Since you've posted your notice of departure, you may not read this. Hopefully it will be of some benefit to someone else. By the way, patience is a virtue.

There are two things to consider when it comes to Office licensing and multiple computers. One is the version of Office, and the other is the devices you are installing on.

Office Home and Student (both 2007 and 2010) is licensed to install on up to 3 computers as long as they are being used for personal (e.g. non-business) purposes. This is likely where the 3-computer reference came from.

All other retail versions of Office may be installed on one primary device and one portable device, so long as both devices belong to and are used by the same individual. A laptop counts as a portable device, so under these guidelines you could install the same copy on both your desktop computer and your laptop computer. These guidelines are spelled out in the Installation and Use Rights section of the End User License Agreement.

Volume licensing works differently, and I am unsure whether a separate license is required for a portable device if the owner also had a license installed on a desktop.

-SW