What does "one computer at a time" mean?

[JD_95544]

I can think of a few ways to interpret "one computer at a time", and I want to make sure that I'm following Adobe's Terms of Use.  Could I ask someone from Adobe to have a look at this post?  In it, I go through a few possible use cases, starting with one that I'm pretty sure involves what Adobe wants to prevent and then working my way to more innocent use cases that seem quite difficult to avoid.

1) Simultaneous use could refer to activity that could only result from two users working on software at the same time.  For instance, somebody touching up a photo in Photoshop while another edits a movie in Premiere Pro on another computer with the same account.  This appears to be the kind of use that Adobe wants to prevent, and that makes perfect sense to me.  But there are other possible cases...

2) Simultaneous use could mean software that is running on two computers while not necessarily being actively used by two users at the same time.  For instance, someone could set up a video render on a desktop and then switch over to a laptop for some photo work while the render is taking place.  It would be the same sort of use case as multitasking on the same computer, really, but it would split the CPU workload.  Is this permitted?

3) Switching back and forth between computers without closing applications is even less likely to count as simultaneous use, but I'm not sure how Adobe sees it.  I could imagine using a computer with a pen interface to touch up a photo and then switching over to a desktop with multiple monitors to do some video editing.  That is, one person going back and forth between different tasks on multiple computers.  The actual work (mouse clicks, etc.) wouldn't be simultaneous, but the user might not close completely out of the programs when switching tasks.  Is this permitted, or does "one computer at a time" refer to open windows?

4) Does it make a difference to (3) if a program is clearly not in use but still open?  Someone could be working on After Effects on one computer, forget to close things off, and maybe even put that computer to sleep.  The session is still technically active, and the documents are still unsaved.  What if that person then uses Illustrator on a laptop, closes it (or puts the laptop to sleep), and then resumes the After Effects session on the first computer a day or two later?  Technically the session on the first computer has lasted a few days, and the other session overlapped it.  If timestamps of when programs open & close are being used, this would appear to be simultaneous use, even though it doesn't seem to be something that Adobe really needs to prevent.  This becomes even more of a problem with programs like Acrobat Pro (technically part of Creative Cloud), as users would be forced to exit all open PDFs in Acrobat Pro when switching computers in order to follow the rules, even if the computers are being put to sleep.

5) Adobe includes Acrobat Pro plugins with Creative Cloud.  Are these plugins allowed to be used while the other computer is running Adobe software?  What if the other Adobe software is not in active use (see 3) or is even on a computer that is sleeping (see 4)?  Depending on how you view "one computer at a time", it could even be a violation to open an Office program with an Acrobat Pro plugin, such as Outlook, when another copy of Outlook with that plugin is open on another sleeping computer.  I rarely close off my e-mail on any of my computers.

OK, so I might seem to be too cautious with some of the above scenarios, but I'm running into difficulty pinning an exact meaning on "You can use the software on one computer at a time." It would be really helpful to have some firm guidelines in place so that I could stop worrying about stepping over a magic invisible barrier that will set off alarms.  I am currently contorting myself to avoid (4) and (5), and not always being successful at it (earlier this evening I realised I didn't close off Premiere Pro after a late work session at home the night before which ended in a sleeping computer, so I turned that computer off rather than closing out of the session gracefully in order to avoid "simultaneous use" as I'd used Audition at work on my laptop.  I think quite a few users have a fluid workflow that involves switching between computers according to the task, and when you have GB and GB of RAM, there's no longer a real need to close off every single program that is not in active use.  So what does "one computer at a time" entail? If that's too nebulous a question, could I ask you to treat (4) if nothing else?

[kglad · Accepted solution]

you can install the cc desktop app from here https://creative.adobe.com/products/creative-cloud  on as many computers as you own and use it to install all (or some, if you want) your cc subscriptions.  the only (insignificant for internet connect computers) limitation is that you can sign-in (and therefore start your adobe programs) on, at most, two computers at any one time. 

because you can sign out from the two signed-in computers using a 3rd computer, this could not (imo) be easier.  recently adobe has made this even easier to control.

and i've never had a problem with cc open on my mac computer (to the left at my desk) and cc open on my pc (in front of me at my desk) at the same time.  i can't say that i've initiated an action on both at the same instant because i only have one dominate and one non-dominate upper extremity, but i've initiate actions on each within one or two seconds without issue.