Continuing the discussion from Microsoft Office:
So.
Office 365 subscription costs a person $100.00 annually, or $120.00 if paid monthly.
If you need it, just go buy it.
DMS does not need to waste its resources on this.
Especially any more time trying to hacktivate an instance onto the computers here.
(In my opinion).
So, @hon1nbo and @brentwill you guys SURELY have better foes to slay than this easter bunny…
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I can only agree… but I still try to empathize with the “Starving Makers” for whom another $10/mo software subscription might be significant.
Ironically, I’ve got 2 one-year subscriptions sitting on my dresser at home that my wife has never bothered to activate and use. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to sell, give, or otherwise transfer them outside of my family since they were purchased at the internal Microsoft store in Redmond as part of an executive briefing visit a couple years ago.
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I am empathetic to your empathy.
I don’t think DMS needs to pick up this particular effort.
Instead, the likelihood that Office is available another way is very high (check your local community college; they probably have a library that probably has a lab in it that probably has Office loaded on it and you can probably use it; or your city library might be in a similar boat; or a local user’s group that will lend you the use of their resources, or maybe give it away as a door prize you might win…)
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I guess the best way to look at this… and pretty much any expenditure made by DMS… is to ask "How does this enable our members to “make”? In the case of Office - and the OP’s described usage (in the original thread), it’s likely a very indirect and weak connection at best. And for that reason, I agree with you.
On the other hand, I can probably imagine stronger and more direct use cases that might justify the expense in a “maker” context. Even so… I have access to Office 365 through my employer, so I’ll leave it to others to make better arguments… for now.
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I agree on all points.
If I were an active member of Infrastructure, I’d need to see some solid arguments for the purchase before I would waste spend my time even trying to wade through the poop field that is MS licensing.
But if a solid maker case were made for it, I would do it.
As a relatively unattached dues payer, I think the money I send to DMS could do a lot more good in a lot more ways, and LibreOffice is just fine for anything we need to do makery.
But I sure understand the original post asking the question; you just never know, and sometimes Office is just the thing. I hope they’re able to find another way to get what they need…
I think the best and thus far unasked question is who is going to administer it. I’m not just talking about install either. This requires ongoing care and feeding.
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DMS can get Office365 from M$ for very, very cheap.
The problem is administration. I’m not willing to do it for free.
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so first to clarify, I don’t agree we need the per-person system and as an organization that doesn’t make sense.
However, we do have starving artists and our goal should be to provide the resources to them or students who need the tooling. Let’s be honest, OpenOffice and LibreOffice are still not on par with the Office suite, as much as I love them. I think having one or two copies is not too much of an issue.
However, the licensing requirements are always something that needs evaluating and it may not be something we want to deal with. I like the idea of a discussion but my 2cents is that since we have a few designated “design” computers it makes sense.
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If there is enough interest, we could put a local version of MS Office on the design computers. The cloud version is just too much of a PITA for a setup like ours.
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I got a copy of office from some sketchy Russian website for like $30. I would highly recommend using a disposable credit card and email address. However, my copy has worked for going on 2 years now.
I fail to see what application Office provides for making that can’t be handled with either an Adobe product we are already paying for or any number of free software options.
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But the googler overlords already owns DMS’ soul anyway, so, by transitive properties, your makersoul, if you’re a member, is pre-possessed…
…and, if the library in your residential city does not, check neighboring city libraries. Most municipal libraries allow anyone who lives in Texas to get a card. I have one for both my home city -Garland- and in Lewisville. And thusly, also have access to two different ebook services.
Edit: and I am NOT a big fan of Google Docs. Or any of the other googley office things. I am a formatting fiend. And google is not inclined to do that.
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I tried to make a go with OpenOffice years ago. It just wasn’t quite… Like so many free software applications it had a somewhat kluge-y UI and other encumbrances on the user that MSFT’s product doesn’t inflict.
… along with all the other liabilities of being a web app, which can only hope to be not terrible relative to native applications.
Copypasta to/from Google Docs is always knackered in my experience. Because line breaks are hard.
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