OK a question of ethics 1090
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In this case, there is no distincition and legal and ethical can be used interchangeably. The hard drive came with a limited SE license of the backup software, much like many computers come with SE or LE versions of software to give you a taste of what can be done. If you like it and want to use the full version you buy it.
The ethical thing to do would be to license the proper software to backup two machines. There's nothing unclear about that. I'm not sure why this is so unclear to you. Regardless of the legal implications, using something that you have not licensed is taking value from the owner of the property. Stealing.
Just in case anybody cares about power consumption, here is some interesting (to me, at least) data. For my Dim 9100 with PD 3.0G: Operating power: 117-175-235 W (idle, light load, heavy...
Feel free to use either a legal view or an ethincal view. Heck, choose a religious view. All of them would be clear that it is wrong.
I'm not saying I'm pure and ethical and have never done anything wrong. I speed. I run stop signs on my bicycle. I try to be legal across all the machines in my family, but on at least one of them you'd probably find something that I missed.
I have a client that spent two hours on the phone with Dell Support out of Panama...
I'm not even suggesting that the original poster shouldn't use it for multiple machines. He's found a way to do so and the transgression is pretty minor.
All that said, it is pure rationalization to say the it is either ethical or legal to do so.
Tom