Office continues to rake in cash for Microsoft Microsoft has released Office sales statistics as part of their latest financial disclosure with Office 365 having over 3.5 million subscribers. 3.5 million subscribers is up from 1 million in May 2013 and 2 million in October 2013. More than 15% of total consumer sales of Microsoft […]
From: Microsoft Office 2010 sales boasts. A copy of a Microsoft blog post from Jan 2011 – now removed from their site. Back in January 2011 there was an interesting blog post by Microsoft which gave some hard numbers to Office 2010 sales – notably that a copy of Office 2010 is sold every second. […]
Microsoft doesn’t have to justify Office software renewals – just pretend to. With the first anniversary of Office 365 coming up, CITEworld has managed to get under Microsoft’s skin with their article titled Microsoft hasn’t given consumers much reason to renew Office 365 . The piece by Nancy Gohring suggests that there’s not been enough […]
Screen reader software now available for Office 2010 and Office 2013 users. Microsoft has done a deal with GW Micro to make their Window-Eyes software available free to licensed users of Office 2010 or Office 2013. Details of the offer are at http://www.windoweyesforoffice.com/ Window-Eyes is screen reader software for the blind and visually impaired. It […]
Reactivating Office 2013 isn’t as easy as you’d expect. If you have an Office 2013 subscription, the software might start with an ‘Unlicenced Product’ message across the top and only few functions available. Assuming you have a valid Office 365 subscription (the Manage Account button will open a browser window to let you check) then […]
A quick look at Apple Pages vs Microsoft Word The New York Times has a fairly glowing review of Apple’s word processor, Pages in comparison with Microsoft Word. The review notes that Pages has a less cluttered interface which may suit some people with basic editing needs. But some features like vertical ruler and shortcuts […]
Another Office promotion under the microscope Down in Australia there’s some special offers for Office 2013. Alas, when you look at the details it’s not such a great deal. The Get Modern offers for small businesses are summarized by Microsoft like this: 15% off The headline says “15% off Office 2013 Pro Plus + Windows […]
Is the latest offer for Office 2013 such a great deal? Down in Australia there’s some special offers for Office 2013. Alas, when you look at the details it’s not such a great deal. The Get Modern offers for small businesses are summarized by Microsoft like this: Let’s look at the $30 cashback offer …. $30 […]
Some improvements to Office 365 subscriptions Office 365 Home Premium subscription currently lets you install Office software on up to five computers in a household as well as get some ‘bonuses’ like an hour of Skype calling time and 20GB of Skydrive space. However control of those installs and the 20GB cloud storage is only […]
Another arrow is thrust right into Microsoft Office. Google continues its moves against Microsoft Office with the announcement that the next version of Android will include their direct rival for Office. Android 4.4 aka ‘KitKat’ will include QuickOffice which lets you create and edit Microsoft Office documents directly (Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Saving is via Google […]
Does Microsoft Office have planned obsolescence? What does that mean for Office subscriptions/rental. An item in The New York Times Why Apple wants to bust your iPhone talks about how there’s deliberate design elements in iPhones to encourage people to buy a new model. It’s a ‘carrot and stick’ approach. There’s the ‘stick’ of the sealed battery, no […]
Christmas Cheer with Microsoft Office updated for Office 2010 and Office 2013 The Premium edition of Christmas Cheer with Microsoft Office has been updated for all customers – new and existing. We’ve updated the ebook to cover Office 2010 and Office 2013. All the Christmas themed sample documents – cards, gift tags, emails and letters […]
Office 2013: the real startup guide gets some updates for all readers. Our popular ebook Office 2013: the real startup guide has been updated with some new content for all readers. Volume Licencing chapter greatly expanded to include summary of the options as they apply to buying Office 2013, the pros and cons of Software […]
Why call Office 365 a software ‘subscription’ when it’s really renting? A few readers have asked us why Office-Watch.com calls the new way to get Office 2013 ‘renting’ when it’s called ‘subscription’ by Microsoft. Microsoft relentlessly uses the word ‘subscription’ to describe their preferred way to pay for Office 2013 but that doesn’t mean their […]
If you rent/subscribe to Office software, how does the upgrade work. What if you don’t want to upgrade. If you want to control your Microsoft Office versions, maybe buying the software is a better choice than renting it. One of the ‘benefits’ of an Office software subscription is that you get the latest software pushed […]
How to use Office for Windows on the Mac. Sometimes Office for Mac isn’t enough, you need its big brother, Office for Windows to run on a Macintosh computer. That’s certainly possible in various ways. It’s done using virtual machines, in effect running Windows ‘inside’ Apple’s operating system. VM’s, as they are known, have been […]
Win 8 ‘not fit for purpose’? Today’s Financial Times has an interesting letter and sharp indictment of Windows 8 “….For anybody doing real work, Windows 8 has concrete design errors which should never have reached the business user. Leaving aside trying to work with spreadsheets, the start button, the right click or even finding basic […]
Microsoft adds a bit more to the dying Technet. Microsoft is closing its too popular Technet program but hopes to dull the pain with a three month bonus. Over the next few weeks Technet subscribers should find their expiry date extend by three months. To qualify your Technet subscription had to be Active as of […]
Office apps, of a sort, come to Android phones. Hot on the heels of Office for iPhone comes Microsoft’s version of Office for Android phones. The Android release is very similar to Office for iPhone, which effectively means both are quite limited in features and availability. Office for Android (officially called “Office Mobile for Office […]
How Microsoft keeps bugs secret until it suits them. For as long as we can remember, an Office Service Pack has been accompanied by the revelation of previous undisclosed bugs in the software. Microsoft has an ongoing policy of keeping bugs secret from customers until they have a fix. Here’s how it works. Through support […]
Microsoft closes their Technet program giving an unlikely reason. Microsoft has announced the closure of their popular Technet program from 31 August 2013. You can continue to buy a Technet subscription until that date and current subscriptions will be honored until they expire. So if you were thinking of getting Technet, you now have a […]
Microsoft doesn’t want Office for iPhone to be good or popular. We’ve received a lot of emails from people disappointed with Microsoft Office Mobile for iPhone. Disappointed that it’s so limited in features and options for saving documents. Disappointed that the new app requires an Office software rental to use at all. Buying the latest […]
‘All’ has a different meaning at Redmond. Microsoft plays word games with Office 365 and iPhone Microsoft could be clear about entitlement to Office Mobile for iPhone. Instead they play word games including re-defining the word ‘All’ to mean something less than the dictionary definition; All: “used to refer to the whole quantity or extent of […]
A quick first look at the newest version of Microsoft Office. Microsoft has released a version of Office for Apple’s iPhone – we have had a look at how you can get it and what you can do. First impression This is a hastily made app released now so that Microsoft can say they have […]
A quick look at your dictionary options in Word Even if you, like me, only speak one language there are still some powerful language and dictionary options in Word to keep in mind. All copies of Microsoft Office (recent versions anyway) come with English dictionaries. ‘Dictionaries’ plural because there’s many variants supplied. You’d expect English […]
The ‘secret’ is out, Outlook is coming to Windows RT tablets. Windows RT tablets, like Microsoft’s Surface, are to get proper Outlook software later this year. The news was announced by Microsoft in a blog post but the work on Outlook RT had been an open secret for months. Windows RT is the low-power version […]
Some Windows tablets will be bundled with Microsoft Office for no extra cost. As a sign that the sales of Windows Tablets are not as good as the Redmond hype, Microsoft has announced that Office software can now be included free with the hardware. Later this year (not right away) buyers of Windows tablet devices […]
The next Windows 8 will get a button to take you to new and mostly unloved Start Menu. More details of the Windows 8 update are coming out and it’s much as we suggested a few weeks ago. There will be a Start button on the bottom left of the desktop – Microsoft is calling […]
Is there any difference in the software buying Office 365 or Office 2013 Microsoft uses the terms ‘Office 365’ and ‘Office 2013’ interchangeably and confusingly so it’s no wonder Office-Watch.com gets asked about differences between the two. Strictly speaking ‘Office 2013’ is the software – the successor to Office 2010 and before. You install Office […]
Are the upcoming changes to Windows 8 significant or just tweaks that make little difference. It’s been interesting to watch Microsoft trying to trick the media with their orchestrated campaign of ‘leaks’ and announcements about a Windows 8 update. We’re now told that an upcoming Windows 8 Service Pack will address some of the obvious […]
Down in Australia, software companies acted out a little play with politicians In Australia’s capital, the local leaders of software giants like Microsoft, Adobe and Apple got together with politicians to act out a little play. It was all under the guise of a ‘parliamentary enquiry’ but it was a scripted and predicable as anything […]
How might Microsoft increase the cost of Office 365? The often quoted price for an Office 2013/365 subscription is only for the first year, so how might Microsoft increase the price? There’s all sorts of opportunities for Microsoft to raise revenue from Office subscribers once they’ve put themselves on the annual fee track rather than […]
Even the New York Times falls for Microsoft’s spin on Office 2013/365 prices Microsoft has played a clever game with Office 2013 subscription pricing and the media has taken the bait with the proverbial hook, line and sinker. Take this generally positive review of Office 2013 titled “Subscribing to Office, Now and forever” from the […]
Problems installing Office 2013 made much worse by a useless error message. Installing Office 2013 as a subscription can be an exercise in frustration thanks to some very naïve decisions by Microsoft. It’s a problem with the ‘Click to Run’ streaming install used by Office 365 subscribers. You click on the small install program and […]
Microsoft backs down and lets you move Office 2013 between computers. In an astonishing backdown, Microsoft has quietly announced that Office 2013 retail purchases will now be transferable between computers. The initial retail license terms for Office 2013 had a very different requirement than all the past version of Microsoft Office. With Office 2013 retail […]
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint will soon be on mobile devices. One interesting snippet generally overlooked in the Office 365 Small Business announcements was the mention of Office Mobile Apps. There’s been plenty of talk about Microsoft Office coming to mobile devices, especially non-Microsoft devices but the Office 365 announcement was the first time Redmond […]
The initial Office 365 pricing is very enticing … maybe suspiciously so. Microsoft has released their pricing for Office 365 Small Business subscription plans. These are plans which give you, at minimum, hosted email with all the benefits of Exchange Server connectivity. At the ‘high’ end you get hosted email, a publicly hosted web site, […]
British customers can pay up to 45% more for Microsoft Office than across the pond. Continuing our look at Office 2013 prices across the world, we turn to the United Kingdom where Microsoft continues their practice of charging non-US more for the same product as sold in the USA. ‘Every little helps’ as they say […]
Moving above the 49th parallel causes magical price changes in Microsoft Office. Canadians get a good deal for most Office 2013 purchases however once you add provincial taxes it might take away any price advantage. The same prices apply to both the English and French versions of Office 2013 sold in Canada. The difference is the […]
Why are Australians still being asked to pay too much for Office 2013? Last week we looked at the Aussie pricing for Office 2013 which is higher than the US prices though that’s hardly anything new since Microsoft has overpriced Office ‘down under’ for as long as we can remember. Why? Let us preface this […]
