Microsoft Office 2003 Professional product code 269-06738

[Rogelio2]

The Office 2003 Professional product sold in the UK displays the 'Country of Origin' as Ireland (on the certificate of authenticity).
Does any know for sure if all copies of Office Pro 2003 which display the same product code (in this case 269-06738) are identical in every respect, whatever the country of origin.
For example the product sold in Australia or Hong Kong has the same product code but displays a different country of origin. Apart from the latter, is there any difference in the packaging, documentation, etc?
Thanks.

 

[TonyJollans]

I don't know exactly how it works but as the 25-digit product code is, whilst perhaps not unique, generally different, and individual copies of Office are rarely 'identical in every respect'.

The country of origin is, I think, just the country where the physical CD was pressed and packaged and of little consequence. I don't know for sure what the product code represents but the various versions available are categorised as SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) by Microsoft - see

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/832672

Enjoy,
Tony

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[Rogelio2]

Thanks Tony for the post. As you made clear, I was inaccurate in using the term product code. In fact the 269-06738 number is the manufacturer's part number.
My assumption would be that items sharing the same part number are identical other than the country of origin.
However I don't want to make a purchase based on an assumption.

 

[koresnordic]

I am assuming, not actually knowing, that a copy purchased in Holland, would have Dutch as the default language, and in Germany, it would have German etc.



Graham

 

[Rogelio2]

True, but what about the same product bought in the UK, US, Australia and Singapore. All English speaking.
I decided to ask Microsoft and actually got a response the next day -
Question: The Microsoft Office Professional 2003 full retail product sold in the UK, with Country of Origin: Ireland, displays the product code 269-06738 on the certificate of authenticity.
If a copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2003 is purchased with a different Country of Origin displayed on the certificate of authenticity, but with the same product code, will the packaging and documentation be identical to the product sold in the UK. In other words is the product identical in every respect other than the country of origin?

Response: Thank you for your email about the documentation and packaging in different regions.
I would like to inform you that logo on any of our product will remain the same. However, documentation and packaging will be region specific.

Still not clear on what region-specific means exactly. I imagine if the documentation includes languages other than English, then the languages covered would be region-specific. Maybe packaging varies to cater for the need for different marketing approaches in different regions.

Anyway, it answers my question. The software will be the same but the wrapping may look different. Fine if buying for yourself and you know what you're getting.

 

[BionicJohn]

> > Still not clear on what region-specific means exactly.

Could it be either the packaging/setup/dictionary language options or something to do with the region of the CD drive? Just guessing…

FWIW, I have the same as you "269-06738 ORIGIN: IRELAND", dated 16-04-04.

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