Software giant Microsoft has finally worked out that users will not buy its new Office 2013 if it is tied to one machine. Vole thought it was a pretty neat idea to force users to buy a new version of the software if their machine died and they had to install it on a new computer.

A Microsoft spokesman said that Redmond had received some rather strong customer feedback on the new terms. We suspect that some of the feedback may have involved lots of four letter words and dead animals being posted to Microsoft HQ. Writing on the company blog the spokesman said that “based on customer feedback” Microsoft has changed the Office 2013 retail license agreement to allow customers to transfer the software from one computer to another.

This means customers can transfer Office 2013 to a different computer if their device fails or they get a new one. Previously, customers could only transfer their Office 2013 software to a new device if their PC failed under warranty. While the license agreement accompanying Office 2013 software will be updated in a future release, this change is effective immediately and applies to Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, Office Professional 2013 and the standalone Office 2013 applications.

These transferability options are equivalent to those found in the Office 2010 retail license terms, the spokesman said.