Office Starter 2010 will be free, but will feature limitations and annoying ads.
A recent Microsoft blog revealed Office Starter 2010, an ad-infested, feature-limited version of Office 2010 that apparently will come pre-installed exclusively on new PCs. The free version will come packed with Office Word Starter 2010 and Office Excel Starter 2010 that offer "basic functionality for creating, viewing, and editing" documents.
But for those who love Microsoft Works, it may be that the company is booting the software suite out the door. "Office Starter 2010 will replace Microsoft Works, offering a consistent Office user experience, such as the Ribbon, with a simple path to upgrade to a fully-featured version of Office 2010 directly from within the product," the company said.
Office Starter 2010 is one of four editions that will be available: Office Home and Student 2010, Office Home and Business 2010, and Office Professional 2010 make up the three retail versions. The blog also stated that a full version of Office 2010 will reside on new Windows 7 PCs, locked and ready for installation with the purchase of an unlock card.
Ultimately, Office Starter Edition serves as a trial run of the full version, but won't expire in a limited number of days thanks to the revenue generated by integrated advertisement. While a free version does sound tasty, annoying ads may drive some consumers batty.
*www.tomsguide.com/us/Office-Starter-2010-Microsoft-Windows,news-4829.html
A recent Microsoft blog revealed Office Starter 2010, an ad-infested, feature-limited version of Office 2010 that apparently will come pre-installed exclusively on new PCs. The free version will come packed with Office Word Starter 2010 and Office Excel Starter 2010 that offer "basic functionality for creating, viewing, and editing" documents.
But for those who love Microsoft Works, it may be that the company is booting the software suite out the door. "Office Starter 2010 will replace Microsoft Works, offering a consistent Office user experience, such as the Ribbon, with a simple path to upgrade to a fully-featured version of Office 2010 directly from within the product," the company said.
Office Starter 2010 is one of four editions that will be available: Office Home and Student 2010, Office Home and Business 2010, and Office Professional 2010 make up the three retail versions. The blog also stated that a full version of Office 2010 will reside on new Windows 7 PCs, locked and ready for installation with the purchase of an unlock card.
Ultimately, Office Starter Edition serves as a trial run of the full version, but won't expire in a limited number of days thanks to the revenue generated by integrated advertisement. While a free version does sound tasty, annoying ads may drive some consumers batty.
*www.tomsguide.com/us/Office-Starter-2010-Microsoft-Windows,news-4829.html
But good enough for basic usage though.