Free Micosoft Office 2003 and Windows XP

Slartibardfast_2

Well, hibees1875. Looks like I've touched the old public sector nerve. As I stated before, I appreciate the contribution to society of NHS staff.

Please accept my apologies if i've offended you, but my point was that this is not a freebie. This thread should be moved, but i'm not sure where. I suppose the "Local" moneysaving thread would do, not that this is a local issue, but because it is restricted to a minority of users.

jpwhittle

my mum is a nurse and i used to be and i can tell you there is very little reward for the job. you spend your day constantly on your feet getting abused by patients and families than have to work ridiculous hours for a pittance. my mum is working almost every day this christmas and if this is the only reward she gets then i think she should take it. it makes me laugh when people think that mundane little jobs like office work are the worst jobs ever. try being a nurse for a day they do office work and care for people.

will be telling my mum about this this afternoon and hoping she gets it. as stated before this is a microsoft offer not an nhs one. i hope you take notice next time you need a nurse just how stressfull and manic their job is.

Helix

You maybe better off waiting until February if you can. The new version of Office comes out 30th January 2007 so they may offer this as well.

Slartibardfast_2

Thanks jpwhittle for your reply,

May I draw your attention to the fact that I do appreciate NHS staff (i have stated this in every one of my posts in this thread) and how difficult thier job is. I have recently witnessed their professionalism and dedication first hand during a few days in hospital, and I can't speak highly enough about the individuals I encountered (Barnet General Hospital by the way).

I don't want to start a debate, and in any case forums like this one are not the place to do so.

I just don't want to see offers in the freebies forum that are both NOT FREE and closed to the majority of people using this site.

Best Regards,

Slartibardfast

Darksun

If you're a student and your university is affiliated with the MSDN Academic Alliance, you may be able to get access to free software. I don't think Office is included, but Windows XP and Vista are, as well as a lot of their development software

hibees1875_2

you do have to pay 18 quid and you do get the proper office package. however, it is not a free offer so shouldnt really be in freebies as previously pointed out. it is a moneysaving item though. however.. as this site is all about screwing the big companies... why buy from microsoft when you can get staroffice et al for free and in my opinion they are better and more stable. if less people buy microsoft office then maybe they will realise that its just too expensive and will reduce their price to maintain market share. with all the money they will make from yet another operating system i dont see why they cant give office away free.
anyways... enough with nhs talk!!!! lets keep it to the point of the thread...
if you are a student (school or university) you have access to reduced rate microsoft products such as XP OS..... but why not broaden your horizons and go with linux? much cheaper and much more reliable.... arrrggghhhh dr watson again!

Slartibardfast_2

I agree absolutely.

If StarOffice isn't exactly to your liking, there is also Openoffice http://www.openoffice.org

This also comes with a database application. It's based on StarOffice but there are more frequent updates as it's fully Opensource. My employer has opted to use OpenOffice instead of MSOffice on all our new machines, and while there are some minor compatibility issues, it's a very viable alternative when you take the savings into account.

You can either download the package from the link above or for much more free software try www.theopencd.org where you can download a CD disc image containing the best "alternative to MS" software for Windows.

But then why not (as hibees1875 suggests) go one stage further and abandon MS altogether? Linux has developed so much in recent years, and so many applications now have web based alternatives that it is a very serious contender for the best operating system for general use.

There are so many versions available, but in the spirit of Free Software I would recommend Ubuntu as they will even send you a free CD (they have sent me 50 CD's free, which I have distributed between my family and friends) of thier version of Linux. (This has been posted elsewhere in the forum, but see www.ubuntu.com). The cd pack contains 1 installation CD and 1 "live" CD so you can try out Linux without installing it on your PC. When fully installed on your hard drive of you PC, I can guarantee that Linux will run quicker than XP on your machine.

Thanks hibees1875, very sorry to have upset you and some of the other members earlier, with hindsight I can see that my comments were a little severe.

:beer:

Slartibardfast

hibees1875_2

no worries... and not that severe, just felt you needed a friendly slap lol kidding. see, together we are all a beautiful team, we dont always see eye to eye but in the end we can get through it all to offer sound + quality suggestions, which is what its all about.

happy drinking.

GoTeam

Thanks to all thos that replied.... and went off topic too hehe:T

The offer is a free offer, you just pay for postage, so office is free, postage isn't.... so it does king of beling in here, i think.
helpful info:-
https://www.microsoft.com/uk/nhs/licensing/employee-purchase-program/default.mspx

" Microsoft Employee Purchase Programme

As part of a new offering from Microsoft, if you are an NHS employee you are eligible to purchase some of Microsoft's most popular consumer software and hardware at discounted prices. This offering includes products such as Microsoft® Office XP Professional, Microsoft Windows® XP Professional, Microsoft Money 2003 and some of the newest games and hardware! You may purchase up to three copies of any product available. This service is available as part of the benefits entitlement to staff in the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement.

Eligible employees can order online at the Microsoft EPP web site. In order to access this web site, your employees must use the unique programme code provided for your organization.

If you have any concerns in respect to the tax implications of this scheme you should seek guidance from the appropriate offices.

*Please Note – if you require software for use in the workplace you should use the mechanisms for procurement in place within your organisation. This is NOT a cost-effective way to supply software for use in the NHS.
"
" Details about the Programme
Full terms and conditions are available on subsequent pages as part of the standard ordering process.

Some commonly asked questions:

Why do I need an nhs.uk / nhs.net address – can I not use my personal email address?

Your nhs email address provides both the NHS Contracting party; NHS Connecting for Health and Microsoft the necessary authentication that demonstrates you are an eligible user.

What software can I order?

This Programme is designed to provide you with a copy of Office 2003 or Office XP for your own use.

How much does it cost?

The software license itself is free, however there is a fee charged to cover packaging and handling costs.

Who do I contact if I have a problem?

If you cannot access the site, or have any issues with ordering or fulfilment after receiving your programme code please email hupvalue@msdirectservices.com

How many copies can I order? / I have already ordered a copy and require another or updated copy.

You are entitled to order one copy of Office for your use. No further orders can be made.

Who do I contact if I my email address is not recognised, or if I have any further questions?

Please email nhsea@microsoft.com

How do I get support for my copy of Office?

The same way as you would for any retail copy – please visit support.microsoft.com "

and as previously stated the nhs isn't footing the bill, microsoft are so stop ranting about that too.

i thought i was trying to help but i think if that's the thanks i get for trying to save peeps money, i don't think i'll bother anymore.

GT

euglycaemia

Thanks
I will try this