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It seems there is a lot of confusion about Apple's Mac OS X licensing options for Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther).

Mac OS X 10.3 (Single User) - US $129

Despite the name, this is intended for an installation on a single computer (Mac). If you have multiple Macs at home, you should technically purchase multiple copies with one for each installation.

Meanwhile, multiple users on a single installation can use a single purchased copy of Mac OS X.

Mac OS X 10.3 (Family Pack) - US $199

"The Family Pack is an easy and inexpensive way of using a single copy of Mac OS X Panther v10.3 to install the operating system on up to 5 Macintosh computers."

So, you're thinking -- "well, I just get 4 friends together". Well, technically, you can't. According to the terms you can install on 5 Macs at one time "as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy that same household."

A household is defined by Apple as you might expect... but does not apply to dorms, businesses or commercial users.

What will Happen?

Fortunately for the sanity of their users, Apple has not implemented any copy-protection, network-authentication or Serial numbers for their Mac OS X operating system.

Windows XP has received a lot of attention for their authentication schemes which require re-authentication with new computer installations or even significant configuration changes. Windows users also enjoy the use of serial numbers upon installation.

Mac OS X licensing works on a good faith system. No serial numbers are required, and there is no network authentication between copies. This means that licensing compliance is left to the conscience of the users involved.

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