How does Licence work for OSX?

Sunnz

Sunnz

Who wants a stylus?
I haven't actually installed OSX myself. (Didn't need to so I didn't bother.)

But I am just wondering, how does it work?

You know on Windows you got to type in serial number and do the activation thing... how does it work for OSX?

It is said that OSX can only be installed on one Mac... but how does Apple know if it is installed on more than one Mac? (Or 5+, for the family pack?) Activation? Connects to apple and does some kind of checking??

I haven't seen anything like that mentioned on the forum... so I am under the impression that people do things properly as said in the licence so that Apple don't actually does all those check on you?
 
Sunnz said:
It is said that OSX can only be installed on one Mac... but how does Apple know if it is installed on more than one Mac? (Or 5+, for the family pack?) Activation? Connects to apple and does some kind of checking??
Click to expand...
They don't. There are no technical barriers to installing one copy of OS X on a million machines. The only exception is that the discs that come with systems are made to boot only that type of system. So you probably couldn't use your iMac's disc in a MacBook. But you could use it in a million other same-model iMacs.

Basically, Apple operates on the honor system. I suppose they think implementing an activation system would cost them more money and good will than it would be worth. They're probably right.
 
So most people are too happy with OSX to violate the licence? Are there many pirated copies of OSX lying around on the net??

From my experience with Windows, most people either have pre-installed OEM, or it is almost always a pirated copy. I have seen an ad on the school notice board selling a PC with XP, only to have other people wrote "Can be pirated!!1' on it!!

I guess my question is, how bad is the pirate on Mac world? On Windows it is really fun to see this on going war between hackers and Windows expert building guards and hacks around it.
 
1) You cannot buy a Mac without buying the OS: it's embedded.

2) Apple protects different software pieces with different strategies. Indeed today the MacOS itself is not protected with anything else than the link with Apple hardware.
 
1) That's true but that's not the point... I've seen people asking if they should buy OSX or the family pack... maybe it is an upgrade? Can't remember.
 
In the community its pretty bad. I have even seen mac piracy sites offering scary amounts of software who will not share apple software.

Also, the reason you don't see piracy discussed here is that Scott enforces a strict no tolerance policy here, to keep this a happy legal community. :)
 
Apple may know that you've abused your licenses: on install, it nags you to register. With the developer release, they can see how many people took the update, as a count as to how many developer releases are pirated. I haven't heard of them actually prosecuting people, though.
I guess they don't have to worry quite as much as Microsoft, because they're already profiting from you using an Apple computer.
Still, don't abuse your license. The family pack costs less than 2 single-user installs, but you get 5 installs (in the same household). It's actually a pretty cheap OS, considering what it does.
 
Yes, there is no license check, it is just a piece of paper with NO activation code typed on it.
 
It is also perfectly legal to reinstall OS X on your computer (provided you haven't installed it on other computers etc. etc.). The reason you get OS X install disks as well as a pre-installed version is to enable you to reinstall the OS if you need to. You're still using the OS on a single computer and it is still the computer it was intended for.

If you want to update the OS and it is a major upgrade (e.g. from Panther to Tiger) then you need a new licence.

- cfr
 
So how bad is the pirating going on for Macs? Is it as bad as Windows?? Or do Mac people usually are willing to pay for OSX?
 
Sunnz said:
Is it as bad as Windows?? Or do Mac people usually are willing to pay for OSX?
Click to expand...

Hopefully most Mac users will pay for OS X and the multi Family Pack. Steve Jobs calls it Karma. Some writers have gone far enough to say Mac users tend to smarter and better educated, I don't know about this. I do know the Macintosh community is more helpful than anything in the Windows camp. pirating has been thankfully kept at a minimum in the Mac community.
 
I'm not going to close the thread so far, but be aware that this thread is on the verge of disappearing. There's no real reason to discuss this, I think. How the heck should any of us know what percentage of OS X out there is pirated? We don't. Of _course_ it happens, just like with any other software, but we can't know the percentage. One _important_ difference is that there's no real _need_ to pirate. You _get_ your license with the Mac. Anything else is uprade pricing, and I don't think 129 USD for a single license is too much. Of course you have to time your purchases a little. We know that Leopard will be out in Spring of 2007, so I probably wouldn't buy a new Mac in January if you can hold out 'til Leopard arrives.
 
I just find it interesting that almost every home Windows user uses exclusively pirated software, not just Windows but everything else; but it seems very different on the Mac. So I am thinking along the lines with, if you can afford a Mac, maybe it implies that you can afford software.
 
That's merely an assumption. I know quite a few PC users who actually buy their software licenses. Plus: Macs are not _really_ more expensive. (I don't think we can argue for years that Macs - other than the PowerMacs and Mac Pros - are just as cheap as PCs and then, when the subject's a different one, suddenly call Mac users inherently wealthy. You could also argue that since the Mac's more expensive, you'd want to spend less on the software side. Without actual numbers, this is all just a guessing-game. So the question still rises: What should this thread bring to light? You won't get any answers like "H3y d00d! Grow up! Me downloaz warez on some.site.net for da MAC!" - first because we're not that kind of community and second because I'd remove the thread the instant it would turn that way. ;)

_My_ feeling is: There's pirating users on every side of the pond. And there are legal users on every side of the pond. Software piracy is a fact the industry lives with. There are several means to face it for software makers. The *BEST* I've ever heard of a software maker was Kai Krause (from KPT effects etc.) who famously did the following:

Standing before a crowd at a Macintosh event, he asked the people how many of them were using PowerGOO (a then famous lil software). Almost all hands were up. Then he asked how many had actually bought the software. The crowd laughed and many hands went down. Smiling Kai Krause said, that he thought this was fine with him. He loved that his software was so popular, he was glad that he sold enough copies of it and said: "However, if you actually *use* the software and don't just play with it for a while, even more so if you even make *money* with the creative software you are using: Please pay the developers."

(I've quoted myself here from an older thread. I'm not sure how _exact_ I'm telling Kai's story.)
 
As a former Windows users, where everything was pirated; then to Linux, where pirating is almost never necessary; then to Mac, which feels like a mix of Windows and Linux (The propriety Aqua/Cocoa over the open source Darwin), it is not too surprising for me to want to know about how bad is it in the Mac world right?
 
I have read some actual statistics from about 5 years back, that showed that Mac users spend on average twice as much on original software as PC users. They're also less than half as likely to have pirated software on their machines. The average PC owner has 5 legitimate programs that they have paid for, the average Mac user has 13.

I've always admired Apple's approach to piracy. They don't treat their users like criminals who will steal the software if given a chance. Instead, they ship all but a couple of their apps with no copy-protection at all (Logic and Final Cut Pro are the only current exceptions). They trust their users, and they're rewarded with a lower rate of piracy because of it.

This makes it easier for the user: I work in a PC/Mac mixed office and anytime we need to reinstall a PC app its always a pain in the rear working out which PC has what serial numbers, etc. But more importantly than that, its a statement of trust in the users. And lets face it, if people want to pirate the software, no serial number or activation is going to stop them, so you're better off just building up a good customer relationship to encourage people to do the right thing.
 
Well I haven't been a Mac user for that long for having any relationship; but I am rather impressed by their OS-pirate-warning poem:

"Your karma check for today:
There once was a user that whined
His existing OS was so blind
He'd do better to pirate
An OS that ran great
But found his hardware declined.
Please don't steal Mac OS
Really, that's way uncool.
© Apple Computer, Inc."

Although it doesn't even rhythms, it is good effort for programmers!!!
 
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