Microsoft Office tries to snag college market
With ever more free options (think OpenOffice) and college students being a traditionally poor and penny-pinching market, the average college student isn't going to shell out $679.95 for Microsoft Office Ultimate.
The Ultimate Steal, as it's called, lets students snag a copy for $59.95. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Groove, Publisher, Access and InfoPath 2007 and Accounting Express 2008.
The Ultimate Steal also gives these same college students Microsoft Visio for $55.95 and the Office Language Pack for $9.99 and the Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT)Red Upgrade for $64.95 (though with Windows 7 coming out soon, it might be better to wait).
The main issue is whether the students actually need more functionality than what OpenOffice provides. And the WalletPop blog points out that if you don't need all the bells and whistles of Office 2007 and just need the basics — Word, Excel, Publisher, Outlook and Access — you can probably find the pared-down version of Office in your college bookstore for even less cash — maybe about $25?