Beginning May 1, students and faculty members will no longer be able to access Microsoft Word 6, Excel 5 and Power Point 4 through the College's KeyServer.
This regulation is a result of a change in licensing policies at the Microsoft Corporation, according to Randy Spydell, associate director for Consulting in the Computer Services department.
The College's Computer Store is offering Microsoft Office 98 for Macintosh to students and faculty members on an individual basis for the discounted price of $40 in order to make up for the loss of software accessibility.
Microsoft announced its decision in October, saying it was a "wise business decision" to drop its support for Word 6 and the other software on such networks as Dartmouth's KeyServer, Spydell said.
This decision created a "national uproar," Spydell said. Many organizations, especially institutions of higher learning, were "rather upset."
Many representatives of higher education are involved in on-going discussions with Microsoft in an attempt to get the corporation to back down on its decision, he said.
Older software programs on the KeyServer like Microsoft Word versions 4, 5 and 5.1 will not be affected by the change. They will still be available on the College's Public server, Spydell said.
Microsoft Office 98 for Macintosh, officially released just last week, contains the latest software, including Word 98, Excel 98 and Power Point 98, along with "a few other trinkets," like an e-mail program, Spydell said.
Office 98 is equivalent to Office 97 for Windows, with a few improvements, he said.
Kiewit has a limited quantity of Office 98 packages for sale. The Computer Store had been selling the packages to College departments and faculty for the price of $20 per unit, but this became impossible due to overwhelming demand. The price was raised to $40.
The Computer Store began selling the packages to students on Monday. So far, Spydell said, sales have exceeded expectations.
"There's a substantial number [of packages] left, but we expect to run out in April," he said. "When they're gone, they're gone."
The regular ordering price for the new package, including the standard large manual, is around $450, Spydell said. The educational discount price is $149.
The $40 packages available at the Computer Store in Kiewit contain a software CD and a license agreement, but no manual.
However, there is a smaller version of the manual on all the Office 98 CDs.
"You get the same CD whether you buy the $40, $150 or $500 versions," Spydell said.
Many College departments and faculty members have already upgraded to the new package, which has caused difficulty for some students who still have the older software.
For example, if a professor e-mails an enclosed Word 98 document to his or her class, the students without Word 98 cannot open the document on their computers.
The Computer Store will only sell one package per customer. Students and faculty must go in person to Kiewit in order to purchase the packages. Office 98 requires a Macintosh Power PC, running Mac System 7.5 or higher and 24 megabytes of RAM, according to a BlitzMail bulletin.
