Microsoft Backtracks on Stupid Office 2013 Licensing Terms.
Original Terms.
When Microsoft launched Office 2013, they locked the usage to a single PC, unless the PC was replaced under warranty. This meant that if you went out and bought Office 2013 you could only use it on the machine you were using when you first registered the software; if you upgraded by installing a new motherboard or bought a new machine, you also had to buy another copy of Office 2013.
For some inexplicable reason, this license seems to have upset all potential Office purchasers. I'm guessing that Office sales went down faster than the Titanic and that there wasn't even a band to keep playing.
New Terms
On his Blog Site, Jevon Fark says:
"A couple weeks ago, I posted this blog to clarify the new Office 2013 licensing terms. Based on customer feedback we have changed the Office 2013 retail license agreement to allow customers to transfer the software from one computer to another. This means customers can transfer Office 2013 to a different computer if their device fails or they get a new one. Previously, customers could only transfer their Office 2013 software to a new device if their PC failed under warranty."
So, while this will make many potential buyers happy, one must wonder at the thinking behind the original decision.
How can a mature software publisher take such an obviously stupid decision? Is Microsoft so far removed from reality that it no longer has any modicum of allegiance to its clients?
Looking at the Office 2013 debacle together with the Windows 8 debacle, one can only come to the conclusion that Microsoft has become so arrogant that they think that they can do as they please without repercussion.
I don't think so.
All they need do is look at what happened to others who thought that they were more important than those paying for the privilege of using their products. Can anyone remember the Philips 1500 video recorder, Wordperfect, Novel Netware, etc etc?
Doing the wrong thing and then trying to fix it, is simply unprofessional.
