Shopping for MS Office

[Ted Scherbel]

I am shopping for a copy of MS Office PRO at a reasonable price.

I see an OEM version for sale but they declare two versions:
An OEM CD with KEY and an OEM version with CDA

I understand OEM, but have not a clue about the CDA business. Would
someone please explain?????

Also any tips regarding how / where to obtain this software would be most
appreciated.

I am leaning toward Office 2000 Pro at this time.

Comments please.....

Regards, Ted

--
testing signature:
scherbe6
AT
airmail
DOT
net

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Ted

You could start here..

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005AFHZ/002-4581374-9028048

... and the term is 'COA'.. Certificate of Authenticity'..

 

[Beth Melton]

It really doesn't matter if it states "with key" or with "Certificate
of Authenticity". Legally, an OEM (Other Equipment Manufacturer)
version can only be installed by the OEM that built the computer. Some
web sites attempt to get around this issue by selling a hardware
component, such as a mouse.

For certain OEM licenses, such as for Windows this is okay. But for
Office it can only come from an OEM/System Builder and must be
preinstalled on a new PC. If you are building your own PC then you can
become a System Builder but for that you need a System Builder Pack
for Microsoft OEM software and it must be acquired through a Microsoft
OEM distributor.

I know this isn't an exact answer to your question but something to
keep in mind is advertisers use terms like "OEM software" as an
attempt to explain why the offered software is so inexpensive when in
fact it is not a legal copy.

Your best bet for Office is if you have a student or teacher in your
household then get the Office 2003 Student and Teachers version. It's
about ~140 USD and it can be installed on three computers. Although it
only comes with Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Ted Scherbel]

Hi Beth, Thanks for your input. It would seem there would be a
reliable source for the older Office software, but guess that's not the
case.
Also, I understand the student packs cannot be upgraded. Then too, my
primary need for Office is MS ACCESS. There was a time when ACCESS was
available as stand alone, but I haven't seen it lately.

Actually, I did build this computer myself, but never encountered a need
for any OEM/System builder stuff.

MS's retail prices are tough on retired folks.

Ted

 

[JoAnn Paules [MSFT MVP]]

Amazon.com has Access 2003 for ~$195 so it is still available as a
stand-alone. The problem you're going to have is finding older software.