NZMac.com - Supporting the New Zealand Mac community

Hi all,

Picked up the first issue of Massey University's student paper "Chaff" on our Palmerston North campus today. Mac users on campus face a bit of a battle at times for support, including students who have tracked me down, upset at the fact that they love Macs but find them not-so-well supported.

Anyway, turned to page 15 of the paper and there's a huge full-page add promoting "Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003" and the fact that one license can be used for a flat of students to have use of Office. Not a single mention anywhere that there is a Mac version of Office, suitable for staff and students alike.

Dear Microsoft,

1. How hard would it be to offer any sort of similar deal to Mac users?
2. How hard would it be to put in the add somewhere, even if it is in small print, that Microsoft actually make a Mac version of Office?

A single sentence could have at least acknowledged that Microsoft actually offered alternatives for those not using PCs.

Phil

Anyway, turned to page 15 of the paper and there's a huge full-page add promoting "Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003" and the fact that one license can be used for a flat of students to have use of Office. Not a single mention anywhere that there is a Mac version of Office, suitable for staff and students alike.

Something like http://www.microsoft.com/nz/education/forstudents/backtoschool.aspx ? - second block of text mentions:
Don't miss this exceptional opportunity for Macs and PC's. At participating computer stores. (my emphasis).

From a quick phonecall to our purchasing section, sounds like it is available toe tertiary students and 'teachers' as well.

Exactly!!!!! Why couldn't they put that sentence in the print ad that took up a whole page??!!

Phil

Exactly!!!!! Why couldn't they put that sentence in the print ad that took up a whole page??!!

I suspect it's not good for you to try and read the mind of Microsoft

Is there anybody out there from another university whose teaching year has begun who could check their student publication for this ad?
It would be interesting to see if it's a standard ad or whether, perhaps, Chaff, has edited it?

Umm I doubt very much that they would edit it out...firstly as they could lose advertising clients that way, and secondly as they use Macs for the publication I believe

Phil

Umm I doubt very much that they would edit it out...firstly as they could lose advertising clients that way
What I was envisaging (given very faded memories of working with the Nexus crowd locally) was perhaps a situation where the advertiser might provide copy that must be in the advert - and other material which might be cut depending on space constraints...

THe obvious anwser is that microsoft encourages teh use of the far superior operating system made by themselves on a superior platform

Mac H8R

You're more than welcome to take part in the discussions in these forums providing you follow the lines of decency that registering requires (I'm not trying to imply here that you are being anything but decent)...but please actually say something!

Try and bring your discussion up a level from the "superior us" vs the "advanced them". We're happy to listen to intellingent arguments.....or, you can just go away.

Cheers,

Phil (site admin)

Silly Billy having dreams of a M$ dominated world...

Best platform to run MS on is Mac. Nice little sandbox. Good memory protection. Even the virus just kill the MS bits. Nice.

Virtual PC... mmm even runs linux. I wonder if MS will change that now they own it.

Back to education.. MS Office Educational... much better now it's cheaper. I need to be a student again.