Microsoft’s second tier office product suite, Microsoft Works, is getting a makeover in 2010. Dubbed Office Starter 2010 it is intended to offer many changes to the suite to make it conform more to the Windows 7 platform and Office 2010 suite of tools.
It is going to be preloaded on new PC’s. It will only include Word and Excel. It will be capable of exchanging documents with full Office 2010. The idea behind office starter, in part, is to get users to become acquainted with Office 2010 so they upgrade to the full version. The software will provide the basic functionality for creating, viewing and editing documents, and it will include Ribbon, the document editing innovation available through office 2007.
One of Microsoft’s problems is the success of the Office Suite 2007. Over 500 million users work with MS office. Microsoft also experienced over 90% year in and year out growth in downloads with over 23 million trial downloads. And the 2007 Home and Student editions have been the top selling software titles in retail in the US for the last 2 years.
It will be hard to get these users to give Office 2010 a chance. It is a problem based on their own success, and one that other software makers would wish they had. But that is what Microsoft is hoping to do-get users who experience Office 2010 lite, decide that they are ready for the full version.
To make it enticing to use, Microsoft has come up with a unique method of allowing access to the software, and it does not involve using a CD or DVD. In involves getting a Product Key Card.
Product Key Card
The product key card will not have a DVD attached to it. It is a single license key that will be sold a major electronic retail outlets. Thus the users will have the opportunity to use a trial version of Office 2010, without having downloaded it since it is pre-installed. However, when the user wants to update to the full version of Office 2010, there is no need to purchase the CD, just the product key card, which will have the activation code available.
But one catch is that the Starter Office 2010 software product will be supported by commercial adds. Some users may find this extremely annoying, but on the other hand, the Office product will be self supporting and it will not add any additional cost to the new PC that is being purchased. If users find that they are getting a deal when buying a new PC it will come from the manufacturer, and thank Microsoft for not adding any additional cost to the Office suite that they supply with the PC.
What about users that have existing PC’s and want get the Office Starter pack? How do they get the software if they want to purchase it? Here again Microsoft has an innovative solution, it is called click-to-run.
Office 2010 Active Downloads
Click-to-run makes downloading the software easier over the Internet. The click-to-run technology will automatically find, download, and install software patches to keep their existing software running. When a user decides to purchase Office 2010, and starts the download process, the only remaining software features that are needed will be downloaded.
Click-to-Run Product Updates
Microsoft is using virtualization technology in the click-to-run process where concurrent versions of the same product can operate side by side, in this case Office 2007 and Starter Office, or even Office 2010, the full version.
Office is Ready for Offline Use
Click-to-run is a delivery system for downloading and updating the products one already has in stalled or will be purchasing; it is not a new product introduced by Microsoft.
