Bedamned if they aren't throwing in the Microsoft for free now!

 I had occasion to look at new computers recently and discovered that in addition to making Office applications available online,  Microsoft is putting a free, stripped-down, ad-supported version of Excel and Word 2010 on new computers.  I was amazed because I have wondered for quite some time now if Microsoft would feel enough pressure from open source productivity suites such as Open Office and its many variations (Star Office, Google Docs etc.) to respond.  The open source offerings are full-fledged, whereas the Microsoft freebies, do not have full functionality.  However, they are more than adequate for many personal users, including in many businesses applications such as Word and Excel are commonly used for relatively simple tasks such as simple spreadsheets and uncomplicated business correspondence.  This is not to say that there is no value in the boughten versions.  I, for one, could not survive without pivot table functionality and the last time I checked, Excel was the only program powerful enough to do what I wanted to do.  Tell all your friends, there is a lot of value to be captured here, gratis.


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