Office 2008 (Home Edition vs. Special Media Edition)

[chokepoint]

I just bought Office 2004 (Student Edition) a few days ago and intend to take advantage of one of the promotions for the free upgrade to Office 2008.

Should I go with the Office 2008 Home & Student Edition or the Special Media Edition? The former includes three licenses, which might be nice down the line if we get another computer for our son in a few years. What does the Special Media Edition have that a home user would need, if anything?

 

[Bill Gates]

Microsoft details the differences on their site, you know. The key difference is Microsoft Exchange Server support. If you don't need that, go with the Home & Student Edition.

 

[chokepoint]

Microsoft details the differences on their site, you know. The key difference is Microsoft Exchange Server support. If you don't need that, go with the Home & Student Edition.

What does Microsoft Exchange Server support do for me, and why would I need it?

I use Entourage for my home e-mail, and don't currently get e-mail from anywhere but my ISP.

 

[MrMoore]

What does Microsoft Exchange Server support do for me, and why would I need it?

I use Entourage for my home e-mail, and don't currently get e-mail from anywhere but my ISP.

You would need Exchange Server support to connect to a corporate e-mail environment. Since you are getting you e-mail from your ISP, you most likely need only POP connectivity which is standard.

Also, BTW the Special Media Edition also includes Microsoft's Expression Media program. Expression is a media catlog program.

http://www.microsoft.com/expression/products/overview.aspx?key=media

 

[m1ss1ontomars]

Microsoft details the differences on their site, you know. The key difference is Microsoft Exchange Server support. If you don't need that, go with the Home & Student Edition.

No, that is not the key difference. The key difference is the number of licenses. If you're sure you only need 1 license, you may as well go with the Special Media Edition since you save more .

Special Media Edition: MSRP 500USD, Exchange Server support, Automator support, 1 license

Home/Student Edition: MSRP 150USD, 3 licenses

EDIT: I forgot to mention. If you buy Office 2004 Student and Teacher Edition (the cheapest that qualifies for the Super Suite Deal) from Amazon, you'll actually lose 6 dollars compared to buying Office 2008 Home and Student Edition from Amazon.

 

[MrFrump]

For those of you who are taking advantage of the Super Suite Deal I'm hoping you can help me understand the options. They are:

OPTION ONE: Send me Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition (includes 1 license for business or personal use, also includes Exchange Serversupport , additional Automator Actions plus Microsoft Expression Media for Mac)

OPTION TWO: Send me Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition
(includes 3 licenses for home or non-commercial use only; does NOT include Exchange Server support or Automator Actions) + Microsoft Expression Media for Mac

So, if I go with option 2, do I get both the Office Mac Student edition and Expression media. Therefore, the only difference between the two options is the number of licenses and exchange server support and automator actions which I don't need. If that's the case than option 2 is worth more than just $149 since expression media is around $300. It seems that way to me, but based on previous responses other's might have a different understanding. I tried calling MS, but they weren't any help at all. They just sent me to sales to explain the difference between the editions which I already know.

 

[jackc]

For those of you who are taking advantage of the Super Suite Deal I'm hoping you can help me understand the options. They are:

OPTION ONE: Send me Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition (includes 1 license for business or personal use, also includes Exchange Serversupport , additional Automator Actions plus Microsoft Expression Media for Mac)

OPTION TWO: Send me Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition
(includes 3 licenses for home or non-commercial use only; does NOT include Exchange Server support or Automator Actions) + Microsoft Expression Media for Mac

So, if I go with option 2, do I get both the Office Mac Student edition and Expression media. Therefore, the only difference between the two options is the number of licenses and exchange server support and automator actions which I don't need. If that's the case than option 2 is worth more than just $149 since expression media is around $300. It seems that way to me, but based on previous responses other's might have a different understanding. I tried calling MS, but they weren't any help at all. They just sent me to sales to explain the difference between the editions which I already know.

I looked at the pdf form for the deal (just do a search if you don't have it) and you are correct, I didn't notice before that Expression Media came with the Home version.

 

[jrlcopy]

For those of you who are taking advantage of the Super Suite Deal I'm hoping you can help me understand the options. They are:

OPTION ONE: Send me Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition (includes 1 license for business or personal use, also includes Exchange Serversupport , additional Automator Actions plus Microsoft Expression Media for Mac)

OPTION TWO: Send me Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition
(includes 3 licenses for home or non-commercial use only; does NOT include Exchange Server support or Automator Actions) + Microsoft Expression Media for Mac

So, if I go with option 2, do I get both the Office Mac Student edition and Expression media. Therefore, the only difference between the two options is the number of licenses and exchange server support and automator actions which I don't need. If that's the case than option 2 is worth more than just $149 since expression media is around $300. It seems that way to me, but based on previous responses other's might have a different understanding. I tried calling MS, but they weren't any help at all. They just sent me to sales to explain the difference between the editions which I already know.

A big reason to go with Special Media edition is also that you can use it for profit. That is why I choose it, I can legitly use it for business purposes.

 

[MrFrump]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm a graduate student so I don't think I will be using office for any business type things in the near future. I've been reading a number of threads on the super suite deal and it seemed as though people thought you would only get the expressions media software with option one. That's why I was confused. I suppose with option one you get it all in one package and with option 2 you get them separately.

 

[m1ss1ontomars]

So, if I go with option 2, do I get both the Office Mac Student edition and Expression media. Therefore, the only difference between the two options is the number of licenses and exchange server support and automator actions which I don't need. If that's the case than option 2 is worth more than just $149 since expression media is around $300. It seems that way to me, but based on previous responses other's might have a different understanding. I tried calling MS, but they weren't any help at all. They just sent me to sales to explain the difference between the editions which I already know.

No, you do not get the Home and Student Edition. No, no no! Don't listen to others before doing your own research. Home and Student (or Student and Teacher in 2004) has THREE licenses so you can run it on 3 computers at once. The 1 license of the Special Media Edition only allows you to run it on 1 computer at a time. The software is the same in both cases (except for Automator support), but the licensing is very different.

 

[lhsa]

are you saying to get home and student or not

it seems the home/student + expressions is the way to go if you don't need automator and exchange support. it seems info on expressions is limited, but the only way it wouldn't be as good is if expressions - as incorporated into office 2008 - has more features and organic integration.

No, you do not get the Home and Student Edition. No, no no! Don't listen to others before doing your own research. Home and Student (or Student and Teacher in 2004) has THREE licenses so you can run it on 3 computers at once. The 1 license of the Special Media Edition only allows you to run it on 1 computer at a time. The software is the same in both cases (except for Automator support), but the licensing is very different.