[OPLINTECH] No more Microsoft academic pricing for public libraries and museums

[Chad Neeper]

Yeah, I just went through that with one of my libraries too. We had applied
for academic status and then were left in perpetual limbo for a very long
time with nothing more than "Your application is pending...". I eventually
discovered that Microsoft is doing not-for-profit status for public
libraries now. So I'm guessing they just stopped processing applications
for academic status for public libraries at some point. But it sure would
have been nice of them to simply *tell* us that instead of leaving us in
perpetual limbo! (So if anyone else is currently in "application
pending..." limbo, take note of what Phil said!)

I'm so over the arbitrariness of commercial software licenses. As a
reseller, there are *literally* thousands of license SKUs I have to wade
through for Microsoft software alone to...for one minor example...find the
exact SKU that I need to purchase a single Windows license for a computer I
might want to build/sell. And every software vendor has their own unique
license strategies and purchase requirements. For this and other reasons, I
try to use FOSS software, followed by TechSoup whenever possible (which
helps a lot), and lastly whenever I have to I deal with whatever's left
when I need to use commercial software. I don't expect I'll ever be able to
fully get away from Microsoft's whims and arbitrariness, though.

______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

*Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in public libraries*


On Thu, Feb 2, 2023 at 11:56 AM Phil Shirley via OPLINTECH <
oplintech at lists.oplin.org> wrote:

> Today we were starting to apply for an academic membership for Office 365
> when Microsoft told us that as of this month Public Libraries and Museums
> aren’t eligible any more for Academic Pricing. We will have to go the route
> of non-profit.
>
>
>
> It looks to me, from a quick search, like the price might not be that
> different, though I think academic gets unlimited free licenses while
> nonprofit get zero free licenses. I’m not sure if there are any other
> differences.
>
>
>
> Phil
>
>
>
> *Phil Shirley*
> *IT Manager*
> *Cuyahoga Falls Library*
> p. 330.928.2117 x109 e. pshirley at fallslibrary.org
> *w. fallslibrary.org <http://fallslibrary.org> a. 2015 Third Street,
> Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221*
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/fallslibrary/>
> <https://twitter.com/FallsLibrary>
> <https://www.instagram.com/fallslibrary/>
>
>
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