Students are drawn to free stuff like Lindsay Lohan is to a rehab clinic.
Now, UF students will be able to take advantage of hundreds of dollars worth of free software through UF Information Technology and software distribution company e-academy.
The free software includes Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 and Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade.
“UFIT negotiated this partnership to provide [Microsoft] Office to all students, so that is one less expense students have to think about and budget for,” Tracy Gale, communications manager for UF Information Technology, wrote in an email.
This is the first time Microsoft or any other widely used software package has been made available to all students for free, she said.
Students do not have to visit the bookstore or the Hub to download the software, Gale said.
The software can be downloaded from anywhere.
The software will be available to students into the foreseeable future. There is no end date for the program, she said.
Although this offer is not available for faculty and staff, they can still buy the software at reduced prices from the UF Computing Help Desk, Gale said.
Students can download the software at the e-academy online portal at http://charges.helpdesk.ufl.edu/e-academy/.
Matt Brooks, a 23-year-old criminology senior, said it’s nice of the administration to offer the software for free.
Students pay a lot of money for tuition and books and helping them out by providing important software for free is good, he said.
“Definitely doesn’t hurt, that’s for sure,” he said.
