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Reduced Price Microsoft Software

Murray Edwards College

The information on this page is presented in order to inform, not to recommend.  Each user must decide whether purchasing the advertised software is appropriate for them - it is not a requirement of Murray Edwards College, nor is the offer run in conjunction with Murray Edwards College. General help can be sought from the IT Office, however, specific product- or sales-related queries should be directed to Microsoft or Digital River (Microsoft's Ultimate Steal sales partner).  See the Customer Support link at the bottom of the Ultimate Steal web page.

A free alternative to Microsoft Office is OpenOffice; installation instructions can be downloaded here.

The Ultimate Steal

For the last few years Microsoft have been running a scheme called The Ultimate Steal. Under this scheme students and staff who:

  • attend or are employed by an educational institution in the UK
  • and who have an email address that ends with ac.uk

are eligible to purchase certain Microsoft software at a reduced price.

What you need to do

In order to take advantage of this offer, you need to go to http://www.microsoft.com/student/office/en-gb/default.aspx and click on the Am I Eligible? link to double check that you meet all the requirements. If you do, click on the Buy Now button; this will forward you to a site run by a company called Digital River.  Follow the on-screen instructions to purchase the software you require.

Obtaining your software (a recommendation)

The default way to obtain your software from the online store is by downloading it, however we would strongly recommend that you also order it on disk.  If you order a copy on disk (an additional £9.00 (as of July 2010)) it will provide you with a back-up copy of your software in case you need to reinstall or replace your computer.

Please be aware - you may only download your software within 30 days of purchasing it (including re-downloading).  If you do not make a copy of downloaded software, and you need to reinstall, you may have to purchase the software again.

Software Product Key

Once you have purchased your software a confirmation page will appear.  You will also be sent a confirmation email.  On the page and on the email you will find the Product Key(s) for your software. Make sure that the Product Key(s) are kept in a safe place (print and/or save the email/page).  If you need to reinstall your software, and do not have the Product Key(s) Microsoft/Digital River will not issue a replacement and you may have to purchase the software again.