Students Can Get Microsoft Office 365 For Free

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Beginning in December, Microsoft will be offering free Office 365 to all students at institutions that license Office Education under the Student Advantage Program.

If you’re lucky enough to be enrolled in one of the eligible Universities, you should check out our Office 2013 guide to be able to fully utilize the productivity suite.
 
HAHAHAHA!! Do they not understand that if kids aren't using Office by the 6th grade, they are doomed?

I don't care if a new hire has a degree. BUT, they must use Excel or no dice.
 
HAHAHAHA!! Do they not understand that if kids aren't using Office by the 6th grade, they are doomed?

I don't care if a new hire has a degree. BUT, they must use Excel or no dice.

What does that have to do with BUYING Office 2013? Students are poor, and short of the pirate methods, Office is expensive. It is not a program to "spread the use of Office", it is a way to be nice to students.

Sure, they do get credit for being nice and the students will view Microsoft favorably, but still...
 
Let's see, it cost $30k a year to put my first through college. Do you think $99 a year (for 5 machines) changes anything? A text book is >$100 now and only lasts a semester.

Or is it that you are not aware that Thomas Edison didn't graduate college? Heck, he didn't graduate elementary school.
 
HAHAHAHA!! Do they not understand that if kids aren't using Office by the 6th grade, they are doomed?

I don't care if a new hire has a degree. BUT, they must use Excel or no dice.

This x1000. I love seeing shit like "pages and numbers or iworks" on resumes.
 
Let's see, it cost $30k a year to put my first through college. Do you think $99 a year (for 5 machines) changes anything? A text book is >$100 now and only lasts a semester.

Or is it that you are not aware that Thomas Edison didn't graduate college? Heck, he didn't graduate elementary school.

What does Thomas Edison have to do with anything? Graduate is not a verb. He did not graduate FROM college, or graduate FROM elementary school.

Even if you only get to use it during your 4 year program, $400 is still $400 dollars. This allows broke students to get on the current software for free instead of pirating, or using Office 2000 or 2003, 2007 or even 2010 (even if they all basically do the same thing). It makes Microsoft look good and is a win-win situation.

This has ZERO to do with spreading Microsoft Office usage. Microsoft already has the entire market. Why would anyone bitch and laugh about this nice program?
 
What does Thomas Edison have to do with anything? Graduate is not a verb. He did not graduate FROM college, or graduate FROM elementary school.

Even if you only get to use it during your 4 year program, $400 is still $400 dollars. This allows broke students to get on the current software for free instead of pirating, or using Office 2000 or 2003, 2007 or even 2010 (even if they all basically do the same thing). It makes Microsoft look good and is a win-win situation.

This has ZERO to do with spreading Microsoft Office usage. Microsoft already has the entire market. Why would anyone bitch and laugh about this nice program?

This is the front page, companies could be handing out free cars and there would be nerd rage.
 
Kinda getting sick of productivity softwares becoming subscription services, though, that I'm required to "repurchase" regularly.
 
Kinda getting sick of productivity softwares becoming subscription services, though, that I'm required to "repurchase" regularly.

You don't have to purchase 365, where did you think you were forced to purchase this?
 
These types of campaigns are great for Microsoft. I know I'm hooked with Excel, Word, and PowerPoint because they gave me a copy for almost free. None of the freeware alternatives cut it.
 
I'm completely confused by Office now because there's... what... three versions now? 2013, RT, and 365?
 
This stinks. As soon as your enrollment at the University or college is up so is your access to Office 365.
 
Let's see, it cost $30k a year to put my first through college. Do you think $99 a year (for 5 machines) changes anything? A text book is >$100 now and only lasts a semester.
So? $99 a year is $99 a year. My parents paid $0 to send me to college. Not all of us have wealthy parents paying for our education, some of us actually got there based off academic merit despite not having a lot of money.
Or is it that you are not aware that Thomas Edison didn't graduate college? Heck, he didn't graduate elementary school.
So? That's wonderful for Edison. 99.999999999% of people aren't a "Thomas Edison". I wanted to work in engineering, so I got myself a degree in engineering (along with extracurricular activities to give myself more engineering orientated experience).
 
What does Thomas Edison have to do with anything? Graduate is not a verb. He did not graduate FROM college, or graduate FROM elementary school.

Even if you only get to use it during your 4 year program, $400 is still $400 dollars. This allows broke students to get on the current software for free instead of pirating, or using Office 2000 or 2003, 2007 or even 2010 (even if they all basically do the same thing). It makes Microsoft look good and is a win-win situation.

This has ZERO to do with spreading Microsoft Office usage. Microsoft already has the entire market. Why would anyone bitch and laugh about this nice program?

grad·u·ate (grj-t)
v. grad·u·at·ed, grad·u·at·ing, grad·u·ates
v.intr.
1. To be granted an academic degree or diploma: Two thirds of the entering freshmen stayed to graduate.
2.
a. To change gradually or by degrees.
b. To advance to a new level of skill, achievement, or activity: After a summer of diving instruction, they had all graduated to back flips.
v.tr.
1.
a. To grant an academic degree or diploma to: The teachers hope to graduate her this spring.
b. Usage Problem To receive an academic degree from.
2. To arrange or divide into categories, steps, or grades.
3. To divide into marked intervals, especially for use in measurement.
n. (-t)
1. One who has received an academic degree or diploma.
2. A graduated container, such as a cylinder or beaker.
adj. (-t)
1. Possessing an academic degree or diploma.
2. Of, intended for, or relating to studies beyond a bachelor's degree: graduate courses.
[Middle English graduaten, to confer a degree, from Medieval Latin gradur, gradut-, to take a degree, from Latin gradus, step; see grade.]
gradu·ator n.
Usage Note: The verb graduate has denoted the action of conferring an academic degree or diploma since at least 1421. Accordingly, the action of receiving a degree should be expressed in the passive, as in She was graduated from Yale in 1998. This use is still current, if old-fashioned, and is acceptable to 78 percent of the Usage Panel. In general usage, however, it has largely yielded to the much more recent active pattern (first attested in 1807): She graduated from Yale in 1998. Eighty-nine percent of the Panel accepts this use. It has the advantage of ascribing the accomplishment to the student, rather than to the institution, which is usually appropriate in discussions of individual students. When the institution's responsibility is emphasized, however, the older pattern may still be recommended. A sentence such as The university graduated more computer science majors in 1997 than in the entire previous decade stresses the university's accomplishment, say, of its computer science program. On the other hand, the sentence More computer science majors graduated in 1997 than in the entire previous decade implies that the class of 1997 was in some way a remarkable group. · The Usage Panel feels quite differently about the use of graduate to mean "to receive a degree from," as in She graduated Yale in 1998. Seventy-seven percent object to this usage.
 
I'm completely confused by Office now because there's... what... three versions now? 2013, RT, and 365?

2013 and 365 is the same thing, one is yearly subscription based and the other isn't, RT is arm based. How is this confusing?
 
HAHAHAHA!! Do they not understand that if kids aren't using Office by the 6th grade, they are doomed?

I don't care if a new hire has a degree. BUT, they must use Excel or no dice.

6th grade? You're a little off.

I got notified last week that my 6 yr old 1st grader can get the software for free.
 
grad·u·ate (grj-t)
v. grad·u·at·ed, grad·u·at·ing, grad·u·ates

v.tr.
2. To arrange or divide into categories, steps, or grades.
3. To divide into marked intervals, especially for use in measurement.

Usage Note: The Usage Panel feels quite differently about the use of graduate to mean "to receive a degree from," as in She graduated Yale in 1998. Seventy-seven percent object to this usage.

Okay fine, Graduate is a verb, but not in the context he used it. He did not divide the college into categories, steps or grades etc.
 
Remember when the person going to college would, I don't know, pay for college themselves? What's this psychobabble about the parent paying for it? They're not the one going to college.

Also, pretty sweet deal for Office.
 
I too would like to know what that Thomas Edison comment was about.

I mean are we really comparing someone who became successful from a completely different era to today?
 
Smart.

You do it like the religion organizations, you indoctrinate them while still young.
 
This is a "good" monetary move by MS. If I were them I would offer Office 365 for free to everyone and scrape their data in the cloud to sell to various interested parties. They would definitely make more than the price of the license fee. I mean they are already selling an ad platform that just happens to play games so why not take the next logical step.
 
I too would like to know what that Thomas Edison comment was about.

I mean are we really comparing someone who became successful from a completely different era to today?

Starting on December 1st, Universities that license Office Education for their faculty and staff can offer students Office 365 ProPlus for free thanks to a new program called Student Advantage. For students at these institutions, that means free access to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, Access, Publisher, and Lync. While many cheaper alternatives to Office have sprung up, many students still rely on Redmond’s good ol’ productivity tools.
Office 365 University typically costs $80 for a 4-year subscription for students, which is already a heavy discount over the usual $99 per year subscription to Office 365 Home Premium. Microsoft has been moving from selling Office as a one-time deal to a subscription service through Office 365.

...

If you’re lucky enough to be enrolled in one of the eligible Universities, you should check out our Office 2013 guide to to be able to fully utilize the productivity suite. ...



ie - I was poor growing up. I ended up in a high tech field. No grants or loans. I worked.

Reading that article makes me think MS is starting the program way too late. Should start it in elementary schools.

Doesn't apply to my kids, but applies to millions of others.
 
At least I turned down the job offer to be a Grammar Correction Officer.

Other than fishing for giant edible bugs in the North Pacific, it is the most dangerous job. Thousands are killed each year by being stabbed to death with #2 pencils, or bludgeoned to a gooey mess with Collegiate Dictionaries.
 
You don't have to purchase 365, where did you think you were forced to purchase this?

To keep access, you do. Difference is if I wanted to use Office for very general things, I can still use Office 97 that I bought long ago.... Office 365 is the subscription model. You are required to pay annually to keep using it. Forced to, or lose access to the product. I prefer Office 2013, as I can buy it outright (well, license it) and install it and use it for years to come after that initial purchase price. But, it will stay Office 2013. In 10 years, Office 365 will continuously be updated and current with the newest version.

Good and bad... Want to stay current and need the latest version? 365. Don't care, and can use an older version for quite a while? Office standalone is great.

Office 365 is great, and I'm glad they are offering it to students. Makes a lot of sense as most students require it for things. Most offices use Office, too, so it's definitely something good to know, at least with the basics.
 
Let's see, it cost $30k a year to put my first through college. Do you think $99 a year (for 5 machines) changes anything? A text book is >$100 now and only lasts a semester.

Or is it that you are not aware that Thomas Edison didn't graduate college? Heck, he didn't graduate elementary school.

He probably dropped out when he figured it was easier to steal from Nikola Tesla.
 
ie - I was poor growing up. I ended up in a high tech field. No grants or loans. I worked.
Yeah but Thomas Edison? You couldn't have picked a more recent and possibly more relevant example? Plus unless you own a major US corporation that is hinging on being a true monopoly in it's field you're no where close to Edison ;)
 
Everybody uses the Bill-Gates-Never-Graduated. Too cliche. Few know that Edison was home schooled.
 
People actually hire based on Excel skills? A normal person can learn Excel in an afternoon. Big whoop.

I just use Libreoffice Calc. Works well enough for most of the stuff out there.
 
To keep access, you do. Difference is if I wanted to use Office for very general things, I can still use Office 97 that I bought long ago.... Office 365 is the subscription model. You are required to pay annually to keep using it. Forced to, or lose access to the product. I prefer Office 2013, as I can buy it outright (well, license it) and install it and use it for years to come after that initial purchase price. But, it will stay Office 2013. In 10 years, Office 365 will continuously be updated and current with the newest version.

Good and bad... Want to stay current and need the latest version? 365. Don't care, and can use an older version for quite a while? Office standalone is great.

Office 365 is great, and I'm glad they are offering it to students. Makes a lot of sense as most students require it for things. Most offices use Office, too, so it's definitely something good to know, at least with the basics.

You are misunderstanding me, I understand how the services works but you aren't forced to purchase 365 over the non subscription based software. Even if your subscription runs out you stick have access to your files, if you install the standalone you just loose cloud support and the cool licencing scheme.
 
i have no idea why people and colleges continue to use office. there are so many free applications that accomplish the same thing for 99% of real world use.

it sickens me that we have developed an educational and employment mandate that is more about what program we used to create our result rather than the result we have created.

this isnt free software, this is indoctrination to the computer-uneducated masses.



internet explorer and norton antivirus also start out free.
 
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