Make older versions free

[Guest]

I have a suggestion regarding Microsoft Word. How about offering the older
version for free when the latest version, such as in Office 2007, is
released. Microsoft could switch the older version to ad supported or
something, then offer it for free. Comments?

 

[Opinicus]

I have a suggestion regarding Microsoft Word. How about offering the older
version for free when the latest version, such as in Office 2007, is
released. Microsoft could switch the older version to ad supported or
something, then offer it for free. Comments?

Would they qualify for upgrades? If so, I doubt MS would go along with the
idea.

 

[Guest]

Good point.....would have to add "does not qualify for a discounted upgrade"
to my suggestion along with ad-supported. Thanks.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

To some extent I think this has happened. I have read stories about MS
making older (much older) versions of Windows available for no-frills
computers being distributed in developing countries. I think you can be
pretty sure that MS will never make available freely any version that is
still supported (support is very expensive). Support for Word 97 has already
been dropped, and Word 2000 will move out of support when Word 2007 is
released, so these are the most recent versions that you could expect to see
offered free. Keep in mind that many large corporations are still using Word
2000. Much of the volume user base is very slow upgrade because of custom
solutions that have been prepared for specific versions.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[CyberTaz]

One consideration - among numerous others:

How do you propose the distribution of these charitable donations be
handled?

Is MS supposed to ship free to anyone who asks? Perhaps UPS or FedEx would
be willing to chip in - better yet, the USPS could be mandated to handle it
gratis, after all it would only increase postal rates a modest 25-30%. Or
would the product be stuffed into cereal boxes as a promotional item? And
who bears the cost of this distribution? Perhaps you'd be willing to donate
a few hours a week to making home deliveries?

Even if you're now thinking "download" - which isn't practicable for a
number of reasons, but even if it were - consider the likelihood that most
anyone not able to pay the price for their software probably doesn't have a
high speed connection in the first place. That basically leaves you with
those who *can* afford it but aren't *willing* to pay for it. Ergo, any
costs incurred by such a program have to be recouped from the sale of
current product, which in itself would be curtailed by the freebie system,
resulting in even higher prices for the rest of us.

I'm not sure what your location is - despite your addy - but here in the
good ol' US of A I'm just one of many who are getting tired of footing the
bill for freeloaders.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Guest]

yes, i was thinking of making it available for download only, or partner with
some advertisers to include flyer advertisements in the mail along with a
disk maybe to cover the cost of the disk and shipping. i think many people
who pay for high speed internet such as myself would not pay the money for
it, but would use a free ad supported version of it. They need to do
something like this cause losing many to open office...which isn't even ad
supported!

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

Taz -

There are at least two of us who are tired of people who expect something
for nothing. I guess working for a living and having to pay for luxury items
is an old-fashioned idea.

(And yes, owning a computer and having Microsoft Office installed on it are
luxury items. I know a lot of people who don't have a computer and are doing
just fine. I'll bet that after I went thru (a lengthy) withdrawal, I could
do it too.)

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

~~~~~
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

yes, i was thinking of making it available for download only, or
partner with

some advertisers to include flyer advertisements in the mail along with a
disk maybe to cover the cost of the disk and shipping. i think many people
who pay for high speed internet such as myself would not pay the money for
it, but would use a free ad supported version of it. They need to do

The point is that you have the money, but aren't willing to pay for it.
It's not that you don't have the money.

something like this cause losing many to open office...which isn't even ad
supported!

Many? You have a skewed world view. MS Office has more than 90% of the
market and OpenOffice is barely making a dent into MS sales.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

 

[Guest]

i just think that the people who would download and use the free,
ad-supported, older version, would not be the people who are going to buy the
new version anyway, so Microsoft would at least get the ad money off of these
people using it.

yes, i was thinking of making it available for download only, or partner with
some advertisers to include flyer advertisements in the mail along with a
disk maybe to cover the cost of the disk and shipping. i think many people
who pay for high speed internet such as myself would not pay the money for
it, but would use a free ad supported version of it. They need to do

The point is that you have the money, but aren't willing to pay for it.
It's not that you don't have the money.

something like this cause losing many to open office...which isn't even ad
supported!

Many? You have a skewed world view. MS Office has more than 90% of the
market and OpenOffice is barely making a dent into MS sales.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

Come back in here right after March 31, 2007 when the B2TR version of
the Office 2007 Beta expired. You will see a tons of people scream at
Microsoft for crippling their "free" download of Office 2007. Want to
know how many people will, after they have been told that they actually
need to pay for it now, go out, find cracked copies and then post back
that they stuck it to MS? I'd bet you that every one of them though
could afford it, they just don't want to pay for it.
People think they should get Office for free, because after all, they
got Windows for free. This has to do with the way pricing for hardware
works, meaning users never see the price tag for the OEM copy of Windows
that comes with their computer. So they get the impression that Windows
was free with the hardware, although it wasn't, as the OEM had to pay
Microsoft for it (but as every computer basically comes with Windows,
it's not a cost that figures into the relative price difference between
computers, hence consumers don't notice it).
Then if Microsoft were to offer a free version of Office, even an old
one, there is the issue whether it would run on modern operating systems
(e.g. Windows Vista). Not supported by Microsoft means not only that
they don't offer phone support for it, but also that there are no
patches, no updates and no work by MS to make sure it works with newer
versions of Windows. Then what if someone discovers a security problem
in that older version of Office? MS isn't going to fix it, which means
that lots of users have an at-risk copy of Office, which only helps
people who operate bot nets and other shit. And can you imagine the
outcry if MS was to distribute Office for free, but no patches for
security issues and zero effort to make it work on Vista? A lot of these
users would end up just right here in the newsgroups, and I really don't
think many volunteers are willing to help people who got something for
free (a rather old version nonetheless) while they themselves had to pay
for it. Especially if those users are agitated that MS cheated them by
giving them a crappy version for free and demanding a newer one (which
is their most likely behavior).
MS couldn't distribute it for free without it being supported therefore
which will cost them a lot more than any ads could bring in.
And that is not to even think about the outcry from users who paid for
Office and now have to watch other people get the software they paid
hundreds of dollars for receive it for free, including support.

It's unrealistic, expensive and all of this just because some people
don't want to pay for it? Sorry, but there are so many ways of getting
Office for an affordable price (e.g. students, like you I presume, might
be able to get it for free from their university, or can buy the cheap
Home & student edition) that everyone should be able to buy it.
If they don't want to, then they can always get OpenOffice.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

i just think that the people who would download and use the free,
ad-supported, older version, would not be the people who are going to buy the
new version anyway, so Microsoft would at least get the ad money off of these
people using it.

yes, i was thinking of making it available for download only, or partner with
some advertisers to include flyer advertisements in the mail along with a
disk maybe to cover the cost of the disk and shipping. i think many people
who pay for high speed internet such as myself would not pay the money for
it, but would use a free ad supported version of it. They need to do

The point is that you have the money, but aren't willing to pay for it.
It's not that you don't have the money.

something like this cause losing many to open office...which isn't even ad
supported!

Many? You have a skewed world view. MS Office has more than 90% of the
market and OpenOffice is barely making a dent into MS sales.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

cyberTaz" wrote:

One consideration - among numerous others:

How do you propose the distribution of these charitable donations be
handled?

Is MS supposed to ship free to anyone who asks? Perhaps UPS or FedEx would
be willing to chip in - better yet, the USPS could be mandated to handle it
gratis, after all it would only increase postal rates a modest 25-30%. Or
would the product be stuffed into cereal boxes as a promotional item? And
who bears the cost of this distribution? Perhaps you'd be willing to donate
a few hours a week to making home deliveries?

Even if you're now thinking "download" - which isn't practicable for a
number of reasons, but even if it were - consider the likelihood that most
anyone not able to pay the price for their software probably doesn't have a
high speed connection in the first place. That basically leaves you with
those who *can* afford it but aren't *willing* to pay for it. Ergo, any
costs incurred by such a program have to be recouped from the sale of
current product, which in itself would be curtailed by the freebie system,
resulting in even higher prices for the rest of us.

I'm not sure what your location is - despite your addy - but here in the
good ol' US of A I'm just one of many who are getting tired of footing the
bill for freeloaders.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac



On 11/19/06 11:47 AM, in article
(e-mail address removed), "thebigdintexas"

Good point.....would have to add "does not qualify for a discounted upgrade"
to my suggestion along with ad-supported. Thanks.




:


I have a suggestion regarding Microsoft Word. How about offering the older
version for free when the latest version, such as in Office 2007, is
released. Microsoft could switch the older version to ad supported or
something, then offer it for free. Comments?

Would they qualify for upgrades? If so, I doubt MS would go along with the
idea.

 

[Graham Mayor]

The people who don't want to pay for software wouldn't use an ad supported
system either. They would use the same pirate versions that they have always
used. This idea is a non starter. It makes no business sense to widen the
availability of the product to a few cheapskates, when they already have the
Office software market cornered. For the domestic market they produce Works
(included with many new PCs) - and for the freeware market you have
Wordpad - both of which can produce acceptable documents.

In any case much of business is at least one version behind the current one.
Many corporates are still using Office 2000 and I wonder how many of them
will want to go through the pain and expense of retraining their staff to
use Word 2007, which I feel may be a step too far for business? Microsoft
will be supporting the users of Word 2003, at least, for a while longer.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

i just think that the people who would download and use the free,
ad-supported, older version, would not be the people who are going to
buy the new version anyway, so Microsoft would at least get the ad
money off of these people using it.

yes, i was thinking of making it available for download only, or partner with
some advertisers to include flyer advertisements in the mail along
with a disk maybe to cover the cost of the disk and shipping. i
think many people who pay for high speed internet such as myself
would not pay the money for it, but would use a free ad supported
version of it. They need to do

The point is that you have the money, but aren't willing to pay for
it. It's not that you don't have the money.

something like this cause losing many to open office...which isn't
even ad supported!

Many? You have a skewed world view. MS Office has more than 90% of
the market and OpenOffice is barely making a dent into MS sales.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

cyberTaz" wrote:

One consideration - among numerous others:

How do you propose the distribution of these charitable donations
be handled?

Is MS supposed to ship free to anyone who asks? Perhaps UPS or
FedEx would be willing to chip in - better yet, the USPS could be
mandated to handle it gratis, after all it would only increase
postal rates a modest 25-30%. Or would the product be stuffed into
cereal boxes as a promotional item? And who bears the cost of this
distribution? Perhaps you'd be willing to donate a few hours a
week to making home deliveries?

Even if you're now thinking "download" - which isn't practicable
for a number of reasons, but even if it were - consider the
likelihood that most anyone not able to pay the price for their
software probably doesn't have a high speed connection in the
first place. That basically leaves you with those who *can* afford
it but aren't *willing* to pay for it. Ergo, any costs incurred by
such a program have to be recouped from the sale of current
product, which in itself would be curtailed by the freebie system,
resulting in even higher prices for the rest of us.

I'm not sure what your location is - despite your addy - but here
in the good ol' US of A I'm just one of many who are getting tired
of footing the bill for freeloaders.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac



On 11/19/06 11:47 AM, in article
(e-mail address removed),

Good point.....would have to add "does not qualify for a
discounted upgrade" to my suggestion along with ad-supported.
Thanks.




:


I have a suggestion regarding Microsoft Word. How about
offering the older version for free when the latest version,
such as in Office 2007, is released. Microsoft could switch
the older version to ad supported or something, then offer it
for free. Comments?

Would they qualify for upgrades? If so, I doubt MS would go
along with the idea.

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

Corporations don't like using software though that is out of support. So
the end of Office 2000 support will force them to a newer version.
Whether it's 2007 though, is a different question.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

The people who don't want to pay for software wouldn't use an ad supported
system either. They would use the same pirate versions that they have always
used. This idea is a non starter. It makes no business sense to widen the
availability of the product to a few cheapskates, when they already have the
Office software market cornered. For the domestic market they produce Works
(included with many new PCs) - and for the freeware market you have
Wordpad - both of which can produce acceptable documents.

In any case much of business is at least one version behind the current one.
Many corporates are still using Office 2000 and I wonder how many of them
will want to go through the pain and expense of retraining their staff to
use Word 2007, which I feel may be a step too far for business? Microsoft
will be supporting the users of Word 2003, at least, for a while longer.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

i just think that the people who would download and use the free,
ad-supported, older version, would not be the people who are going to
buy the new version anyway, so Microsoft would at least get the ad
money off of these people using it.

yes, i was thinking of making it available for download only, or
partner with
some advertisers to include flyer advertisements in the mail along
with a disk maybe to cover the cost of the disk and shipping. i
think many people who pay for high speed internet such as myself
would not pay the money for it, but would use a free ad supported
version of it. They need to do
The point is that you have the money, but aren't willing to pay for
it. It's not that you don't have the money.

something like this cause losing many to open office...which isn't
even ad supported!
Many? You have a skewed world view. MS Office has more than 90% of
the market and OpenOffice is barely making a dent into MS sales.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed





cyberTaz" wrote:

One consideration - among numerous others:

How do you propose the distribution of these charitable donations
be handled?

Is MS supposed to ship free to anyone who asks? Perhaps UPS or
FedEx would be willing to chip in - better yet, the USPS could be
mandated to handle it gratis, after all it would only increase
postal rates a modest 25-30%. Or would the product be stuffed into
cereal boxes as a promotional item? And who bears the cost of this
distribution? Perhaps you'd be willing to donate a few hours a
week to making home deliveries?

Even if you're now thinking "download" - which isn't practicable
for a number of reasons, but even if it were - consider the
likelihood that most anyone not able to pay the price for their
software probably doesn't have a high speed connection in the
first place. That basically leaves you with those who *can* afford
it but aren't *willing* to pay for it. Ergo, any costs incurred by
such a program have to be recouped from the sale of current
product, which in itself would be curtailed by the freebie system,
resulting in even higher prices for the rest of us.

I'm not sure what your location is - despite your addy - but here
in the good ol' US of A I'm just one of many who are getting tired
of footing the bill for freeloaders.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac



On 11/19/06 11:47 AM, in article
(e-mail address removed),

Good point.....would have to add "does not qualify for a
discounted upgrade" to my suggestion along with ad-supported.
Thanks.




:


I have a suggestion regarding Microsoft Word. How about
offering the older version for free when the latest version,
such as in Office 2007, is released. Microsoft could switch
the older version to ad supported or something, then offer it
for free. Comments?

Would they qualify for upgrades? If so, I doubt MS would go
along with the idea.

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

Corporations dislike spending money even more.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

~~~~~
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375

Corporations don't like using software though that is out of support. So
the end of Office 2000 support will force them to a newer version. Whether
it's 2007 though, is a different question.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

The people who don't want to pay for software wouldn't use an ad
supported
system either. They would use the same pirate versions that they have
always
used. This idea is a non starter. It makes no business sense to widen the
availability of the product to a few cheapskates, when they already have
the
Office software market cornered. For the domestic market they produce
Works
(included with many new PCs) - and for the freeware market you have
Wordpad - both of which can produce acceptable documents.

In any case much of business is at least one version behind the current
one.
Many corporates are still using Office 2000 and I wonder how many of them
will want to go through the pain and expense of retraining their staff to
use Word 2007, which I feel may be a step too far for business? Microsoft
will be supporting the users of Word 2003, at least, for a while longer.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

i just think that the people who would download and use the free,
ad-supported, older version, would not be the people who are going to
buy the new version anyway, so Microsoft would at least get the ad
money off of these people using it.




:

yes, i was thinking of making it available for download only, or
partner with
some advertisers to include flyer advertisements in the mail along
with a disk maybe to cover the cost of the disk and shipping. i
think many people who pay for high speed internet such as myself
would not pay the money for it, but would use a free ad supported
version of it. They need to do
The point is that you have the money, but aren't willing to pay for
it. It's not that you don't have the money.

something like this cause losing many to open office...which isn't
even ad supported!
Many? You have a skewed world view. MS Office has more than 90% of
the market and OpenOffice is barely making a dent into MS sales.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh (B2TR):
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/09/18/43
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed





cyberTaz" wrote:

One consideration - among numerous others:

How do you propose the distribution of these charitable donations
be handled?

Is MS supposed to ship free to anyone who asks? Perhaps UPS or
FedEx would be willing to chip in - better yet, the USPS could be
mandated to handle it gratis, after all it would only increase
postal rates a modest 25-30%. Or would the product be stuffed into
cereal boxes as a promotional item? And who bears the cost of this
distribution? Perhaps you'd be willing to donate a few hours a
week to making home deliveries?

Even if you're now thinking "download" - which isn't practicable
for a number of reasons, but even if it were - consider the
likelihood that most anyone not able to pay the price for their
software probably doesn't have a high speed connection in the
first place. That basically leaves you with those who *can* afford
it but aren't *willing* to pay for it. Ergo, any costs incurred by
such a program have to be recouped from the sale of current
product, which in itself would be curtailed by the freebie system,
resulting in even higher prices for the rest of us.

I'm not sure what your location is - despite your addy - but here
in the good ol' US of A I'm just one of many who are getting tired
of footing the bill for freeloaders.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac



On 11/19/06 11:47 AM, in article
(e-mail address removed),

Good point.....would have to add "does not qualify for a
discounted upgrade" to my suggestion along with ad-supported.
Thanks.




:


I have a suggestion regarding Microsoft Word. How about
offering the older version for free when the latest version,
such as in Office 2007, is released. Microsoft could switch
the older version to ad supported or something, then offer it
for free. Comments?

Would they qualify for upgrades? If so, I doubt MS would go
along with the idea.