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Office 2008 Media Edition vs Home/Student Edition+Expression Media

M

midorix

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 23, 2007
65
0
This may be considered dumb question but I still need some advice.

As many of you have purchased Office 2004 with Super Suite Deal, which version are you upgrading to and why?

Media Edition comes with Automator and Exchange Server Support but I'm not sure how these are useful in home and school environment.

Home and Student Edition is combined with Expression Media. In addition it comes 3 licenses vs 1 license for Media Edition. The only things missing are Automator and Exchange Server Support.

I only will have one Mac for now but may buy more in future.

My question to you Mac/Office experts is how useful is Automator and Exchange Server Support:confused:
 
The exchange server support is mainly for those who need to connect to a work exchange server for company e-mail/address book/company calendars. If you don't need that and don't use Automater at all, I would just go with the home/student version. I would say go with the full version only if you plan on using it on one machine.

For point of referance, I also purchased 2004 for the SSD deal. I ended up going with the full Media version. The main reason is that the only Mac I have that can supports Office 2008 is my Macbook. I mainly want 2008 for the native Intel support. I will continue to use 2004 on my older systems. Besides my company uses an exchange server, so I can make use of the exchange support.
 
If the EULA matters to you, then you should look at the Media edition if you can forsee using Office 2008 in a commercial environment - i.e. to help run your own business. Not sure how much is allowed for the "Home" part of the Home and Student, but I would bet it would stipulate non-commercial.
 
The copy of the "Super Suite Deal" rebate form for North America that I have says that you get the Special Media Edition. I don't even see an option for the two lower-priced Office 2008 packages. Although the "Save up to $500" is confusing, it lists any retail version of Office 2004 as eligible for the upgrade to Office 2008 Special Media Edition for only the cost of shipping. Or am I missing something?

Microsoft Super Suite Deal

The above is incorrect... pardon my inability to read
 
saxman said:
The copy of the "Super Suite Deal" rebate form for North America that I have says that you get the Special Media Edition. I don't even see an option for the two lower-priced Office 2008 packages. Although the "Save up to $500" is confusing, it lists any retail version of Office 2004 as eligible for the upgrade to Office 2008 Special Media Edition for only the cost of shipping. Or am I missing something?

Microsoft Super Suite Deal
Click to expand...

If you look at the redemption form, there's two options that I'm referring to.

If it's going to be on one computer or the goal is to recognized the maximum savings, I agree that I should get Media Edition.

Yoursh does bring up a good point. Connecting to my work's exchange server may become useful someday but currently I have work laptop.

The attactive part of the Home Edition is the 3 licenses.

More input is appreciated.
 
midorix said:
If you look at the redemption form, there's two options that I'm referring to.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't read the small print.

It may depend on what your IT department does with the Exchange server. If they are hyper-paranoid or only run the default configuration, they likely have not turned on IMAP support. Without that turned on at the Exchange server, Apple's Mail application (and probably Entourage 2008) will not connect. Apple Mail uses IMAP to connect to Exchange and not MAPI like Outlook does I believe - same with the iPhone. They would also need an LDAP server or Active Directory in order for you to get calendaring sharing functions with iCal.

If your IT department allows IMAP connections, then you can always use Apple Mail to connect to (or use the web-client of exchange) and then the exchange support in Entourage is moot.

If you do need another copy for home that doesn't use the business stuff, it's only around $150 for the Home/Student edition - then you'll have 4 licenses with one being able to do more than the others
 
Hi,
Let me get this straight:
In office 2004 student and teacher edition, Microsoft Entourage was able to connect to my school's exchange mail server to download the mail and send mail within the Microsoft Entourage client

So, in Mac Office 2008 student and teacher edition, they took that feature away and in order for me to do what I was doing in entourage, I have to get the version that Isn't the Student and Teacher edition?

Thanks, Paul
 
imac9556 said:
Hi,
Let me get this straight:
In office 2004 student and teacher edition, Microsoft Entourage was able to connect to my school's exchange mail server to download the mail and send mail within the Microsoft Entourage client

So, in Mac Office 2008 student and teacher edition, they took that feature away and in order for me to do what I was doing in entourage, I have to get the version that Isn't the Student and Teacher edition?

Thanks, Paul
Click to expand...

I believe that is correct. There was a lot of complaining whenever MS announced their 3 different versions for this very reason. I don't know the technical details of what they've done to Entourage, and if all support for Exchange is gone or just the "exchange only protocols" but that is the impression I got from several different sites.

Maybe someone who is working with the beta can shed some light on what's actually happening
 
You can always get the Media Edition, sell it, use that to buy the Home & Student Edition and have some money left over.

It's a hassle but definitely possible...
 
I've been pulling my hair out trying to decide whether to take advantage of the three licenses that come with the Office 2008 Home and Student editions, or the one license special media edition.

I found some interesting information regarding the EULA after reading Microsoft MBU's "Mac Mojo" blog here.

Poster Kevin asks:
Friday, November 30, 2007 7:35 PM by Kevin
# re: Office 2008 for Mac: BFD!
I notice that the Special Media Edition comes with 1 license while the H&S Edition comes with 3. Are the product activation keys that come with Mac reusable?

In other words, if I were to choose the Special Media Edition, install it on my Macbook, then buy another Mac next year, can I uninstall the Special Media Edition from my Macbook and then install it on my new Mac with the same product activation key? Or are the keys valid only one time and essentially wedded to the computer that inputs them? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Which Microsoft Mac Business Unit blogger sherjo replies:
Kevin: You can transfer to another machine: according to the EULA, you may "transfer Your copy of the Software Product to a different device. After the transfer, You must completely remove the Software Product from the former device." (see http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/useterms/default.aspx for EULA for current products - this particular condition will be the same in Office 2008); Also, you have the option of using the downloadable coupon having your choice on the Super Suite Deal form of either Student & Teacher (3 non-commercial licenses, no Exchange support) + Expression Media, OR Special Media Edition (1 license, Exchange support, additional Automator actions, Expression Media.)
Click to expand...

Well, I visited the link above for this EULA regarding Office for Mac Standard Edition 2004. Section 1.1 of this EULA clearly states that
1.1 General License Grant to Install and Use Software Product. You may install and use one copy of the Software Product
on a single computer, device, workstation, terminal, or other digital electronic or analog device (“Device”). You may make a
second copy of the Software Product and install it on a portable Device for the exclusive use of the person who is the primary
user of the first copy of the Software Product. A license for the Software Product may not be shared.
Click to expand...

This section of the EULA seems to indicate that you can install the one license Special Media Edition of Office 2008 on a mac, and also on a "portable device", as long as you are the only one using the software on such portable device. As long as you are the exclusive user of the software, you should be able to put it on at least two macs. Keep in mind that the Microsoft rep above referring to the "transfer and remove clause" said it would be the same for the EULA of Office 2008. She said nothing of section 1.1 of the Mac Standard Edition of Office 2004 EULA being included in the EULA of Mac Office 2008 Special Media Edition.

As a disclaimer, I am only offering my interpretation of the current EULA for Mac Office 2004 Standard Edition. I am in no way encouraging anyone to violate a EULA based on my observations. But it seems to me, that if the EULA for Special Media Edition of Office for Mac 2008 is to be the same as the EULA for Mac Standard Edition of Office 2004, you should be able to use the license on an additional portable mac for your own exclusive use.
 
More Confused Than Ever!

thewhitehart said:
I've been pulling my hair out trying to decide whether to take advantage of the three licenses that come with the Office 2008 Home and Student editions, or the one license special media edition.

I found some interesting information regarding the EULA after reading Microsoft MBU's "Mac Mojo" blog here.

Poster Kevin asks:

Which Microsoft Mac Business Unit blogger sherjo replies:

Well, I visited the link above for this EULA regarding Office for Mac Standard Edition 2004. Section 1.1 of this EULA clearly states that

This section of the EULA seems to indicate that you can install the one license Special Media Edition of Office 2008 on a mac, and also on a "portable device", as long as you are the only one using the software on such portable device. As long as you are the exclusive user of the software, you should be able to put it on at least two macs. Keep in mind that the Microsoft rep above referring to the "transfer and remove clause" said it would be the same for the EULA of Office 2008. She said nothing of section 1.1 of the Mac Standard Edition of Office 2004 EULA being included in the EULA of Mac Office 2008 Special Media Edition.

As a disclaimer, I am only offering my interpretation of the current EULA for Mac Office 2004 Standard Edition. I am in no way encouraging anyone to violate a EULA based on my observations. But it seems to me, that if the EULA for Special Media Edition of Office for Mac 2008 is to be the same as the EULA for Mac Standard Edition of Office 2004, you should be able to use the license on an additional portable mac for your own exclusive use.
Click to expand...


HELP!!!

I read all of this but I am more confused than ever before! I need help with MY user-situation. OK, here it is:

I have a G4 iBook currently running Tiger (1.4.11). I just bought a 24" iMac with Leopard. In my home I also have a 2002 eMac, still running strong with Panther (I have just been too lazy to install Tiger), and my daughter's MacBook which I occasionally use "on the fly" when I need to handle business out of town. When I bought the iMac last week, the associate at the Apple store convinced me to buy iWorks, even though I'd been using MS Office 2004 on all of my older Macs. But, according to the salesperson, I'd used up all of my three licenses so I couldn't put MS Office 2004 on my newly-purchased iMac. When I got home, I saw the "Super Suite" dealio on the online Apple store (the real-live Apple store people never once brought this up to me). So I immediately purchased another MS Office 2004-Student & Teacher Edition for $149 from Apple.com and returned the $79 iWorks, for a shot at the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition - whatever that meant. Sounded like a good move until it was time to fill out the redemption form. Then I couldn't figure out which of the two choices was best for me......so I came here, looking for help. Now I'm even more confused.

I work out of my home. I am self-employed. I have no IT Department. I don't know what IMAP means. My work involves doing consulting in the recording business. I do a lot of typing. With all of that said, should I get the version with Microsoft Expression Media and:

(a) ONE license, PLUS Exchange Server and Automator Actions; - OR -

(b) THREE licenses, and NO Exchange Server and Automator Actions?

I won't be upgrading my 512 MB iBook to Leopard right away (I need to add another 1 GB of onboard memory for optimum performance). The eMac is just for guests to check their emails (without messing with my main computers!)

I don't quite get the part about being the "exclusive user" of a computer, the MacBook, that I share with another family member who resides in my home. Am I allowed to install the 1 license 2008 upgrade on both my iMac and the MacBook as a "portable device"?

Can I get some advice on what is the best route for me to take? I haven't opened the MS Office 2004 box yet.

(In typing this query, I think that I may have answered it myself......Does going for the "3-license-plus-Expressions-Media-and-fugeddaboud-the-Exchange Server/Automator-Actions" option sound like the best bet for a user like me?)

Thanks......
 
You guys are spending way too much time stressing over this. An office suite isn't worth a rise in blood pressure. If you're a student, you won't need more than Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. You can get these from Office '08, Office '04, or something other than Office entirely -- like Neoffice, or Open Office. Personally, I use Office '04, and will likely get Office '08 when it's out, but I'd use Neoffice in a heartbeat if I ever had to pay for Office. Relax, peeps.
 
>WentMacN90

If you are running a home business out of the house, I'd worry about licenses just as much as a regular business -- since you are likely to run afoul of the BSA if somebody turns you in for a reward.

The Home and Office is cheaper, covers your ass, and I doubt you would need automator or exchange server support -- especially if you haven't played with Apple Scripts or needed MS Exchange yet.

For general typing and sending documents back and forth, you probably could have gotten away with an iWorks Family pack (5 licenses) and downloading NeoOffice for the times you need a little more compatibility.

Pages and Keynote are likely good enough, especially with NeoOffice as a free backup.

---

If you do a bunch of spreadsheets, or have to absolutely save documents in the same file type you get them in ... MS Office Home and Student might be worth it.
 
Thanks! That's How I Like It - Short & Sweet!

Sun Baked said:
>WentMacN90

If you are running a home business out of the house, I'd worry about licenses just as much as a regular business -- since you are likely to run afoul of the BSA if somebody turns you in for a reward.

The Home and Office is cheaper, covers your ass, and I doubt you would need automator or exchange server support -- especially if you haven't played with Apple Scripts or needed MS Exchange yet.

For general typing and sending documents back and forth, you probably could have gotten away with an iWorks Family pack (5 licenses) and downloading NeoOffice for the times you need a little more compatibility.

Pages and Keynote are likely good enough, especially with NeoOffice as a free backup.

---

If you do a bunch of spreadsheets, or have to absolutely save documents in the same file type you get them in ... MS Office Home and Student might be worth it.
Click to expand...

You nailed it for me, Sun Baked. This thread got a little out of hand with all of the "techni-babble". My instincts were right in the beginning - I'm just going for the 3 license option and, if I need more, I will just pay for it. $149 is not going to make or break me. I like MS Office and have been using it it for years because I can convert Mac docs to PC docs for my clients with very little effort. The licensing restrictions on software is becoming harder to get around and I can't have BSA or "CSI" (Criminal Software Investigators) kicking in my door at dawn just because I loaded a program on one too many computer. I don't do handcuffs - not even during "naughty sex" so I'd rather not take the risk. I think I may have a an earlier version of Pages and I never used it, preferring MS Word. For $79, I can always buy iWork, just as an added application to make my iMac work seamlessly. Spreadsheets are not my thing - too much like math, a subject that I have avoided my entire life (I went to law school because it was the only graduate program that didn't require math or science!) But a lot of my clients send me spreadsheet stuff and I do have to prepare the occasional five-year budget projection. Go with what you know, I always say. And I think that I will stay with the devil I know - Microsoft Office. I bought my first Mac in 1990 and it had MS Word and Excel on it and that's what I've used for 17 years.

Thanks for your prompt response. Here's wishing everyone a super super holiday season! ;)
 
Just to close my loop.

I've decided to go with the Media Edition.
As HazChem have put it, if it's not right or when it comes time when I need multiple licenses, I can just sell it and get the Home Edition later (as I'm sure I can sell the Media Edition above $149).

Thanks for all the input.
 
Here's what I am doing:

The day my Office 2008 Special Media Edition arrives, it is going on eBay. Then, when available, I will just get Office 2008 SME through school (should be about $75).

If my wife gets a Mac and needs Office, we can just get another student license of Office 2008 SME.

So, if you are really keen on getting the full Office 2008 package AND more than one license (and if you are a student -- I suppose that is the key if), you can get student versions of Office 2008 SME. Buena suerte!
 
Student & Teacher vs. Standard Edition

Another question: What is the difference between the Student & Teacher Edition and the Standard Edition? I was sold the S&T by the online Apple Store when I inquired about getting the 2008 upgrade. But, according the box ( which I have yet to open), I don't qualify for using the Student & Teacher edition, not being a "Qualified Educational User" or the parent of same. Then the box advises that perhaps on of these might be best: Mac Standard Edition or Mac Professional Edition. All I was trying to do is get the 2008 Special Media Edition. Should I return the Student Edition and pay another $200 for the Standard (I think it sells for $350 vs. the $149 I paid for the Student & Teacher). Apple didn't advise me to get the more expensive one when I told the clerk exactly what my plans were. Is the upgrade the same, no matter which edition you start out with?.........Now I wish I'd just stayed with iWorks!
 
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