On 9 September 2010 14:43, Jason Grout <jason-s...@creativetrax.com> wrote: > On 9/9/10 6:23 AM, Dr. David Kirkby wrote: >> >> On 09/ 9/10 10:47 AM, Jan Groenewald wrote: >> >>> * the price of the software >>> http://www.wolfram.com/events/southafrica2010/ >>> $139.95 even for students. I'm not sure I can convey >>> how astronomical that amount to almost all African >>> students. > > > Can you put it in terms of numbers of work days for a student working? For > example, we pay I think $9/hour at our institution, so $139.95 would be 15.5 > hours, or around two full-time days. > > > Worse, when they want to start a small >>> >>> business after completing their studies, the price >>> jumps more than tenfold. >> >> >> Whilst I agree with much of what you say, there's a couple of >> inaccuracies there >> >> * I highly suspect African students can obtain Mathematica at far less >> cost than US students. You would need to ask Wolfram Research, but I >> believe like many companies, they do sell their products to poorer >> countries at considerably lower cost. >> * If you have a student copy, then for a set period (a year or two) >> after graduation, you can convert it to a professional copy for a much >> more modest fee. >> >> I don't have time to hunt down all the URLs, but I think you should >> double-check some facts there. > > > Here is a relevant faq entry I post on my webpage for my students: > > http://www.wolfram.com/products/student/mathforstudents/qa.html#graduate > > --------------- > Can I continue to use Mathematica for Students after I graduate? > > No, you cannot. Mathematica for Students should be upgraded to the > professional version if you no longer meet the student eligibility > requirements. Wolfram Research does provide a special price for graduates if > they upgrade from the student to the professional version within one year of > their graduation date. Please contact us or your local reseller for a price > quote and more details about eligibility. You will have to provide us with > your license number and graduation date. > --------------- > > That implies you can *not* use mathematica after you graduate, but you are > right that you can upgrade (and start using again) for a reduced price > during the first year after graduation.
That was the point overlooked by the original poster. > When I emailed Wolfram about the exact price to upgrade on this reduced > rate, here is the answer I received: > > "The exact price will vary according to which professional license the > student upgrades to. To upgrade to an academic professional license, for > example, the price is $273.75. If the student is now a high school teacher > and buys a Mathematica license to use in their classroom, the price is $75." > > (Prices in US Dollars) > > > Thanks, I know it is possible to upgrade to a fully "Professional" (i.e for commercial use) for a price substantially below the student price. If someone gives a talk about the advantages of Sage over Mathematica, then they really need to know what Wolfram Research offer. Likewise I believe there are special licenses for retirees, which will again depend on location. It's also worth asking if WRI will make exceptions to the license. I know many years ago when I worked in a uni, I found out the uni license allowed use at home by staff - nobody from the IT department made this known. I only found out by chance when discussing with Wolfram Research the moving of a license from one machine to another. Anyway, I asked for a license for my SPARC. First I was told "a Sun is not a home computer", so they declined to give me the license. But after I made a case, pointing out many people did in fact run Suns at home, I was given a license for my SPARC. So it is worth asking. Dave -- To post to this group, send email to sage-support@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to sage-support+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-support URL: http://www.sagemath.org
