Home and Student - Which 3 Computers?

I did a search for a similar topic, but I don't think I could find exactly what I was looking for. I just got a new Sony Vaio and was looking into Office 2010 Home and Student.

When I looked into 2007 as a possibility, I knew that it could be installed on up to three computers. I had 2007 before, but my hard drive on my old desktop was fried, so all Office was lost.

But I started to lean more towards 2010. The rules seemed the same, that I could install on up to three computers. My mum and sister want Office on their computers too, so we were going split the cost three ways and each have Office. But the wording for 2010's rule seemed a little different. It says that Office can be installed on up to three computers *in the same house*. This would be all well and fine except I'm heading back to Boston for school in September, and therefor would not be in the same house.

This is probably me just reading this way too literally, but is there really something that would prevent me from using Office once I'm not in the same house? Something like IP address that would detect something?

I know how dumb of a question this may seem, but before I invest in a brand spankin' new copy of Office 2010, I want to be sure that I'm just being technologically paranoid about "Three computers in one house", and where I am would make no difference. You can never be too careful with new programs

Thanks!

I highly doubt they would check to see if you are in the same house of not. Especially since laptops can be taken anywhere and cases like yours are very common, especially for the "Home and Student" edition. You may want to be connected to the same network during install to be safe, but I doubt you'd have any problem at all.

In case you want to check, Microsoft has a phone number for these sorts of questions. Voice: 1-800-Microsoft (642-7676) TTY: 1-800-892-5234. The hours are (Pacific Time) Weekdays 5 a.m. - 9 p.m. Weekends 6 a.m. - 3 p.m. Hope that helps

book,
I can't imagine MS being that picky on the matter, but follow Petey's advice and please let us know the result.

I would view Mother and Sister as being in the same "household" -- and don't see how MS could object to that interpretation.

And, having installed three copies of Office 2K7 Home and Student using that interpretation, I can testify that I have never encountered any activation or updating problems -- from MS or anyone else.

I carry one of the machines around with me and connect it to the internet at a variety of places -- and not once have I ever encountered a problem with the MS Office install being challenged. So, they're certainly NOT using IP addresses to control the "validity" of the installations.

My uninformed opinion is that you are still part of the same household, but temporarily reside at school.

If you go to school in a different state, you are going to pay out of state tuition, because you are not a resident of the school's state, even if you go to the school for many years (Bachelor's, Masters, Doctorate etc)

I think if MS decided to jump on you, you could claim this is a valid interpretation.

This is fine, you're also part of the household... going to school in a different area does not make illegal!

More Office Questions

Hi again, thanks for these answers.

I have another Office question I hope someone could answer, and thought this might be better than making a whole new thread

So I haven't had time yet to get Office, but was still looking into the different versions, as well as debating between getting brand-spankin'-new 2010 or looking for the tried-and-tested assurance of 2007.

I found I can get a student discount on getting an academic version of 2010 Professional at a much better rate than either brand new Home & Student 2010 or even 2007. I've tried looking into if it's possible to install Professional Academic on more than one computer (three in this case), but haven't found anything. But I as well haven't found anything saying that versions like this *can't* be installed on three computers.

I'm not very Office savvy, so this could very well be another dumb question, but I want to be able to get a good deal on Office before heading back to school, and if I can get this Professional Academic version at a good price, and be able to install it on my mum and sister's computers as well, then it seems like the best buy. Or does Microsoft lock it so once it's installed, it can't be used?

When my hard drive crashed, which had Windows 7 from the disc installed, I bought a new hard drive and installed 7 using the same disc with no problem; there was nothing popping up saying that I had already installed with this disc of 7 or anything.

So if anyone could answer this, it would be much appreciated, and any answer would help me decide on Office here and now

Thanks!

Hello,

Looks like all versions can be installed on 2 computers only- the home computer and a laptop, with the exception of Home & Student which can be installed on 3 computers. Page below has some info including a link to the Office 2010 license terms.

Microsoft Legally Allows Installation and Use of Microsoft Office on Two Computers

Wow, thank you very much! That really helps so much.

After talking with family, we've realized that only me and my sister really need Office, so with the computers in need down to two, the Professional copy seems like the best value.

One last question. What if one of the computers, for whatever reason, were to crash, and needed a re-install of Office? The odds aren't too high, but I'm someone who always thinks about all possibilities
I've searched through these Office forums and it seems like other people who have ever had that issue are able to re-install it just fine (like I did with Windows 7, which states can be installed on one computer)

Even so, I think I'll be getting Professional Academic

It definitely looks like you can. I'm glad you took the time to look into this. I was thinking that the academic version might have certain rules, but apparently not. I guess I can get it, and let my parents fight over who gets the other license

EDIT: since it specifies one desktop and one laptop, I might just play it safe and let my dad have the other copy.

Thanks for all your help with this everyone.

I do have one, last, final question >_<

I was going to order this from Microsoft directly, seeing as it's the cheapest price, but it seems like it's a download-purchase.

I'd much rather have the disc on hand

I tried looking through these forums, as well as Microsoft's, about Professional Academic, and can't seem to find a clear answer. One user, on these boards, described his Professional Academic arriving in a box.

Also, all signs point to "Disc" through Academic Superstore. It has a picture of the Office style box (but could always be a stock photo ), as well as shipping information, whereas a product page on this site for an edition of Office states right away that it is downloaded. But for Professional Academic, I can't find any place where it specifically says "Disc"
Microsoft Office Professional 2010 (Academic) (Win) for $99.95 at Academic Superstore

As this thread has clearly shown, I'm merely nitpicking every possible last detail before making this purchase >_<

Has anyone purchased Professional Academic from Academic Superstore, or anywhere that supplied this in disc form?

Thanks for everyone who's answering, I really appreciate it! And now I'm one step away from actually buying Office :-D

I noticed the MS site says that the price varies by reseller. Just out of curiosity, is the academic superstore price the best price actually available?

In other news...

I found this, which includes a picture of the box: **Microsoft Office Professional Academic 2010 - eBay (item 260653409378 end time Sep-19-10 04:31:47 PDT)

Ah, Petey, I've found another clue in what seems to have become our shared quest for this edition of Office

Microsoft Office 2010 Buyers Guide -- Breaking Down the Office 2010 Editions

"Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Academic is available only from authorized Microsoft Educational resellers as a Boxed Full Version, but for the discount price of $99. That's $400 below standard retail for Office 2010 Professional, provided you can qualify for the mark-down."

And it seems that $99 is the standard for Professional Academic. Going from Microsoft, it seems like it's cheaper because it is a download. Out of curiosity, I went all the way to "add to cart" just to find more details, and the $79 Professional Academic is the electronic download, then for some more money, you can get a backup disk

You could put the installer on a disk yourself (not sure if it has to be a DVD or not). I will definitely go for the $80 download, and back the installer up to a disc, and my external hard drive. I'm using the trial version now (love it), and the installer is one large .exe file.

EDIT: just checked the file size. You may be able to put it on a CD-R. I have the Home and Student trial installed, so the pro version may be larger.

Alright, my Office Odyssey has finally come to a close. Academic Superstore sells the disc version of Office Professional Academic. I just ordered Office! Thank you very much to everyone who's been helpful, answering all my questions!

I am also a student and recently purchased the Office 2010 Academic version. When I researched this via Microsoft chat, the rep said that I could install the software on three systems. It wouldn't be the first time that a Microsoft rep. gave different information than the web site. I have performed the install on my desktop and laptop, but haven't yet tried the install on my netbook. Maybe I'll give it a try just to see what happens.

Both reps I talked to before buying said that it could only be installed on two computers at the same time. I would talk to another one to be sure.

Generally, it's two computers with the clause (paraphrased) stating that one for desktop and one for mobile but bottom line is two installs.

Based on what both MS reps told me, they can't really control which two computers it was installed on, but it could only be two. The product key is actually validated before install can happen, so if the product key has been used on two different computers, it can't be used again without calling MS.

office acedemic is for 3 computers... i have it its awesome!