>Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 20:07:00 -0400 >From: James Sedgwick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: os x.2 > >At 4:45 PM -0700 09/26/2003, Eric Dunbar wrote: >> Comment on Mac vs Windoze prices for Office. >> >> The software licence (U of T, same for other institutions that do this) is *less* >> for the Mac OS X version of Office than >> for the Windoze XP version ($112 vs $120 IIRC). >> >> BTW This isn't a site licence, it's an individual licence (not subsidised by the >> university) valid for as long as you're >> affiliated with the institution. > >Where do you buy it and what do you mean by affiliated with?
The licence is valid as long as and only if you are an *active* student, faculty or staff member at the university. You purchase the licences at the software licencing office at Robarts (if you don't know what/where Robarts is then you also shouldn't be inquiring about where to buy a software licence ;-). Some of the licences are site licences, and some are individual licences. Some of the licences may allow you to keep the software once your affiliation with the U of T ends but the Microsoft licences must be relinquished or transferred (to someone for whom the licence is valid) when your affiliation with the school ends (alumni are *not* affiliated with the university simply b/c they are alumni). I am done my MSc degree in a few days so at that point I will have to relinquish or transfer my licence for MS Office for X. I'm debating about whether to get AppleWorks which is OS X native or stick with Office 2001 (which is mine). >But I and many others are not affiliated with the U of T, you're lucky you are if you >are in the market for a copy of >Office, the rest of us aren't so lucky. I wasn't in the market for a *copy* of Office ;-P (ok, so that's being really picky about semantics). Seriously though, you (& others) are (likely) in a for-profit environment (or, if you're in a not-for-profit environment there are other financing solutions available ranging from reduced rates from software cos to donations from businesses or individuals) where you can deduct expenses like MS Office from your income for tax purposes and, if you're in a home environment using it for personal use you are not using it to earn your living so at that point Office is a "luxury". Besides, for the vast majority of people, Office is *overkill*. Excel is powerful but I doubt there are many people who actually have a need for Excel's power when AppleWorks can do the same with a better OS X integration (likely with fewer crashes... the Visual BASIC implementation in Excel for X is less than satisfactory... if I ever have to do any scripting I drop back to Excel 2001 b/c it's that much faster and more stable). Word for X is no better than the competition and likely a lot worse (I find Word for X pretty disappointing... Word 2001 kicked AppleWork's a$$ (ok, more like acc where c=cents ;) but X is pretty lackluster). If you have a need for Excel's power you're likely in science or business or education in which case there are the relevant pricing schemes (edu is cheaper b/c students lack funds, piracy would otherwise be rampant (more than it is :(, they are a great audience for future purchases (you buy the software that you trained on/know), and edu is generally seen as a beneficial societal institution so cos are willing to do their bit to advance the disemmination and creation of knowledge (& to get people hooked on their software) (some notable exceptions to the idea of benefits to society... including those ideology exposed by the advocates of private school tax credits or senior school tax credits (b/c they "don't use schools")... if seniors or private schools get public subsidies (b/c "they don't use it") I demand that the income tax I pay for health care be reduced b/c I resent having to pay taxes to fund some senior's hip replacement or some kid's private schooling when I won't be making use of either service anytime soon (& if I want to send my kid(s) to private school I should be the one paying, not everyone else, since I benefit from communal schooling (good citizens = just society) but am not willing to contribute (if you have ill educated citizens *everyone* suffers (tax payers have no societal value anyway so I guess we can let them destroy their kids in private schools (though, in turn that means we end up with tax payers and not citizens so again, everyone suffers (it's time for a Citizens Federation to counter the short-sighted idiocy espoused by the CRAP (gotta love those Alliancers for coming up with such a wonderfully descriptive acronym) Tax Payers Federation) ) )... and, besides, by the time I'll be a senior the current crop of seniors and baby boomers will have bankrupted the health system... why should I pay *now* for problems created by the decisions of the current crop of seniors and baby boomers when I won't have the same benefits in the future as they do now!!!)). Anyway, sorry for the political swipe at foolish and shallow bribes which lend themselves beautifully to ridicule (as well as opening up a can of worms that could backfire on the people willing to accept the bribes). L8r, Eric. -- Mac Canada is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Shop Canadian, visit Mantek Services <http://www.mantek.mb.ca> Low Prices That Will Keep YOU and Your MAC Smiling Educational discounts are now available Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Mac Canada info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/mac-can.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/mac-canada%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
