From: Grainge, Derek To: 'Damian Counsell' ; suse-linux-uk-schools Subject: RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Microsoft stole my mother (was StarOffice) Date: 12 February 2002 12:28

...

MS Office with all the components (I think the market-speak is "Office Pro") is at least 200UKP, more usually 250UKP, when bought with a new machine. This is, of course, a rip-off.

What do we do (legally) to avoid paying this obscene sum?

It seems that it's impossible to get Office Pro through ANY educational discount scheme at the moment. Microsoft's UK education people know about this, they know that UK schools run courses which require it (which begs another question...) and they are arguing with their bosses back in the States. Apparently this was a Redmond decision applied worldwide -

---------- plainly

American students don't need to use Access at all :-)

I have to confirm that this is so - we have a few transatlantic students, and they say that they have to use Excel with forms & modules, using vast, flat tables as relational databases. And before anyone argues, yes you can, yes it does work, yes there are serious limitations for /real/ applications, but its good enough for the course.

It's a shambles, just like XP registration is proving a shambles, and is going to drive people away from Microsoft - and therefore in the right direction.

One of our pupils has a new laptop. Win XP. After three days it locked out (because of the plugging & unplugging of PCMIA modem) - he came in and picked up a copy of Win 98 SE, and has downgrades already!

One possibility would be to import Office Pro SL from America. Probably cheaper than the UK version, and finding a retailer to sell it in the UK

is

almost impossible, even if you don't mind being ripped off.

--

**************************************************************************** ****

All mail sent and received may be examined to prevent transmission of unacceptable material. Wellington College does not accept responsibility for email contents. Problems to postmaster@wellington-college.berks.sch.uk. Website: http://www.wellington-college.berks.sch.uk

**************************************************************************** ****

-- To unsubscribe, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-help@suse.com