PC World (UK) selling Macbooks with free MS Office

[sublunar]

Take a quick look at the UK's PC World's website for the bank holiday sales and you will see that they are giving away MS Office with all their Macbooks (click on the Apple Laptops link).

The box picture appears to be that of an Educational version (white box and value of just £120) so I wonder what the legality of them doing this is if they sell to all and sundry without checking if they are a student or a teacher? Is anyone able to check instore?

Image is below:

 

[stevo1]

I saw this promo when I was in the store yesterday, but didn't ask about it.

(I was otherwise engaged with a 20" white iMac which they were selling for £700. Very happy with it! )

 

[sublunar]

Thanks Stevo, I am going to check to see if there are bargains on old 20" iMacs as well then

 

[OllyW]

PC World have the old 20" iMac for £780.

stevo1 probably got an extra 10% off an ex-demo machine?

 

[stevo1]

It was indeed. They initially claimed 5% was the best they could do, but extended that to 10 after some incessant pleading After reverting to factory settings, the machine now seems good as new and is certainly like lightning compared to my previous Mac.

The matte screen is just lovely.

 

[OllyW]

It was indeed. They initially claimed 5% was the best they could do, but extended that to 10 after some incessant pleading After reverting to factory settings, the machine now seems good as new and is certainly like lightning compared to my previous Mac.

The matte screen is just lovely.

I've gone for one of the old 20" iMacs too, I just don't like the glossy screen of the new one. It doesn't help much having a bald head to reflect onto the screen

I did buy one from PC World last Saturday for £780 but it had to go back for a faulty AirPort card so I had my money back. I was about to travel 18 miles to the nearest PC World with one in stock, when I got an email from Apple with a £75 voucher code. I've now got a refurb on the way for £675

 

[sublunar]

Nice one Olly, I collected a 1.83Ghz Core Duo Superdrive Mac Mini on display for £327. It was the display model and PC World actually list a £299 Core Duo 1.66Ghz Combo too - this was the better deal by miles assuming everything works. I am checking it now.

I didn't plead for any more money off but it was a good deal, especially as I now get to check the display model iMac 17 1.83Ghz I bought earlier in the week from Toys R Us.

I guess it's a good idea to check that all the bits work right after reinstalling the OS. These are the first Intel Macs I have bought.

I asked about the Macbook offer and it's for the Student and Teacher edition. You get the box off the shelf if you buy it. It's good for 3 licence installs but, of course, you have to be a student or a teacher to have it legally I guess.

 

[Reverb]

Wow this looks like a great offer. I am looking at buying a new Macbook and this looks like closing the deal for me.

However I am a little wary of buying from PC World instead of Apple. I am hoping to buy the new bottom spec Macbook 2.0 Core 2 Duo and put an extra GB of ram in it at purchase. If PC World do this is it essentially the same as Apple doing it? And do PC World put any crap software on the Mac or their own branding anywhere?

I am going to get in touch with both Apple and PC World regarding this before buying but it would be great to hear anyone elses experiences with them. Cheers for any help!

 

[OllyW]

Wow this looks like a great offer. I am looking at buying a new Macbook and this looks like closing the deal for me.

However I am a little wary of buying from PC World instead of Apple. I am hoping to buy the new bottom spec Macbook 2.0 Core 2 Duo and put an extra GB of ram in it at purchase. If PC World do this is it essentially the same as Apple doing it? And do PC World put any crap software on the Mac or their own branding anywhere?

I am going to get in touch with both Apple and PC World regarding this before buying but it would be great to hear anyone elses experiences with them. Cheers for any help!

PC World don't put any extra software onto the Macs, you get exactly the same software package as if you were to buy it from Apple.

Have a go at fitting the memory yourself. The instructions are in the user manual, it's easy enough to do and doesn't affect your warranty. I get my memory from Crucial but you may be able to get it cheaper if you shop around. I just like the service you get from Crucial, the memory is guaranteed to work with the Mac and you get free next day delivery.

If you want to extend the warranty don't bother with the PC World extended warranty, just go with AppleCare.

 

[netdog]

The MacBook comes with a trial version of MS Office 2004 already installed, so PC World could either give you a validation number from MS or just give you the package.

The trial version is the full version (just limited to 30 days before validation) and comes on the MacBook OS X / system disks that come in the box.

If you like or need Office, it is a good deal though bear in mind it uses Rosetta (a memory hog) as Office 2004 is not Universal, and the Universal version of Office will be released next year and you will have to buy it if you want it.

 

[Reverb]

Cool I think I will buy from PC World but like you suggest get AppleCare. Might have a go at fitting the memory too, if I am going to get charged a premium by PC World for the service.

Cheers for the advice!

 

[sublunar]

The sales guy I spoke to at my local PC World said they just give you a Student/Teacher edition of Office 2004 off the shelf when you buy the Macbook. Obviously, there are implications there but it does come with 3 licence codes. It's worth £120 according to PC World although you could realistically get it for around £80 if you shop around at retail Mac stores like Jigsaw.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[MacsAttack]

If you like or need Office, it is a good deal though bear in mind it uses Rosetta (a memory hog) as Office 2004 is not Universal, and the Universal version of Office will be released next year and you will have to buy it if you want it.

Performance is fine under Rosetta provided you have enough memory. I've been running Office on a MacBook with 1GB for months just fine. Takes a bit longer to load at first (Rosetta getting in gear), but it is not too bad.

However iWork 08 provides all the features I need - so I will not be bothering with the next version of Office.