Ultimate Steal Reinstall Questions

[mimijel]

A couple of statments & questions to have clarified for me and others as I
have scannec versions MS and non MS web sites and see different answers:

1) I believe I have confirmed via MS reps (telephone/chat) that this
offer's license is only for one laptop and one desktop.

2) If you don't use a desktop, are you allowed to replace the second usage
on another laptop (so as to only have two licensed usages per purchase)?

3) Concerning a reinstall of this product after a change of hard drive,
computer, etc., how to you get the product reactivated so that you can use it?

Basic questions/comments, but I've seen so many replies it would be nice to
have them collated in one place.

Thanks in advance for a reply!

 

[Bob I]

1. Ok.
2. A Primary device and a portable is the language used. (Primary could
be blade server, desktop, laptop, notebook, whatever.
3. Click Activate, if that doesn't play, they provide a phone number for
you to call.

 

[LVTravel]

1. Ok.
2. A Primary device and a portable is the language used. (Primary could be
blade server, desktop, laptop, notebook, whatever.
3. Click Activate, if that doesn't play, they provide a phone number for
you to call.

One further comment to Bob I's post. While I do not have the copy of the
Ultimate Steal EULA in front of me, I am reasonably sure that it would read
similar to other retail versions of the software in that the second copy
(portable device) is for the exclusive use of the single primary user of the
Primary device. Note item b. below. Therefore the two laptops need to be
used by the same person, not split between family members.

From MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS, 2007 MICROSOFT OFFICE SYSTEM DESKTOP
APPLICATION SOFTWARE:

2. INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS. Before you use the software under a
license, you must assign that license to one device. That device is the
"licensed device." A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a
separate device.
a. Licensed Device. You may install and use one copy of the software
on the licensed device.
b. Portable Device. You may install another copy on a portable device
for use by the single primary user of the licensed device.

 

[Alias]

One further comment to Bob I's post. While I do not have the copy of
the Ultimate Steal EULA in front of me, I am reasonably sure that it
would read similar to other retail versions of the software in that the
second copy (portable device) is for the exclusive use of the single
primary user of the Primary device. Note item b. below. Therefore the
two laptops need to be used by the same person, not split between family
members.

And how, pray tell, is this enforced? More importantly, why does
Microsoft care?

Alias

 

[LVTravel]

And how, pray tell, is this enforced? More importantly, why does Microsoft
care?

Alias

It can be enforced if MS desires to and since they are in business to make
money they want to sell as many products as they can. It is call
Capitalism. A process that you would apparently like to destroy with your
hatred of Microsoft and what they sell.

 

[Earle Horton]

It can be enforced if MS desires to and since they are in business to make
money they want to sell as many products as they can. It is call
Capitalism. A process that you would apparently like to destroy with your
hatred of Microsoft and what they sell.

That's a pretty long leap of logic. Nevertheless, capitalism seems to be
doing a pretty good job of destroying itself, if you read newspapers.

;^)

Earle

 

[Alias]

It can be enforced if MS desires to

How? Are they going to set up web cams in the millions of homes and
businesses to see if the wife is using the husband's copy or if the
employee is using the boss' copy? I think MS might run into some privacy
issues with that.

and since they are in business to
make money they want to sell as many products as they can. It is call
Capitalism.

Which is based on fear and greed. Do you think that's a good thing? Ever
hear of a concept called PR or, shudder, the customer is always right?

A process that you would apparently like to destroy with
your hatred of Microsoft and what they sell.

I hate being ripped off and seeing others ripped off, especially with
shrink wrapped software where you can't read the EULA until it's too
late to get your money back. I suppose you think that Madoff is a
wonderful guy who epitomizes "capitalism"?

Microsoft is doing a very good job at becoming the favorite company to
hate after AIG, Enron, Merril Lynch and the boys who play your
capitalistic con game.

Alias

 

[clairus99]

i think if you own the software then you should legally be able to apply it
to more than one laptop/pc, as many homes possess more than one. i think 3
is reasonable. we have 4 (soon to be 3) in our household (all registered in
my name) and think it's banal to have to buy another copy. mind you, can't
do that with the 'ultimate steal' - so not really an 'ultimate steal' really.

i've tried putting mine on 3 machines incidentally and now cannot use it on
any of them as a year to the day it would not accept the PK and no-one at
Microsoft seems interested in helping me sort this out (hence my coming
here). i assume this is the reason why now. still... not being able to use
it on ANY.... i guess the 'ultimate steal' is microsoft, from me....

 

[Alias]

i think if you own the software then you should legally be able to apply it
to more than one laptop/pc, as many homes possess more than one.

The scam is that you don't own the software but a very restrictive
license to use it even though every single store, virtual or brick and
mortar, advertise that they sell software. What's worse is that you
can't read the EULA until after you've opened the shrink wrapped
software and it's too late to get your money back.

Alias

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Going forward, you may want to refer to this lookup tool for Microsoft EULAs
before purchasing:

http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/useterms/

 

[Alias]

Going forward, you may want to refer to this lookup tool for Microsoft
EULAs before purchasing:

http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/useterms/

Since when are paying customers required to go on line to look for
something most of them have never heard of or even know they should know
about it? All this could be cleared up if on the outside of the package,
either the entire EULA is published or at least "Only good for one (or
whatever it is) installation at a time". Requiring the stores to say
they sell licenses instead of software would help a lot too. You see,
until the licensing scam, people thought that when they buy something,
it's -- of all things -- theirs to do with what they want.

Of course all this could be solved if the big boys like Microsoft and
Adobe allowed people to do what they want with software. It isn't like
during the pre activation days that these companies didn't make BILLIONS
selling software that didn't need to be activated. Greed set in and you
see what greed has done to the world's economy. Not only that, if
activation was rescinded, software piracy for profit would disappear.

Alias

 

[Susan Ramlet]

I didn't say you were "required". I thought you might find it a useful
resource going forward.

 

[Bob I]

That is the part that causes your problem. You DON'T OWN the software.
What you OWN, is the Right to USE the software in ACCORDANCE with the
terms of the Agreement you accepted. If yours says One then you paid for
the Rights to use it on 1, if it said A Primary and a portable for your
exclusive use then that is what is allowed. You don't get to make up
your own terms willy nilly as to what suits your fancy.

 

[Alias]

That is the part that causes your problem. You DON'T OWN the software.
What you OWN, is the Right to USE the software in ACCORDANCE with the
terms of the Agreement you accepted. If yours says One then you paid for
the Rights to use it on 1, if it said A Primary and a portable for your
exclusive use then that is what is allowed. You don't get to make up
your own terms willy nilly as to what suits your fancy.

Yet every single computer store, virtual or brick and mortar, advertise
that they sell "software". Not a one says they sell licenses. Therefore
the confusion is normal and if the software boys want to sell licenses,
then they should bloody well say so!

It's this kind of bait and switch that gives Microsoft a bad name, among
other things like not being able to reject the EULA until it's too late
to get your money back.

Alias