Trail Period

[Rebel Lady]

I just got a Sony Vaio for Xmas (I'm still trying to adjust to it and Vista).
Whatever happened to getting an operating system on it (I'm referring to
Office and Word specifically) that isn't a trial and you don't have ot pay
for it in 60 days???? I'm afraid to put anything on here in case I lose it.
Does Microsoft send an email when the free trail is over? And how much does
this stupid thing cost? I can't find any answers on the web site. Thanks
all...and be kind, I'm not a techno geek.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The "operating system" (OS) is Windows. It has never included any version of
Office or Word. They have always been extras that you had to pay for. When
the trial period is over, you will not lose any data, but you will not be
able to edit old files or create new ones; see "Frequently asked questions
about the Office Activation Wizard and reduced-functionality mode in Office
2003" at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=827291; this is about a slightly
different subject (failure to activate rather than expiration of the trial),
but the result (reduced functionality) is the same.

There are many different versions of Office (SKUs), which you can see at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/FX101635841033.aspx. The best
bargain is probably the Home and Student Edition, which can be installed on
up to three systems. There are two caveats: (1) This edition does not
contain Outlook, which means that you will not have a built-in address book
for Word, because Word can use only the Outlook address book (of a matching
version of Outlook); and (2) this edition does not qualify for an upgrade
price on the next version of Word.

Still, it you compare $150 for HSE now, plus another $150 (or perhaps more)
for the same edition of the next version, to the $400 cost of Standard,
which is good on only two systems but does include Outlook and qualifies for
an upgrade, plus $240 (or more) to upgrade to the next version, I think
you'll decide that HSE is the bargain. If you own an older version of Office
(back to Office 2000) that qualifies for an upgrade (can't be an OEM
version), then the upgrade prices may look more attractive to you. Note that
the prices listed on that page are MSRP; you can probably find much better
prices online or at office superstores or electronics stores.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org