Thanks to maria for posting at OzBargain. Microsoft Australia has a special university student offer on Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate — only $75 for life-time license, or $25 for one-year license, if you are a current enrolled student.
Microsoft have even set up a website about it — ItsNotCheating.com.au. Don’t worry about that dodgy looking guy at the front-page — you can get MS Office at that great price, legally!!
To buy, you have to select your university from a list of available unis, and then provide your university email addresses to “prove” that you are really an enrolled student. You are not getting some “student & academic version” with limited functionality — you are getting the ultimate edition with answer to life, the universe and everything!
This offer commences on February 26 and all purchases must be made by May 28 2007.
Too bad that (1) I am not a uni student (2) I’ve been a StarOffice/OpenOffice.org user over the last 10 years.
The website doesn’t make it very clear as to whether the purchaser will receive the software in a package or if they are given a licence key and are required to download the software from a given website. Does anyone know? Still a great deal either way.
Thanks for the post.
Hi Hans
The licence key is emailed to the account used in the purchase process and the software is available for download (500+ meg) or on cd at uni campuses.
Cheers
Michael
Does anyone know if I can install this version of Office 2007 onto both my home PC and my laptop with the single license key provided? I’ve tried to contact Microsoft about this but no reply :(
Cheers,
Tony
Right, got a reply from Microsoft (for anyone who is interested). If you want to install this version of Office 2007 on both your home PC and your laptop, you need to buy TWO license keys (ie cost will be $150). Still cheaper than the boxed version however student buyers beware!
Hey Tony, I read the End User Licence Agreement within the setup and it said you can install on one computer and on a portable device (ie Laptop) provided its a “Retail Copy”. How do you tell if its a retail copy? Well your product key should have “FPP” next to it. I looked at my invoice they sent to my email and it had FPP next to the product key. So as far as I’m concerned its a legit retail copy and by ticking “accept” for the licence agreement I should be able to legally install on one PC and also a laptop. Maybe you should mention that to the guy from microsoft that you emailed?
As far as I know, you have always been able to install MS Office on a desktop + on a laptop, provided (1) you own both computers, (2) you can’t use them at the same time. I think it applies to the academic version as well.
Not sure whether it has been changed on Office 2007, and I can’t really verify either as my Office 2003 is on corporate license (company notebook).
Thanks for the heads-up John! What follows is the email I received from MS:
>Dear Customer,
>
>Thank you for contacting the Microsoft Office Student Ready Options
>online store.
>
>All software products, except otherwise noted, are now licensed and
>registered for installation and use on one computer only. Federal Law
>strictly prohibits sharing or copying of licensed software from one
>computer to another.
>
>If you require a software package for use on more than one computer,
>you will need to purchase individually registered and licensed copies
>for each computer. Please note that some software packages may be
>available in a multi pack or volume licensing option.
>
>If you have any further questions or concerns, please reply to this
>e-mail.
>
Not sure what to make of this …
I’ve bought the product over the internet and I’ve received the confirmation email – in which everyone tells me i should find the 25-character product key – but there is no 25-character code. HELP!
Kate
You should have received an email from digitalriver in your uni email. The product key is near the end of the email.
FYI, even though its says only 1 licence per email account, I’ve successfully purchased 2 keys on my single uni email account.
Cheers
Michael
Can I get one of these CDs without going onto campus. As a working post-grad student I avoid campuses wherever possible.
You can download the installation file from the website and it is about 509MB in .exe format. What I did was, when I ran the installation .exe, expanded all the files into a separate temporary folder. I made a copy of the whole folder and burnt the contents inside the folder on to a CDR. Now when I put in the cd into the drive, it will automatically run the installatation sequence like the normal cd one you can get from uni.
I downloaded the exe file from the website, but when I try to open it I get an error message saying “”The installation of this package failed”.
I have sent two requested from their website and have been emailed back twice with the response that “unfortunately, we are unable to assist you with this issue at the Microsoft Office Student Ready Options online store. Please contact MS Office Student Ready Options”
So, can anyone help or do I need to download the entire file again?
Wes, I had the same problem so I deleted the exe file and downloaded it again. Unfortunately it didn’t make a difference and the error message is still coming up. I have written to Microsoft about it too, but I’ve not yet received a reply.
Wes, I just got it to work by copying the exe file to a CD and then running it from that. I hope this helps.
K
So can you purchace more than one key from the website or is it only one per email
Has any1 given it a go by purchacing 2 or more from one email address
Sab988
I have without any problems.
Michael
Kate
I’ve also had trouble getting a product key, despite the fact i paid $75 for the full Office edition.
The itsnotcheating people have not responded to my emails about not getting the code, so I am a NOT HAPPY MAN!
Hi, guys,
I just purchased the Office Ultimate 2007, and I did not get my product key until I emailed them. I had to wait a few days, but I got the product key by email. So, go for it, it’s a great offer. You can install it in one desktop AND one laptop (so I read at their website)
Cheers,
Manuel, from Northern IL University in USA
Hi guys,
I experienced the same problem as Kate’s, and Manuel, how long did you wait for another product key? Was it the case that you couldn’t find the keys in the confirmation email so you email them?
I read out some blogs saying you can go to http://www.findmyorder.com and click “return a request” option, but i can only find the button “find”, but the result page still had no product key.
I am getting frustrated if I could not get a reply from digitalriver.com. I hope Microsoft Australia could provide some help on this.
Cheers,
JL
Hi, JL
I downloaded it, installed it, and used it for a while without the key. The confirmation email did not come with the key. I wrote an e-mail and also called (I’m in the US, so I guess the phone # in your country is different. They answered a few das later and gave me the key. E-mail was better than phone, it took me hours until they answered… there is an area where you can email them. They DO answer. Hope it helps,
Manuel, Elgin, IL USA
I have ultimate office 2007 downloaded from digital river. I extracted all the files, and I just got a folder of files, I looked for setup.exe, and clicked on it and it gave me this error: setup could not find any products to install. see your administrator. it wont intall! what up with that?
Please note, that this is a different John.. I’m the registered user in OzBargain :)
Anywho.. John, it’s best to contact digital river, they should be able to assist you with that.
Hi guys, I am a Uni student and I have been trying to get the office deal but nothing has come through to my email address. So I emailed digitalriver(everyday) for the last 3 weeks and I still have not heard anything from them. I have also contacted Microsoft and they told me that I have to contact digitalriver as they are running the promotion. I have been running office 2007 but I am just about to run out of times. If anyone can help me it would be fantastic. The people at digitalriver are rude and are stressing me out.
Hi Leeanne,
You probably are running out of help and searched helplessly in the internet, came here and left a comment hope someone will be answered. I hope I can tell you how I tried to get my product key, finally.
I went to Microsoft Australia website and send me queries via their queries page. (https://support.microsoft.com/contactus2/emailcontact.aspx?scid=sw;en-au;1366&WS=aufeedback). If you can successfully provide your transaction details like transaction number and how urgent you will need your product key, and a bit of complaints on the digitalriver poor service, they will probably forward your case to the escalation team, asking them to get your problems solved as soon as possible.
They promised to reply you within 24 hours after you leave your queries. I hope that helps.
Cheers,
JL
I am having this same problem, I tell them of the issue, and get back an automated email response. Have been at this for a while now, and seen the bank, they have traced the money, it is in their bank account, so what can you do, except keep emailling them, or hopefully that link for Microsoft works, as this is just getting to be a joke.
Not a nice joke either, if there are problems, they should be dealt with.
Looks like Microsoft are running the same deal this year. Website is still ItsNotCheating.com.au and the promo seems to be going until about mid year :)
Same problem with DR. Here is the latest response I got from them: “To be able to purchase you must hold a valid email address at a U.S. educational institution ending in .edu” etc. etc.
They don’t even bother to read your emails. Just send back the standard reply every time. When I phoned Microsoft they just told me I had to do it all via the DR ItsNotCheating website. Back to square 1 every time.
I got my copy of the software, finally, but had to go through Microsoft to do it. Sorry I never kept the emails from them, but went through their customer support centre and got lucky I suppose.
Where is an actual contact phone or email for these digitalriver folk. I purchased this too, recieved the confirmation email which did NOT contain the 25 product key, and I filled out the customer contact page but have not ehard anything back from them. Will be trying Microsoft directly in the mean time, but if anyone can provide a direct contact to these itsnotcheating folk that would be great!
downloaded mine no probs. Product key came up as soon as I purchased it so I just copied it down, don't think I received it in an email though, so probably need to just copy it down when the download page comes up after you purchase it.
I agree that digital river doesn't answer emails though. My laptop isn't on the internet and doesn't have a CD drive so I asked them if I could download on another computer onto a memory stick then install on my laptop. They replied twice but didn't come close to answering my question. Just said look at the website. Quite annoying. So I tried it anyway and it worked.
Also, this promotion is still going. I think maybe to the end of 2009 from memory, but is says on the site.
Hey guys,
I just downloaded this from http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx and I’m getting the same error that a few people above commented on where all I get when I run the installer is a message saying “The Installation Package Failed”. I’m going to run a registry clean up program when I get home from work and someone said that putting the file on a CD and installing it that way was a safe way to go so I’ll try that, too. If that fails I’ll try downloading the file again.
Does anyone have a surefire way of solving this problem?
Hey all, esp. David, did anyone figure out a surefire way of solving this? I’ve tried re-downloading, manually extracting, and saving it to a cd. Nothing is working…