Sign up for a new account or log in here:
also @ TechSpot: Congress pressures Google on Glass privacy concerns
Home › News › Microsoft
Microsoft says Office 2013 licensing is nothing new, but it's a price hike in disguise
Last week a number of sites including TechSpot reported on an apparently new licensing restriction for the retail version of Office 2013 that essentially ties your version of the software to a single computer -- not one at a time, but only one PC, forever. If the computer crashes you can reinstall Office, but if dies or you simply upgrade to a new machine you can’t transfer the license, even after uninstalling the suite from the old one.
There's been a lot of discussion about Microsoft using these ‘tactics’ to push its Office 365 subscription package, which allows installations on five machines plus select mobile devices for $99 a year. There’s certainly some truth to that but the company is now hoping to bring some clarity regarding licensing in Office 2013.
In a blog post published yesterday, Office marketing manager Jevon Fark explains that Office 2013 actually features the same licensing rights as the Product Key Card (PKC) version of Office 2010. The latter refers to versions of Office that come preloaded with new PC purchases and require users to buy a product key to activate. According to Fark, this version was chosen by a majority of Office 2010 customers worldwide -- no doubt because it was cheaper and easier considering the software was already installed on the machine.
The problem is with Office 2013 you no longer have the option to choose between PKC or FPP (Full Package Product) and the only retail version available has been demoted to OEM status, which seems overly restrictive considering the price. If you spend $400 on the Professional edition Microsoft expects you to buy another license when upgrading your PC. Even for the basic Home & Student edition at $140 that seems unreasonable.
You'll pay more for the same
One last detail Microsoft omitted is that even though the licensing terms for Office 2013 and Office 2010 PKC match, pricing does not. We’ve added the table below to illustrate the difference but you’re basically paying $20 to $50 more for the equivalent versions of the updated suite. The price hike is in line with a recent update to the Office for Mac 2011 pricing and the end of multi-license packs for that platform.
| Office 2010 FPP | Office 2010 PKC | Office 2013 | |
| Professional Academic | $99 | -- | -- |
| Home & Student | $149 | $119 | $139.99 |
| Home & Business | $279 | $199 | $219.99 |
| Professional | $499 | $349 | $399.99 |
It's worth noting that Microsoft still hasn't clarified how and if it will enforce the non-transferability policy on Office 2013. Also, for households and small businesses that need to run Office on multiple computers, at $99 per year Office 365 isn’t a bad alternative to the previous FPP version of Office, but some users will undoubtedly will be caught between a restrictive license they don’t want and a recurring subscription they don’t need.
User Comments: 32
Got something to say? Post a comment-
Yep, it's the motherboard, as long as it's the same series. Source: [link]
-
kebab2000 said:
The EU should just ban MS rubbish outright and be done with it.
-
supertech said:
I don't agree with some of these "take it or leave it" software licensing terms because at the end of the day, if you piss-off the consumer people are bound to look for alternatives.
If there is a problem when actication, call the activation line and tell them you've reinstalled windows because you had a virus and they will allow you to reactivate.
-
2 people like this |
Where this sort of stuff really hurts is in developing countries. We are a charity working hard to advance education - often giving kids their first experience of even using a computer because they, and the communities they live in, are too poor to be able to buy one. The computers we donate are not new and consequently need to be replaced fairly regularly so transferability of software is essential. We will have to start installing Open Source software instead of Microsoft. Consequently it will be Microsoft that loses out in the longer term as our students will grow up using a different product, which they will most likely stick with in the future (when they do have earning and spending potential as a result of the education they have received).
-
Why does Microsoft have to make having a piece of software or an operating system such a pain in the a$$?
-
1 person liked this |Consequently it will be Microsoft that loses out in the longer term as our students will grow up using a different product, which they will most likely stick with in the future (when they do have earning and spending potential as a result of the education they have received).I Agree!!!
Parents that choose to go with open source, have kids that are in the same position as your students. Microsoft had better quit burning bridges today, if they want people to use their product tomorrow.
-
I don't suppose MS is too worried about developing countries as they must suffer from pirate versions of their products.
Most Popular
| Trending | Featured |
Featured on Keyboards
Subscribe to TechSpot
Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.