One of the lesser known options for buying Office 2007 is the 'Military Appreciation Edition' (MAE) which costs just us$79.95 instead of around $350 in a civilian store.

The 'Military Appreciation Edition' is actually Office 2007 Standard edition containing Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007 and Outlook 2007. The software is the same as any other release of Office 2007.

The edition is excellent pricing - the next best option is the Home and Student edition which is usually under $100 in stores but doesn't have Outlook 2007.

Three installs

One difference between the MAE and the civilian Standard edition is the licence. The MAE allows installation on three computers in a single household (making it the same arrangement as the Home and Student edition) while the normal Standard edition is limited to a single user on a desktop and laptop computer.

A wider entitlement

Of course there are special qualifications - you have to be a 'Qualified Military User' but that definition brings in more people than you might think:

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To be a Qualified Military User, you must be:

• Active U. S. Military personnel with valid Military identification;
• Retired U.S. Military personnel with valid Military identification; or
• Dependent of U.S. Military personnel meeting one of the above criteria with a valid Military identification.

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The term 'US Military' isn't explicitly defined but we can infer from the Microsoft web page that it includes Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

It's not just currently serving men and women who qualify - retired service people with appropriate ID can get the cut price too.

In addition, the dependants of active and retired service personnel can qualify. That casts a very wide net.

How to buy

The Military Appreciation Edition of Office 2007 can be purchased from Exchange stores in the US and also the Army and Air Force Exchange Service online.

Home Use Programs

Another option for some military staff and others who work for large organizations is the Home Use Program. This arrangement between Microsoft and buyers of large scale licences for Office allows staff to buy Office 2007 for a trivial amount like $29.95. Many military staff can make use of the Home Use Program if their IT department has made the necessary arrangements with Microsoft.