Microsoft Moving Away from Office Starter 2010
Get ready to say your goodbyes to Office Starter 2010, because Microsoft is already starting to do so. The Redmond software maker has reportedly begun letting its OEM partners known that it's phasing out the feature-thin version of Office that they've been pre-loading on new PCs, which was originally designed to give users a taste of the Office experience in hopes they would upgrade to a more fleshed out version.
"We will begin to phase out the shipment of PCs with Office Starter 2010. After Windows 8 becomes available, most new PCs shipped will not have Office Starter," Microsoft said in a statement. "People who use Office Starter 2010 today will continue to be able to use the product for the life of their PC. For Windows7/Office Starter 2010 users who want to upgrade their PC to Windows 8 and continue using Office Starter 2010, they will have to install an update to Microsoft Office 2010 which is available today.”
In its place, Microsoft appears intent on pushing OEMs in the direction of Office Web Apps, which are webcentric versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, as it gears up to launch Office 2013.
"We will begin to phase out the shipment of PCs with Office Starter 2010. After Windows 8 becomes available, most new PCs shipped will not have Office Starter," Microsoft said in a statement. "People who use Office Starter 2010 today will continue to be able to use the product for the life of their PC. For Windows7/Office Starter 2010 users who want to upgrade their PC to Windows 8 and continue using Office Starter 2010, they will have to install an update to Microsoft Office 2010 which is available today.”
In its place, Microsoft appears intent on pushing OEMs in the direction of Office Web Apps, which are webcentric versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, as it gears up to launch Office 2013.
