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Immortal K-Mart Employee · Jun 22, 2002, 02:25 AM

After installing the Office SP1 update on my 2 computers using the same serial number I no longer get the threats that one copy is going to shut down because it found an identical serial on the network.

Did MS remove this "feature" or is something else causing this to NOT happen?

Spheric Harlot · Jun 22, 2002, 04:29 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Immortal K-Mart Employee:
After installing the Office SP1 update on my 2 computers using the same serial number I no longer get the threats that one copy is going to shut down because it found an identical serial on the network.

Did MS remove this "feature" or is something else causing this to NOT happen?<hr /></blockquote>Is it possible that Office no longer searches the local network but phones home directly to verify serial numbers?

-s*

Immortal K-Mart Employee · Jun 22, 2002, 04:47 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Immortal K-Mart Employee:
After installing the Office SP1 update on my 2 computers using the same serial number I no longer get the threats that one copy is going to shut down because it found an identical serial on the network.

Did MS remove this "feature" or is something else causing this to NOT happen?<hr /></blockquote>Is it possible that Office no longer searches the local network but phones home directly to verify serial numbers?

-s*<hr /></blockquote>Lets hope not.

tdvorak · Jun 22, 2002, 07:29 PM

Mine no longer checks the network! Thats great.
tom

Gul Banana · Jun 22, 2002, 11:48 PM

I wonder what their ulterior motive is?

How you like them Apples? · Jun 23, 2002, 02:31 AM

So have other people seen this aswell?

restbeckett · Jun 23, 2002, 06:38 AM

ulterior motive?

or

maybe it finally got to their fsucking heads that it's fsucking annoying.

thePurpleGiant · Jun 23, 2002, 07:41 AM

Well this is strange because, I'm assuming anyway, that MS wont have actually changed their licensing rules, which would still require you to legally buy a license per machine. It seems all they're doing is saying one thing (you need a license for each comp) and then ignoring it...

Gul Banana · Jun 23, 2002, 09:54 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by restbeckett:
ulterior motive?

or

maybe it finally got to their fsucking heads that it's fsucking annoying.<hr /></blockquote>I may be cynical, but I find it very hard to believe that they'd remove something just because it annoyed users who had pirate copies.

malvolio · Jun 23, 2002, 10:40 AM

The main issue isn't pirated copies, it's users who have 2 (or more) machines networked in their homes. If you have, say, an iBook and an iMac, and you connect them via AirPort, only one of them can have any Office v.X app running.

nibeck · Jun 23, 2002, 04:45 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> The main issue isn't pirated copies, it's users who have 2 (or more) machines networked in their homes. If you have, say, an iBook and an iMac, and you connect them via AirPort, only one of them can have any Office v.X app running.
<hr /></blockquote>According to Microsoft that is pirating. I'm not justifying it, and I personally think it sucks, but it is the policy.

BTW, mine seems to work fine(no checking) after the upgrade.

- Mike

Simon Mundy · Jun 23, 2002, 07:49 PM

Maybe Karma has struck again - after all the bugs and bloated code from previous releases, they finally broke their own code for network checking?

Yoda's Erotic Piggyback · Jun 23, 2002, 07:59 PM

Maybe enough people complained.

Drakino · Jun 23, 2002, 08:28 PM

I still find it odd that MS hasn't made their Office licenses the same. On the PC side, Office allows for 2 installs per licence. One on a desktop, and one on a laptop owned by the same person. I did this with my free copy of Office XP, and the activation people confirmed it was fine.

(Anyone know of any MS events where they give out free MS software for the Mac?)

Gul Banana · Jun 23, 2002, 08:31 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Simon Mundy:
Maybe Karma has struck again - after all the bugs and bloated code from previous releases, they finally broke their own code for network checking?<hr /></blockquote>Haha, actually, that sounds like the most likely reason I've heard yet..

waffffffle · Jun 23, 2002, 08:41 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Drakino:
I still find it odd that MS hasn't made their Office licenses the same. On the PC side, Office allows for 2 installs per licence. One on a desktop, and one on a laptop owned by the same person. I did this with my free copy of Office XP, and the activation people confirmed it was fine.

(Anyone know of any MS events where they give out free MS software for the Mac?)<hr /></blockquote>I am not surprised to hear that MS is screwing over Mac users with their Office licensing. Take a look at <a href="http://forums.macnn.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=45;t=006416" target="_blank">this thread</a> that I started. MS is really throwing some low blows as the Mac community here.

kcmac · Jun 23, 2002, 10:36 PM

MS allows mac users to share one license for a desktop and a laptop. They should allow both to use office at the same time.

How you like them Apples? · Jun 23, 2002, 10:49 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by kcmac:
MS allows mac users to share one license for a desktop and a laptop. They should allow both to use office at the same time.<hr /></blockquote>Since when? It never worked before the SP1 update.

kcmac · Jun 24, 2002, 11:59 AM

Since when doesn't MS allow two installs per license if one is a desktop and one is a laptop and both owned by the same user/licensee?

cpac · Jun 24, 2002, 01:33 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by kcmac:
Since when doesn't MS allow two installs per license if one is a desktop and one is a laptop and both owned by the same user/licensee?<hr /></blockquote>There's a difference between having "2 installs" and *using* both installs at the same time.

The network checking just enforced the latter provision, by forcing you to quit out of your office apps on one computer before launching them on the other. Seems a reasonable, if not strictly accurate, assumption that you can only work on one computer at a time.

Sarc · Jun 24, 2002, 05:44 PM

Well can't anyone just use tcpdump (or the MacSniffer GUI) + netstat to check network traffic ??

Sarc

eno · Jun 24, 2002, 07:06 PM

The old scheme was easily defeated by adding a couple of ipfw firewall rules to block the ports MS uses for network checking.

Thank goodness we have unix now. It should be fairly easy to defeat any network checking measures that MS implements, simply by using standard, built-in tools in the OS.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Jun 28, 2002, 01:49 AM

Well it seems that Office still checks for other versions on the network, it has just gotten smarter about it. It allows you to run another copy on a laptop (on Airport in my case) but not on another wired computer at the same time.

Aw shucks.