# Microsoft police state: Office 04 uses my AirPort to spy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 19, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290 "2006-09-19T17:18:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/21 "2006-09-19T19:27:42Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] You’ve always cheated their licensing rules before, only now they can catch you at it. [/QUOTE] And now I and countless other Microsoft vendors must notify The Hive by pointing and screeching, _Body Snatchers_-style. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/22 "2006-09-19T19:30:45Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Yes, they are the embopdiment of Evil, all right. [/QUOTE] At least they [sound good](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bop) while they’re being evil. Seriously, though, Beware of Doug … this type of license agreement is very common, and certainly did not originate with Microsoft. Being upset that you cannot violate the agreement anymore … Well, as others have said: Waah. The checking against other machines on the network is new, though, and disturbing … who knows what else they might check for without your permission? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/23 "2006-09-19T19:33:13Z")
Jesus. I really _have_ awakened the drones here. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/24 "2006-09-19T19:39:05Z")
Oooh, people disagreed with you in the Pit. They must be _mindless drones_. Ooooh. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/25 "2006-09-19T19:46:27Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Jesus. I really _have_ awakened the drones here. [/QUOTE] Ah, right. We’re drones because we respect the right of the people who create a product to set the terms it’s sold under. You’re the drone here, really - you’re the one paying for Office in the first place. I doubt you and your mom are working on anything mind-blowingly, technically complex: you should be perfectly happy using OpenOffice (or Apple’s iLife), and not paying _any_ money to a company whose business practices you apparently detest. OpenOffice and iLife can read and write Microsoft Office formats just fine, if you’re worried about interoperability. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/26 "2006-09-19T19:49:27Z")
[QUOTE=Ponder Stibbons] Oooh, people disagreed with you in the Pit. They must be _mindless drones_. Ooooh. [/QUOTE] Never said mindless. Most of you seem to be highly intelligent, articulate drones. Look, I know corporations considered persons under the law. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/27 "2006-09-19T19:50:37Z")
[QUOTE=Count Blucher] I thought yesterday was ‘Pirate Day’ on the SDMB. Darn Microsoft Calendar…! [/QUOTE] Talk Like A Pirate Day is today, so I assume that’s what the OP was intended to be. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/28 "2006-09-19T19:55:19Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Never said mindless. Most of you seem to be highly intelligent, articulate drones. Look, I know corporations considered persons under the law. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. [/QUOTE] This has nothing to do with corporations being considered persons under the law. It’s simply about the right of a corporation to charge users for its product. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/29 "2006-09-19T19:57:15Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Never said mindless. Most of you seem to be highly intelligent, articulate drones. Look, I know corporations considered persons under the law. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. [/QUOTE] I’m genuinely curious - what alternative would you prefer? Do you really think it should be legal for you to pay for a single copy of a piece of software, and then install it on however many computers you want? Are you saying that you wouldn’t be making this complaint if Microsoft Office was written and distributed by a single person, not a company? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/30 "2006-09-19T19:57:27Z")
I use at least four other software packages, none u$oft products, that utilize some form of network license verification. One, among my most beloved, has been licensed to us in such a way that I can’t use it _unless_ I’m connected to a KeyServer. Nefarious or not, it’s become widespread with the universal adoption of networking. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/31 "2006-09-19T19:58:30Z")
And I forgot to add - what does this have to do with corporations being considered people under the law? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/32 "2006-09-19T19:59:49Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] Talk Like A Pirate Day is today, so I assume that’s what the OP was intended to be. [/QUOTE] Shiver me timbers! Thank ye for the reminder, arrrr! I should be keel-hauled for forgettin’! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/33 "2006-09-19T20:04:07Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Jesus. I really _have_ awakened the drones here. [/QUOTE] Do please bear in mind that a goodly number of us drones are Microsoft Certified drones who figured out halfway through your OP just how you had managed to shoot yourself in the foot here. It isn’t actually new that you’re not supposed to install software on as many pc’s as you want, or on as many as you own. That hasn’t been allowed for quite some span of years now. Oh, and it’s your fault for using a combo of software & hardware which could tell that you were cheating. Ah, the irony: a Mac user who could continue to use pirated software if he was using stoopid PCs, caught today of all days… avast! Harr, mateys, there we were, thirty days out of Barcelona with nothing to amuse us but … well, I won’t finish that one, actually… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/34 "2006-09-19T20:10:47Z")
If **Beware of Doug** were using Windows, he might want to consider the Student and Teachers Edition of Office, which is about $130 and can be installed on up to three systems at home. I don’t know if there’s a similar package for the Mac. (But note that the Student and Teachers Edition isn’t supposed to be used by businesses.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/35 "2006-09-19T20:16:24Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] I know corporations considered persons under the law. [/QUOTE] I know corporations _ **are** _ considered persons under the law. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/36 "2006-09-19T20:18:35Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Jesus. I really _have_ awakened the drones here. [/QUOTE] Word to the wise, here, **Dougo**. You’ve already lost the argument. Unless you can convince all of us as to why you deserve something for nothing (and I doubt you can), then your continued protestations will get you nowhere. Calling us names will only make you look worse. Your best bet is to admit defeat. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/37 "2006-09-19T20:19:28Z")
[QUOTE=Ponder Stibbons] … this type of license agreement is very common, and certainly did not originate with Microsoft. [/QUOTE] Perhaps, but OTOH, Micro-soft was the first to [publicly complain about piracy.](http://www.digibarn.com/collections/newsletters/homebrew/V2_01/gatesletter.html) Check the date. Bill’s been fighting the good fight/building an evil empire for thirty years. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/38 "2006-09-19T20:21:46Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] I installed Office 04 on 2 Macs: mine and my mom’s. Nothing says you can’t do that. So my mom comes over to work on a project we’re doing, and we’re both using the same AirPort for internet. Meanwhile, I’m using Excel and she tries to boot up Word. And gets a _ **fucking piece of shit error message** saying “Too many computers are using this copy of Office. Word will now shut down.”_ [/QUOTE] For a second there you had me worried that Microsoft was given an airport security contract. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/39 "2006-09-19T20:22:53Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] I don’t know if there’s a similar package for the Mac. (But note that the Student and Teachers Edition isn’t supposed to be used by businesses.) [/QUOTE] Arrrr there be! But no Pirate Edition, the dogs! ---
**Author:** ![Greenback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2bfe46/32.png) [@Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290/40 "2006-09-19T20:25:33Z")
Not sure if it has been mentioned but I think the license agreement says something about installing on multiple machines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-police-state-office-04-uses-my-airport-to-spy/373290.md?page=3)