OEM software dowloads

[Beckwin]

looking to go legit/pick up some new software on the cheap, and I've come across several OEM download sites. you don't really get the current year stuff, but a one to two year old version for a small fraction of the current version's price. is this legit? and does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?

[Beckwin]

also: any suggestions in general for good software deals? I still have my .edu for a few months, if that helps

[Sigi]

if you want Legit and are a college student, check out the MSDN Student Alliance- I made out like a bandit with Visual Studio, Visio, Windows XP Pro, Windows Server 2003, Windows SQL server 2003... well, needless to say, my burner almost gave the middle finger when I was done.

Other than that, OEM software tends to be Grey to Black Market- Technically you would still need to purchase a license from the source company (AKA: Certificate of Authenticity, Product Key, etc) since you are purchasing the DISC and NOT the license.