I'll stick with Open Office thanks.

Their sales must be hurting a bit more than usual it seems. Or at least that's the perception.

Just to let you guys know what you get is a link to download an exe. That picture makes it look like you're actually getting a package, but its just a link and a legit SN. You have to pay an extra $12 if you want the back-up CD.

Comment on Dealzmodo: 91% Off Microsoft Office Ultimate The eligibility rules do say that you need to be a current student, in addition to having a valid .edu email... Ali The following conditions serve to define student eligibility for the Promotion: 1. Individual must possess a valid e-mail address at a U.S. educational institution which contains the domain suffix .edu; AND 2. Individual must be a student at a U.S. educational institution and must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request.

I assume the Mac version doesn't play, right? I tried poking around the site, but it kept making either Windows crash or Firefox blow up.

If you read the eligibility requirements, you'll see that they say they in addition to the .edu address, you must provide proof of enrollment (carrying at least a 5 credit load):

"Also, you must be able to provide proof of enrollment status (ie, student card) upon request by Microsoft. If you are unable to provide proof of enrollment, you will be required to pay the full retail price of Office Ultimate 2007 (approximate ERP $679USD)."

Then again, doesn't photoshop come with college ID card templates?

For my home I would stick with Open Office. For my Mac, I'd rather use iWork with Neo Office.

$680? Wtf does this do that makes it even close to being worth that much money?

@Kaiser-Machead: Fellates your documents when your not around.

@Darrone: I'll let my documents pay for that service.

No Mac version? Yeah... this will totally win over the college crowd.

Office is too bloated now anyways.

@Kaiser-Machead: It brings you Starbucks in the morning.

I bet that this is really good for someone who has never heard of Google Docs & Open Office before, which cost you $0

"The following conditions serve to define student eligibility for the Promotion:

1. Individual must possess a valid e-mail address at a U.S. educational institution which contains the domain suffix .edu; AND

2. Individual must be a student at a U.S. educational institution and must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request.

Microsoft or an appointed vendor may contact you to verify that you are a current student. If documentation is not provided indicating that you are a current student, you will be liable to reimburse Microsoft for the full retail cost of the software ($679)."

Hate to be the guy with that job.

@Hiphopopotamus: I'm willing to bet most college kids have a PC.

A commenter at the NYT pointed this out in the user agreement... "Eligible students may have free access to Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 Trial for a limited amount of time. Each trial provides (1) 25 application launches (each launch of an individual Office Ultimate application is counted as one launch) before the software goes into reduced functionality mode (at which time your software behaves similarly to a viewer, you cannot save modifications to documents or create any new documents, and additional functionality might be reduced); and (2) the opportunity to purchase the following perpetual license for the Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 software:"

I support and was on a committee to roll out Office 2007 - except for a couple advancements in Excel - stick with Office Xp or 2003.

$680 ???? I thought apple made the "overpriced" products? :)
Seriously, why would someone spend that amount of money on MS OFFICE when they could get other software PLUS a new PC for the same amount?

@otaking241: So unlike most educational discounts, this is student only? No faculty? A pox on them.

And it does make one curious about what is included for $680. Usually developer stuff, if I recall, and some enhanced deployment tools.

Both people who need these things have probably already bought the package.

But some people have a more pathological need to have "The Ultimate Anything" - probably including "The Ultimate Case of Herpes" or "The Ultimate Collection of Zamfir Records" or the like.

@=opportunityfanboy: Who would have thought that the Fucktards at Microsoft would have buttsexed you in the small print?

@Munch: Sir could you please calm down

@GOKOR: "A recent higher-education survey cited by analyst Katy Huberty (Morgan Stanley) reveals that roughly 40 percent of college students say their next computer purchase will be a Mac"

Most? Yes... but 40% is nothing to sneeze at.

I got this and think it is definitely worth the money. The size limits on Excel spreadshhets are mostly gone and Word is much better after you figure out how to work with the new toolbar.

Unless of course you go to UM, like I do, where we get Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows XP, Office for Mac & for Windows for FREE...

I got a free version from doing somethin last year.. I forget, I sold it on eBay for a few hundred bucks. I did the same with the WFP Free Vista Ultimate as well, I kept the 32-bit version and sold the 64-bit version on eBay. Thanks MS!

@LindsayJoy: Same thing when I was in college. MS gave software to students. The idea was that the students go out into the world and diffuse MS technology.

Probably works.

At least there doing this, they really didnt have too i'll give them that much.

I wanna know who is the greedy ass motherfer that sets the prices on Micrsoft product's

@LindsayJoy:
Are you in IT?

$680 is freaking outrageous, the normal user won't be getting that edition, but I can't see anyone for any reason paying full price for it.

I have gotton a lot of good deals on academic software, with no .edu address and no one ever asked for proof that I was a student. (Just so you know that I would not rip off Mr, Gates, I am a part time student and probably will be for life.) The average price for academic is about 1/10th of the retail price.

This is nothing new. Microsoft has been discounting software for students for at least a decade. Apple gives discounts to students on its hardware too. Kinda nice when I was in college.

office bit torrent edition ftw

$60 > free

Ultimate is an odd package to put on an academic discount. That package includes tools to run a small-to-medium size business, but academic licenses typically say the software is for personal use only -- that you can't use the software for business. I can't say I'd have much personal use for Infopath or Enterprise Content Management, and MS Accounting would be a bit of overkill for running the typical student's budget.

Great, I'm enrolled but I have no .edu address.

Oh well, I'm good with Open Office anyway =P

+1 OpenOffice FTW

@dqkennard:
True, unless those products were being used for school or other educational purpose... for some reason... maybe an internship at a company that uses the products.

@Absent Blue:
If you're in IT check to see if your college is a member of the MSDN Academic Alliance... or just get a .edu email address, I'm sure they'll give you one if you're enrolled ;c)

They couldn't pay me to take office '07. I'll stay with '03, thanks for nothing M$.

@jdhuck: Yeah, worked great for me, right up until they decided that my Windows XP pro I picked up at college was no longer "genuine". Fucking pain in the ass that was, I had to roll back to XP Home that came with my computer and then clean off all the bloatware that Gateway had so thoughtfully included because they don't give you a real XP installation CD.

Don't most colleges have site licenses for office anyway? I know mine does...

@snitch29: I purchased Office Ultimate with this deal a few months back. I had used 2003 and Open Office on and off before. Honestly, there is really no comparison. The new Office suite is a high quality piece of software. It really makes Office 2003 and OO seem 10 years old. If you can get it for $60, I would highly recommend it.

Hey, don't you get that for free on the student Microsoft Developer network? I remember being in college and we got all that stuff free (Visual Studio, .Net, and the rest of their crap.) Don't know why this reminded me.

@shamoononon:
Yeah, I believe that's the MSDN Academic Alliance, but it's only free to students taking classes in IT, and your college has to be participating... if I remember correctly :c /

I got the whole thing for Free by signing up to the MS FeedBack program for 3 months.... I got the package 2 weeks ago....

SCORE !

:)

@TheCyberBob - You nailed it. Why give any money to Microsoft when Open Office will do everything you need for free.

I'm perfectly fine using Office 2003. I can type documents and make rudimentary spreadsheets, so I've got all I need. Worst case, I use Open Office.

@Darrone: Shouldn't it be called Microsoft Orifice then? lol

MS Office is better than Open Office. I use both (MSO on my Vista machine, OO on my Linux) and I find MSO '07 to be pretty good. That said, OO is perfectly serviceable.

I got my copy of MSO for less than £20 as part of my work's home use programme.

Damn! I haven't paid for Office since...never.

Am I paranoid? You have to give them a valid email address just to even see the details? How much spam will I get after entering? Does anyone know that this is really a Microsoft site?

Actually, I just looked and Microsoft does own the domain... So does this prove I'm paranoid?

BTW, even on a Mac, Office may be a tool you need to communicate accurately with the corporate world. My assumption is that no non-Microsoft program will display complex Word and Powerpoint documents 100% accurately... I've learned that if you're in a business where you deal with big companies, it's beneficial to communicate at full 100% when dealing with "the suits."

The NYT article has been updated as follows:

Microsoft says you have to carry at least a half-credit cou