Frequently Asked Questions
» How do I purchase software using the new Software Depot?
To comply with audit standards we've overhauled the Software Depot purchase process.
Before submitting an order you must first set up your "billing preferences" by providing us with a university budget number. We will look up the budget number in the university accounting system to determine who is authorized to approve Software Depot purchases on that account. You can not make purchases with a budget number until your DSA has assigned at least one purchase approver to that account.
Once you submit an order you'll be asked to select an account number on which you want the order billed. Upon submission, we'll send an e-mail to all of the designated purchase approvers for that account to inform them that your order is awaiting approval. One of the purchase approvers then must log in to approve your order for submittal.
» How does one assign Software Depot purchase approvers?
Only a Departmental Security Administrator (DSA) may assign Software Depot purchase approvers to the budget numbers that belong to your department. If you're not sure who your DSA is, ask your MSO or Business Officer.
The assignment process is essentially the same as that used to authorize purchases through the UCSB Purchasing department, by which a DSA uses the ALLN01 system to assign one or more purchase approvers to a budget number. The security group SWDEP-AP should be used to assign Software Depot purchase approvers.
As with all ALLN01 usage, the DSA must add any purchase approvers to this security group, and they must ensure that the proper persons are associated with the appropriate accounts, funds, and subs.
For assistance using ALLN01, contact Terry Malosh at IS&C [terry.malosh@isc.ucsb.edu].
» Do I need to purchase both a software license and installation media?
No. You do not need to purchase media but you must purchase a license of the desired product; a license serves as the "right to use"ť the software, while the media simply allows you to install it on your computer. If you choose not to purchase media, you may borrow a copy from our lending library. Most products are available for 24-hour check-out.
» Can I return or cancel my order?
COSL will accept canceled orders up until your order has been placed with our reseller. Once an order has been placed and you have received either your license or media or both, your order may not be canceled or returned.
COSL is not a retail store and we have no guarantee of being able to return items to our reseller.
» Can I borrow the media for software titles I have purchased?
Yes, as long as the item was purchased through COSL. To borrow media, send an e-mail request to manager@software-depot.ucsb.edu and your request must include:
- the name of the product
- your order number
You will receive an e-mail response with instructions on picking up the media.
Please note, as some products are popular on campus, we request that all loaned software be returned to COSL within 24 hours of checkout. Thank you for your cooperation.
Note that during peak demand periods all available copies may be loaned out. This is fairly rare, but we appreciate your patience. In such a situation you will be notified as soon as loaned copies have been returned and are available for your use.
» Can I borrow media for software titles I purchased several years ago?
Yes, and please reference your order number. COSL retains records of all its orders and will re-loan media to past customers (provided we are able to correlate the order to the person making a request). Please note, however, software is updated on a regular basis and COSL may only retain one previous version of a product. Very old versions may not be available after a period of time.
» Can I borrow media for software titles not purchased through COSL?
No. We have no way of verifying your purchase and our license agreements have strict rules requiring our correlation of product loans to known purchases.
» What is a software "license?"
A software license is the legal term for the right to possess a product. Some software companies' End User License Agreements (EULAs) state that their product is not owned, but licensed. This merely means that the software company retains the right to control the usage of its intellectual property and you are subject to the terms of the EULA. For COSL purposes, a "license" represents one installation of a product.
» What is a "concurrent" license?
A concurrent license allows for installation of the licensed product on more than one machine. The restriction is that at any given time there may be no more copies in use greater than the number of concurrent licenses purchased. For example, if you purchase 2 concurrent licenses, you could install the product on 3 or more machines as long as there are never more than 2 copies in use at any one given time. As you might expect, these are typically priced higher than a normal (single) license.
» What is a "site license?"
A "site license" is a purchase agreement where the rights are acquired to freely duplicate and distribute a software product over an entire site. In our case the "site" usually refers to the UCSB campus: all faculty, staff and students. Because these agreements are usually very costly and payment commitments are difficult to arrange, this campus does not have many site licenses.
» What is a "volume purchase?"
A "volume purchase" is a purchase agreement where the rights are acquired to duplicate and distribute a fixed number of copies of a software application. It is similar to a site license, except the number of authorized copies is limited to a set number. Pricing is based on the number of copies licensed.
Frequently, a vendor will reduce prices as the number of ordered copies increases. Another name for "volume purchase" is "quantity discount." These can be very valuable, though single departments are often not in the position to generate enough interest to make use of such pricing. Thus, COSL will periodically coordinate volume purchases between departments as a means of reducing the unit cost for all interested users.
» Can I order products not available in Software Depot?
COSL products represent the most popular and broadly used applications. Applications not found among the product listings are most likely not requested in sufficient amount to qualify for a quantity discount (volume purchase). In most cases COSL will not be able to acquire most non-mainstream products for any better price than you can obtain yourself. As a rule of thumb, if a product is not part of a volume or site-level agreement pricing will likely be the same for the department as with COSL. Departments should purchase these items themselves.
» What is a Software Depot recharge?
Once a Software Depot order has been received and closed, your account will then be charged for the amount of the order. This is commonly referred to as a "recharge."
» What is Microsoft Software Assurance?
Due to the reduced price of Microsoft products available through COSL, such licenses are typically ineligible for upgrades. This means an upgrade to a new version usually requires a new purchase.
Software Assurance addresses this issue by providing free upgrades if a new version is released during the assurance time period. The Software Assurance product is an add-on to a corresponding Microsoft product. You can find Microsoft Software Assurance products in the Software Depot inventory.
» Is MCCA right for my department?
The Microsoft Campus Consolidated Agreement (MCCA) allows departments to “lease” Microsoft products on an annual basis. The products acquired through MCCA are not “owned.” Annual payments are required, and they are based upon the numbers of faculty, staff, and students in a department rather than the number of computers you possess. Once you've entered into MCCA, a qualifying product can be installed on any number of computers in your department.
MCCA makes financial sense if the number of computers vastly exceeds the number of persons in a department. The unit cost in such a situation, although a recurring annual one, may be lower than the outright purchase price of a product for every computer. However, if the ratio of users to computers is close to 1:1, MCCA may not be the best product choice. In situations where the numbers of computers roughly equals the number of staff and faculty users, the cost of purchasing the products individually may be significantly lower than the cost of the MCCA lease over the life cycle of that product.
Please note COSL does not coordinate MCCA purchasing for UCSB at this time.
» Does COSL offer installation assistance?
No, we are not funded to provide technical support. In most cases, we have tested an installation to verify that media is workable and the license codes are valid. If you need support installing a product, please seek assistance from the technical support staff in your area
» When is SAS renewed?
The process for the SAS renewal will begin in April. Final counts of those committing to purchase licenses are due in early-May. If you have questions regarding your SAS license and the renewal process or wish to purchase a new licenses, please send requests to manager@software-depot.ucsb.edu
» Is SPSS available for new license purchases?
Unfortunately, SPSS does not have favorable pricing at this time. The cost is quite high for the three most-used modules. In order to obtain a moderate volume cost, 10 licenses have to be purchased. Individual inquiries may be directed to SPSS directly.
The other option available, for faculty, is to purchase SPSS for one year from e-academy. This link is current as of 10/24/07:
e-academy
» Can I put Windows on my Mac?
Yes, you can, if you have an intel Mac. You will need to have either Bootcamp or Parallels or some other program that will set up a separate environment for the Windows installation. Then, you must purchase a current Windows OS license with Software Assurance. Then, you may install a Windows operating system on your Mac.
» How do I order software titles such as Maple, Matlab, and Mathematica?
Theses purchases are "volume purchases" that are negotiated annually. COSL contacts each of the pertinent departments to arrange for payments. Media is obtained through checkout from COSL or through downloads from the campus ftp site.
» How do I install Norton AV EndPoint for a 32-bit machine?
Download the first CD in the series, expand it and inside the SEP directory is setup for the Symantec AV application only.
If you try to run setup from the root directory the application install you'll get the 64-bit installer, which won't work on 32-bit systems.
(thank you to Linda Hall for this workaround)
» What is the TAS group?
The UC Advisory Group on Technical Acquisition Support (TAS) was set up in 1994 to consider University-wide agreements for computer hardware and software. It consists of representatives from each of the campuses, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and the UC Office of the President. Group members meet once a month via a teleconference call to discuss product selection, pending renewals, and new agreements. Discussions also include campus implementation and distribution processes as well as suggestions for future software agreements.
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