I continue to be amazed at the changes going on at Microsoft. Today’s surprise is all about the new Office, most likely coming out early in 2013. Microsoft announced major changes in its pricing model. You can either purchase it as usual or pay by the year.
If you want the traditional boxed version, prices will start at over $200…and that is for one computer only. There will be no multiple-copy discounts of any type as in the past.
OR…you can pay a yearly fee of $100 for a household license that can be used on up to five computers. And when updates and new versions are released, you don’t pay any additional fees. Just $100 a year (more for businesses)…and you can add and subtract computers as the need arises.
Can you see where Microsoft is driving all of us? Obviously the annual fee deal is the better option, financially speaking. But is it what you want? Microsoft obviously wants to go to a subscription basis where the revenue just keeps rolling in. I bet this model will eventually be used for the Windows OS.
For me, thanks to TechNet, I have Office 10 on all my computers (all legally licensed, in case you are wondering). Being retired, my use of Office products just keeps diminishing with time. About the only product I use on a regular basis is OneNote. So I won’t be upgrading. For more info on this new pricing model, see story #2.
In another Microsoft-related story, ASUS announced their pricing for Windows 8 tablets. Their Windows RT tablet, which will not run most of your current software, starts at $599 without keyboard. Trust me, for that money, buy an iPad. The regular Windows 8 tablets are priced as high as $1299. Don’t expect any long lines at Microsoft stores.
In spite of all this, there are some good and helpful stories included here that might be very helpful - JRC
iPhone 5 preorders top 2M in first 24 hours, shattering record
That's double the 1 million preorders for the iPhone 4S, Apple says. Apparently consumers aren't put off by what some critics have called minimal improvements.
What you gain and lose with Office 2013 subscriptions
Can Microsoft convince you that renting Office is better than buying? They're using a classic carrot-and-stick approach to get you to switch. Sticking with "traditional" software will cost you dearly.
Asus Windows 8 tablet pricing comes in high; Demand likely low
Asus' Windows 8 tablet pricing will start at $599 and run to $1,299 (keyboards not included). In other words, tablets will be more than laptops in some cases without any enterprise heft to justify a premium.
Everything You Need to Know About the New Twitter
Twitter rolled out on Tuesday a series of design updates aimed to add more personality to member pages. Photos have been brought to the forefront and room has been made for Facebook Timeline-like cover images.
Rethinking the process of hard-drive sanitizing
Standard drive- and file-wiping tools are no longer adequate for completely removing data — especially when used with the newest hard drives. But researchers have identified new procedures that reliably make old data virtually unrecoverable on any drive, whether magnetic or solid-state.
How to Fix Problems When Windows Installer or Uninstaller Doesn’t Work
This happens often enough that Microsoft provides a special troubleshooter for fixing this sort of problem.
Everything's broken and nobody's upset
Software doesn't work. I'm shocked at how often we put up with it. Here's just a few issues off the top of my head - that I personally dealt with last week.
Five Free Ways to Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal
Your home wi-fi network can be a fickle mistress, with connectivity coming and going seemingly on a whim. But there's no need to shell out hard-earned cash for a brand new router just because you can't get online.
Create Ebooks from Wikipedia Articles for On the Go Reading Anywhere
Ever wanted to take a few Wikipedia articles with you offline? You can now export any Wikipedia article, or a collection of articles, into a personal ebook that's readable on any device that can use the EPUB format. (Use Calibre to change it to Kindle Format)
The Best Startpage to Make Your Browsing Easier!
The best of all start and new tab pages in my opinion is a SpeedDial page that Opera introduced first. Why? It's very convenient as all your favorite sites are within your reach. You have everything right in front of you on a page, saving you time to leaf through countless bookmarks. Here is the best one of the bunch, for Firefox.
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