Office 2007 for 90% off? Read the fine print first

It's all over the Internet about Microsoft offering the full version of Office 2007 (Ultimate) for $59.95 to students through April 30, 2008. This package usually retails for $679 (or there abouts).

• With Ultimate you get the whole suite:
• Microsoft Office Access 2007
• Microsoft Office Communicator 2007
• Microsoft Office Excel 2007
• Microsoft Office Groove 2007
• Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007
• Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
• Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
• Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
• Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
• Microsoft Office Word 2007

Before you whip out the credit card (like I almost did), here's the skinny: you have to be a REAL student to take advantage of this offer. And Microsoft has some pretty draconian stiff requirements to make sure only students get this deal.

Here's the link from The Ultimate Steal website:

Promotion Eligibility:
This offer is good only to eligible students who possess a valid email address at an educational institution geographically located in the United States. This offer is non-transferable. Limit one purchase per eligible student.

The following conditions serve to define student eligibility for the Promotion:

1.	Individual must possess a valid e-mail address at a U.S. educational institution which contains the domain suffix .edu; AND
2.	Individual must be a student at a U.S. educational institution and must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request.

Microsoft or an appointed vendor may contact you to verify that you are a current student. If documentation is not provided indicating that you are a current student, you will be liable to reimburse Microsoft for the full retail cost of the software ($679) (Emphasis mine)

Yowza! As good a deal as this is, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that phone call from Microsoft without the required documentation.

Students with the required documentation should grab this deal, Outlook and OneNote are two of the best things Microsoft has ever produced IMHO. The integration of the two in 2007 is light years ahead if you've used the applications in the past (from what I hear, I'm still with 2003:(. With the inclusion of Word and PowerPoint, you have everything you need to get through a successful school year.