Office 2010… It’s Here!

If you’re a student, you probably need Microsoft Office …but please don’t pay full price!

Before you spend any money, consider the Free Trial of Office 2010.

Then, if you really want to buy Office 2010, there several sources where you can find Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access at an extreme student discount.

How To Download the Free Trial Version of Office 2010

If you’re thinking about buying Microsoft Office 2010, but aren’t sure that you really need it — or, if you do need it but don’t have the cash to buy it today — you can get a free trial version that you can use for 60 days.

For best results, choose Microsoft® Office Professional 2010. (If you are planning to use your software for CIS 1A, be sure to get the Professional Edition of Office).

To download your free 60-day trial from Microsoft.com, you’ll need to have a Windows Live ID (in other words, a user account from Windows Live, MSN, or Hotmail); RCC students can use their free RCC student e-mail account.

You’ll also need a fast Internet connection, because you’ll be downloading about 750 MB.

Be sure to make a note of the product activation key you will receive during the download process. You’ll need to use that key to activate your software.

Once your free trial is over (typically in 60 days), the software operates in “Reduced Functionality mode” and behaves similarly to a viewer (in other words, you can’t save changes to existing documents or create any new documents).

As you near the end of your evaluation period, you’ll receive offers to buy the product at full price. Ignore those offers — if you want to buy the Microsoft Office 2010, be sure to take advantage of special student pricing.

How to Buy Office 2010 at a Student Discount

If you are ready to buy, you should check out one or both of these sources:

Source 1: Download Office Professional Academic 2010 direct from Microsoft, for only $99.95 You will get:

• Access® 2010
• Excel® 2010
• OneNote® 2010
• Outlook® 2010
• PowerPoint® 2010
• Publisher 2010
• Word 2010

This is an official academic discount price from Microsoft, with all the Office 2010 applications most students will ever need. This site also has special student discounts on Windows 7. This academic offer is for students only, not faculty.

Students must be actively enrolled at a U.S. educational institution, with at least 0.5 course credit (and must provide proof of enrollment upon request). Software is delivered by digital download; the cost for ordering disks is an additional $13.00.

Source 2: Another great discount for both students and faculty is Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010  for $79.95 at JourneyEd.com (for students at select institutions, download price).

This deal includes:

• Access® 2010
• Excel® 2010
• OneNote® 2010
• Outlook® 2010
• PowerPoint® 2010
• Publisher 2010
• Word 2010
• InfoPath
• Communicator

One advantage to ordering software from JourneyEd is the availability of phone support should you have any questions about your order.

Delivery is by instant digital download. For additional $7.95 you can get Software Replacement Assurance (which lets you reinstall your software when needed, even if you no longer have the original installation media.)

This $79.98 academic price is part of Microsoft’s Student Select pricing program, which is limited to participating Higher Ed institutions. The list of participating schools is quite extensive …but even students who are not enrolled in one of these schools can still get an academic discount, at a slightly higher price.

For more information about Microsoft Office 2010, visit the Microsoft’s website or the Office 2010 blog.

These sources detailed above are two legitimate sources for good student discounts are Microsoft products, and my students and I have had good experiences with both sites.

I buy my own software at JourneyEd, but there are certainly other academic sellers with good reputations, so it never hurts to comparison shop. Just be sure to exercise due diligence before you buy. I encourage you to check out prospective online sellers carefully—before trusting them with your credit card, especially if the price you’re getting seems “too good to be true.”

By the way, at JourneyEd the item number for Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 (as described above) was 38441473LARS (price verified July 29, 2010). Prices subject to change. JourneyEd is an affiliate sponsor for this website, which means that I might get paid a sponsorship fee if my visitors shop at JourneyEd.

Have you had any good (or bad) experiences buying software online? Share your comments below…