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MS Office Subscriptions Now

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Renegade:
Looks like MS Office is moving to subscriptions?

http://tech.ca.msn.com/microsoft-retools-office-for-touch-online-use

Microsoft has released a retooled version of its Office software in an effort to extend one of the company's most important franchises beyond personal computers.

Tuesday's debut comes six months after Microsoft previewed the new-look Office, which includes popular word processing, spreadsheets and email programs.

The revamped Office boasts touch controls, just like the redesigned version of the Windows operating system that Microsoft Corp. three months ago. The Redmond, Wash., company is trying to ensure its products remain relevant as people increasing rely on smartphones and tablet computers instead of PCs.

Microsoft is offering Office 2013 in a $100 annual subscription package that includes online access on up to five Windows devices or Mac computers. The one-time price to install Office 2013 on a single machine starts at $140.
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TaoPhoenix:
I just did it in Libre Office and sent 1 extra line to my recruiter: "This was done in Libre Office and saved to MS Doc format. Please advise if minor formatting problems occur". I never heard of one. (Then again, I never got a job yet either!  :o   )

J-Mac:
Hmm.. I really, really have to take SoftMaker up on their SoftMaker Office Pro 2012 upgrade! Anyone using that now?

Thanks!

Jim

40hz:
Shouldn't be a surprise. Microsoft has been talking about eventually having online versions of most of what they make for the last two years.

From a business perspective it makes sense for Microsoft and many of  their large corporate customers (with sufficiently reliable broadband) to do it that way. The savings on distribution and packaging costs alone will be phenomenal for Microsoft. And the cash flow advantages (i.e. no contract and pay as you go) and flexibility it offers their customers will weigh heavily in the adoption decision cycle. And as an added 'bonus' it also makes licensing compliance automatic.

All that aside there still remain serious questions that only time will answer such as:


* How reliable and accessible will the connection IP technology be?
* Is zero-downtime a realistic promise once hundreds of millions of subscriptions are sold.
* How will acceptable performance be maintained once large numbers begin subscribing and accessing the service.
* How secure will it be?
* How private?
* How will MS cooperate with requests from governments for warrantless access to user's data?
* What will happen if (i.e. when) there is a major security breech?
* How will such a breech be handled? And will the customers be notified?
* Can we really trust Microsoft? Seriously. Can we? Really?
* and....
It just goes on and on. And unfortunately, nobody really knows the answers because we're venturing into new territory here.

Gonna be interesting...

But why bother wondering how (or if) it will work for you? MS will give you a free 90 day trial. Easiest and surest way to check it out is to actually check it out. Signup here - no credit card required.

(Note: Just for the record, I personally don't like this new direction Microsoft is going in. Coupled with them being in talks with Dell, I think the handwriting is on the wall. Microsoft is committed to moving away from their old business model and planning on introducing an inexpensive "productivity" oriented info-appliance that is designed to work exclusively with their subscription based software. That means a closed ecosystem and customer lock-in. One giant step backwards to the days of timeshared terminals on remote mainframes. Sometimes, the more rapidly things change, the sooner they go back to what they were originally.)

Renegade:
It just goes on and on. And unfortunately, nobody really knows the answers because we're venturing into new territory here.
-40hz (January 31, 2013, 08:13 AM)
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You are far more optimistic than I am.

RantyA subscription model for desktop software is a money grab. Pure and simple. That's all. Nothing more. There is ZERO reason to run desktop software on a subscription model. The ONLY exception is the occasional user that only needs it for a short period. Anyone who uses a program on an ongoing basis has NOTHING to gain from a subscription model. Network reliability alone is a deal killer. Servers are one thing, but man... YOUR servers? Seriously? Nah. I like MY servers.

But, that's a tad harsh... for small businesses it does kind of make some sense. Grrr... Don't like admitting that... Grrr... There is a place for it, but it's just really damn small.

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