[X4U] MS Office 2004 Feedback

[Randy B.Singer]

Fabian Fang said:

>The considerably lower-priced, but identical, "Student and Teacher" 
>Edition in fact allows concurrent installation on three computers.  
>Folks who have any affiliation with an educational institution, as 
>faculty, staff, or student, should certainly go for that.


Yes, the Student and Teacher (S&T) edition of Office is, relative to the 
Business version, a fantastic bargain.  

In fact, the licensing terms of the S&T edition are even looser than you 
state.  They allow you to purchase and use this product if any member of 
your family is a student, even a kindergarten student, or a home-schooled 
student.  Essentially this is a home edition of Office.  And no one 
checks that you meet the qualifications for the S&T version when you 
purchase it.

However, a huge problem can crop up if you purchase the S&T version of 
Office and use it at your place of business and the SPA/SIIA, or similar, 
come to town.
http://www.siia.net/
(Which has been happening with increasing frequency in large cities 
across the country.  Some of you may have heard their radio commercials 
when they swoop into town, trying to attract informants.)  If only one 
disgruntled employee reports your non-conforming use of the S&T version 
of office in your business, the entire business will be subject to a very 
high-handed, and legal, form of blackmail from the SPA.  Failure to pay 
retribution will result in a search warrant and legal action.  Your 
business can be devistated.

I'm not saying that it is likely to happen any of us.  But it is 
something to consider.  (Similar tactics by Microsoft to crack down on 
pirated software in schools has led to a huge number of schools moving to 
open source software.)
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/09/29/05linux.h24.html




Randy B. Singer
Co-Author of: The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th and 6th editions)

Routine OS X Maintenance and Generic Troubleshooting
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html