Dev.SN

janrinok writes:

"CNet is reporting that Microsoft is hoping that users will not exploit a loophole which would save them $100 for an Office 365 subscription. But it is not as straightforward as it might appear as there are a few twists to the tale. From the article:

Microsoft wants you to buy Office 365, making the $100 subscription service mandatory to access the full power of Office apps for iPad. But if you don't want to pay the price, you don't technically have to. After tinkering with numerous devices and accounts since the debut of Office on iPad Thursday, CNET discovered a loophole in how Office 365 authentication gets enforced on Apple tablets. The loophole allows users who have not paid for the subscription to enjoy the benefits of those tablet apps for iOS.

"Similar to our commercial use rights, we do not strictly enforce the limit on tablet installations, but trust that our users respect and understand the device limits outlined in the EULA [end user rights agreement]," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNET. Subscriptions now form the backbone of Microsoft's software licensing, and the company has made an aggressive push to make it as convenient as possible to access its Office app suite through an Office 365 subscription. It wants to turn one-time customers into annual ones, and users are signing up. Within hours of going live on Thursday, the apps grabbed the top four slots in the free category of Apple's top charts.

Sweetening the deal, Microsoft gives you for less than the price to buy the software outright for only one computer the ability to install Office on five Macs or PCs and up to five tablets. However, there's nothing to stop you from trying a sixth tablet, or a seventh or an eighth or beyond. For now, there is no set limitation.

Additionally:

Similar to sharing around an HBO Go password among friends, all that's required to exploit the loophole which, again, is against the rights agreement that limits you to authenticating only five tablets is to have someone with a valid Office 365 account log in to Word, Excel or any other Office app on iPad. Once that happens, the tablet is automatically authenticated for all Office apps and any future users, regardless of whether or not those users have paid for 365. In other words, someone with a Microsoft account that was, just minutes prior, unable to access the best features of an iPad Office app will then be able to utilize the full version as well as other downloaded Office apps seemingly indefinitely. The prompt to pay for 365 or resort to using the "read-only" mode disappears.