Download Office 2007 Ultimate for $59.95

Here's your chance to score Office Ultimate 2007 for the unheard-of price of $60.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The list price for Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate is a whopping $679.95. The upgrade price? An equally whopping $539.99. For that kind of money, it better come with Megan Fox's phone number.

Believe it or not, you can score a legal and totally legitimate copy of Office 2007 Ultimate for just $59.95. What's the catch? You need to shanghai a college student (or, you know, be one).

Microsoft's "Ultimate Steal" deal is for currently enrolled students who have an e-mail address ending in ".edu" or who attend one of several dozen approved institutions. (Mouse over the "Am I Eligible" link for more details.)

Assuming that you qualify, this is a pretty incredible deal. In addition to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, Office Ultimate comes with OneNote, Access, Publisher, Groove, and other goodies.

There's one other small catch: Your 60 bucks buys you the download version of the suite. If you want discs (which I highly recommend), it'll cost you another $13. Still a steal.

Of course, some would argue that most students (and other users) can get everything they need from OpenOffice 3.0, a full-featured office suite that costs nada. Let me know if you're in that camp, or if you think Microsoft's offer is too good to pass up.

Interestingly, each student can purchase up to four licenses, so anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit can...well, I've said too much.

[vikinzer]

This would so totally be a deal if I wasn't allowed to download office for free from my university, along with all the adobe programs.

These universities need stronger negotiators, either that or IU has something really impressive to hold over Microsoft.

[tcr071]

I would like to know the name of the University that offers Microsoft and Adobe products for free. These adobe products retail for $3,000+.

[SlyCooper]

While attending WSU we had a MSDNAA (AA for Academic Alliance) that offered MS products for free. The terms were that the user must be attending school and should remove it post graduation, things along those lines. I don't believe we had such an agreement with Adobe however.

[troyrig]

Drake Universtiy (Des Moines, IA) offers MS Office Professional in both PC and Mac versions for free.

[paulimusmaximus]

When I was in college, they had a special network drive that anyone in the college could access to use all the adobe products, office, and tons of other good stuff. You were only supposed to be able to use them on school computers, but you could easily download them.

[deanbvfx]

Our uni has access to MSAA, but were only allowed Vista Business n XP Pro, as well as Visio n Visual Basic.
Still getting Vista free saved me a bit on building up my PC.

[rufwork]

Also Vista Ultimate Product (RED) upgrade for $65. Mac OS qualifies for the price! Hello, Boot Camp.

[toreilly]

Microsoft Office 2007 is a dramatic step above Office 2003 and Open Office 3. The only problem is that this deal is supposed to be a non-transferable license for the student.

[ducttape36]

Totally worth it. I've used openoffice, but it really doesnt hold a candle to the real thing, though i do applaud them for making the effort and providing compatibility with MS office for free. Openoffice is the bare minimum suite, while microsoft office's productivity tools definitely make things faster (once you learn them, the ribbon has a bit of a learning curve.)

p.s. rick, nice new mug shot!

[funkyboot]

It does appear to be a non-transferable license. Does anyone know how the registration works? For instance, will it be immediately tied to the purchaser or will the purchaser be given a product key that must then be registered and activated?

[cuestakid]

you get a product key after you purchase the software. You download it, install and activate as you would if you bought it at a store. The email is only used to prove you are a college student. I do not see how the product key would no longer work when you leave your school.

[Mr. Dee]

Definitely worth it. The Ribbon is not hard to learn at all, its just understanding that things are not under Drop Down menus anymore. Everything is right there in front of you under a few tabs. I use the the Enterprise edition which is similar to Ultimate, both also include InfoPath for creating XML forms. The additional highlights to this suite apart from Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint are Access, Publisher and OneNote, those are 3 apps I know users can definitely use and take advantage of.

[SloopJohnBGood]

Also be aware that Microsoft has license agreements with many businesses, including federal and state governments, that allow you to get a copy of Office for FREE if you want to download it and for like $10 or so if you want a CD of the software. It takes a little research (call your IT support office if you're a fed or state employee) to get who is the administrator but it can be done.

[Women_Short_Hairstyles]

It's a steal at that price. So many tools under one hood.

[jayhawk73]

Adobe products can be purchased by students, faculty, and PARENTS of K-12 school children. All they have to show is school registration for proof of enrollment. You can get the CS4 Master Collection for around $900. MSRP is $2999.

[RompStar_420]

I still hate those Ribbons, I would use Orfice 2007, if it has a classic look option of 2003.

[rickbroida]

You know, I hated them at first too, but after a week or two, I'm totally sold. For once I think Microsoft made an interface change that was actually worthwhile. :)

[obvio-capitao]

Rate the ribbon too.

OpenOffice.org has a classic look and is free.

RompStar , U can use the foll link to get UbitMenu .. It,s an add on to to use with MS 2007 provides an 2003 like interface !
http://www.freewaregenius.com/2009/03/07/ubitmenu-use-the-office-2003-interface-in-office-2007/

[msjonker]

This is probably still illegal. Most of these licenses are non-transferable and technically expire when you are no longer a student. Cheaper to just download, since its probably just as illegal.

[thelemurking]

I don't know how much microsoft would still care... I mean they are still getting money and you aren't downloading it for FREE off TPB! At least it's semi-legit to a degree ;)

[MafiaPenguin]

Degree? Pun or no pun?

[deanbvfx]

Microsoft is the one doing the deal, So I doubt their illegally selling their own product.
It's main aim is to stop students either going over to OpenOffice or just pirating Office.
And this deal is probably mostly subsidized my your Universities MSAA, hence the "Am I Eligible". Our Uni gives us all a @uniname.ac.uk address you use, which I'm guessing each Uni has its own unique name MS can use to tell if your at a MSAA licensed uni.

[Renegade Knight]

The site gets in the way of buying this for your college attending kids. It tracks more than the email of the student. It also tracks who's buying. For my son I was able to buy Ultimate Office. For my daughter I wasn't. Different emails. Same parent purchasing. Guess who's getting OpenOffice because I flat out am not being allowed to spend money to make the purchase by the company selling the prodcut!

[sanenazok]

You daughter's school didn't pay/acquiesce to MS to join the program. You can still buy it, just not from this site. Get over it.

[Renegade Knight]

@sanenazok

Same U. Your diagnosis was wrong, but at least the rest of your post is consistent.

[aka_tripleB]

I got this deal last time it was offered about three months ago. Totally worth it.

[Orion Blastar]

How about a free alternative to MS-Office?

http://www.openoffice.org/

[rickbroida]

Hmmm, now where did I read about that before? :) (Bottom of the post...)

[jamostew]

We use OO (OpenOffice.org) at home, me for work and the kids for homework. It's more than adequate. Furthermore, "they" keep improving it at an impressive pace. I could also list a slew of other open source (free) software that works as well as the commercial equivalent, but that's Rick's job. ;-)

[obvio-capitao]

This promotion is $59.95 too expensive.

In a class of 20 students that means $1.200,00.

Much better to distribute OpenOffice to everybody.

[Nataku4ca]

uh... dude this promotion is meant for student purchases not the university itself if im not mistaken... unless u mean otherwise

[firefoxluva95]

The university itself would much rather participate in a volume licensing program...much cheaper for them.

[friscoG]

Not a bad deal. Like someone else said, check your IT dept. I work for the .mil and we can get a CD copy for like $20. I started to get the Mac 2008 version, but I am fine with 2004 Mac version. As far as the 2007 Windows version, I have a love/hate affair with the ribbon. I didn't pull the trigger yet for the windows version as I like 2003 and keep that on my desktop PC.

[jkcorfy]

Personally, I think $60 is too much, and I am quite happy with OpenOffice.org.

Two years ago, I attended a Microsoft session talking about the "benefits" of Windows Vista and Office 2007, along with other technical wonders. In payment for wasting four hours of my life at what was supposed to have been a training session on the new software but was really a four-hour sales pitch, I got a "not for resale" copy of Microsoft Office 2007 Professional. I've never bothered to install it. Unfortunately, I'm also not allowed to sell it. So it sits at home unused and unwanted. Maybe if I had been given three copies (one for each home computer), then I might have tried it. But as far as I'm concerned, I didn't get my money's worth (my "money" in this case being four hours of wasted time on a stupid sales pitch).

But you better check the EULA on the Office 2007 offer above. Typically, in order to take advantage of the academic pricing, you have to be a student when you install the software. (How do they know? I don't want to find out.) Unlike some claims above, the license doesn't expire when you leave college, but there may be a further restriction that the software can't be used for business purposes (and what exactly qualifies as a business purpose? Beats me. It would seem that using Word to create a one-page sign for a garage sale would be a business purpose). Fortunately, OpenOffice.org doesn't have any archaic restrictions on who can use the software and how.

This is just Microsoft trying to do their drug dealer imitation. The first try is free or low cost, but after that they hope you are hooked for life so you come back and spend several hundred dollars for each "fix".

[Renegade Knight]

Ultimate gives you two active installs at the same time. 1 for your Desktop and 1 for your laptop. They are pretty tight with the installs. My sons computer and the desktop both crashed and after the reformat we have to phone MS for activation. Pretty easy so far.

[Nataku4ca]

so u've never installed and tried the ribbon menu? no offense but this post smells like u just want to bash MS

[obvio-capitao]

> Ultimate gives you two active installs at the same time.
> 1 for your Desktop and 1 for your laptop.
> They are pretty tight with the installs.

I stick with OpenOffice.org -- it can be installed anywhere, anytime, no need to ask permission to anyone.

[firefoxluva95]

I've used the Ribbon interface and have become rather attached to it, especially when Windows 7 components now have the Ribbon interface (i.e. Paint, Wordpad). Since I now prefer the Ribbon, going back to OpenOffice does not seem to be an option for me.

[tcr071]

School sells Office Enterprise for $7. A much better deal.

[DJOmega6]

I also got office enterprise from my school. It was under $100, can't remember how much exactly. I think it's basically the same as ultimate, but don't quote me on that.
As for using openoffice 3.0, I'm taking a class that requires office 2007 because it uses excel and access, and the class is required for me to get my degree. So at least for now, NO, openoffice doesn't give me everything I need

[firefoxluva95]

Same here, join the club.

[RobD60]

I'll stick with OpenOffice, or get Word 2007 when I get a new laptop in about 2 years. This isn't a bad deal at all, but then I'm not a student. OpenOffice is better than most people think, though it needs better documentation; and free is free. Of course, if I WERE a student, i just might bite. . . .