The MINITAB corporation does not license bookstores to sell this separately. If the bookstore has any in stock, you can buy the student version packaged with the textbook, where the price of the package with MINITAB is about $25 more than without MINITAB. This package is required in the Distance Learning MATH 1342 class. (In Fall 2006, due to a mixup at the publisher's warehouse, none of these packages were sent to the bookstore, so you can't get it this semester. We are arranging separately for the Distance Learning students to get MINITAB.)
You can download a free 30-day demo of the full version of MINITAB from http://www.minitab.com/products/minitab/14/demo/
If, after 30 days, you decide to buy MINITAB, you can buy or rent it from the MINITAB website. (Cost is about $30 for five months, or $100 to purchase it. Both of these are the full version. They do not distribute the student version.)
After you obtain the software and install it, read these instructions to see how to set it up so that it is easy to use. Setting up MINITAB at home | .
Some of the instructions include using the textbook CD. If you have lost or broken your textbook CD, you can download a zip file with the data from the publisher's website and use that. If you don't know how to unizp a file either, then ask your instructor where you can use a floppy disk or flash drive to download the data.
My general information about MINITAB for all the students.
Last updated August 27, 2006 . Questions or comments?