News flash Prof. Some folks just don't have a spare 150.00 laying around to sustain the Redmond Giant. You won't be able to tell a Linux-based .doc from a Windows-based one.
I just graduated from the University of Texas 2 years ago. All 4 years I was there, the student-discounted version of MS Office cost us only $15.
I agree with the author on most points in the article, but his arbitrary figure of $150 is not due diligence on his part.
The MS Office that you purchased at college is produced under a special license from MS, and even that is suspect and open to interpretation.
Most colleges around DFW will charge a “copy fee” of $6 per CD, and MS lets them give the software away.
However, even within MS there are differing interpretations of the legality of this transaction, as of summer 2008.
Good point - both of my daughters get a free copy of MS Office from their schools. $150? Nope, not here.
I hate to disagree with you on this one but your copy of MS Office did not cost you $15.00. Yes, it’s true that you paid the “residual” value of the software but I’m assuming that you are not figuring out the built in costs of Micro$oft software into your technology and class surcharges, not to mention those already built into the tuition costs. There is no such thing as discounted Micro$oft software: you have been billed for the full costs. Bet you didn’t even consider that now did ya.
FYI: I graduated from University of Texas at Arlington (Economics) and although I am an avid Linux and OSS user, I still paid the residual amounts for my copy of MS Office and Windows - so that I could justify paying the fees charged by OIT and the college.