I had to go through my Gold Partner membership to get it resolved. In that 6 month period, I used a cracked copy of Office.
- chmars 14y ago
  '[…] You may not transfer the software to another computer or user. You may transfer the software directly to a third party only as installed on the licensed computer […].' http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-software-license-agreement-FX103576343.aspx http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-softwar...
lostnet 14y ago
Hmm, this article answers nothing for me since I would never run windows directly on hardware. What determines if my virtual machine is one "system" across host systems, visible "hardware" changes and/or windows license keys?
noonespecial 14y ago
Microsoft is the Office company right now. A great many people run windows just to run Office. This is not a boat I would rock quite so hard just now if I were them.
- rednukleus 14y ago
  Office is more important to them now than Windows. I believe that they are pushing the subscription model hard so that people will pay monthly for Office as a cross platform solution. I hope they succeed in making Office cross platform, but I hate the subscription model and hope they fail in making that the norm.
  - Shorel 14y ago
    I, on the other hand, want them to succeed with the Office subscription model. Nothing will doom them so fast than constant predictable revenue. In fact, I think this will also help Office alternatives, as they could try a cheaper subscription. Nowadays any Office alternative has to be free, and this means almost no funds for development.
    - rednukleus 14y ago
      If Office alternatives can't charge a small one off fee, what makes you think they will be able to charge a subscription?
      - Shorel 14y ago
        Different business models are evaluated in a different way. A small one off fee is not a viable business model. You either have to charge small recurrently fees, or have a big one off fee to be able to sell to business. AFAIK, Google Apps for Business already charges a subscription for some customers.
mahmud 14y ago
LibreOffice: good as gold. http://www.libreoffice.org/ http://www.libreoffice.org/
- UnoriginalGuy 14y ago
  Perhaps as good as gold but not nearly as good as Office 2000 was... Seriously what is wrong with Libre/Open Office's slow ugly UI? I mean even GIMP finally managed to modernise its look and feel.
  - mahmud 14y ago
    For every micro-second Libre/Open Office stays ugly or slow, I pass the time by thinking about how cripled/proprietary MS Office is, and time flies fast. YMMV.
    - eli 14y ago
      Sure, but Office is a tool that lets my users do their job. I don't have time for a philosophical war. I'm supposed to tell Excel power users that they need to use Calc now? They would laugh in my face (and rightfully so).
      - mahmud 14y ago
        Nothing philosophical about it. We use Libre Calc to manage 3 million dollar / week budget. I am happy with it, coworkers are happy with it, and its liberal license has never stopped us from doing our job :-)
    - rednukleus 14y ago
      Proprietary, yes. Crippled, no. Excel is vastly better than anything else out there, and if you want you can even save to open formats. I hope open source catches up, I really do, but saying MS Office is crippled is plain false.
      - mahmud 14y ago
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
HarrietJones 14y ago
Meanwhile, if you get it online, it's $99.00 a year for up to 5 devices, and moving the license from one machine to another is as simple as logging on and deregistering the invalid device. Microsoft have been skeevy in the past when it comes to licences, but I've no complaints with the current system.
patja 14y ago
I have a hard enough time justifying upgrading Office. Versions n-1 are almost always "good enough" and I see no killer features that justify these new licensing restrictions that at a minimum double the cost for the same install base. I usually skip at least every other release. This has given me the justification to stay on Office 2010 indefinitely, particularly given the fact that I will probably rebuild at least 20% of our PCs in the next year, and we take full advantage of the second install on a portable device. Viva la Office 2010!
alexrson 14y ago
The problem with Office is that it is too good. Until free/open alternatives like libreOffice or googleDocs catch up MSFT has no incentive to hold down the bloat or demonstrate good customer service.

48 points by chmars 14y ago

Microsoft have done a fantastic piece of marketing for OpenOffice and LibreOffice here.

meaty 14y ago

Straw + Camel's back. I tend to switch machines at least once a year for various reasons. My office license goes with me and is removed from the original machine. If they won't allow that, then I won't be upgrading and will be preemptively migrating to something else. I don't think Microsoft realise how easy it is to just move to another platform/tool these days!

valuegram 14y ago

"place their own customers directly in their crosshairs. Your immediate reaction may be to blast the previous sentence as hyperbole, but you would be wrong to do so." Of course this is hyperbole. Don't be ridiculous.

jahabrewer 14y ago
Steve Ballmer literally aiming guns at customers in Microsoft store. Story at 11.
- CurtHagenlocher 14y ago
  As a Microsoft employee, I can confirm that this is true -- but only when he needs a break from "roaming the halls of Microsoft swinging a baseball bat".

venomsnake 14y ago

My company is migrating away from office. We use google docs and Libre Office for internal documents and only few copies of office for the external. With html and css, and the paperless office gaining traction Word and Powerpoint will have a hard time defending their existence, as is the majority of other apps. For me it seems that the only really good application that is worth the money right now in the suite is Excel.

rednukleus 14y ago
> the paperless office gaining traction Really? Is there any evidence of this? Most attempts I've seen at the paperless office have been failures. Also, even in the attempts I have seen, nobody is writing reports in HTML + CSS. Everything is in Word/ppt/Excel, usually on SharePoint.
- venomsnake 14y ago
  Not paperless but paper reduced, point taken. I know we are changing toner cartridges less often than a decade ago. So we are using less paper than before. What I meant for the html + css is that anchoring your documents to the a4 sheet, while people are consuming more and more content on screens of various sizes and less on paper is somewhat strange. Also google docs are html + css and a lot of javascript :) Office has great advantage and is not going anywhere soon. But while in 1999 it was impossible to not have office, now depending on your company and employees can go from mildly inconvenient to annoying. 5 years from now - will you worry that some content looks great on paper, or that it looks great on the person's tablet or google glass. If your answer is the second - word is in for a rough ride.
  - rednukleus 14y ago
    Depends on the industry. In the financial services industry it is still essentially impossible to not use Windows + Office. Everyone in the industry knows how to use them, no training required, and it ensures everything is interoperable. Theres also not much of an incentive to change. Using open source software won't save that much money, and would require training almost every employee. If open source office software is ever going to break its way into big enterprise, its going to have to get widely used by consumers first.
- AutoCorrect 14y ago
  what is the deal with that? I hate it: I get an email with a link, to word doc that I have to open,just to see a party announcement. urrrgh!
roel_v 14y ago

prawks 14y ago

Original article referenced: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/does-your-copy-of-office-2013-die-with-your-computer-20130208-2e3a1.html http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/does-you... My question follows his: Exactly how is this enforced? Is it just "forbidden" or are you actually blocked from using the retail activation code on a new computer? Is it tracked via your Microsoft cloud account? What if you change some of the hardware in your PC, will Office 2013 complain that it's a new computer? I'm very interested to see how Microsoft attempts to prevent spoofing. Does anyone with experience in this type of DRM have a comment on how a device with no real unique identifying property is tracked? As mentioned above, using the hardware configuration would have serious issues, and is certaintly not unique. A "cloud account" I can't imagine can tie itself to a device any easier (IP, obviously not, MAC address, not a good idea, etc.). How can MSoft allow re-installing it on a reformatted device, but not taking it to a new device?

meaty 14y ago
They already do this with WGA/Activation. It's a combination of disk IDs, MAC address, graphics card etc.

mxfh 14y ago

I don't see what the fuzz is about for now. a. One Copy per Device. You may install one copy of the software on one device. That device is the "licensed device." b. Licensed Device. You may only use one copy of the software on the licensed device at a time. c. Portable Device. You may install another copy of the software on a portable device for use by the single primary user of the licensed device. from http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/does-your-copy-of-office-2013-die-with-your-computer-20130208-2e3a1.html#ixzz2Kyfkv9DP http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/does-you... The original australian article states two non-definitive answers: A: "A perpetual license of Office 2013 can only be installed on one personal computer. This means that the customer can only install it on one device, either a desktop or laptop, but not both. If the customer has a system crash, they are allowed to reinstall Office on that same computer. If there are problems with this process, customers can contact Microsoft technical support" B: "No, the customer cannot transfer the license from one PC to another PC." I would bet on A and and a confused PR department. Of cause if you wan't to report some kind of "news" you would root for B rather than investigate further.

chmars 14y ago
'Can I transfer the software to another computer or user? You may not transfer the software to another computer or user. You may transfer the software directly to a third party only as installed on the licensed computer, with the Certificate of Authenticity label and this agreement. Before the transfer, that party must agree that this agreement applies to the transfer and use of the software. You may not retain any copies.' From the Microsoft Software License Agreement for Microsoft Office 2013: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-software-license-agreement-FX103576343.aspx http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-softwar...
meaty 14y ago
Can I just add: 1. Microsoft office technical support is a whopping great big dinosaur sized turdzilla. If you have any activation problems, you usually get "tough shitted". I've been on the end of this. Fortunately I'm a member of a" Gold Partner" (paid goon) and could kick the crap out of them from that side of things. Partner reps have a little more spine than office support people. 2. This does not cover warranty replacement PCs so if you have a hardware failure, it doesn't count.

scholia 14y ago

Why didn't Techdirt just deactivate Office 2013 and install it on another PC? Uninstallation is a one-click Fixit at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2739501 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2739501 Uninstall Microsoft Office 2013 or Office 365

meaty 14y ago
That's only OK if your computer is still working.
- scholia 14y ago
  Which it usually is. If not, I'd expect a phone call to solve the problem, at worst. Either way, it's something Techdirt should have covered....
  - meaty 14y ago
    You've obviously not dealt with Microsoft support then? I have had an activation issue open for 6 months before I got a resolution in the past and I had to go through my Gold Partner membership to get it resolved. In that 6 month period, I used a cracked copy of Office.
chmars 14y ago
'[…] You may not transfer the software to another computer or user. You may transfer the software directly to a third party only as installed on the licensed computer […].' http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-software-license-agreement-FX103576343.aspx http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/microsoft-softwar...

lostnet 14y ago

Hmm, this article answers nothing for me since I would never run windows directly on hardware. What determines if my virtual machine is one "system" across host systems, visible "hardware" changes and/or windows license keys?

noonespecial 14y ago

Microsoft is the Office company right now. A great many people run windows just to run Office. This is not a boat I would rock quite so hard just now if I were them.

rednukleus 14y ago
Office is more important to them now than Windows. I believe that they are pushing the subscription model hard so that people will pay monthly for Office as a cross platform solution. I hope they succeed in making Office cross platform, but I hate the subscription model and hope they fail in making that the norm.
- Shorel 14y ago
  I, on the other hand, want them to succeed with the Office subscription model. Nothing will doom them so fast than constant predictable revenue. In fact, I think this will also help Office alternatives, as they could try a cheaper subscription. Nowadays any Office alternative has to be free, and this means almost no funds for development.
  - rednukleus 14y ago
    If Office alternatives can't charge a small one off fee, what makes you think they will be able to charge a subscription?
    - Shorel 14y ago
      Different business models are evaluated in a different way. A small one off fee is not a viable business model. You either have to charge small recurrently fees, or have a big one off fee to be able to sell to business. AFAIK, Google Apps for Business already charges a subscription for some customers.

mahmud 14y ago

LibreOffice: good as gold. http://www.libreoffice.org/ http://www.libreoffice.org/

UnoriginalGuy 14y ago
Perhaps as good as gold but not nearly as good as Office 2000 was... Seriously what is wrong with Libre/Open Office's slow ugly UI? I mean even GIMP finally managed to modernise its look and feel.
- mahmud 14y ago
  For every micro-second Libre/Open Office stays ugly or slow, I pass the time by thinking about how cripled/proprietary MS Office is, and time flies fast. YMMV.
  - eli 14y ago
    Sure, but Office is a tool that lets my users do their job. I don't have time for a philosophical war. I'm supposed to tell Excel power users that they need to use Calc now? They would laugh in my face (and rightfully so).
    - mahmud 14y ago
      Nothing philosophical about it. We use Libre Calc to manage 3 million dollar / week budget. I am happy with it, coworkers are happy with it, and its liberal license has never stopped us from doing our job :-)
  - rednukleus 14y ago
    Proprietary, yes. Crippled, no. Excel is vastly better than anything else out there, and if you want you can even save to open formats. I hope open source catches up, I really do, but saying MS Office is crippled is plain false.
    - mahmud 14y ago

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

HarrietJones 14y ago

Meanwhile, if you get it online, it's $99.00 a year for up to 5 devices, and moving the license from one machine to another is as simple as logging on and deregistering the invalid device. Microsoft have been skeevy in the past when it comes to licences, but I've no complaints with the current system.

patja 14y ago

I have a hard enough time justifying upgrading Office. Versions n-1 are almost always "good enough" and I see no killer features that justify these new licensing restrictions that at a minimum double the cost for the same install base. I usually skip at least every other release. This has given me the justification to stay on Office 2010 indefinitely, particularly given the fact that I will probably rebuild at least 20% of our PCs in the next year, and we take full advantage of the second install on a portable device. Viva la Office 2010!

alexrson 14y ago

The problem with Office is that it is too good. Until free/open alternatives like libreOffice or googleDocs catch up MSFT has no incentive to hold down the bloat or demonstrate good customer service.