Big changes in Office 2013 and Office 365 test Microsoft customers' loyalty

[anyweb]

If you’re surprised by the revelation that the retail editions of Office 2013 will cost more than their predecessors and come with more severe license restrictions, you haven’t been paying attention. The retail editions of Office 2013 contain fundamental changes that go well beyond simple changes in the license agreement. They fundamentally alter the way we think of desktop software. Microsoft is in the process of a dramatic transition in its core business, one that I first noted last summer. “Services are the cornerstone of Microsoft’s strategy,” I noted at the time.

 

Microsoft has thrown massive amounts of resources at the task ofintegrating cloud-based services into its flagship products. SkyDrive is a core part of Windows 8. Office 365 services are fundamental to Office
2013. Azure is moving entire server farms into the cloud. The subscription-based offerings of Office 365 are just a hint of what’s to come.

 

 

The biggest change of all?

 

You can no longer buy Office, Microsoft’s flagship product, on removable media. You can’t even download offline installer files for the three retail editions of Office: Home and Student, Home and Business, and Professional. If you purchase a single-user copy of Office 2013 from an online reseller (including the Microsoft Store) you get a product key code. If you buy a boxed copy of Office 2013 from a retailer, you get a product key on a card. In either case, you have to go to office.com/setup, where you’ll see this prompt:

 

 

read the rest at ZDnet > http://www.zdnet.com/big-changes-in-office-2013-and-office-365-test-microsoft-customers-loyalty-7000011389/