How many computers can I use Lion on? Do I need to use them on one ID?

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Hello,

My house has exactly 5 Mac's in it and I wish to upgrade all of these to Lion. In the past whenever I did an OS update I purchased the family pack instead of the standard edition which covered all 5 of the Mac's we own.
Am I correct that now the 10.7 Lion edition in the Mac App Store for $29 covers 5 computers or is there a separate family pack available? Is there now just one version which covers 5 computers?

The other question is how to go about the install. Two of the computers are in my home office but the other two belong to our children and when it comes to using the Mac App Store on all of those computers they are login into my Apple ID (me.com).

The 5th computer is my wife's though and that computer is using her Apple (me.com) ID since she makes her own purchases from the Mac App Store, iTunes, and has her own me.com email on it so her computer is the one that is unique.

Will the above present any problems? Will I be able to buy Lion and install it on the 4 computers on my ID and then have her buy her own copy for her computer or is there a way that I can get one version that goes on all 5 computers even though her computer is using a different ID for the Mac App Store?

Thank you for your help.
 
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chas_m

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Here is Apple's EXACT wording on the topic:

"The Lion upgrade can be installed on all your authorized personal Macs."

I interpret this to mean all computers tied to the same iTunes account. That's what I believe that means. So in short, I think you'll be buying Lion twice -- once for you and the kids, and once for her.

You'd have to call Apple to be sure, but that's what I believe it means.
 
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Here is Apple's EXACT wording on the topic:

"The Lion upgrade can be installed on all your authorized personal Macs."

I interpret this to mean all computers tied to the same iTunes account. That's what I believe that means. So in short, I think you'll be buying Lion twice -- once for you and the kids, and once for her.

You'd have to call Apple to be sure, but that's what I believe it means.
Actually, that's not correct. The EXACT wording is..

to download, install, use and run for personal, non-commercial use, one (1) copy of Apple Software directly on each Apple-branded computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server ("Mac Computer") that you own or control

I own my kids computer (they're minors) and control the rest in my household anyway.
 

bobtomay

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Chas is correct in this case. You can't pull the Snow Leopard EULA and apply it to Lion. It is not the same.

Every app bought from the App Store can be installed on up to 5 Macs using the same Apple ID. The Lion EULA does not specify that 5 computer limit in it's EULA - it is exactly as chas quoted. Whether the App Store EULA will override the Lion EULA once that magic number 5 is reached, don't think anyone has tested that yet.

As for markwco's situation, since these Macs are all in the same household, am betting that by authorizing his wife's Mac to use his Apple ID, she could install Lion without purchasing it again. Don't really have a clue how that would affect everything else and if there would be a problem with this new thing Apple has of not being able to change the Apple ID on some devices for 90 days. I'd probably spend the extra $30 in that case just to be on the safe side without any other feedback.
 
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Bob, that's the Lion EULA. Right from the MAS.

Snow Leopard, btw, still had 'family packs' that limited you to 5 machines.
 

bobtomay

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Ooops, I was reading your quote incorrectly mike. That's what happens before I've had my 3-4 cups of morning coffee. :Grimmace:



Or maybe that was after my 4th cup. ;P
 
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Ooops, I was reading your quote incorrectly mike. That's what happens before I've had my 3-4 cups of morning coffee. :Grimmace:



Or maybe that was after my 4th cup. ;P
:D

I've been up for 6 hours already. I had to re-read it and make sure I wasn't half asleep when I wrote it:Smirk:
 

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who had a long Friday evening....... :p
 
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chas_m

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I was quoting Apple's PR release that came from the release date, but thanks also for quoting the MAS EULA, that's a bit more specific.
 
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WHy not answer it in public so everyone can learn?
from macstories
OS X Lion: Installation Guide & Q&A

I purchased a copy of Lion on the Mac App Store, how many computers can I install it on?
The software license agreement (SLA) permits you to “download, install, use and run” one copy of Lion on all Mac’s that you “own or control”. So effectively if you own 10 Mac computers you can purchase just one copy of Lion from the Mac App Store and you are good to install it on all 10 of those. Below is the actual section from the SLA relevant to this question:

2B(i) to download, install, use and run for personal, non-commercial use, one (1) copy of the Apple Software directly on each Apple-branded computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server (“Mac Computer”) that you own or control;
 
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Every app bought from the App Store can be installed on up to 5 Macs using the same Apple ID. The Lion EULA does not specify that 5 computer limit in it's EULA - it is exactly as chas quoted. Whether the App Store EULA will override the Lion EULA once that magic number 5 is reached, don't think anyone has tested that yet.

That would be a bummer! It would make sense to make an exception for the OS.
 

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