Asked by:
Why is everything concerning Microsoft always so complicated?

Question
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1. I'm searching for data about Office 2010 Home and small business. I cannot find any information about the number of PCs, or the number of different users (including Admins) that is allowed with one key for that particular version of Office.
2. I'm searching for a forum where I can put question 1. I cannot find any discussion that handles this question.
3. I would be very grateful if there would be an entry where I can put question 2.
4. I suggest to create more fora where these questions would fit.
5. Of course I would be grateful to get the answers strait away, but simple directions to the right fora would do too.
I'm not being a naughty boy: I'm really annoyed about the difficulty a user seems to have, when looking for information on Microsoft's sites.
TIA
Friday, September 3, 2010 10:53 AM
All replies
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I found a link to the license agreement here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=2b37ad5e-dc64-400b-a00d-88d982292b07&CTT=5&origin=HA101817777 It looks like the answer to your question is that if you bought the software on disk, you can install on a "primary" PC and a "Portable" PC. If you bought a product key, you can only install on one PC.Friday, September 3, 2010 11:58 AM
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Thanks Blackwood, but I don't know why, but your link doesn't work right from your reply (Firefox), and if I copy the link into the address pane, it does, fortunately.
I have two computers, one for myself with two users + Admin, the other for my companion with him as user + Admin.
Do I have to buy two licences for my "small business" office? Is that not overkill, and very expensive for a small company like mine
Is there a cheaper option available?
Friday, September 3, 2010 11:30 PM -
I'm afraid I'm not a legal expert. However, if you have the disk version of the software rather than the license key, the agreement clearly says it can be installed on two PCs. If you only have the license key, perhaps you can return it and buy the slightly more expensive disk version.Saturday, September 4, 2010 12:22 AM
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Thanks again, Blackwood.
I didn't decide yet, which variant I should buy; that's why I'm trying to find out what variant I should purchase in my case:
I found out that I want to have two mail-addresses (at least) operating via Outlook on two PCs, and I want to use Word and Excel on two PCs with three different users (at least). None of the PCs is a portable:I have two computers, one for myself with two users + Admin, the other for my companion with him as user + Admin.
I cannot figure out what version(s) I need at the lowest costs.
Please, can someone help me out?
Monday, September 6, 2010 7:33 AM -
The part of the agreement that allows a second installation on a portable PC reads "You may install another copy of the software on a portable device for use by the single primary user of the licensed device." Again, I'm not a lawyer, but I think this does not allow you to do a second installation for the use of your companion.
I assume you have decided you must have Outlook? If you can manage with Windows Live Mail (or another free e-mail client) you could buy Home and Student Edition instead of Home and Business. Home and Student is cheaper (about $122 on Amazon) and can be installed on three PCs "in the same household" and includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote.
Monday, September 6, 2010 11:52 AM -
Oriolus,
This is a forum for suggestions about forums.
Forums can have replied by every body in the world, while those answers don't give you any legal state whatever you ask or write.
For questions like yours you can call or mail the local office in your country.
http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/
Be aware that licences are always underlying to local laws in a country where those are used.
Success
CorMonday, September 6, 2010 1:51 PM -
Oriolus,
This is a forum for suggestions about forums.
I agree that I also put a question here that should reside elsewhere, but I wanted to open a constructive discussion about the the impenetrabilility and the overwhelming size of Microsoft's 'informative' way of leading customers to the right place.
Maybe, as a foreigner, I struggle more than others with the material*), but my overall impression is that if I'm searching for specific information, the pages that MS offers as a narrower portion of information, the information tends to be different, but not narrower, and thus don't bring the customer to the n'th step with as much topics to choose from as when one starts searching. With the extra hurdle that one unlucky choice (into a wrong direction) one is lost, without knowing where the wrong choice was made.
I am aware of the possibility that this discussion is useless, since I know that people are complaining about the phenomena. But clearly MS doesn't seem to listen to these cries, or the matter is too complex to be solved. The latter I dare to rebut, since I worked in an area of constructing databases to be searched in natural language.
I hope I'm clear in trying to start a constructive discussion that MS may help building more selective information, rather than leading the retriever into another broadly constructed page, where there seems to be no sign of any narrower set of information that can lead to the answer one is looking for.
*) From some moment on, the information is displayed in English, in stead of in my own language, probably because the thing I'm looking for doesn't reside in this branch of the search tree where I land up in...Tuesday, September 7, 2010 8:05 AM