Get With the Program: Sweet Software Deals That Save Up to $361

Tax time is around the corner, and your New Year's Resolution to get organized has taken on a special urgency as you stare at the mounds of paperwork and creative projects scattered around you. If you want to wing your laptop across the office like a frisbee, don't do it: Instead, check out the deals we've found for software that can help with multiple facets of your digital life, from creative pursuits to those all-important tax returns. Looking for more sensational software? Be sure to check out our daily computer software deals.

1. Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 for Windows
   Store: Microsoft
   Price: $9.95
   Lowest By: $361

   Is It Worth It?: This is not a misprint; this download comes in at $361 below the next-lowest price we could find. That said, you need to be a member of Microsoft's Home Use Program (valid for many military, federal government, and participating college email addresses) to take advantage of this Editors' Choice deal. This Enterprise version of the Office suite offers additional control over compliance, new tools for sharing and analyzing data, and more. It includes some of Microsoft's most popular programs, including 2013 versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook for Professional Plus PC users, and the 2011 versions for Mac users. The Professional Plus package also includes Publisher (for creating marketing materials), OneNote (a centralized system for merging notes and diagrams), and more. Click here for more information.

2. Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription for Windows and Mac
   Store: Adobe
   Price: $29.99 per month with a 1-year contract
   Lowest By: $10

   Is It Worth It?: Are you ready to create? Existing CS3 or later owners can purchase this Editors' Choice upgrade that's tied with our mention from last week as the lowest per-month price we've ever seen. This digital editing suite subscription includes access to all Adobe Creative Suite 6 apps, as well as online services for file sharing, collaboration, and publishing. So you start by getting access to all of Adobe's Creative Suite 6 tools, from the photo editing juggernaut Photoshop (so popular it's a verb in our digital age) to DreamWeaver, used to make web pages. But you also get 20GB of cloud storage, which allows you to design and host websites, and create for the iPad without writing code. Note that after the first year, the rate jumps to the standard price of $49.99 per month.

3. Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus Security 2013 3-User for Windows
   Store: Fry's Electronics
   Price: $0 via $50 mail-in rebate with free shipping
   Lowest By: $22
   Expires: February 28

   Is It Worth It?: This Editors' Choice deal may make you rethink your stance on rebates. Although you'll have to shell out $49.99 to get this security program, you'll end up paying a whopping $0 once the $50 rebate is processed. This program can be uploaded to three different PCs, and it blocks both viruses and malware, as well as "bad links" that show up across all online activity.

   Already got a previous stand-alone version of a Trend Micro, Norton, or McAfee anti-virus product? Instead use this $25 upgrade mail-in rebate to yield a $25 profit.

4. Macgo Blu-ray Player for Mac
   Store: StackSocial
   Price: $30
   Lowest By: $30
   Expires: February 21

   Is It Worth It?: Looking for Blu-Ray bliss via your Apple computer? The Macgo Blu-ray Player allows you to play Blu-ray discs on any MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro with OS X 10.5 to 10.8. It's available by download, and also works with external drives that are Blu-Ray compatible. TUAW gives this player a thumbs up: "If you want to view Blu-ray movies on your Mac, this is pretty much it right now, other than some open-source hacks that don't work very well and aren't as easy to use."

5. Intuit QuickBooks Premier Industry Edition 2013 for Windows
   Store: Dell Small Business & Home Office
   Price: $189.99
   Lowest By: $43

   Is It Worth It?: If you run a business, now's the time to get down to business, especially with tax time looming. At $10 under our mention from a month ago, this download allows users to create invoices, track payments, manage expenses, and produce ready-to-go tax records. Among many financial advisers and tax pros, QuickBooks remains among the very top recommended software programs for easy tax preparation and tracking key documents for businesses. The new version is Windows 8 compatible and comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Lou Carlozo is a dealnews contributing writer. He covers personal finance for Reuters Wealth. Prior to that he was the managing editor of WalletPop.com, and a veteran columnist at the Chicago Tribune.

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