Microsoft's Office (Free) Starter – Replaces “Works” and Will be Available on New PCs Soon

For years Microsoft fought the anti trust lawsuits and paid out a lot of money. I can’t tell you how many people thought Office was free. That goes back to when the original trial was loaded on computers and through court cases Office was no longer loaded directly but we had the free version called “Works” instead.

Office Starter is new and will be replacing Works on computers and there’s an easier process to get started and an easier way to upgrade. This will be available at the retail level too when Office 2010 rolls out in a couple months. When you start out the free version is there with a stripped down version of Excel and Word, again the very basics.

This is an interesting move but I’m sure competition from open source and Google maybe pushed the button here a little, but again this is replacing the free “Works” program that nobody really used much or knew it was there from my experience. I have used Office Live now for quite a while and am very happy with it as it coordinates and synchronizes with my desktop software.

Microsoft Offers Free Web-Based Office Extension - Software as a Service

Also, while I am on the subject of Office, if you are a student you can purchase the full on professional versions of Office for $59.95 with an “edu” email address or be enrolled on the list of education institutions listed with a minimum of .05 course credit.

This is another good page to reference as you can also get a copy of Windows 7 Professional for $29.95, again for students who meet the criteria.

This is called the Ultimate Steal Deal. BD

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft has a new plan to make more money from Office: give it away.

With Office 2010, one of the biggest changes is how many ways there are to get Microsoft's most profitable software program for free.

In addition to the free, browser-based Office Web Apps, Microsoft is also offering PC makers the ability to install a basic version of Office on new computers. The new program, Office Starter, includes a stripped-down version of Word and Excel. PC makers, retailers and Microsoft can all make money if the PC buyer later upgrades to a paid version of Office.

To make buying that full copy of Office easier, Microsoft plans to flood stores with options to buy the product. In addition to the traditional boxed copies of the suite, Microsoft is also planning to sell "product key cards" that can be used to upgrade a single copy of Office (boxed copies can be used for two or three computers, depending on the edition).

Microsoft's big gamble with free Office | Beyond Binary - CNET News