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Today we’re sharing an article titled Like free software?  You’ll love Microsoft Office 2010, that is an update to a previous post on our website. 

As of this past Wednesday, Microsoft released its Office 2010 Suite to businesses around the globe, and is planning a release date in June for individual consumers.  Why is this big news?  Because this release includes an online component called Web Apps…for FREE! 

So, what are Web Apps?  They are applications that have the ability to create, edit, view and share files online, similar to GoogleDocs, that are accessed on Microsoft’s SkyDrive website.  And the best part is that you don’t have to buy the software suite to be able to use the online tools!  Microsoft has made the decision to offer most of Office 2010 (some things are disabled) for free to anyone in an attempt to compete with (squash??) the rising popularity of Google Docs. 

Basically, they want you to use their software!  They want that brand loyalty to continue!  They DO NOTwant you to switch to Google Docs or Open Office!  Microsoft finally realized that in order to keep their brand in use and popular with the younger and future generations, they were going to have to offer some things for free.  On top of that, they are offering free storage space on their SkyDrive website for your documents, so you don’t even have to save it to your own PC (which is a little weird to me, but I’m  skeptic). 

For those of you that want “your own copy”(those of you who are even more skeptical than me), there are some acceptable price point packages.  For a middle of the road package, you can get Microsoft Office Home and Business, which sells for $279 in a box (in the store), or $199 for a product key and includes Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, and Outlook 2010.  If that is more than you need, you can pay $149 for the box version or $119 for the product key card version of Microsoft Office Home and Student.  This package offers Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, and the Office Web Apps.  The best part about this package is that it is available in a Family Pack, allowing use on three computers in one home, and let’s be honest…for the average user, this would be all you’d need. 

Our suggestion is to use the Web Apps tools online for free.  Learn to do what you need within the free version (as there will be disabled parts) so that you can save a bundle! 

Tags: Free stuff, Frugality, saving money

This entry was posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under Friday's Financial News!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.