Purchasing Office Suite

[troy bell]

Because of other problems it is necessary to format my
harddrive and I do not have the CD for my present Office
97.

Having said the above I am searching the net to buy Office
(Full) and am I confused.
The best prices are on things called DSP, OEM or CD Only.
Most seem to say it is OK to buy these products, others
say it is OK if you are adding something to your computer,
some even supply a mouse or cable!
There are thousands of businesses selling these products
so I am certain Micosoft knows and doesn't care or just
ignores them.
Is this legal software?
(This seems the only way to ask this questiuon without
paying Microsoft $35)

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Because of other problems it is necessary to format my
harddrive and I do not have the CD for my present Office
97.

If you registered the original software, your first option would be to
contact MS and see whether they will sell you the CD only. That's what
I did when my original Office 97 floppies started to die; since I had
registered everything, I was able to get a CD of Office 97 for around
$AUS35.

Having said the above I am searching the net to buy Office
(Full) and am I confused.
The best prices are on things called DSP, OEM or CD Only.
Most seem to say it is OK to buy these products, others
say it is OK if you are adding something to your computer,
some even supply a mouse or cable!

"Others" would seem to be wrong. From
http://www.microsoft.com/australia/office/buyit/checkoptions.asp

"If you're in the market for a new computer then quite often your
reseller can provide an "OEM" copy of Microsoft Office.
*******Intended to be shipped with new PC's only**********, OEM
licenses are often the most cost effective way to get into Microsoft
Office XP. Consult your technology provider and enquire about getting
your Office pre-installed on your new PC."

To find out what the situation is in your country, just go to your
local Microsoft web site and do a search for "Buy office OEM". I'd lay
odds that you'll find something similar.

If the "something" is a motherboard and CPU, then MAYBE it'd be OK for
the supplier to sell you an OEM version. But that would be down to the
distribution agreements that MS had with the resellers.

There are thousands of businesses selling these products
so I am certain Micosoft knows and doesn't care or just
ignores them.

Yes, there ARE thousands of businesses selling the products. They sell
OEM copies with new PCs, they sell academic copies to people who have
the appropriate academic credentials. If they're selling OEM software
"over the counter", don't count on MS "ignoring" them.

Is this legal software?
(This seems the only way to ask this questiuon without
paying Microsoft $35)

Even MS aren't THAT rapacious. This isn't a "technical" question but
rather a "where and how can I buy" question. I know that in Australia
at least, you don't have to pay a cent (aside from the telco's call
cost) to get an over-the-telephone answer to that. It would surprise
me if other MS offices were vastly different. (No it wouldn't. Well,
OK, maybe it would... yes, I THINK it would.)

 

[Norman Harker]

Hi Troy!

You're right to be cautious. My advice would be to buy on E-bay but
that you should look very carefully at the feedback rating and any
adverse comments that have been made by others buyers from a
particular seller.

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) versions are only supposed to be
installed by computer manufacturers and use is strictly limited to a
particular computer and should not be resold without the computer that
goes with it. DSP (Development Studio Product?) I've not seen but I
suspect it carries limited transferability rights and you should ask
for the details of the license.

AE (Academic Editions) come cheap but you must qualify for Academic
Edition rights.

What you are looking for is probably an FPP (Full Packaged Product).

--
Regards
Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
Sydney, Australia
Holidays and Observances Sunday 27th July: Cuba (Revolution Day),
Djibouti (Independence Day), Hong Kong (Lu Pan Day), North Korea
(Victory Day), Puerto Rico (Barbosa Day), Russian Federation (Navy
Day)
(e-mail address removed)
Excel and Word Function Lists (Classifications, Syntax and Arguments)
available free to good homes.

 

[Epistle]

Just copy it from someone else

 

[Myrna Larson]

You may not be able to get away with that with Office XP. It has to be "activated" by contacting
Microsoft, and you can't activate the same copy on more than one machine.

 

[Norman Harker]

Hi Myrna!

Microsoft do allow more than one machine but it is User Name sensitive
as well. I installed my Office 97, 2000 and 2002 on my old faithful
Pentium II. I uninstalled and installed all three on my Pentium 4 and
had no trouble with registering / activating the programs. New
licenses, I believe will be / are a lot more flexible on copying
(e.g.) within the same household. That doesn't mean that you can keep
on doing it / Microsoft don't check.

But none of that derogates from the view that copying from someone
else is a mug's game apart from any ethical issues that are involved.
Even if you manage the copying / pirating approach, you will be
debarred from the valuable upgrading rights and from service packs and
releases.

Far better to follow Hank's suggestion and hope that Microsoft will
still service the old legal version or pay a fairly nominal price for
a legal second hand version.

--
Regards
Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
Sydney, Australia
Holidays and Observances Sunday 27th July: Cuba (Revolution Day),
Djibouti (Independence Day), Hong Kong (Lu Pan Day), North Korea
(Victory Day), Puerto Rico (Barbosa Day), Russian Federation (Navy
Day)
(e-mail address removed)
Excel and Word Function Lists (Classifications, Syntax and Arguments)
available free to good homes.

You may not be able to get away with that with Office XP. It has to be "activated" by contacting
Microsoft, and you can't activate the same copy on more than one machine.

 

[Bruce Sinclair]

You may not be able to get away with that with Office XP. It has to be
"activated" by contacting
Microsoft, and you can't activate the same copy on more than one machine.

Other obvious option ... get open office and see if that will do the things
you want. The price is right

Bruce

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Microsoft do allow more than one machine but it is User Name sensitive
as well. I installed my Office 97, 2000 and 2002 on my old faithful
Pentium II. I uninstalled and installed all three on my Pentium 4 and
had no trouble with registering / activating the programs. New
licenses, I believe will be / are a lot more flexible on copying
(e.g.) within the same household. That doesn't mean that you can keep
on doing it / Microsoft don't check.

Just to clarify, under the EULA you can in fact have it on more than
one machine at a time as well... as long as the other one is a laptop:
" You may make a second copy of the Software Product and install it on
a portable Device for the exclusive use of the person who is the
primary user of the first copy of the Software Product. A license for
the Software Product may not be shared."

This is the situation that I'm in; same copy on the desktop and my
notebook, no problem.

But none of that derogates from the view that copying from someone
else is a mug's game apart from any ethical issues that are involved.

Yes, well... I figured that "epistle" was either a troll (which is why
I ignored his / her / its post here), or a morality-free zone, or both
(which is why I also ignored a question that it asked around the same
time in the WorksheetFunctions group).

[Snip]