Recession-buster: Two ways to buy full Microsoft Office 2007 (legally) for under $50

Normally going for about $80, says the blog Office Watch, the Military Appreciation edition is being offered for just $49.99 until June 30 at the U.S. Army and Air Force's online stores and at Navy, Coast Guard and Marine base stores called Exchanges, at which active and retired military are eligible to shop.

There are more than 5 tens of millions of people who qualify for the military edition. There are 3 million active U.S. military personnel, along with about 2.3 million military retirees and dependents, according to Margaret Bergeron, executive director of the American Military Retirees Association in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Retirees are former military personnel who have served at least 20 years (or whatever minimum term demanded by their branch), or retired due to physical disability. They are due more federal benefits than veterans.

All retirees are veterans. But only about 10% of the 23 million total veterans are retirees.

A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed that retirees, not all veterans, are eligible for the deal. Microsoft is considering expanding the program when the next version, Office 14, ships, she said, but declined to comment further.

Staff not stiffed

What if you're not in the military or a retiree? Then there's still an even cheaper option: Get your boss to buy it for you for $30.

If you work at a large enterprise or governmental organization that buys Microsoft Office, then you're probably eligible to get Office 2007 at home for $30 through Microsoft's Home Use Program.

Companies may have any Microsoft volume license, provided that they are also subscribing to Software Assurance (SA).

The only exceptions to the Home Use Program might be schools or universities, which typically get even heavier discounts from Microsoft and thus might be ineligible, says the Office Watch blog.

Companies need to pay about $30 per worker to cover the cost of the DVD. Under this program, users get the enterprise edition, which additionally has OneNote, Access, Publisher, InfoPath, Groove and Communicator -- everything you need to be a power telecommuter.

Why would Microsoft offer this? Office Watch says it helps cut down on employee software piracy as well as gives Microsoft more leverage when pushing companies to renew their SA agreements.

The main restriction is that if the organization stops subscribing to Software Assurance or if the employee quits or is laid off, then the software rights are terminated.

(Note: This story was corrected Monday afternoon to reflect that the Military Appreciation Edition of Microsoft Office 2007 is only available to active and retired military personnel and their dependents, not all military veterans. Also, it has been updated to reflect that Microsoft's "Ultimate Steal" deal is still available today.)