Sales of UF’s discounted Microsoft Office discs have been bringing business to both the UF Bookstore and the Computer Help Desk.
Last week, both departments began offering the highest-end version of the office software for $15, down from the almost $500 price the software runs for on Microsoft’s website.
Versions for both PC and Mac are available for the discounted price, though Mac users are only treated to the standard version of the software.
“We’ve been pretty slammed,” said Jonathan Pitts, manager of the Technology Hub at the Reitz Union. “But I’ve heard our lines are a bit shorter than the Computer Help Desk. Their lines are out the door right now.”
Pitts estimates the UF Bookstore alone has sold 1,000 copies of the software in a week.
The Health Science Center’s ground-floor bookstore also plans to begin selling the software today.
Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 upgrade discs are also being sold for $15.
The discounted software has been available to both faculty and staff since 2004, but only recently extended to students, who have been glad to receive the offer.
“Fifteen bucks for something that would usually cost you $500,” said Chris Caro, a 21-year-old economics major, as he waited in the back of a 13-person line in the Hub.
“C’mon, you’d be crazy not to take advantage,” he said.
Caro said he heard of the discounted software through ISIS and the GatorTimes newsletter, which is e-mailed to students.
Others hadn’t gotten the message yet.
When asked about the software, 18-year-old math major Mia Peterson became frustrated. She hadn’t heard about the offer, and had purchased a $100 copy of the software for her Toshiba laptop in August.
“I wish I knew about it sooner,” she said.
