Release of Microsoft Office 2000 Premium Edition and Licenses Date: Thu, 09 Sep 1999 13:24:53 -0400 From: "Thomas C. Wood" To: "SA - All System Administrators" CC: "E - All WRD Employees" Subject: Release of Microsoft Office 2000 Premium Edition and Licenses In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 445 September 9, 1999 MEMORANDUM To: All WRD System Administrators From: Chief, Applications Support Unit, DIS Program Office Thomas C. Wood Subject: Release of Microsoft Office 2000 Premium Edition and Licenses The purpose of this memorandum is to: 1) announce the allocation of Microsoft (MS) Office licenses for Water Resources Division (WRD) users. 2) announce the general release of MS Office 2000 Premium Edition to all WRD offices. 3) relay information on MS Office user training and documentation. 1) Allocation of MS Office 2000 Licenses for WRD Users ------------------------------------------------------ On July 8, 1999 an email memorandum from the DIS Program Office Chief, subject: Allocation of Microsoft Office Licenses, announced the allocation of licenses for each office and requested input on additional licensing needs. The memo is available for review at: http://wwwqvarsa.er.usgs.gov/ms-office/office2k_distrib_memo.html Based on input received as a result of the July 8 memo, and an evaluation of our current software base, we have determined that WRD owns enough licenses to meet our current needs. The total allocation column in the table referenced below is based on employee head count (permanent and term) and contractors pulled from AIS as of 8/23/99, minus field season and temporary employees, plus the number of "at home" licenses previously requested. Offices should note the number of home licenses they have been allocated. The DIS Program Office encourages, where possible, the use of laptops for home use instead of workstations. Laptops are not considered to be an extra license for an employee if it is their additional desktop. If more licenses are needed for home use on workstations above your office allocation, they will need to be purchased by individual offices. Questions about the allocation table should be addressed to Joyce Solomon (jsolomon, 703-648-5606). Offices should refer to the following table to determine the number of licenses they are now authorized to install: http://wwwqvarsa.er.usgs.gov/ms-office/office2000_distrib.html MS Office software is for use on Government computers at duty stations and also for the laptops of people who are licensed at their desktop. This is considered one license. Use of MS Office on a workstation system (other than a laptop) for USGS work at a Government employee's residence is considered an additional instance of a license and requires that another license be assigned to that user. The desktop system at the employee's residence may be owned by either the employee or the Government. 2) General WRD Release of Microsoft Office 2000 Premium Edition --------------------------------------------------------------- Multiple copies of the MS Office CDs have been put in the mail to each WRD Office during the week of September 6th. Please note that the distribution package contains multiple copies of the Premium Edition CDs as well as the Professional (Pro) Edition CDs. The Pro CDs were delivered to USGS by mistake from the vendor, however they may be used for the installation in some situations. The installation instructions referenced below include the details of when it is appropriate to use the Pro CDs for installation. The MS Office CDs may NOT be duplicated. The Office 2000 distribution web page referenced above includes a listing of the number of CDs distributed to each WRD office. The Offices not in receipt of the software by September 20th should inform Joyce Solomon (jsolomon). The DIS Program Office, working with the WRD NT Technical Advisory Committee (NT-TAC), has developed custom WRD installation instructions for MS Office 2000 under the following Microsoft Windows installation scenarios: - Windows Terminal Server (WTS) - Network - Standalone Prior to the installation, MS Office 2000 installers should refer to and become familiar with the NT-TAC Office 2000 web pages, including the installation instructions, located at: http://nttac.usgs.gov/nt_tac/index.asp?url=apps/ms_office/ 3) MS Office User Training and Documentation -------------------------------------------- In support of this enterprise-wide implementation, the USGS is contracting with vendors nationwide to provide both MS Office and Lotus Notes hands-on user training. An 8a vendor was awarded the training contract in Reston, so that contract was awarded relatively quickly. Under the terms of their contract, OASAS (Office Automation Systems and Services), Inc. will provide the Introductory and Intermediate/Advanced training classes for Word 2000, Excel 2000, PowerPoint 2000, and Access 2000 in Reston. Negotiations are underway to schedule the MS Office 2000 classes for sites nationwide so that WRD trainers may attend training locally. Additionally, Computer-based by CD-ROM, web-based training, and courseware also will be available shortly. Details of the MS Office training options will be made available to all sites as soon as possible. Offices may wish to purchase MS Office 2000 reference books. A listing of selected materials is available by going to MS Office 2000 Support and selecting Resources from the WWW page: http://nttac.usgs.gov/nt_tac/index.asp?url=apps/ms_office/2000/support/ Questions? ---------- Questions about the installation instructions should be submitted in email to nt_tac@mailqvarsa.er.usgs.gov. General MS Office 2000 Usage questions should be submitted to the USGS software help desk contractor, OAO Corporation, by phone at 1-877-471-6422. Questions specific to WRD usage of MS Office 2000 should be submitted in email to WRD's internal help team at ms-office_help. Copy To: All WRD Employees