>>>>Follow-up -- this looks like a heck of a deal for me. The $386/year for 3 years for MSDN Pro / VS Pro is a promo for people who used to have MSDN and have let it lapse. That's me.
>>>>
>>>>http://www.software-intl.com/content.aspx?page=MSDN-Subscription-Coupon&gclid=CMzvxY33sJ8CFQ7yDAodvzG40w
>>>>
>>>
>>>Sounds like a good deal. Though I need to check what is included in this package. I need VS 2008, SQL 2008, VFP 10 <g>, and MS Office. Do you know if all of those are in the MSDN?
>>
>>Office is not in that package. You need MSDN Premium. As Craig said, you can buy Office separately for less than the price difference between MSDN Pro and Premium (especially if you don't need the souped-up version).
>>
>>Look for a PS in private message....
>
>Since I started using Open Office I never considered buying Office. Give it a try if you don't need Office to test automation or something.

I have played with OO a little but only on the Mac. Whil H. told me a few years ago that is was so compatible that he was using OO to communicate with his authors, who were using MS Office, with the authors none the wiser.

Do you know how current they stay with MS Office releases? Presumably there must at least be a lag if they are reverse engineering. (Then again, there is a lag before new releases of Office work right, too <g>).